Experience Seamless Full Ebook Downloads for Every Genre at textbookfull.

com

Digital image interpolation in MATLAB First

Edition Kok

https://textbookfull.com/product/digital-image-
interpolation-in-matlab-first-edition-kok/

OR CLICK BUTTON

DOWNLOAD NOW

Explore and download more ebook at https://textbookfull.com

 Recommended digital products (PDF, EPUB, MOBI) that
you can download immediately if you are interested.

Understanding Digital Signal Processing with MATLAB® and

Solutions. First Edition. Edition Poularikas

https://textbookfull.com/product/understanding-digital-signal-
processing-with-matlab-and-solutions-first-edition-edition-poularikas/

textboxfull.com

Image operators image processing in Python First Edition

Kinser

https://textbookfull.com/product/image-operators-image-processing-in-
python-first-edition-kinser/

textboxfull.com

Regularized Image Reconstruction in Parallel MRI with

MATLAB 1st Edition Joseph Suresh Paul

https://textbookfull.com/product/regularized-image-reconstruction-in-
parallel-mri-with-matlab-1st-edition-joseph-suresh-paul/

textboxfull.com

MATLAB Image Processing Toolbox User s Guide The Mathworks

https://textbookfull.com/product/matlab-image-processing-toolbox-user-
s-guide-the-mathworks/

textboxfull.com
Digital Image Enhancement Restoration and Compression
Digital Image Processing and Analysis for True Epub Scott
E Umbaugh
https://textbookfull.com/product/digital-image-enhancement-
restoration-and-compression-digital-image-processing-and-analysis-for-
true-epub-scott-e-umbaugh/
textboxfull.com

Conceptual Digital Signal Processing with MATLAB Keonwook

Kim

https://textbookfull.com/product/conceptual-digital-signal-processing-
with-matlab-keonwook-kim/

textboxfull.com

Digital Image Processing Practical Approach Borko Furht

https://textbookfull.com/product/digital-image-processing-practical-
approach-borko-furht/

textboxfull.com

Computer Vision and Image Analysis Digital Image

Processing and Analysis 4th Edition Scott E Umbaugh

https://textbookfull.com/product/computer-vision-and-image-analysis-
digital-image-processing-and-analysis-4th-edition-scott-e-umbaugh/

textboxfull.com

Humanity in God's image : an interdisciplinary exploration

First Edition Welz

https://textbookfull.com/product/humanity-in-gods-image-an-
interdisciplinary-exploration-first-edition-welz/

textboxfull.com
 ®
Digital Image Interpolation in MATLAB
Digital Image Interpolation in MATLAB®

Chi-Wah Kok and Wing-Shan Tam

Canaan Semiconductor Limited
Hong Kong
China
This edition first published 2019
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available
at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

The right of Chi-Wah Kok and Wing-Shan Tam to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted
in accordance with law.

Registered Offices
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd., 1 FusionopolisWalk, #07-01 Solaris South Tower, Singapore 138628

Editorial Office
The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products
visit us at www.wiley.com.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that
appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty

®
MATLAB is a trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. and is used with permission. The MathWorks does not
warrant the accuracy of the text or exercises in this book. This work’s use or discussion of MATLAB
®
software or related products does not constitute endorsement or sponsorship by The MathWorks of a
®
particular pedagogical approach or particular use of the MATLAB software.

While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no
representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and
specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or
fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written
sales materials or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is
referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the
publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide
or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged
in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your
situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that
websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when
it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial
damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kok, Chi-Wah, author. | Tam, Wing-Shan, author.

®
Title: Digital image interpolation in MATLAB / Dr. Chi-Wah Kok, Canaan Semiconductor Limited,
Hong Kong, China, Dr. Wing-Shan Tam, Canaan Semiconductor Limited,
Hong Kong, China.
Description: First edition. | Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2019. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018043062 (print) | LCCN 2018045690 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119119630 (Adobe PDF) | ISBN 9781119119647 (ePub) | ISBN 9781119119616
(hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Image processing–Digital techniques–Data processing. |
Interpolation. | MATLAB.
Classification: LCC TA1632 (ebook) | LCC TA1632 .K63 2019 (print) | DDC
006.6/86–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018043062

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: Courtesy of Chi-Wah Kok and Wing-Shan Tam

Set in 10/12pt WarnockPro by SPi Global, Chennai, India

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my love Annie from Ted for putting up with it all once again
To mom Gloria Lee and the memory of dad, Simon Tam, dedicated by Wing-Shan
 vii

Contents

About the Authors xiii

Preface xv
Acknowledgments xix
Nomenclature xxi
Abbreviations xxiii
About the Companion Website xxv

1 Signal Sampling 1
1.1 Sampling and Bandlimited Signal 1
1.2 Unitary Transform 4
1.2.1 Discrete Fourier Transform 4
1.3 Quantization 5
1.3.1 Quantization and Sampling Interaction 7
1.4 Sampled Function Approximation: Fitting and Interpolation 8
1.4.1 Zero-Order Hold (ZOH) 10
1.4.2 First-Order Hold (FOH) 10
1.4.3 Digital Interpolation 12
1.5 Book Organization 12
1.6 Exercises 15

2 Digital Image 17
2.1 Digital Imaging in MATLAB 21
2.2 Current Pixel and Neighboring Pixels 23
2.3 Frequency Domain 24
2.3.1 Transform Kernel 28
2.4 2D Filtering 28
2.4.1 Boundary Extension and Cropping 30
2.4.1.1 Constant Extension 31
2.4.1.2 Periodic Extension 31
2.4.1.3 Symmetric Extension 32
2.4.1.4 Infinite Extension 32
2.4.1.5 Cropping 33
2.5 Edge Extraction 34
2.5.1 First-Order Derivative Edge Detection Operators 36
viii Contents

2.5.1.1 Sobel Operator 37

2.5.2 Second-Order Derivative and Zero-Crossing Edge Detector 40
2.5.2.1 Laplacian Operator 41
2.5.2.2 Gaussian Smoothing 42
2.6 Geometric Transformation 45
2.6.1 Translation 46
2.6.2 Reflection 47
2.6.3 Scaling 47
2.6.4 Rotation 49
2.6.5 Affine Transformation 50
2.7 Resize an Image 51
2.7.1 Interpolation 51
2.7.2 Decimation 54
2.7.2.1 Direct Subsampling 55
2.7.2.2 Sinc Filter 55
2.7.2.3 Block Averaging 56
2.7.3 Built-in Image Resizing Function in MATLAB 57
2.8 Color Image 58
2.8.1 Color Filter Array and Demosaicing 60
2.8.2 Perceptual Color Space 60
2.9 Noise 62
2.9.1 Rank Order Filtering 65
2.9.2 Smoothing Filtering 65
2.10 Summary 67
2.11 Exercises 67

3 Image Quality 71
3.1 Image Features and Artifacts 72
3.1.1 Aliasing (Jaggy) 73
3.1.2 Smoothing (Blurring) 74
3.1.3 Edge Halo 74
3.1.4 Ringing 75
3.1.5 Blocking 75
3.2 Objective Quality Measure 75
3.2.1 Mean Squares Error 77
3.2.2 Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio 78
3.2.3 Edge PSNR 79
3.3 Structural Similarity 81
3.3.1 Luminance 83
3.3.2 Contrast 84
3.3.3 Structural 84
3.3.4 Sensitivity of SSIM 85
3.3.4.1 K1 Sensitivity 85
3.3.4.2 K2 Sensitivity 86
3.4 Summary 88
3.5 Exercises 88
 Contents ix

4 Nonadaptive Interpolation 91
4.1 Image Interpolation: Overture 92
4.1.1 Interpolation Kernel Characteristics 94
4.1.2 Nearest Neighbor 94
4.1.3 Bilinear 98
4.1.4 Bicubic 103
4.2 Frequency Domain Analysis 110
4.3 Mystery of Order 111
4.4 Application: Affine Transformation 113
4.4.1 Structural Integrity 116
4.5 Summary 118
4.6 Exercises 120

