es. The letter was probably
a mad and senseless affair. That I am prepared to admit now. I sent it
by such a trusty messenger that I knew it would reach the proper hands.
Full of inward anxiety, and with a heavy heart, I went the next day at
twelve o'clock to Green Street. I neared the house. I saw a white form
at the window. My heart throbbed so that it almost burst my bosom. I
came in front of the house. The old gentleman--he was the white
figure--opened the window. He had a great white nightcap on, with a large
bunch of carnations stuck in front of it. He nodded in a friendly way,
so that the flowers waved and quivered; he wafted kisses of his hand at
me, with the sweetest smiles. Just then I caught sight of Pauline, as
well, peeping out from behind the curtains. She was laughing! I had
been standing motionless, like a man under a spell; but when I saw her,
I rushed away like a mad creature. There! you can understand, if you
had any doubt about it before, that this cured me completely; but the
shame of it would not let me rest. As Marzell did later, I went off at
once to join the troops on active service, and nothing but the
adversity of fate prevented us from meeting again.'

"Alexander laughed immoderately over the humorous old gentleman.

"'Then this,' said Marzell, 'was what he was after that time when I
found him with the nightcap; and of course it was your letter that he
was reading to the girls.'

"'Of course,' said Severin; 'and although I can see the absurdity of
the thing now, and think the old gentleman was perfectly right, and
feel really obliged to him for the drasticity and appropriateness of
the dose of medicine he made me swallow, still that adventure of mine
causes me the most intense annoyance, and, to this hour, I can't endure
the sight of a carnation.'

"'Well,' said Marzell, 'we've both been pretty severely punished for
our folly. Alexander, who doesn't seem to have fallen in love with
Pauline till we had gone through with our share of the business, turns
out to have been the wisest of the three: and, for that reason, he has
kept clear of further absurdities, and has none to tell us about.'

"'But, at all events,' said Severin, 'he can tell us how he came by his
wife.'

"Really, my dear old fellow,' said Alexander, 'there's very little to
tell; except that I saw her, fell in love with her, and married her.
But there's one thing connected with it which may interest you, because
my aunt has