Chapter I: Front Matter

THE CURSE OF CLIFTON
OR,
THE WIDOWED BRIDE.

BY MRS. EMMA D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH.

AUTHOR OF “SELF-RAISED,” “ISHMAEL,” “FAIR PLAY,” “A NOBLE LORD,” “THE
CHANGED BRIDES,” “A BEAUTIFUL FIEND,” “HOW HE WON HER,” “RETRIBUTION,”
“THE BRIDE’S FATE,” “THE LADY OF THE ISLE,” “CRUEL AS THE GRAVE,”
“VIVIA,” “THE WIDOW’S SON,” “ALLWORTH ABBEY,” “THE LOST HEIRESS,”
“INDIA,” “THE GYPSY’S PROPHECY,” “THE ARTIST’S LOVE,” “THE THREE
BEAUTIES,” “VICTOR’S TRIUMPH,” “THE MISSING BRIDE,” “FALLEN PRIDE,” “THE
FATAL SECRET,” “THE SPECTRE LOVER,” “MAIDEN WIDOW,” “THE TWO SISTERS,”
“FATAL MARRIAGE,” “THE BRIDAL EVE,” “THE HAUNTED HOMESTEAD,” “THE PRINCE
OF DARKNESS,” “TRIED FOR HER LIFE,” “DISCARDED DAUGHTER,” ETC.

“THE CURSE OF CLIFTON; OR, THE WIDOWED BRIDE” will be found, on perusal by all, to be equal, if not superior, to any of the previous works by the celebrated American authoress, Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth, who is now conceded by critics to be the most popular female writer living, and her works to be among the greatest novels in the English language, as well as the most splendid pictures of American life ever written. “THE CURSE OF CLIFTON” shows all the grace, vigor, and absorbing interest to be found in “Ishmael” and “Self-Raised,” her last two works, and places Mrs. Southworth in the front rank of living novelists. The same indescribable charm pervades all her works, which can only emanate from a female mind, and the excellences of “THE CURSE OF CLIFTON” are many and great. It is a model book—graphic, brilliant and original. The romance is glowing and bold, possessing an absorbing interest that can attach only to real existences and life-like portraitures. The characters are beautifully drawn, and the novel throughout is highly exciting and of unexceptionable moral tendency. It ought to be read by everybody in the cheap form in which it is now issued.

PHILADELPHIA:
T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS;
306 CHESTNUT STREET.

COPYRIGHT:—1875.
T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS.

MRS. E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH’S COMPLETE WORKS.

EACH WORK IS COMPLETE IN ONE LARGE DUODECIMO VOLUME.

_SELF-RAISED; or, FROM THE DEPTHS. Sequel to Ishmael._
_ISHMAEL; or, IN THE DEPTHS. (Being Self-Made.)_
_THE MOTHER-IN-LAW; or, MARRIED IN HASTE._
_THE PHANTOM WEDDING; or, Fall of House of Flint._
_THE MISSING BRIDE; or, MIRIAM, THE AVENGER._
_A BEAUTIFUL FIEND; or, THROUGH THE FIRE._
_VICTOR’S TRIUMPH. A Sequel to “A Beautiful Fiend.”_
_THE FATAL MARRIAGE; or, Orville Deville._
_FAIR PLAY; or, BRITOMARTE, the MAN HATER._
_HOW HE WON HER. A Sequel to “Fair Play.”_
_THE CHANGED BRIDES; or, Winning Her Way._
_THE BRIDE’S FATE. Sequel to “The Changed Brides.”_
_CRUEL AS THE GRAVE; or, Hallow Eve Mystery._
_TRIED FOR HER LIFE. A Sequel to “Cruel as the Grave.”_
_THE CHRISTMAS GUEST; or, The Crime and the Curse._
_THE LADY OF THE ISLE; or, The Island Princess._
_THE LOST HEIR OF LINLITHGOW; or, The Brothers._
_A NOBLE LORD. Sequel to “The Lost Heir of Linlithgow.”_
_THE FAMILY DOOM; or, the SIN OF A COUNTESS._
_THE MAIDEN WIDOW. Sequel to “The Family Doom.”_
_THE GIPSY’S PROPHECY; or, The Bride of an Evening._
_THE FORTUNE SEEKER; or, Astrea, the Bridal Day._
_THE THREE BEAUTIES; or, Shannondale._
_ALL WORTH ABBEY; or, Eudora._
_FALLEN PRIDE; or, THE MOUNTAIN GIRL’S LOVE._
_INDIA; or, THE PEARL OF PEARL RIVER._
_VIVIA; or, THE SECRET OF POWER._
_THE WIDOW’S SON; or, Left Alone._
_THE DISCARDED DAUGHTER; or, The Children of the Isle._
_BRIDE OF LLEWELLYN. Sequel to “The Widow’s Son.”_
_THE BRIDAL EVE; or, Rose Elmer._
_THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS; or, Hickory Hall._
_THE DESERTED WIFE._
_HAUNTED HOMESTEAD._
_THE LOST HEIRESS._
_THE SPECTRE LOVER._
_THE WIFE’S VICTORY._
_THE FATAL SECRET._
_THE CURSE OF CLIFTON._
_THE TWO SISTERS._
_THE ARTISTS LOVE._
_LOVE’S LABOR WON._
_MYSTERY OF DARK HOLLOW._
_RETRIBUTION._

Above Books are Bound in Morocco Cloth. Price $1.50 Each.

☞ _Mrs. Southworth’s works are for sale by all Booksellers, or copies of any one, or more of them, will be sent to any one, postage prepaid, or free of freight, on remitting the price of the ones wanted, to the publishers_,

_T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, Philadelphia, Pa._

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE MOUNTAIN HUT 17
II. CLIFTON AND THE BEAUTIES 42
III. MRS. CLIFTON, OF HARDBARGAIN 54
IV. THE TIDE OF FATE 65
V. THE OLD MAN AND HIS BRIDE 75
VI. THE RUPTURED TIE 84
VII. THE SEVERED HEARTS 102
VIII. LOST AFFECTION 115
IX. WOMAN’S PRIDE 142
X. THE SISTERS 156
XI. MRS. FAIRFAX AND MAJOR CABELL 161
XII. SUSPENSE 169
XIII. ARCHER CLIFTON’S SKETCHES 176
XIV. THE DISCIPLINE OF AFFLICTION 185
XV. THE BLACK SEAL 195
XVI. MR. CLIFTON’S RESOLUTION 203
XVII. THE WIDOWED BRIDE 208
XVIII. THE YOUNG MOURNER 217
XIX. CONFESSION 228
XX. A DOMESTIC SCENE 235
XXI. IN THE CITY 245
XXII. LIFE’S VARIOUS PHASES 255
XXIII. ZULEIME 265
XXIV. THE CATASTROPHE 276
XXV. “IN PALACE CHAMBERS.” 294
XXVI. GEORGIA 313
XXVII. CATHERINE 324
XXVIII. WINTER EVENINGS AT THE FARM 329
XXIX. THE RETURN 338
XXX. BETROTHAL 348
XXXI. THE POISON WORKS 363
XXXII. DEDICATION 371
XXXIII. “THE MEEKNESS OF LOVE.” 380
XXXIV. CATHERINE’S REGENCY 397
XXV. CATHERINE’S PROGRESS 406
XXXVI. THE NIGHT JOURNEY 415
XXXVII. THE GOAL 436
XXXVIII. CONCLUSION 453

THE CURSE OF CLIFTON.