were seated among the trees. "The time has come for you to know its contents:-^
"My dear Mrs. Benson,—You have been a brave, devoted mother to an unhappily environed daughter. I have long known that you and I were made for each other. We became mismatched through adherence to false customs. Daphne does not love me, and has never willingly accepted our union, as you have painful reason to know. You love me! Pardon this abrupt announcement. You have never told me so, but I have known the truth for years. To have this opportunity to tell you that I reciprocate, is at present my only joy.
"I will meet you in the wilds of Oregon. Daphne's latest erratic movements to escape me have all along been known. To follow you I became a wanderer in these Western wilds. I will take measures to set your beautiful daughter free. A couple whom God hath not joined together it is man's duty to put asunder. Keep your own counsel till such time as you are strong enough to take your life and destiny into your own hands, and declare yourself accountable primarily to yourself and God for your own actions.
"I will be in Portland, Oregon, by November first. We shall surely meet again.
"Faithfully, through time and for eternity, your devoted but never yet accredited counterpart,
"Donald McPherson."
The daughter clasped her mother's hand and fervently exclaimed, "Thank God!"
Mrs. Benson wept.
"It will never do for you and me to meet again after this revelation," said the daughter, after a long silence. " I will take up my permanent abode in this new country, and you can rejoin Donald in New York or Philadelphia, via the city of Panama. But you must go to Portland now. We will not set idle tongues to wagging here. It is fortunate indeed that Donald took his mother's name as a part of his last inheritance."
