Tempest and Sunshine

A few days after Fanny's return there came cards of invitation for a large

party at the residence of a Mr. C----. The evening was propitious, and at

the usual hour Mrs. C----'s parlors were filled with the beauty and fashion

of the city. Among all the belles who that evening graced the brilliantly

lighted drawing rooms, none was so much admired as Julia Middleton, who

appeared dressed in a rich crimson velvet robe, tastefully trimmed with

ermine. Magnificent bracelets, which had cost her father almost as many

oaths as dollars, glittered on her white, rounded arms. Her snowy neck,

which was also uncovered, was without ornament. Her glossy hair, dark as

night, was arranged in the most becoming manner.

At the time Mr. Middleton had given Julia her bracelets, he had presented

Fanny with a bandeau of pearls. But Julia found it an easy task to

persuade her sister that pearls were not becoming to her style of beauty;

so on the evening of the party they gleamed amid the heavy braids of

Julia's hair. Wherever she went she was followed by a train of admirers,

who had little thought that that soft smile and beautiful face concealed a

heart as hard as the flinty rock.

Contrary to all the rules of propriety, the heartless Mrs. Carrington was

there, dealing out her fascinating smiles and bland words. She had thrown

aside her mourning for the occasion and was arrayed in a dress of black

velvet. An elegant lace bertha covered her white, beautiful neck, while

one of her fair arms was clasped by a diamond bracelet. To this bracelet

was attached a small locket which contained the daguerreotype of him, upon

whose quiet grave the suns of scarce five months had risen and set. Amid

that brilliant scene she had no thought for the dead, but others wondered

much that he should be so soon forgotten. She was attended by Raymond, who

scarcely left her side during the whole evening, although she made several

ineffectual attempts to shake him off, for she did not care to be too much

noticed by a "poor Yankee schoolmaster."

Henry Ashton was also there, but his attention was wholly engrossed in the

bright eyes and sunny face of Florence Woodburn, who had recently returned

from Philadelphia, where she had been attending for the last two years.

Florence was the only daughter of the Mr. Woodburn, who was mentioned in

the first chapter of this narrative. Her father lived several miles from

the city, but she had friends in town and spent much of her time there.

She was very handsome and very agreeable, and as she would probably be

quite an heiress, her appearance in the fashionable world created a great

sensation.