The Maid of Maiden Lane

The Maid of Maiden Lane, by
Amelia E. Barr

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Maid of Maiden Lane, by Amelia
E. Barr #3 in our series by Amelia E. Barr
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****
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
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAID
OF MAIDEN LANE ***

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.

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