5 Transform Domain 123

5.1 DFT Zero Padding Interpolation 125
5.1.1 Implementation 127
5.2 Discrete Cosine Transform 132
5.2.1 DCT Zero Padding Interpolation 134
5.3 DCT Zero Padding Image Interpolation 138
5.3.1 Blocked Transform 138
5.3.2 Block-Based DCT Zero Padding Interpolation 140
5.3.2.1 Does Kernel Size Matter 142
5.4 Overlapping 144
5.5 Multi-Kernels 149
5.5.1 Extendible Inverse DCT 149
5.6 Iterative Error Correction 152
5.7 Summary 156
5.8 Exercises 157

6 Wavelet 161
6.1 Wavelet Analysis 162
6.1.1 Perfect Reconstruction 163
6.1.2 Multi-resolution Analysis 164
6.1.3 2D Wavelet Transform 166
6.2 Wavelet Image Interpolation 168
6.2.1 Zero Padding 168
6.2.2 Multi-resolution Subband Image Estimation 170
6.2.3 Hölder Regularity 176
6.2.3.1 Local Regularity-Preserving Problems 177
6.3 Cycle Spinning 179
6.3.1 Zero Padding (WZP-CS) 179
6.3.2 High Frequency Subband Estimation (WLR-CS) 181
6.4 Error Correction 184
6.5 Which Wavelets to Use 186
6.6 Summary 187
6.7 Exercises 188
x Contents

7 Edge-Directed Interpolation 191

7.1 Explicit Edge-Directed Interpolation 193
7.2 Implicit Edge-Directed Interpolation 196
7.2.1 Canny Edge Interpolation (CEI) 197
7.2.2 Edge-Based Line Averaging (ELA) 198
7.2.3 Directional-Orientation Interpolation (DOI) 199
7.2.4 Error-Amended Sharp Edge (EASE) 201
7.3 Summary 208
7.4 Exercises 209

8 Covariance-Based Interpolation 211

8.1 Modeling of Image Features 212
8.2 Interpolation by Autoregression 213
8.3 New Edge-Directed Interpolation (NEDI) 215
8.3.1 Type 0 Estimation 220
8.3.2 Type 1 Estimation 222
8.3.3 Type 2 Estimation 223
8.3.4 Pixel Intensity Correction 225
8.3.5 MATLAB Implementation 226
8.4 Boundary Extension 228
8.5 Threshold Selection 231
8.6 Error Propagation Mitigation 233
8.7 Covariance Window Adaptation 238
8.7.1 Prediction Window Adaptation 239
8.7.2 Mean Covariance Window Adaptation 241
8.7.3 Enhanced Modified Edge-Directed Interpolation (EMEDI) 242
8.8 Iterative Covariance Correction 249
8.8.1 iMEDI Implementation 255
8.9 Summary 260
8.10 Exercises 261

9 Partitioned Fractal Interpolation 263

9.1 Iterated Function System 264
9.1.1 Banach Fixed-Point Theorem 264
9.2 Partitioned Iterative Function System 266
9.3 Encoding 269
9.3.1 Range Block Partition 269
9.3.2 Domain Block Partition 270
9.3.3 Codebook Generation 271
9.3.4 Grayscale Scaling 274
9.3.5 Fractal Encoding Implementation 276
9.4 Decoding 277
9.4.1 Does Size Matter 281
9.5 Decoding with Interpolation 283
9.5.1 From Fitting to Interpolation 285
 Contents xi

9.6 Overlapping 287

9.7 Summary 289
9.8 Exercises 290

Appendix MATLAB Functions List 291

Bibliography 295

Index 299
 xiii

About the Authors

Chi-Wah Kok was born in Hong Kong. He was granted with a PhD degree from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison. Since 1992, he has been working with various
semiconductor companies, research institutions, and universities, which include
AT&T Labs Research, Holmdel, SONY U.S. Research Labs, Stanford University, Hong
Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City
University of Hong Kong, Lattice Semiconductor, etc. In 2006, he founded Canaan
Semiconductor Ltd., a fabless IC company with products in mixed-signal IC, high
performance audio amplifier, and high-power MOSFETs and IGBTs. Dr. Kok embraces
new technologies to meet the fast-changing market requirements. He has extensively
applied signal processing techniques to improve the circuit topologies, designs, and
fabrication technologies within Canaan. This includes the application of semidefinite
programming to circuit design optimization, abstract algebra in switched capacitor
circuit topologies, and nonlinear optimization method to optimize high voltage
MOSFET layout and fabrication. He was MPEG (MPEG 4) and JPEG (JPEG 2000)
standards committee member. He is the founding editor in chief of the journal Solid
State Electronics Letters since 2017. He is also the author of three books by Prentice
Hall and Wiley-IEEE and has written numerous papers on digital signal processing,
multimedia signal processing, and CMOS circuits, devices, fabrication process, and
reliability.

Wing-Shan Tam was born in Hong Kong. She received her PhD degree in electronic
engineering from the City University of Hong Kong. She has been working in different
telecommunication and semiconductor companies since 2004 and is currently the engi-
neering manager of Canaan Semiconductor Ltd., where she works on both advanced
CMOS sensor design and high-power device structure and process development.
Dr. Tam has participated in professional services actively, in which she has been the
researcher in different universities since 2007. She has been the invited speaker for
different talks and seminars in numerous international conferences and renowned
universities. She has served as guest editor in several journals published by IEEE
and Elsevier. She is the founding editor of the journal Solid State Electronics Letters
since 2017. She is the co-author of another Wiley-IEEE technology textbook and
research papers with award quality. Her research interests include image interpolation
algorithm, color enhancement algorithm and mixed-signal integrated circuit design
for data conversion and power management, and device fabrication process and new
device structure development.
 xv

Preface

The process of deriving real-world application from scientific knowledge is usually a

very, very long process. However, with the advancement in complementary metal oxide
semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, and its application in handheld device, image
interpolation has rapidly migrated from complex mathematics and academic publica-
tions to everyday applications in smartphones, laptops and tablets. Image interpolation
has become a red-hot research topic in both academia and industry. One of the highly
cited academic works in image interpolation is authored by Dr. Tam, which is an excerpt
from her master thesis. Her work is also the origin of this book. However, this book is
not intended to be a memoir of the work done by Dr. Tam and her research group; it
is intended to be the course materials for senior- and graduate-level courses, training
materials for engineers, and also a reference text for readers who are working in the
field of digital imaging.
All the image interpolation algorithms discussed in this book will include both theo-
ries, where detailed analytic analysis are derived, and implementations through MAT-
LAB into useful tools. Numerous algorithms are reviewed in this book together with
detailed discussions on their origins, performances, and limitations. We are particu-
larly happy with the numerical simulations presented for all the algorithms described in
this book to clarify the observable but difficult to explain image interpolation artifacts,
as the author shares the well-known Chinese saying that a picture is worth a thousand
words. Furthermore, many of our unpublished works are included in this book, where
new algorithms are developed to overcome various limitations.
This book is authored as much as it is collected. We have tried our best to cite refer-
ences whenever we are aware of related works on the topics. However, we suspect that
some topics may have been independently studied by many individuals, and thus we
might have missed their citation. Over 30 years of research works are collected in one
place, and we presented each selected topics in a self-contained format. If you are inter-
ested in further reading on any of these topics, you should look into the cited references
and the Summary sections at the end of each chapter in this book. On a subject such
as this one, which has been continuously investigated for over half a century, inevitably
a number of valuable research results are not included in this book. It is nonetheless
expected that the contents of this book will enable the careful readers to independently
explore the more advanced image interpolation/processing technique.
xvi Preface

