At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War

"At a Girl's Mercy" Street & Smith's *Select Series* No. 40 (May 7, 1890) presents "At a Girl's Mercy; or, The Fortunes of W" by Jean Kate Ludlum, author of "Was He Wise?" and "The Minister's Wife." The narrative concerns Civil War-era domestic turmoil and intrigue. According to the preface, Ludlum grounds the tale in lived experience, claiming even the burglary sequence derives from actual events, and that portions—including histories of fugitive slaves related by a character named "Lola"—are factual accounts. The story opens with nocturnal danger: shadowy figures approach Squire Courtland's estate under deep darkness. The table of contents reveals chapters addressing war's upheaval ("Two Daughters of the Union," "The Fortunes of War"), betrayal and entrapment ("The Cords of the Net," "The Coils of the Serpent"), emotional turmoil ("That Wound a Heart," "A Grateful Patient"), and eventual resolution ("The End and the Beginning"). The installment emphasizes romantic suspense, family conflict, and wartime displacement.