Mr. Douglass, when told of the coming event by Mrs. Livingstone, who would trust no one else, expressed much surprise, saying he greatly preferred that the ceremony should take place at his own house.

“Of course,” returned the oily-tongued woman, “of course you had, but even a small wedding party is a vast amount of trouble, and in Nellie’s absence you would be disturbed.  Were she here I would not say a word, but now I insist upon having it my own way, and indeed, I think my claim upon Mabel is the strongest.”

Silenced, but not quite convinced, Mr. Douglass said no more, thinking, meanwhile, that if he only could afford it, Mabel should have a wedding worthy of her.  But he could not; he was poor, and hence Mrs. Livingstone’s arguments prevailed the more easily.  Fortunately for her, John Jr. manifested no inclination to go out at all.  A kind of torpor seemed to have settled upon him, and day after day he remained at home, sometimes in a deep study in his own room, and sometimes sitting in the parlor, where his very unlover-like deportment frequently brought tears to Mabel’s eyes, while Carrie loudly denounced him as the most clownish fellow she ever saw.

“I hope you’ll train him, Mabel,” said she, “for he needs it.  He ought to have had Nellie Douglass.  She’s a match for him.  Why didn’t you have her, John?”

With a face dark as night, he angrily requested Carrie “to mind her own business,” saying “he was fully competent to take charge of himself, without the interference of either wife or sister.”

“Oh, what if he should look and talk so to me!” thought Mabel, shuddering as a dim foreboding of her sad future came over her.

’Lena who understood John Jr. better than any one else, saw that all was not right.  She knew how much he had loved Nellie; she believed he loved her still; and why should he marry another?  She could not tell, and as he withheld his confidence from her, appearing unusually moody and cross, she dared not approach him.  At last, having an idea of what she wanted, and willing to give her a chance, he one day, when they were alone, abruptly asked her what she thought of his choice.

“If you ask me what I think of Mabel,” said she, “I answer that I esteem her very highly, and the more I know her the better I love her.  Still, I never thought she would be your wife.”

“Ah—­indeed!—­never thought she would, hey?” answered John, beginning to grow crusty, and elevating his feet to the top of the mantel.  “You see now what thought did; but what is your objection to her?”

“Nothing, nothing,” returned ’Lena.  “Mabel is amiable, gentle, and confiding, and will try to be a good wife.”

“What the deuce are you grumbling for, then?” interrupted John Jr.  “Do you want me yourself?  If you do, just say the word, and it shall be done!  I’m bound to be married, and I’d sooner have you than anybody else.  Come, what do you say?”