Although much of the materials covered by this book are new to most students,
our goal is to provide a working knowledge of various image interpolation algorithms
without the need for additional course work besides freshman-level engineering math-
ematics and a junior-level matrix lab programming. To perform numerical simulation
using computer, we must use a language that a computer can understand. This is why
we choose to use MATLAB in this book, because MATLAB is not only a computer
language. MATLAB, which is built with matrix data structure, is also a language of
arithmetic. Once the MATLAB implementation of the algorithms have been learned,
it will be fairly straightforward to implement them in other computer languages and
VHDL for hardware synthesis. While almost all the MATLAB example codes presented
in this book are co-developed from the basic and do not require any toolbox to run
with, in Chapter 6, the author just cannot resist to make use of the wavelet toolbox
developed by Prof. T.Q. Nguyen of UCSD who is also the PhD adviser of Dr. Kok
back in the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The toolbox has made everything easy,
which definitely helped the readers to understand the topics and ease their practical
implementation tremendously.
The book is divided into nine chapters. Chapter 1 provides an account of basic
signal processing and mathematical tools used in subsequent chapters. It also serves
the purpose of getting the readers to be familiar with the mathematical notations
adopted in the book. Chapter 2 introduces the important concepts of digital imaging
and the operations that are useful to image interpolation algorithms. The quality
and performance measures between the processed image and the original image are
presented in Chapter 3. The human visual system that is first discussed in Chapter 2
will be extended here for the discussion of the structural similarity quality index. The
nonparametric image interpolation algorithm developed around algebraic functions
are presented in Chapter 4. This chapter ends with a discussion on the deficiency of
nonadaptive interpolation methods. Chapter 5 discusses the interpolation by Fourier
and other orthogonal series. We are particularly interested in interpolating image in the
discrete cosine transform domain, which is motivated by current trends in international
image compression and storage standards. The blocking noise resulted from transform
domain zero padding interpolation with small block size is alleviated by variations
of overlap and add interpolation techniques. An iterative algorithm is presented to
improve the least squares solution of the conventional transform coefficients zero
padding image interpolation algorithm. Note that iterative image interpolation algo-
rithms are considered to be offline image interpolation algorithms. More about iterative
interpolation algorithm that helps to maintain the original pixel values while improving
the performance of the non-iterative image interpolation algorithms will be presented
in subsequent chapters. Chapter 6 extends the block-based transform domain image
interpolation to the wavelet domain. A number of the techniques presented in previous
chapters are applicable to the wavelet domain image interpolation too, and various
researchers have been given them different names in the literature. The performance
of wavelet image interpolation can be improved by exploiting the scale-space rela-
tionships obtained by multi-resolution analysis through wavelet transform (a version
of the human visual system). The explicit edge detection-based image interpolation
methods discussed in Chapter 7 interpolate the image according to the edge-directed
image perception property of human visual system. Various edge-directed interpolation
methods will be discussed where edges are explicitly obtained by various edge detection
 Preface xvii

methods discussed in Chapter 2, and implicit edge detection methods that the nature of
the pixels to be interpolated is determined in the course of the estimation. The chapter
concludes with discussions on the pros and cons of edge-directed image interpolation
algorithm using explicit edge detection. Another type of edge-detected image interpo-
lation method will be presented in Chapter 8, which is based on the edge geometric
duality where a covariance-based implicit edge location and estimation method will
interpolate the image along the edge to achieve good visual quality. Digital signal
processing theory tells us that there is always room to improve the solutions of any
estimation problem. Various improvements to the edge-directed interpolation problem
will be discussed in this chapter to improve the preservation of edge geometric duality
between the original image and the interpolated image, to reduce the interpolation
error propagation by removing inter-processing dependence, and finally to improve the
estimation solution through an iterative re-estimation algorithm. The book changes its
course from linear statistical-based interpolation technique to fractal interpolation in
Chapter 9.
It should be noticed that fractal is usually not considered to be a statistical-based
interpolation algorithm. On the other hand, the generation of fractal map is based on
similarity between image features, where the similarity is computed or classified via the
statistics of the image or image blocks. Finally, an iterative algorithm is presented to
improve the fractal image interpolation algorithm with the constraint that the original
low-resolution image is the pivot of the interpolated image, i.e. the location and inten-
sity invariance of the low-resolution image in the interpolation image is guaranteed. The
advantage of such algorithmic constraint not only allows the preservation of the original
low-resolution image pixel values in the interpolated image but also ensures the high-
est preservation of the structure property of the interpolated image. As a result, fractal
image interpolation has been embedded in a number of successful image processing
softwares. The book concludes with an appendix that lists all the MATLAB source codes
discussed in the book.
Many people have contributed, directly or indirectly, over a long period of time, to the
subjects presented in this book. Their contributions are cited appropriately in this book,
and also in the Summary section at the end of each chapter. The Summary sections also
aimed to detail the state-of-the-art development with respect to the topics discussed
in each chapter. The exercises presented in the Exercise sections are essential parts of
this text and often provide a discovery-like experience regarding the associated top-
ics. It is our hope that the exercises will provide general guidelines to assist the readers
to design new image interpolation algorithms for their own applications. The readers’
effort spent on tackling the exercises will help them to develop a thorough considera-
tion on the design of image processing algorithms for their future career in research and
development in the field.
The book is definitely not meant to represent a comprehensive history about the devel-
opment of image interpolation algorithms. On the other hand, it does provide a not so
short review, which chronologically follows the evolution of some of the image interpo-
lation algorithms that have direct implications on commercially available image process-
ing softwares. In particular, we avoided with our best effort to provide a comprehensive
survey of every image interpolation algorithms in literature and market. Instead, our
selection of topics is on the importance of the algorithms with respect to their appli-
cations in image processing softwares in today’s or near-future market. Our hope is
xviii Preface

that the book offers the readers a range of interesting topics and the current state-of-
the-art image interpolation methods. In simple terms, image interpolation is an open
problem that has no definite winner. Analyzing the design and performance trade-offs
and proposing a range of attractive solutions to various image interpolation problems
are the basic aims of this book. The book will underline the range of design considera-
tions in an unbiased fashion, and the readers will be able to glean information from it in
order to solve their own particular image interpolation problems. Most of all, we hope
that the readers will find it an enjoyable and relatively effortless reading, providing them
with intellectual stimulation.

Hong Kong, August 2018 Chi-Wah Kok

Wing-Shan Tam
 xix

Acknowledgments

Dr. Kok would like to thank his wife Dr. Annie Ko, an extraordinary woman with abiding
faith in Christianity. He has acknowledged her in his previous book for her enormous
contributions to his life – and still do. He thanks her for her encouragement, and she cre-
ated enough time for him to write the book while being granted with tenure and awarded
the best teaching award in her university. She has been his inspiration and motivation
for continuing to improve his knowledge and move his career forward.
Dr. Kok would also like to thank Dr. Cindy Tam for allowing him to put up with far too
many side projects while writing this book. He appreciates her belief in him to provide
the leadership and knowledge to make this book a reality. She has provided research
insights along the way, working with him to complete each chapter with the appropri-
ate MATLAB sources and analytic details through revision and re-revision, pouncing
on obscurities, decrying omissions, correcting misspelling, redrawing figures, and often
making her life very much more difficult by his unrelenting insistence that the text and
figures could be more literate, accurate, and intelligible. He is very pleased to see his
illegible red marginalia have found their way into the text of this book. The last but not
the least, he would like to thank her for contributing the beautiful photo of “BeBe” both
as the designated simulation image source for all the examples and also the cover image
of the book. This lovely cat is Dr. Tam’s domestic cat, and the best model for image inter-
polations, because it contains all the necessary image features that can demonstrate the
visual artifacts and performance of various image interpolation algorithms.
Dr. Tam is glad to write her second book with the topic on image interpolation, the
same topic as her master thesis. This book project gives her precious opportunities
to review the work done in her early years of research and a chance to refresh her
knowledge with the ongoing technology development and to explore new research
breakthroughs in the field. An interesting research topic always begins with some
extraordinary idea. Dr. Tam would like to thank her best mentor and collaborator,
Dr. Kok, who introduced and inspired her in this interesting topic.
Dr. Tam would not be able to finish her master thesis, and all other industrial and
research projects, without the patience and guidance of Dr. Kok. Though sometimes
the collaboration is challenging and bumpy, Dr. Tam believes all the experience and
knowledge gained from their collaboration have laid the cornerstone for her future, both
personally and professionally.
Dr. Tam would not be able to continue her research career without the love and sup-
port from her family. She would like to thank her mother, Gloria, for her love and sup-
port, offering her a warm shelter to rest her tired and frustrated body and mind for all
xx Acknowledgments

