Great was Mr. Middleton's surprise when informed by Dr. Lacey of his

engagement with Julia. Something in his countenance must have betrayed it,

for Dr. Lacey said, "You seem astonished, sir. Are you displeased?"

"Certainly not; I am glad," answered Mr. Middleton. "Yet I confess I was

surprised, for I had never thought of such a thing. Once I had hoped you

would marry Fanny, but since Frank Cameron has rendered that impossible,

you cannot do better than take Julia. She is intelligent, accomplished and

handsome, and although she has some faults, your influence over her will

lead her to correct them."

Unlike this was the reception which the intelligence met with from Dr.

Lacey's negroes.

"What that ar you sayin'," asked Aunt Dilsey of Rondeau, who was

communicating the important news to Leffie.

"You'd better ask," replied Rondeau. "Who do you suppose Marster George is

goin' to fetch here to crack our heads for us?"

"Dun know--Miss Mabel, maybe," said Aunt Dilsey.

"No, sir; Miss Mabel is bad enough, but she can't hold a candle to this

one," answered Rondeau.

"You don't mean Miss July," shrieked rather than asked Aunt Dilsey.

"I don't mean nobody else, mother Dilsey," said Rondeau.

Up flew Aunt Dilsey's hands in amazement, and up rolled her eyes in

dismay. "I 'clar for't," said she, "if Marster George has done made such a

fool of hisself, I hope she'll pull his bar a heap worse than she did

Jack's."

"No danger but what she will, and yours too," was Rondeau's consoling

reply.

"Lord knows," said Aunt Dilsey, "fust time she sasses me, I'll run away

long of Jack and the baby. I'll tie up my new gown and cap in a

handkerchief this night."

Leffie now proposed that her mother should defer her intended flight until

the arrival of the dreaded Julia, while Rondeau added, "Besides, Dilsey,

if you should run away your delicate body couldn't get further than the

swamp, where you'd go in up to your neck first lunge, and all marster's

horses couldn't draw you out."

This allusion to her size changed the current of Aunt Dilsey's wrath,

which now turned and spent itself on Rondeau. Her impression of Julia,

however, never changed, although she was not called upon to run away.

Mrs. Lacey, too, received the news of her son's engagement with evident

dissatisfaction; but she thought remonstrance would be useless, and she

kept silent, secretly praying that Julia might prove better than her

fears. In due course of time there came from Kentucky a letter of

congratulation from Fanny; but she was so unaccustomed to say or write

what she did not feel that the letter, so far as congratulations were

concerned, was a total failure. She, however, denied her engagement with

Frank, and this, if nothing else, was sufficient reason why Julia refused

to show it to Dr. Lacey. Julia knew the chain by which she held him was

brittle and might at any time be broken, and it was not strange that she

longed for the last days of October, when with Dr. Lacey she would return

to Kentucky.




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