The Maid of Maiden Lane

The Maid of Maiden Lane, by Amelia E. Barr

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Title: The Maid of Maiden Lane
Author: Amelia E. Barr
Release Date: May, 2004 [EBook #5757] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on August 28, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
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THE MAID OF MAIDEN LANE A Sequel to "The Bow of Orange Ribbon." A Love Story
BY AMELIA E. BARR Author of "The Bow of Orange Ribbon," "Friend Olivia," etc.
1900

CONTENTS

I. THE HOME OF CORNELIA MORAN II. THIS IS THE WAY OF LOVE III. HYDE AND ARENTA IV. THROWING THINGS INTO CONFUSION V. TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF VI. AUNT ANGELICA VII. ARENTA'S MARRIAGE VIII. TWO PROPOSALS IX. MISDIRECTED LETTERS X. LIFE TIED IN A KNOT XI. WE HAVE DONE WITH TEARS AND TREASONS XII. A HEART THAT WAITS XIII. THE NEW DAYS COME XIV. HUSH! LOVE IS HERE!
CHAPTER I
THE HOME OF CORNELIA MORAN
Never, in all its history, was the proud and opulent city of New York more glad and gay than in the bright spring days of Seventeen-Hundred- and-Ninety-One. It had put out of sight every trace of British rule and occupancy, all its homes had been restored and re-furnished, and its sacred places re-consecrated and adorned. Like a young giant ready to run a race, it stood on tiptoe, eager for adventure and discovery-- sending ships to the ends of the world, and round the world, on messages of commerce and friendship, and encouraging with applause and rewards that wonderful spirit of scientific invention, which was the Epic of the youthful nation. The skies of Italy were not bluer than the skies above it; the sunshine of Arcadia not brighter or more genial. It was a city of beautiful, and even splendid, homes; and all the length and breadth of its streets were shaded by trees, in whose green shadows dwelt and walked some of the greatest men of the century.
These gracious days of Seventeen-Hundred-and-Ninety-One were also the early days of the French Revolution, and fugitives from the French court--princes and nobles, statesmen and generals, sufficient for a new Iliad, loitered about the pleasant places of Broadway and Wall Street, Broad Street, and Maiden Lane. They were received with courtesy, and even with hospitality, although America at that date almost universally sympathized with the French Republicans, whom they believed to be the pioneers of political freedom on the aged side of the Atlantic. The merchants on Exchange, the Legislators in their Council Chambers, the working men on the wharves and streets, the loveliest women in their homes, and walks, and drives, alike wore the red cockade. The Marseillaise was sung with The Star Spangled Banner; and the notorious Carmagnole could be heard every hour of the day--on stated days, officially, at the Belvedere Club. Love for France, hatred for England, was the spirit of the age; it effected the trend of commerce, it dominated politics, it was the keynote of conversation wherever men and women congregated.
Yet the most pronounced public feeling always carries with it a note of dissent, and it was just at this day that dissenting opinion began to make itself heard. The horrors of Avignon, and of Paris, the brutality with which the royal family had been treated, and the abolition of all religious ties and duties, had many and bitter opponents. The clergy generally declared that "men had better be without liberty, than without God," and a prominent judge had ventured to say publicly that "Revolution was a dangerous chief justice."
In these days of wonderful hopes and fears there was, in Maiden Lane, a very handsome residence--an old house even in the days of Washington, for Peter Van Clyffe had built it early in the century as a bridal present