Thus he reasoned, blinded by the false dogmas of a superstitious creed; and the arguments of Madame de la Tour, the tears and entreaties of Lucie, had been alike disregarded.  The return of the priest, who usually officiated at the fort, was the signal for him to depart on a tour of severe duty to the most distant settlements of Acadia.  Nothing could change his determination; he parted from Lucie with much emotion, solemnly conjuring her to renounce her spiritual errors, and embrace the faith of the only true church.  As his child, he assured her, he should pray for her happiness, as a heretic, for her conversion; but he relinquished the authority of a father, which his profession forbade him to exercise, and left her to the guidance of her own conscience.  From that time, Lucie had neither seen nor heard from him; but solicitude for his fate pressed heavily on her heart, and she shed many secret and bitter tears for her unfortunate parent.

Soon after the death of Madame de la Tour, Lucie removed her residence to the cottage of Annette.  The fort was no longer a suitable or pleasant abode for her.  Mons. de la Tour disregarded the wishes which his lady had expressed in her last illness,—­that Lucie might be allowed to follow her own inclinations,—­and renewed his endeavours to force her into a marriage with De Valette.  But his threats and persuasions were both firmly resisted, and proved equally ineffectual to accomplish his purpose.  De Valette, indeed, had too much pride and generosity to urge his suit after a decided rejection; and he was vexed by his uncle’s selfish pertinacity.  In the early period of his attachment to Lucie, he accidentally discovered that most of her fortune had become involved in the private speculations of her guardian, and was probably lost to her.  But he often declared, that he asked no dowry with such a bride, and if he could obtain her hand, he should never seek redress for the patrimony she had lost.  La Tour, conscious that he had wronged her, and fearing that no other suitor would prove equally disinterested, was on that account anxious to promote a union, which would so easily free him from the penalty of his offence.

Early in the spring, La Tour left St. John’s for Newfoundland, hoping to obtain such assistance from Sir David Kirk, who was then commanding there, as would enable him to retain possession of his fort.  He was accompanied by De Valette, who intended to sail from thence for his native country.  It was not till after their departure, that Lucie learned the reduced state of her finances from Jacques, the husband of Annette, who had long enjoyed the confidence of his lord, and been conversant with his pecuniary affairs.  She was naturally vexed and indignant at the heartless and unprincipled conduct of her guardian; though there was a romantic pleasure in the idea, that it would only test, more fully, the strength and constancy of Stanhope’s attachment.  Woman is seldom selfish or ambitious in her affection; Lucie loved, and she felt still rich in the possession of a true and virtuous heart.