Tempest and Sunshine

So Mrs. Miller returned to the parlor, and said Fanny was not feeling very

well and wished to be excused.

Stanton and Raymond passed a very pleasant evening, and ere its close they

had arranged with Mrs. Crane for rooms and board. On their way to the

hotel, Raymond suddenly exclaimed, "I say, Bob, I'm head over heels in

love!"

"In love with whom?" was Stanton's quiet reply.

"In love with whom?" repeated Raymond. "Why, Bob, is it possible your head

is so full of Nellie Ashton that you do not know that we have been in

company this evening with a perfect Hebe, an angel, a divine creature?"

"Please stop," said Stanton, "and not deal in so many superlatives. Which

of the fair ladies made such havoc with your heart? Was it Mrs. Crane?"

"Mrs. Crane! Witch of Endor just as soon," answered Raymond. "Why, man

alive, 'twas the beautiful Mrs. Carrington. I tell you what, Bob, my

destiny is upon me and she is its star. I see in her my future wife."

"Why, Fred," said Mr. Stanton, "are you crazy? Mrs. Carrington is at least

nearly thirty-five, and you are not yet twenty-five."

"I don't care for that," replied Raymond. "She may be thirty, and she may

be a hundred, but she looks sixteen. Such glorious eyes I never saw. And

she almost annihilated me with one of her captivating smiles. Her name,

too, is my favorite."

"Her name? Pray, how did you learn her name?" asked Stanton.

"Why," answered Raymond, "you know we were talking together a part of the

evening. Our conversation turned upon names, and I remarked that Ida was

my favorite. Bob, you ought to have seen her smile as she told me Ida was

her own name. Perhaps I said something foolish, for I replied that Ida was

a beautiful name and only fitted for such as she; but she smiled still

more sweetly and said I knew how to flatter."

"Well," answered Stanton. "I hardly think you will win her, if what our

friend Ashton said is true. You have no million to offer her."

"Oh, fly on your million!" said Raymond. "She's got to have me any way. If

I can't get her by fair means, I'll resort to stratagem."

Thus the young man raved for nearly half an hour about Mrs. Carrington,

whose handsome features, glossy curls, bright eyes, brilliant complexion

and agreeable manners had nearly turned his head. Mrs. Carrington, too,

had received an impression. There was something in Raymond's dashing

manner, which she called "air," and she felt greatly pleased with his

flattering compliments. She thought he would be a very pleasant companion

to flirt with for an hour or two; but could she have known what his real

intentions concerning her were she would have spurned him with contempt--as

she afterward did.