The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-07-04
A HERO, OR A HEROINE?
(Conoluded.)
CHAPTER XIV.

CHAPTER XIV.
The doctor received the kndest greeting,
and was overpowered with questions about his
mother, who had been a school friend OF Mrs.
Edgar, and his sisters. He tried to answer
them intelligibly, thinking, however, only Of
Miss Lester, and conscious that she had turned
away to be polite to other guests. Miss Edgar
then introduced him to Jessie's sister Isabel, q
fresh little girl of sixteen, who looked full of
fun and mischief, and she in turn presented
him to a friend, a tall young lacy, who i'm
mediately began to talk to him so fast that he
could hardly keep up with her. Mrs. Edgar
suggested that he should get some ice-cream
for himself and them, and then occupied her
self with other people, considering that her
duties of hospitality to him were performed.
DR.. James went obediently into the next room
and returned, after some difficulties, with ices
and cake, and did his best to be polite. Soon
Isabel was sent into the other room to see
about the children, and the talkative young
lady became engaged in conversation with an
| equally voldble young gentleman, SO that DIR.
James found himself again alone. He put
down his untasted cake, and seeing glass of
wine near him, which seemed to belong to no
one, he drank it and felt rather better. The
solitariness one sometimes feels in q crowd
came over him, and he looked from one strange
face to another, feeling himself completely ont
of place. Mrs. Edgar was absorbed in duties
| of hospitality; Jessie and Philip in the dis.
| tance, during pause in the stream of guests.
were engrossed in each other; even Margaret
seemed to have completely forgotten him, and
he saw her earnestly talking with her hand
some groomsman. He regretted that he lad
! refused to be groomsman no doubt he would
| have been assigned to Margaret, as the CORES
ponding " best friend" and then she would
have been talking to him instead of to that
fellow from which it will be seen that he had
| already arrived at q stage of lover-like incon-
sstency, since his sole motive for declining his
friends invitation had been his dread of en-
couutering Miss Lester.
| He saw that many people were going, and it
came to him as happy thought that he might
go too. He interrupted Mrs. Edgar to shake
| bands again with her, observed that Margaret
| was near the door, and next made his way to
Philip, with whom he had little talk, unsst-
| isfactory, of course but ones best friend must
be excused for being preoccupied on such an
occasion. Philip parted from him with resig-
nation, saying that he must come to California
| and settle, that he wonld do splendidly there
| and make q fortune Such prospect seemed
to the doctor dreary in the extreme; and
owning to himself that he did not at all be-
grudge to Philip his pretty and delicate bride,
he bade her q friendly farewell, and ap-
preached Margaret He was glad to interrupt
| the groomsman in the soto roos remarks he was
| making, and to have Margaret turn at once to
| him and leave her companion to his own re-
| lections.
"Good-by, Miss Lester. go Back to Sealing
this afternoon"
"Good by, DR.. James. am very glad you
| came." That was all; how soon these words
we're said Again he met the straightforward
! look of those clear, brown eyes again he felt
the kind pressure of her hand. Her glove was
of and SO was his, <not accident on his part),
and he felt that her hand was cold. he was
on the point of saying, How pale You are|
but remem bered just in time, that he had mado
that remark before.
In another minute he was outside the door,
driving to the hotel AS he drew his tight
boots from his aching feet, and resumed his
com fortabIe, familiar clothes, he said to him
self:
"Thls episode in my life is closed. 1 must
shut her completely out of my existence, and
20 on as if there were no such woman as Mar
garet Lester"
So he took the FIVE o'clock train, and arrived
safely in Sealing that night.
CHAPTER XE.
MISS BURNEY LEAVES sBELLSEAcH.
One evening, two or three weeks after the
wedding at Newport, DR.. James was sitting
with Miss Burney in her little parlor. They