these years, and her father, Simon, now in heaven watching and praying for her. Dr. Tam
has inherited her father’s spirit in striving for perfection, which keeps her moving and
be a better researcher.
Her father would be happy to see the publication of her second book and all her
research papers. Thanks also go to her sister Candy, brother-in-law Kelvin, niece Clarice,
and nephew Kayven who have brought much happiness and laughter to her, the natural
booster to keep her energetic year round.
We are in debt to many people, too numerous to mention. Our sincere gratitude is due
to the numerous authors listed in the bibliography, as well as to those whose works were
not cited due to space limitations. We are grateful for their contributions to the state
of the art; without their contributions this book would not have materialized. In partic-
ular, we have to express exceptional and sincere gratitude to Dr. Min Li (of University
of California, San Diego, and now Qualcomm) for her PhD research work contributed
to the development of Markov random field-based edge-directed image interpolation.
We are very sorry for the last minute decision to exclude the chapter about Dr. Li’s work
from the book. But our personal communications have made the book to be much better
for the readers.
Despite the assistance, review, and editing by many people, both authors have no
doubt that errors still lurk undetected. These are undoubtfully the authors’ sin, and it
is our hope that the readers of this book will discover them and bring them to our atten-
tion, so that they all may be eradicated. Finally, we acknowledge our thanks to God, who
blessed this book project, through the words of the psalmist, “Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good; His love endures forever” (Psalms 107:1, NIV).

Chi-Wah Kok
Wing-Shan Tam
 xxi

Nomenclature

⌈x⌉: ceiling operator that returns the smallest integer larger than or equal to x
ℤ: the set of integers
ℤ+ : the set of positive integers (great than 0)
ℝ: the set of real numbers
ℂ: the set of complex numbers
AM,N : arbitrary matrix of size M × N constructed by matrix entrance a(m, n)
with AM,N = [a(m, n)]m,n where 0 ≤ m ≤ M − 1, and 0 ≤ n ≤ N − 1
IN : identity matrix of size N × N
2 : the space of all squares summable discrete functions/sequences
2 : the space of all Lesbesgue squares integrable functions
: real part of a number, matrix, or a function
: imaginary part(of a number,
) matrix, or a function
sin(x)
sinc(x): Sinc function x
𝛿: Kronecker delta, or Dirac-delta function, or unit impulse with infinite
size √
j: root of −1 and is equal to −1
−j2𝜋
WN : Nth root of unity and equals to e N
: discrete Fourier transform operator
 −1 : inverse discrete Fourier transform operator
WN : discrete Fourier transform matrix of size N × N; WN = [WNk, ]k, with
0 ≤ k,  ≤ N − 1. The Fourier matrix is of arbitrary size when N is
missing
CM×N : discrete cosine transform matrix of size M × N; the cosine matrix is of
arbitrary size when M × N is missing
⊗: convolution operator
Δx : interval in domain x; the interval domain is arbitrary when x is missing
𝜔: angular frequency
𝜔x : spatial angular frequency in domain x
𝜔Δx : sampling angular frequency with sampling interval Δx in domain x (= Δ2𝜋 )
x
hc (x, Δx ): comb filter impulse response function in domain x with Δx being the
separation between adjacent impulses in the comb filter;
∑∞
hc (x, Δx ) = k=−∞ Δx 𝛿(x − kΔx )
xxii Nomenclature

Hc (𝜔, Δx ): frequency response of the comb filter hc (x, Δx ), i.e.

Hc (𝜔, Δx ) =  (hc (x, Δx )
f (x, Δ): impulse train in analog domain x with Δ being the separation between
∑∞
adjacent{indices = Δ m=−∞ 𝛿(x − mΔ), with
1∕Δ for k = 0,
𝛿(k) =
0 otherwise.
∑∞
f [k, N]: discrete{impulse sequence = N m=−∞ 𝛿[k − mN], with
1∕N for k = 0,
𝛿[k] =
0 otherwise.

A word on notations
1. (Indices) We denote continuous variable (m) and discrete variable [n] induced signals
as x(m) and x[n], respectively.
2. (Vector-matrix) The blackboard bold (A) is used to represent matrix-valued signal
and function, and (x) is used to represent the vector-valued signal and function. The
normal characters (x) are used to represent signal in scalar form.
3. (Rows versus columns) For vector-matrix multiplication written as xA, we may take
vector x as a row vector.
 xxiii

Abbreviations

1D: one-dimensional
2D: two-dimensional
ADC: analogue-to-digital converter
CFA: color filter array
dB: decibel
DCT: discrete cosine transform
DFT: discrete Fourier transform
DoG: difference of Gaussian
DTFT: discrete time Fourier transform
DWT: discrete wavelet transform
FFT: fast Fourier transform
FIR: finite impulse response
FOH: first-order hold
FRIQ: full-reference image quality index
HR: high-resolution
HVS: human visual system
IDCT: inverse discrete cosine transform
IDFT: inverse discrete Fourier transform
IFS: iterated function system
IIR: infinite impulse response
JPEG: joint photographic experts group
LoG: Laplacian of Gaussian
LPF: low-pass filter
LR: low-resolution
MATLAB: high-level technical computing language by MathWorks Inc.
MEDI: modified edge-directed interpolation [59]
MOS: mean opinion score
MRF: Markov random field
MSE: mean squares error
MSSIM: mean structural similarity [63]
NEDI: new edge-directed interpolation [40]
NRIQ: no reference image quality index
PDF: probability density function
PIFS: partitioned iterated function system
PSNR: peak signal-to-noise ratio
xxiv Abbreviations

QMF: quadrature mirror filter

RGB: red, green, and blue color space
RMSE: root mean squares error
RRIQ: reduced reference image quality index
SNR: signal-to-noise ratio
SSIM: structural similarity [63]
YCbCr: luminance, blue chrominance, red chrominance color space
ZOH: zero-order hold
 xxv

About the Companion Website

The companion website for this book is at:

www.wiley.com/go/ditmatlab

The website includes:

• MATLAB soruce code and figure inventory. Figure inventory includes certain figures
from the book in PNG format for the convenience of the readers.
• PowerPoint file for lecturers1
• Solution manual1
Scan this QR code to visit the companion website.

1 PowerPoint file and Solution manual are available under subscription for professors/lecturers who intent
to use this book in their courses.
 1

Signal Sampling

We are living in an analog world that makes it fairly easy to overwhelm our compu-
tation system to process the vast information carried by the analog signal. To process
the analog signal, it will have to be sampled in a way that the sampled signal can be
handled by our computation system. The sampled signal should be able to faithfully
represent the analog signal. With this, it is natural to ask: “Is it possible to reconstruct
the analog signal from the samples?” Such an important question has been answered
by the sampling theorem [56]. The sampling theorem considers the signal sequence f [k]
obtained by uniformly sampling an analog function f (x) with a sampling interval Δx ,
such that
f [k] = f (x)𝛿(x − kΔx ) = f (kΔx ), ∀k ∈ ℤ, (1.1)
where 𝛿(⋅) is a Dirac delta function and ℤ is the set of integers. The sampling theorem
tells us when and how to reconstruct the analog signal f (x) from the sampled signal
sequence f [k]. At the same time, the signal sequence f [k] to be handled by the compu-
tation system is not only a sampled version of f (x) along x; the amplitude of the signal is
also “sampled” by a process known as quantization. We shall discuss the x domain (also
known as the time domain) sampling process in the next section and the quantization
process in Section 1.3. Following the presentation of the sampling theorem, the signal
reconstruction problem is alleviated by means of interpolation and/or approximation.
Other problems that affect the signal reconstruction accuracy, including quantization,
will be discussed in Section 1.3. The quantization problem is an important problem
because the quantization process is lossy, which poses tremendous difficulties in the
recovery of the analog signal. A number of reconstruction methods for imperfect signal
will be discussed subsequently.

