eighteen and adorable, but
her mother would not hear to a betrothment. I had all my fortune yet to
make. I threw up my hopes and aims and took to commercial pursuits,
which I hated. We exchanged vows and promised to wait, and the end of
it was that she married a handsome young fellow with a fortune. I went
back to my books. A few years afterward I saw her, stout, rosy, and
happy, with her two children, and then--well, I did not want her. The
life she delighted in would have been ashes in my mouth. It was better,
much better. People are not all wise at two-and-twenty."

"If Gertrude had something to do," says Violet, "and that is where men
are fortunate. They can try so many things."

The professor goes on stroking his head, and drops into a revery. "Yes,
it is hard," he says, "it is hard." And he wonders not at the colorless
life.

But he must smoke his pipe and then dress for the party, so he bids
Violet a cordial good evening. She feels a little tired after all the
excitements of the day, and is glad to have Denise put her in bed,
where she lies dreamily and wonders what love is like.

Meanwhile the reception is at its height, and it is certainly a
success. Laura has discriminated in this affair, like a shrewd woman of
the world that she is already. The dinner had to satisfy the _amour
propre_ of old friends; this was allowed a wider latitude. The rooms
are brilliantly lighted, and glow with autumn flowers; the wide out of
doors with its rich fragrance shows in colored tones and blended tints,
sending long rays over the river. Floyd Grandon may well be proud of
his home, and to-night, in spite of some discomforts, he feels that he
would not exchange it for anything he has seen that it was possible for
him to possess. If Violet were only here! How she would enjoy the
lights, the music, the throngs of beautifully dressed women! Floyd
Grandon is no cynic. He admires beauty and grace and refinement, and it
is here at its best, its finest. Not mere youthfulness. There are
distinguished people, who would have gone twice the distance to meet
Mr. Grandon and Prof. Freilgrath. The Latimers are really enchanted,
and Mrs. Delancy rises in the esteem of many who have looked upon her
as simply a bright and pretty girl who has made a good marriage.

Indirectly this is of immense benefit to the business, though that was
farthest from Laura's thoughts. There have been rumors that "Grandon &
Co." have not prospered of late, and