“Mr. Palma advised me to wait, to patiently watch for an opportunity, pledging himself to do all that legal skill could effect; and nobly he has redeemed his promise to the desolate, friendless, broken-hearted woman who appealed to him for aid.

“I succeeded after several repulses, in securing a very humble position in one of the small theatres, where I officiated first with scissors and needle, in fitting costumes and in various other menial employments; studying ceaselessly all the while to prepare myself for the stage.  The manager became interested, encouraged me, tested me at rehearsals, and at last after an arduous struggle, I made my debut at the benefit of one of the stock actors.  My name was adroitly whispered about, one or two mysterious paragraphs were published at the expense of the actor, and so—­curiosity gave me an audience and an opportunity.

“That night seemed the crisis of my destiny; if I failed, what would become of my baby?  Already, my love, you were my supreme thought.  But I did not, my face was a great success; my acting was pronounced wonderful by the dramatic critic to whom the beneficiary sent a complimentary ticket, and after that evening I had no difficulty in securing an engagement that proved very successful.

“A year after I learned that Cuthbert had married a second time, I went to V——­ to see Mr. Hargrove, and obtain possession of my license.  The good man only gave me a copy, to which he added his certificate of the solemnization of my marriage; but he sympathized very deeply with my unhappy condition, and promised in any emergency to befriend you, my darling.  A few hours after I left the parsonage it was entered and robbed, and the license he refused me was stolen.  Long afterward I learned he suspected me.”

Here Regina narrated her discovery of the mysterious facts connected with the loss of the paper, and her first knowledge of Peleg Peterson.  As she explained the occurrences that succeeded the storm, Mrs. Orme almost scowled, and resumed: 

“He has been the bete noire of my ill-starred life, but even his malice has been satiated at last.  Anxious to shield you from the possibility of danger, and from all contaminating influences and association, I carried you to a distant convent; the same with which grandmother had threatened me, and placed you under the sacred shadow of the Nuns’ protection.  Then, assured of your safety and that your education would not be neglected, I devoted myself completely to my profession.  From city to city I wandered in quest of fame and money, both so essential to the accomplishment of my scheme; a scheme that goaded me sleeping and waking, leaving no moment of repose.

“One night in Chicago, having overtaxed my strength, I fainted on the street, en route from the theatre, and while my servant fled for assistance, I was found by Mr. and Mrs. Waul, and taken to their home.  Their kind hearts warmed toward me, and no parents could have been more tenderly watchful than they have proved ever since.  They supplied a need of protection, of which I was growing painfully conscious, and I engaged them to travel with me.