1.1 Sampling and Bandlimited Signal

The readers should have studied Engineering Mathematics in their freshman year;
therefore, we shall not discuss the Fourier theorem in detail. Nevertheless, the discrete
Fourier transform (DFT) of sampled signal sequence will be introduced in Section 1.2.1
to familiarize the readers with the mathematical notations used in this book. This book
also assumes the readers have already acquired the basic knowledge about spectral
domain signal processing, and, therefore, this section starts with a formal definition

®
Digital Image Interpolation in MATLAB , First Edition. Chi-Wah Kok and Wing-Shan Tam.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd. Published 2019 by John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd.
Companion website: www.wiley.com/go/ditmatlab
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
Had a bombshell exploded in their midst, it could not have produced
a severer or more painful shock.
Ralph Houston, after the first agonized start and shudder, drew
nearer to her, and paused, pale as death, to listen further, if,
perchance, he had heard aright.
All the others, after their first surprise, stood as if struck statue still.
Major Helmstedt remained nailed to the ground, a form of iron. Deep
and unearthly was the sound of his voice, as, lifting the head of his
daughter from his breast, he said:
“Miss Helmstedt, look me in the face!”
She raised her agonized eyes to his countenance.
All present looked and listened. No one thought by word or gesture
of interfering between the father and daughter.
“Miss Helmstedt,” he began, in the low, deep, stern tone of
concentrated passion, “what was that which you said just now?”
“I said, my father, in effect, that you must not fight; that your cause is
accurst; that the charges brought against me are—true!”
“You tell me that——”
“The charges brought against me are true!” she said, in a strange,
ringing voice, every tone of which was audible to all present.
Had the fabled head of the Medusa, with all its fell powers, arisen
before the assembled party, it could not have produced a more
appalling effect. Each stood as if turned to stone by her words.
The father and daughter remained confronted like beings charged
with the mortal and eternal destiny of each other. At length Margaret,
unable to bear the scrutiny of his fixed gaze, dropped her head upon
her bosom, buried her burning face in her hands, and turned away.
Then Major Helmstedt, keeping his eyes still fixed with a devouring
gaze upon her, slowly raised, extended and dropped his hand
heavily upon her shoulder, clutched, turned, and drew her up before
him.
“Again! let fall your hands; raise your head; look me in the face,
minion!”
She obeyed, dropping her hands, and lifting her face, crimsoned with
blushes, to his merciless gaze.
“Repeat—for I can scarce believe the evidence of my own senses!
The charges brought against you, by the Houstons, are——”
“True! They are true!” she replied, in a voice of utter despair.
“Then, for three years past, ever since your betrothal to Mr. Ralph
Houston, you have been in secret correspondence with a strange
young man, disapproved by your protectress?” asked Major
Helmstedt, in a sepulchral tone.
“I have—I have!”
“And you have met this young man more than once in private?”
“Yes, yes!” she gasped, with a suffocating sob.
“On the day of the festival, and of the landing of the British upon our
island, you passed several hours alone with this person in the
woods?”
A deprecating wave of the hand and another sob was her only reply.
“Once, at least, you received this man in your private apartment at
Buzzard’s Bluff?”
A gesture of affirmation and of utter despondency was her answer.
“The night of that same visit, you secretly left the room of your
protectors for an unexplained absence of several days, some of
which were passed in the company of this person?”
For all reply, she raised and clasped her hands and dropped them
down before her, and let her head fall upon her bosom with an action
full of irremediable despair.
Her father’s face was dark with anguish.
“Speak, minion!” he said, “these things must not be left to conjecture;
they must be clearly understood. Speak! answer!”
“I did,” she moaned, in an expiring voice, as her head sank lower
upon her breast, and her form cowered under the weight of an
overwhelming shame and sorrow.
And well she might. Here, in the presence of men, in the presence of
her father and her lover, she was making admissions, the lightest
one of which, unexplained, was sufficient to brand her woman’s brow
with ineffaceable and eternal dishonor!
Her lover’s head had sunk upon his breast, and he stood with folded
arms, set lips, downcast eyes and impassable brow, upon which
none could read his thoughts.
Her father’s face had grown darker and sterner, as he questioned
and she answered, until now it was terrible to look upon.
A pause had followed her last words, and was broken at length by
Major Helmstedt, who, in a voice, awful in the stillness and depth of
suppressed passion, said:
“Wretched girl! why do you linger here? Begone! and never let me
see you more!”
“Father, father! have mercy, have mercy on your poor child!” she
exclaimed, clasping her hands and dropping at his feet.
“Minion! never dare to desecrate my name, or pollute my sight again.
Begone!” he exclaimed, spurning her kneeling form and turning
away.
“Oh, father, father! for the sweet love of the Saviour!” she cried,
throwing her arms around his knees and clinging to him.
“Wretch! outcast! release me, avoid my presence, or I shall be driven
to destroy you, wanton!” he thundered, giving way to fury, and
shaking her as a viper from her clinging hold upon his feet; “wanton!
courtez——”
But ere that word of last reproach could be completed, swift as
lightning she flew to his bosom, clung about his neck, placed her
hand over his lips to arrest his further speech, and gazing intensely,
fiercely into his eyes—into his soul, exclaimed:
“Father, do not finish your sentence. Unless you wish me to drop
dead before you, do not. As you hope for salvation, never apply that
name to—her daughter.”
“Her daughter!” he retorted, violently, shaking her off, until she fell
collapsed and exhausted at his feet—“her daughter! Changeling, no
daughter of hers or of mine are you. She would disown and curse
you from her grave! and——”
“Oh, mother, mother! oh, mother, mother!” groaned the poor girl,
writhing and groveling like a crushed worm on the ground.
“And I,” he continued, heedless of her agony, as he stooped,
clutched her arm, jerked her with a spring upon her feet, and held
her tightly confronting him.
“I—there was a time when I was younger, that had any woman of my
name or blood made the shameful confessions that you have made
this day, I would have slain her on the instant with this, my right
hand. But age somewhat cools the head, and now I only spurn you—
thus!”
And tightening his grasp upon her shoulder, he whirled her off with
such violence that she fell at several yards distant, stunned and
insensible upon the ground.
Then, followed by his second, he strode haughtily from the place.
Dr. Hartley, who had remained standing in amazement through the
latter part of this scene, now hurried to the assistance of the
swooning girl.
But Ralph Houston, shaking off the dreadful apathy that had bound
his faculties, hastened to intercept him. Kneeling beside the
prostrate form, he lifted and placed it in an easier position. Then,
turning to arrest the doctor’s steps, he said:
“Before you come nearer to her, tell me this: What do you believe of
her?”
“That she is a fallen girl,” replied Dr. Hartley.
“Then, no nearer on your life and soul,” said Ralph, lifting his hand to
bar the doctor’s further approach.
“What do you mean, Captain Houston?”
“That she still wears the betrothal ring I placed upon her finger. That I
am, as yet, her affianced husband. And, by that name, I claim the
right to protect her in this, her bitter extremity; to defend her bruised
and broken heart from the wounds of unkind eyes! Had you had faith
in her, charity for her, I should have accepted, with thanks, your help.
As it is, you have none; do not let her awake to find a hostile
countenance bending over her!”
“As you please, sir. But, remember, that if the assistance of a
physician is absolutely required, my services, and my home also,
await the needs of Marguerite De Lancie’s daughter,” said Dr.
Hartley, turning to depart.
Frank also, at a sign from his brother, withdrew.
Ralph was alone with Margaret. He raised her light form, shuddering,
amid all his deeper distress, to feel how light it was, and bore her
down the wooded hill, to the great spreading oak, under which was
