Tempest and Sunshine

Mr. Middleton, who was present, muttered: "Yes, cursed be the one who made

her so!" He knew not that he cursed his own child.

The next day Mr. William Middleton arrived, bringing the intelligence that

Florence and Mabel had accompanied him, and would next evening be present

at the wedding. Slowly the last rays of a bright October sun faded in the

west, giving no sign of the stormy day which was to succeed. Long after

midnight a lone watcher sat by the window in Fanny's room, gazing at the

stars, which looked so quietly on from their distant homes, and praying,

not for herself, but for Dr. Lacey, that he might be happy with her he had

chosen. At last, chilled with the night air, she crept shivering to her

pillow, nor woke again until aroused by the fierce moaning of the autumn

wind, which shook the casement, and by the sound of the driving rain which

beat against the pane. Yes, the morning which dawned on Julia's bridal day

was wild and stormy, but before noon the clouds cleared away and the

afternoon was dry, hot and oppressive, a precursor to the mightier and

more wrathful storm which followed.

About five o'clock there was a noise in the yard, and Kate, who was in

Fanny's room, arranging her young friend's hair, looked from the window

and said, "It is Dr. Lacey. Julia has looked for him for more than three

hours."

Quickly Fanny hurried to the window. She could not meet Dr. Lacey face to

face, but she wished to look at him once more. She was too late, however.

He had entered the house, and soon the sound of his voice reached her ear.

He had not been there long ere he asked for Fanny.

On being told she was sick, he seemed rather disturbed. Possibly, however,

he felt relieved to know she would not be present when he took upon him

vows which should have been breathed to her. Ashton, Florence and Mabel

now arrived, and soon after came Mr. and Mrs. Stanton, accompanied by Mrs.

Carrington, who had been invited because it would not do to slight her,

and who came because she had a mind to!

The ceremony was to take place at seven o'clock, and guests each moment

arrived, until the parlor seemed almost full. Alone in her chamber sat

Fanny, listening to the sounds of mirth, which grated on her ear. Night,

dark and stormy, was gathering over the earth, but a darker night lay

round the heart of the young girl, as she watched from her pillow a dense,

black pile of clouds, which had appeared in the west, and now increased

until the whole sky was overspread, as with a pall of darkness, while

distant peals of muttered thunder announced the coming storm.