The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Two Destinies, by Wilkie Collins

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Title: The Two Destinies

Author: Wilkie Collins

Release Date: February, 1999 [Etext #1624]
Posting Date: November 18, 2009

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TWO DESTINIES ***

Produced by James Rusk

THE TWO DESTINIES

By Wilkie Collins

The Prelude.

THE GUEST WRITES AND TELLS THE STORY OF THE DINNER PARTY.

MANY years have passed since my wife and I left the United States to pay
our first visit to England.

We were provided with letters of introduction, as a matter of course.
Among them there was a letter which had been written for us by my wife's
brother. It presented us to an English gentleman who held a high rank on
the list of his old and valued friends.

"You will become acquainted with Mr. George Germaine," my brother-in-law
said, when we took leave of him, "at a very interesting period of his
life. My last news of him tells me that he is just married. I know
nothing of the lady, or of the circumstances under which my friend
first met with her. But of this I am certain: married or single, George
Germaine will give you and your wife a hearty welcome to England, for my
sake."

The day after our arrival in London, we left our letter of introduction
at the house of Mr. Germaine.

The next morning we went to see a favorite object of American interest,
in the metropolis of England--the Tower of London. The citizens of the
United States find this relic of the good old times of great use in
raising their national estimate of the value of republican institutions.
On getting back to the hotel, the cards of Mr. and Mrs. Germaine told us
that they had already returned our visit. The same evening we received
an invitation to dine with the newly married couple. It was inclosed in
a little note from Mrs. Germaine to my wife, warning us that we were not
to expect to meet a large party. "It is the first dinner we give, on our
return from our wedding tour" (the lady wrote); "and you will only be
introduced to a few of my husband's old friends."

In America, and (as I hear) on the continent of Europe also, w