the green mound of her mother’s last sleeping place.
He laid her down so that her head rested on this mound as on a
pillow, and then went to a spring near by to bring water, with which,
kneeling, he bathed her face.
Long and assiduous efforts were required before she recovered from
that mortal swoon.
When at length, with a deep and shuddering sigh, and a tremor that
ran through all her frame, she opened her eyes, she found Ralph
Houston kneeling by her side, bending with solicitous interest over
her.
With only a dim and partial recollection of some great agony passed,
she raised her eyes and stretched forth her arms, murmuring, in
tender, pleading tones:
“Ralph, my friend, my savior, you do not believe me guilty? You know
me so thoroughly; you always trusted me; you are sure that I am
innocent?”
“Margaret,” he said, in a voice of the deepest pain, “I pillowed your
head here above your mother’s bosom; had I not believed you
guiltless of any deeper sin than inconstancy of affection, I should not
have laid you in this sacred place.”
“Inconstancy! Ralph?”
“Fear nothing, poor girl! it is not for me to judge or blame you. You
were but a child when our betrothal took place; you could not have
known your own heart; I was twelve years your senior, and I should
have had more wisdom, justice, and generosity than to have bound
the hand of a child of fourteen to that of a man of twenty-six. We
have been separated for three years. You are now but seventeen,
and I am in my thirtieth year. You have discovered your mistake, and
I suffer a just punishment. It is natural.”
“Oh, my God! my God! my cup overflows with bitterness!” moaned
the poor maiden, in a voice almost inaudible from anguish.
“Compose yourself, dear Margaret. I do not reproach you in the
least; I am here to serve you as I best may; to make you happy, if it
be possible. And the first step to be taken is to restore to you your
freedom.”
“Oh, no! Oh, Lord of mercy, no! no! no!” she exclaimed, in an agony
of prayer; and then, in sudden self-consciousness, she flushed all
over her face and neck with maiden shame, and became suddenly
silent.
“Dear Margaret,” said Ralph, in a tone of infinite tenderness and
compassion, “you have suffered so much that you are scarcely sane.
You hardly know what you would have. Our betrothal must, of
course, be annulled. You must be free to wed this lover of your
choice. I hope that he is, in some measure, worthy of you; nay, since
you love him, I must believe that he is so.”
“Oh, Ralph, Ralph! Oh, Ralph, Ralph!” she cried, wringing her hands.
“Margaret, what is the meaning of this?”
“I have no lover except you. I never wronged you in thought, or word,
or deed; never, never, never!”
“Dear Margaret, I have not charged you with wronging me.”
“But I have no lover; do you hear, Ralph? I never have had one! I
never should have so desecrated our sacred engagement.”
“Poor Margaret, you are distracted! Much grief has made you mad!
You no longer know what you say.”
“Oh, I do, I do! never believe but I know every word that I speak. And
I say that my heart has never wandered for an instant from its
allegiance to yourself! And listen farther, Ralph,” she said, sinking
upon her knees beside that grave, and raising her hands and eyes to
heaven with the most impressive solemnity, “listen while I swear this
by the heart of her who sleeps beneath this sod, and by my hopes of
meeting her in heaven! that he with whom my name has been so
wrongfully connected was no lover of mine—could be no lover of
mine!”
“Hold, Margaret! Do not forswear yourself even in a fit of partial
derangement. Rise, and recall to yourself some circumstances that
occurred immediately before you became insensible, and which,
consequently, may have escaped your memory. Recollect, poor girl,
the admissions you made to your father,” said Ralph, taking her hand
and gently constraining her to rise.
“Oh, Heaven! and you believe—you believe——”
“Your own confessions, Margaret, nothing more; for had an angel
from heaven told the things of you that you have stated of yourself, I
should not have believed him!”
“Oh, my mother! Oh, my God!” she cried, in a tone of such deep
misery, that, through all his own trouble, Ralph deeply pitied and
gently answered her.
“Be at ease. I do not reproach you, my child.”
“But you believe. Oh, you believe——”
“Your own statement concerning yourself, dear Margaret; no more
nor less.”
“Believe no more. Not a hair’s breadth more. Scarcely so much. And
draw from that no inferences. On your soul, draw no inferences
against me; for they would be most unjust. For I am yours; only
yours; wholly yours. I have never, never had any purpose, wish, or
thought at variance with your claims upon me.”
“You must pardon me, Margaret, if I cannot reconcile your present
statement with the admissions lately made to your father. Allow me
to bring them to your memory.”
“Oh, Heaven, have mercy on me!” she cried, covering her face.
“Remember, I do not reproach you with them; I only recall them to
your mind. You have been in secret correspondence with this young
man for three years past; you have given him private meetings; you
have passed hours alone in the woods with him; you have received
him in your chamber; you have been abroad for days in his
company; you have confessed the truth of all this; and yet you
declare that he is not, and cannot be a lover of yours. Margaret,
Margaret, how can you expect me, for a moment, to credit the
amazing inconsistency of your statements?”
While he spoke, she stood before him in an agony of confusion and
distress, her form cowering; her face sunk upon her breast; her eyes
shunning his gaze; her face, neck, and bosom crimsoned with fiery
blushes; her hands writhed together; her whole aspect one of
conscious guilt, convicted crime, and overwhelming shame.
The anguish stamped upon the brow of her lover was terrible to
behold. Yet he governed his emotions, and compelled his voice to be
steady in saying:
“Dear Margaret, if in any way you can reconcile these
inconsistencies—speak!”
Speak. Ay, she might have done so. One word from her lips would
have sufficed to lift the cloud of shame from her brow, and to crown
her with an aureola of glory; would have averted the storm of
calamity gathering darkly over her head, and restored her, a
cherished daughter, to the protecting arms of her father; an honored
maiden to the esteem of friends and companions; a beloved bride to
the sheltering bosom of her bridegroom. A word would have done
this; yet that word, which could have lifted the shadow from her own
heart and life, must have bid it settle, dark and heavy, upon the
grave of the dumb, defenseless dead beneath her feet. And the word
remained unspoken.
“I can die for her; but I cannot betray her. I can live dishonored for
her sake; but I cannot consign her memory to reproach,” said the
devoted daughter to her own bleeding and despairing heart.
“Margaret, can you explain the meaning of these letters, these
meetings in the woods, on the river, in your own chamber?”
“Alas! I cannot. I can only endure,” she moaned, in a voice replete
with misery, as her head sunk lower upon her breast, and her form
cowered nearer the ground, as if crushed by the insupportable
weight of humiliation.
It was not in erring human wisdom to look upon her thus, to listen to
her words, and not believe her a fallen angel!
And yet she was innocent. More than innocent. Devoted, heroic,
holy.
But, notwithstanding this, and her secret consciousness of this, how
could she—in her tender youth, with her maiden delicacy and
sensitiveness to reproach—how could she stand in this baleful
position, and not appear overwhelmed by guilt and shame?
There was a dread pause of some minutes, broken at length by
Ralph, who said:
“Margaret, will you return me that betrothal ring?”
She answered:
“You placed it on my finger, Ralph! Will you also take it off? I was
passive then; I will be passive now.”
Ralph raised the pale hand in his own and tried to draw off the ring.
But since, three years before, the token had been placed upon the
little hand of the child, that hand had grown, and it was found
impossible to draw the ring over the first joint.
Ralph Houston, unwilling to give her physical pain, resisted in his
efforts, saying quietly, as he bowed and left her:
“The betrothal ring refuses to leave your finger, Margaret. Well,
good-morning!”
A smile, holy with the light of faith, hope, and love, dawned within her
soul and irradiated her brow. In a voice, solemn, thrilling with
prophetic joy, she said:
“The ring remains with me! I hail it as the bow of promise! In this
black tempest, the one shining star!”
 CHAPTER XV.
NIGHT AND ITS ONE STAR.

