were filled with the beauty and fashion
of the city. Among all the belles who that evening graced the brilliantly
lighted drawing rooms, none was so much admired as Julia Middleton, who
appeared dressed in a rich crimson velvet robe, tastefully trimmed with
ermine. Magnificent bracelets, which had cost her father almost as many
oaths as dollars, glittered on her white, rounded arms. Her snowy neck,
which was also uncovered, was without ornament. Her glossy hair, dark as
night, was arranged in the most becoming manner.

At the time Mr. Middleton had given Julia her bracelets, he had presented
Fanny with a bandeau of pearls. But Julia found it an easy task to
persuade her sister that pearls were not becoming to her style of beauty;
so on the evening of the party they gleamed amid the heavy braids of
Julia's hair. Wherever she went she was followed by a train of admirers,
who had little thought that that soft smile and beautiful face concealed a
heart as hard as the flinty rock.

Contrary to all the rules of propriety, the heartless Mrs. Carrington was
there, dealing out her fascinating smiles and bland words. She had thrown
aside her mourning for the occasion and was arrayed in a dress of black
velvet. An elegant lace bertha covered her white, beautiful neck, while
one of her fair arms was clasped by a diamond bracelet. To this bracelet
was attached a small locket which contained the daguerreotype of him, upon
whose quiet grave the suns of scarce five months had risen and set. Amid
that brilliant scene she had no thought for the dead, but others wondered
much that he should be so soon forgotten. She was attended by Raymond, who
scarcely left her side during the whole evening, although she made several
ineffectual attempts to shake him off, for she did not care to be too much
noticed by a "poor Yankee schoolmaster."

Henry Ashton was also there, but his attention was wholly engrossed in the
bright eyes and sunny face of Florence Woodburn, who had recently returned
from Philadelphia, where she had been attending for the last two years.
Florence was the only daughter of the Mr. Woodburn, who was mentioned in
the first chapter of this narrative. Her father lived several miles from
the city, but she had friends in town and spent much of her time there.
She was very handsome and very agreeable, and as she would probably be
quite an heiress, her appearance in the fashionable world created a great
sensation.

During the evenin