.

The party were all seated, and his the only vacant place.

It was like a hundred other weddings at which he had been; and, seeing
the bride and bridegroom seated together as usual, and the pretty
bridemaids tittering, as usual, and the gentle dullness lighted up with
here and there a feeble jest, as usual, he could hardly realize that
horrible things lay beneath the surface of all this snowy bride-cake,
and flowers, and white veils, and weak jocoseness.

He stared, bowed, and sunk into his place like a man in a dream.

Bridemaids became magnetically conscious that an incongruous element
had entered; so they tittered. At what does sweet silly seventeen not
titter?

Knives and forks clattered, champagne popped, and Dr. Amboyne was more
perplexed and miserable than he had ever been. He had never encountered
a more hopeless situation.

Presently Lally came and touched the bridegroom. He apologized, and left
the room a moment.

Lally then told him to be on his guard, for the fat doctor knew
something. He had come tearing up in a fly, and had been dreadfully put
out when he found Miss Carden was gone to the church.

"Well, but he might merely wish to accompany her to the church: he is an
old friend."

Lally shook his head and said there was much more in it than that; he
could tell by the man's eye, and his uneasy way. "Master, dear, get out
of this, for heaven's sake, as fast as ye can."

"You are right; go and order the carriage round, as soon as the horses
can be put to."

Coventry then went hastily back to the bridal guests, and Lally ran to
the neighboring inn which furnished the four post-horses.

Coventry had hardly settled down in his chair before he cast a keen but
furtive glance at Dr. Amboyne's face.

Then he saw directly that the doctor's mind was working, and that he was
secretly and profoundly agitated.

But, after all, he thought, what could the man know? And if he had known
any thing, would he have kept it to himself?

Still he judged it prudent to propitiate Dr. Amboyne; so, when the time
came for the usual folly of drinking healths, he leaned over to him,
and, in the sweetest possible voice, asked him if he would do them both
the honor to propose the bride's health.

At this unexpected call from Mr. Coventry, Dr. Amboyne stared in the
bridegroom's face. He stared at him so that other people began to stare.
Recovering himself a little, he rose mechanically, and surprised every
body who