Two years had elapsed since the disappearance of Margaret

Helmstedt.
Major Helmstedt had caused secret investigations to be set on foot,
that had resulted in demonstrating, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
that Margaret Helmstedt and William Dawson had embarked as
passengers on board the bark Amphytrite, bound from Norfolk to
Liverpool. From the day upon which this fact was ascertained,
Margaret’s name was tacitly dropped by all her acquaintances.
It was about twelve months after the disappearance of Margaret that
old Mr. Wellworth died, and his orphan daughter Grace found a
refuge in the home of Nellie Houston.
Ralph Houston was then at home, considering himself quite released
by circumstances from his rash vow of forsaking his father’s house.
Grace, the weak-hearted little creature, permitted herself to mistake
all Ralph’s brotherly kindness for a warmer affection, and to fall
incontinently in love with him.
When the clergyman’s daughter had been their inmate for six
months, Mrs. Houston astounded the young man by informing him
that unless his intentions were serious, “he really should not go on
so with the poor fatherless and motherless girl.”
Captain Houston did not love Grace—but he rather liked her. He
thought her very pretty, gentle, and winning; moreover, he believed
her soft, pliable, elastic little heart capable of being broken!
Since Margaret was lost to him forever, perhaps he might as well as
not make this pretty, engaging little creature his wife. The constant
presence of Grace was an appeal to which he impulsively yielded.
Then—the word spoken—there was no honorable retreat.
Christmas was the day appointed for the wedding. Clare Hartley
consented to officiate as bridesmaid; Frank Houston agreed to act as
groomsman, and Dr. Hartley offered to give the fatherless bride
away.
The twenty-fifth day of December dawned clear and cold. The whole
bridal company that had assembled the evening previous set out at
the appointed hour for the church.
They reached the church a few minutes before nine o’clock. Dr.
Simmons, the pastor, was already in attendance. The bridal party
passed up the aisle and formed before the altar. Amid the solemn
silence that ever precedes such rites the marriage ceremony
commenced.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God,
and in the face of this company, to join together this man and this
woman in holy matrimony; which is commended of Saint Paul to be
honorable among all men; and therefore is not by any to be entered
into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly,
soberly, and in the fear of God. Into this holy estate, these two
persons present come now to be joined. If any man can show just
cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let him now
speak, or else, hereafter, forever hold his peace——”
Here the minister made the customary pause; and then, just as he
was about to resume his reading, there was the sound of an opening
door, and a clear, commanding voice, exclaiming:
“Stop, on your lives! The marriage must not proceed!”
At the same moment all eyes were turned in astonishment, to see a
gentleman, with a veiled lady leaning on his arm, advancing toward
the altar.
The minister laid down his book; the bridegroom turned, with a brow
of stern inquiry, upon the intruder; the bride stood in trembling
amazement. Colonel Houston alone had the presence of mind to
demand, somewhat haughtily:
“Pray, sir, what is the meaning of this most offensive conduct? By
what authority do you venture to interrupt these solemnities?”
The young stranger turned and bowed to the questioner, smiling
good-humoredly as he answered:
“Faith, sir! by the authority conferred upon me by the ritual, which
exhorts that any man who can show any cause why these two
persons may not be united in matrimony, forthwith declare it. So
adjured, I speak—happening to know two causes why these two
persons may not be lawfully joined together. The fair bride has been
for two years past my promised wife, and the gallant bridegroom’s
betrothal ring still encircles the finger of Margaret Helmstedt!”
“And who are you, sir, that ventures to take these words upon your
lips?” now asked Ralph Houston, deeply shaken by the mention of
his Margaret’s name.
“I am,” replied the young man, speaking slowly and distinctly,
“William Daw, Earl of Falconridge, the half-brother of Margaret
Helmstedt by the side of our mother, Marguerite De Lancie, who,
previous to becoming the wife of Mr. Philip Helmstedt, had been the
wife and the widow of Lord William Daw. Should my statement
require confirmation,” continued the young man, “it can be furnished
by documents in my possession, and which I am prepared to submit
to any person concerned.” Bowing to the astounded party, he
retraced his steps.
The silence of amazement bound all the hearers; nor was the spell
broken until the young lady who leaned upon the arm of Lord
Falconridge drew aside her veil, revealing the pale and lovely
countenance of Margaret Helmstedt, and crossed over to the side of
Major Helmstedt, saying:
“Father, the labor of my life is accomplished; my mother’s name is
clear forever!” and overpowered by excess of emotion, she sank
fainting at the feet of her astonished parent.
“Margaret! my Margaret!” exclaimed Ralph Houston, forgetting
everything else, and springing forward. Tenderly lifted in the arms of
Ralph, Margaret was conveyed to the parsonage, and laid on the
bed in the best chamber. Here efforts to restore her to
consciousness were vainly pursued for a long time.
When at last a change came, returning life was scarcely less
alarming than apparent death had been. For weeks she wandered in
a most distressing delirium.
It was about this time that Major Helmstedt and Lord Falconridge
had a long business conversation. The major, being perfectly
assured in regard to his identity and his claims, delivered up into his
lordship’s hands such portion of his mother’s estate as he would
have legally inherited. After the transfer was made, Lord Falconridge
executed an instrument, conveying the whole disputed property to
his sister, Margaret Helmstedt, “and her heirs forever.”
Not until Margaret was fully restored to health was the whole secret
history of her mother’s most unhappy life revealed. The facts,
obtained at intervals, were, in brief, these:
Marguerite De Lancie, tempted by inordinate social ambition, had
consented to a private marriage with Lord William Daw.
His lordship’s tutor, the Rev. Mr. Murray, became a party to the plan,
even to the extent of performing the marriage ceremony. His
lordship’s valet was the only witness. The certificate of marriage was
left in the hands of the bride. The ceremony took place at Saratoga,
in the month of July.
Two months after, early in September, Lord William Daw, summoned
by his father to the bedside of his declining mother, sailed for
England.
Marguerite received from him one letter, dated at sea, and in which
he addressed her as his “beloved wife,” and signed himself, boy-
loverlike, her “adoring husband.” This letter was directed to Lady
William Daw, under cover to Marguerite De Lancie. It was the only
one that he ever had the opportunity of writing to her. It arrived about
the time that the wife first knew that she was also destined to
become a mother.
In the January following the receipt of this letter, Marguerite went
with the Comptons to the New Year’s evening ball at the Executive
Mansion. It was while standing up in a quadrille that she overheard
two gentlemen speak of the wreck of the bark Venture off the coast
of Cornwall, with the loss of all on board.
Marguerite fainted; and thence followed the terrible illness that
brought her to the borders of death—of death, for which indeed she
prayed and hoped; for what a wretched condition was hers! She, one
of the most beautiful, accomplished, and high-spirited queens of
society, found herself fated to become a mother, without the power of
proving that she had ever possessed the right to the name of wife.
As soon as she was able to recollect, reflect, and act, she felt that
the only hope of recognition as the widow of Lord William Daw
rested with the family of the latter; and she determined to go secretly
to England. She made her preparations and departed.
She reached London, where, overtaken by the pangs of maternity,
she gave birth to a son, and immediately fell into a long and
dangerous fever. Upon recovering, she sought the Yorkshire home of
her father-in-law, and revealed to him her position.
Marguerite was prepared for doubt, difficulty, and delay, but not for
the utter incredulity, scorn, and rejection, to which she was subjected
by the arrogant Marquis of Eaglecliff. Marguerite exhibited the
certificate of her marriage, and the sole letter her young husband
had ever had the power to write to her, and pleaded for recognition.
Now the old marquis knew the handwriting of his son, and of his
chaplain; but, feeling outraged by what he chose to consider artifice
on the part of Marguerite, disobedience on that of William, and
treachery on that of Mr. Murray, he contemptuously put aside the
certificate as a forgery, and the letter, beginning “My beloved wife,”
as the mere nonsense of a boy-lover writing to his mistress.
