irl," thought Florence, "and yet I know I should love
her. I wonder what makes her so sad. Can it be that she really loved that
Mr. Wilmot? At any rate, I am sorry for her and hope she will marry Mr.
Stanton, who seems much pleased with her."

This was the impression left on Florence's mind, which was productive of
much mischief. At a late hour the company dispersed. Fanny returned home,
weary and sick at heart. Her conversation with Florence had awakened
painful reminiscences of the past, and the gray daylight was beginning to
streak the eastern horizon ere her heavy lids closed in slumber. In a few
days Florence Woodburn departed for New Orleans, where her mother's
brother resided. We will take passage with her and pay a visit to Dr.
Lacey in his Southern home.

CHAPTER XI

A GLANCE AT NEW ORLEANS SOCIETY

The house which Dr. Lacey occupied was situated on one of the pleasantest
streets of New Orleans. It was a large, airy structure, which had formerly
been owned by a wealthy French gentleman who had spared neither money nor
pains to adorn it with every elegance which could minister to the
luxurious habits common to a Southern clime. When it passed into the hands
of Dr. Lacey's father, he gratified his Northern taste, and fitted it up
with every possible convenience, molding its somewhat ancient aspect into
a more modern style.

When Dr. Lacey reached the age of twenty-one, his father made him the
owner of the house, he himself removing to another part of the city. At
the time of which we are speaking, nothing could exceed the beauty of the
house and grounds.

The yard which surrounded the building was large, and laid out with all
the taste of a perfect connoisseur. In its center was a fountain, whose
limpid waters fell into a large marble basin, while the spray which
constantly arose from the falling stream seemed to render the heat of that
sultry climate less oppressive. Scattered throughout the yard were the
numerous trees and flowering shrubs which grow in profusion at the "sunny
South." Here the beautiful magnolia shook its white blossoms in the
evening breeze, and there the dark green foliage of the orange trees
formed an effectual screen from the mid-day sun.

The building was surrounded on all sides by a double piazza, the slender
pillars of which were entwined by the flowering honeysuckle and luxuriant
passion-flower, which gave the house