To her niece Mrs. Kelsey had communicated the result of her

interview with J.C., and that young lady had fallen into a violent

passion, which merged itself at last into a flood of tears, and

ended finally in strong hysterics.

While in this latter condition Mrs. Kelsey deemed it necessary to summon her brother, to whom she

narrated the circumstances of Nellie's illness. To say that the

doctor was angry would but feebly express the nature of his

feelings. He had fully expected that Nellie would be taken off his

hands, and he had latterly a very good reason for wishing that it

might be so.

Grown-up daughters, he knew, were apt to look askance at

stepmothers, and if he should wish to bring another there he would

rather that Nellie should be out of the way. So he railed at the

innocent Maude, and after exhausting all the maxims which would at

all apply to that occasion, he suggested sending for Mr. De Vere and

demanding an explanation. But this Mrs. Kelsey would not suffer.

"It will do no good," she said, "and may make the matter worse by

hastening the marriage. I shall return home to-morrow, and if you do

not object shall take your daughter with me, to stay at least six

months, as she needs a change of scene. I can, if necessary,

intimate to my friends that she has refused J.C., who, in a fit of

pique, has offered himself to Maude, and that will save Nellie from

all embarrassment. He will soon tire of his new choice, and then--"

"I won't have him if he does," gasped Nellie, interrupting her aunt-

-"I won't have anybody who has first proposed to Maude. I wish she'd

never come here, and if pa hadn't brought that woman--"

"Helen!" and the doctor's voice was very stern, for time had not

erased from his heart all love for the blue-eyed Matty, the gentle

mother of the offending Maude, and more than all, the mother of his

boy--"Helen, that woman was my wife, and you must not speak

disrespectfully of her."

Nellie answered by a fresh burst of tears, for her own conscience

smote her for having spoken thus lightly of one who had ever been

kind to her.

After a moment Mrs. Kelsey resumed the conversation by suggesting

that, as the matter could not now be helped, they had better say

nothing, but go off on the morrow as quietly as possible, leaving

J.C. to awake from his hallucination, which she was sure he would do

soon, and follow them to the city. This arrangement seemed wholly

satisfactory to all parties, and though Nellie declared she'd never

again speak to Jed De Vere, she dried her tears, and retiring to

rest, slept quite as soundly as she had ever done in her life.




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