Possibly, he desired,
should they ever meet, that their acquaintance might commence afresh. At
any rate, Sarah was left quite to forget the existence of the young
fellow who watched by her so faithfully; or if by some chance some
recollection of him, as connected with that dreadful season, came into
her mind, it was purely evanescent and without consequence. Mr. Burns,
however, always cherished certain hopes. The reader will recollect his
sadness of heart when he discovered how matters stood between Sarah and
Hiram Meeker. This was owing principally to his honest aversion to
Hiram; but a disappointment lurked at the bottom. It was only the week
before the scene at the preparatory lecture that he had received a
letter from Egerton, written on American soil, advising him of his
return from Europe in a vessel just arrived from Marseilles. Mr. Burns
answered it immediately, inviting him to come at once and make him a
visit; but he breathed not a word of this to Sarah.
Affairs between her and Hiram were brought to a crisis much faster than
Mr. Burns could have anticipated. In short, Dr. Egerton arrived at the
most auspicious moment possible. But I shall not be precipitate. On the
contrary, I shall leave the lovers, if lovers they are to be, to pursue
their destiny in the only true way, namely, through a tantalizing maze
of hopes and fears and doubts and charming hesitations and anxieties to
a denouement, while I return to the proper subject of this
narrative--Hiram Meeker.
Pages:
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214