traveled together; we were the very opposite of each other. He was
frank, gay, cheerful, always laughing, always with some grand jest on
the tapis--a laughing, sunny, blue-eyed fellow, who was like a sunbeam
in every house he entered; he was always either whistling or singing,
and his bright, cheery voice trolled out such snatches of sweet song
that it was a pleasure to hear him.

I am naturally melancholy, and have a tendency to look always on the
dark side of things. You can imagine how I loved Lance Fleming; the love
that other men give to wives, children, parents and relatives I lavished
on him. I loved his fair, handsome face, his laughing blue eyes, his
sunny smile, his cheery voice; I loved his warm-hearted, genial manner.
In fact, I loved the whole man, just as he was, with a love passing that
of women--loved him as I shall love no other.

Naturally enough, Lance was a great favorite with the ladies; every
woman who saw him loved him more or less. He was quite irresistible
when, in addition to his handsome face and sweet temper, came the charm
of being master of a grand old manor-house, with three thousand per
annum. No wonder that he was popular. The only thing which troubled me
about Lance was his marriage; I always feared it. With his gay,
passionate temperament, his universal admiration and chivalrous manner
of treating the fair sex, it was certain that he would, sooner or later,
fall in love and marry. From what I knew of him, from the innate
conviction of my own love, I felt sure that his marriage would be the
hinge on which his whole life would turn. I was very anxious about it,
and talked to him a great deal about it when we were together.

"If you marry the right woman, Lance," I said to him, "you will be one
of the happiest and most successful men in the world; but if you should
make a mistake, you will be one of the most miserable."

"I shall make no mistake, John. I know that somewhere or other the most
adorable woman in the whole world is waiting for me. I shall be sure to
find her, and fall in love with her, marry her, and live happy forever
afterward."

"But you will be careful, Lance?" I said.

"As careful as a man can be; but, John, as you are so anxious, you had
better choose for me."

"No," I replied. "I made so great a mistake when I had to choose for
myself that I shall never attempt it again."

Circumstances happened that drew me over to America. I had a large
interest in some la