Indignant and broken-hearted, Marguerite took her son and returned
to her native country; put the boy out to nurse, and then sought her
home in Virginia, to reflect, amid its quiet scenes, upon her future
course.
Marguerite’s confidential consultations with various eminent lawyers
had resulted in no encouragement for her to seek legal redress; she
determined to rear her boy in secrecy; and watch if, perchance,
some opportunity for successfully pushing his claims should occur.
Further, she resolved to remain unmarried, and to devote herself to
the welfare of this unacknowledged son, so that, should all his rights
of birth be finally denied, she could at last legally adopt him, and
make him her sole heir. Somewhat quieted by this resolution,
Marguerite De Lancie became once more the ascendant star of
fashion. The greater part of each year she spent in the hamlet in the
State of New York where she had placed her son at nurse,
accounting for her long absences by the defiant answer, “I’ve been
gypsying.”
Thus three years slipped away, when at length Marguerite De Lancie
met her fate in Philip Helmstedt, the only man whom she ever really
loved.
The tale she durst not tell her lover, she insanely hoped might be
successfully concealed, or safely confided to her husband. Ah, vain
hope! Philip Helmstedt, to the last degree jealous and suspicious,
was the worst man on the face of the earth to whom to confide her
questionable story.
They were married; and for a time she was lost in the power that
attracted, encircled, and swallowed up her whole fiery nature.
From this deep trance of bliss she was electrified by the receipt of a
letter, advising her of the sudden and dangerous illness of the
unowned child. Here was an exigency for which she was totally
unprepared. She prayed Philip Helmstedt to permit her to depart, for
a season, unquestioned. This strange petition gave rise to the first
misunderstanding between them. With the terrible scenes that
followed the reader is already acquainted. She was not suffered to
depart.
A subsequent letter informed her of the convalescence of her son.
A superficial peace, without confidence, ensued between herself and
husband. They went to Richmond, where Marguerite, filled with grief,
remorse, and terror, so distractedly overacted her part as queen of
fashion, that she brought upon herself, from wondering friends, the
suspicion of partial insanity.
It was at this time that she received a third letter, advising her of the
nearly fatal relapse of her child.
Knowing from past experience how vain it would be to hope for Philip
Helmstedt’s consent to her unexpected absence, she secretly
departed, to spend a few weeks with her suffering child. She
reached the hamlet, nursed her boy through his illness, and then
placed him to be reared and educated in the family of the poor
village pastor, to whom, for his services as tutor, she offered a liberal
salary.
The Rev. John Braunton was a man past middle age, of acute
intellect, conscientious principles, and benevolent disposition. From
his keen perceptive faculties it was impossible to hide the fact that
the mysterious lady, who took such deep and painful interest in this
child, was other than the boy’s mother.
Having arranged a system of correspondence with the clergyman,
and paid a half year’s salary in advance, Marguerite Helmstedt
departed for her Virginia home, full of intense anxiety as to the
reception she would meet from her husband. We know what that
reception was. Philip Helmstedt must have sacrificed her life to his
jealous rage but that she was destined to be the mother of his child.
He kept his wife from her son for fifteen years.
In the meantime Mr. Braunton, who regularly received his salary,
wondered that he received no more visits from the guardian or
mother of his pupil. As the years passed he expostulated by letter.
Marguerite wept, but could not go.
Some time after this, Braunton suddenly appeared before her on the
island to inform her that her boy, grown restive in his rustic
residence, had run away from home. Nothing could be discovered in
relation to the missing youth, and from this time Marguerite
Helmstedt’s health rapidly declined.
Once more Marguerite saw her son. In the spring of 1814 he
suddenly appeared before her in the uniform of a British soldier—
claimed her assistance, and adjured her to reveal to him his birth
and parentage. His miserable mother evaded his question, besought
him to return to the protection of Mr. Braunton, and, promising to
write, or to see him again, dismissed him.
That visit was the deathblow from which Marguerite never recovered.
She died, and, dying, bequeathed to her daughter the legacy of this
secret.
Having vindicated her mother’s honor, Margaret would now withhold
the particulars of her own perseverance and self-denial in the cause
of her brother. But her father and her lover were not to be thus put
off. Little by little, they drew from the reluctant girl the story of her
devotion to her mother’s trust. The ample income, drawn from her
mother’s legacy of Plover’s Point, had been regularly sent to Mr.
Braunton, to be invested for the benefit of William Dawson; afterward
a correspondence was opened with the young man.
When subsequently they happened to meet that day on Helmstedt
Island, the young man sought to compel, from her lips, the story of
his parentage; but Margaret refused to tell him anything, and spoke
of her mother only as his patroness.
But when he begged to be shown her grave, Margaret consented.
They took a boat and went up the river to the family burial ground at
Plover’s Point. They returned in the evening—the young soldier to
rejoin his comrades—Margaret to rejoin her friends, and to meet
suspicions which she had no power to quell.
It was some weeks after this when the famous attack upon the
parsonage was made, and young William Dawson was taken
prisoner. While upon his parole, an irresistible attraction drew him to
seek Margaret. He visited her in her private apartment, entering and
departing by the garden door. Nellie saw him depart. Margaret
besought him to come no more. After that, he lingered near the
house, and met her in her walks. The spies of Nellie Houston
discovered and reported this interview. Yet again they met in the
woods, where Margaret entreated him not to waylay her.
About that time also, Clare Hartley spoke in the presence of the
young ensign of her own and Margaret Helmstedt’s purposed visit to
Fort Warburton. The visit was not made; but William Dawson,
missing Margaret from her accustomed haunts, wandered off to the
neighborhood of Fort Warburton, where he was taken for a spy, and
as such might have been hung, had he not bribed a messenger to
carry a note to his sister, whom he now knew to be not at the fort.
The messenger, in going away, was seen by Nellie, who naturally
took him to be the young ensign. Margaret obeyed the peremptory
summons, and the same night departed for Fort Warburton. With the
terrible train of misfortunes that ensued, the reader is already
acquainted.
Immediately after the prevented duel and the parting with her lover,
Margaret sought her brother, and, taking the marriage certificate, and
the letter of Lord William Daw, embarked with her brother for
Liverpool.
On reaching England, she immediately sought the Marquis of
Eaglecliff, and laid before him the claims of his grandson. At the first
sight of the young man, the aged peer made an exclamation of
surprise. So great was his likeness to the late Lord William Daw, that
the marquis almost fancied he beheld again his long-lost son.
Legal steps were immediately taken to establish his identity and
confirm his position. Law processes are proverbially slow. In all, it
was about twelve months between the time that William Daw was
acknowledged by his grandfather, and the time when his position as
the legal heir of Eaglecliff was permanently established. And it was
more than two years from the day upon which the brother and sister
had sailed to England, to that upon which they so opportunely
returned to America.
But little remains to be written. With spring, Margaret’s beauty
bloomed again.
In June Ralph Houston led his long-affianced bride to the altar. After
an extended trip through New England, they took up their residence
in the city of Richmond, where Ralph Houston had been appointed to
a high official post.
Lord Falconridge remained through the winter, the guest of his sister
and brother-in-law. Major Helmstedt, of course, took up his abode
with his daughter and her husband.
Honest Frank Houston married Clare Hartley, with whom he lives
very happily at Plover’s Point.
I am sorry that I cannot present poor little Grace Wellworth as a
countess, but, truth to tell, the young earl never resumed his
addresses. So Grace, in fear of being an old maid, accepted the
proposals soon afterward made to her by Mr. Simmons, the minister,
to whom she makes a very exemplary wife.

THE END.

No. 82 of The New Southworth Library, entitled “The Bride’s

Dowry,” is a story in which love, finance, and selfish interest play a
part. It is quite out of the common, and has not one dull page in it
from start to finish.
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

textbookfull.com