not long consider this
scheme before he adopted it; and he went to Havana in the steamer which
had brought the letter from Sara. The Medways were still in the city,
for the cottage at Limonar, which was to be their residence, was not yet
ready for their reception. On his arrival Edward found father and
daughter plunged in the deepest grief. However the climate agreed with
Sara, it did not agree with her mother. She was taken sick in a sudden
and violent manner, and in less than three days she breathed her last,
though she was attended by the most skilful resident and foreign
physicians.

Edward's office was now that of comforter, and his presence alone seemed
to save the stricken ones from utter despair. Both father and daughter
leaned upon him, and he faithfully discharged the duties which devolved
upon him. After the funeral of Mrs. Medway, Edward conducted Mr. Medway
and Sara to their new home at Limonar. In a few weeks the poignancy of
their grief was abated; but Edward's presence seemed to be even more
necessary than ever. Tom Barkesdale forwarded his letters and cashed his
drafts in New Orleans; and the Honorable Mr. Montague in Maine had no
suspicion that his son was not reading law in the Crescent City.

Two months after the death of Mrs. Medway, Edward Montague was privately
married, by an English clergyman, to Sara Medway. The circumstances
seemed to justify the breaking through of the ordinary proprieties which
regulate the interval between a funeral and a wedding. This event seemed
to sweep away all the clouds which lowered over the happiness of the
young people.

Edward had made up his mind to face the wrath of his father, but he
desired to postpone the tempest as long as possible. He wrote to Tom a
full account of the step he had taken, and that worthy assured him he
could conceal his marriage for an indefinite period. The young husband
did not flatter himself that even a year could elapse before the
momentous secret would be exposed. There were scores of invalids at
Limonar, but, fortunately, none who recognized him or the Medways. He
was very happy in his new relation, and the health of his wife appeared
to be completely restored.

Letters came regularly from his father--brief, business-like epistles,
in which the old gentleman, in his clumsy way, expressed his affection
for his son. Edward used his spare time in reading law and studying the
Spanish language.

In the spring Edward's letters, in ac