t
have been were equally fruitless.

The truth was, that when Miss Hobbs appeared at the threshold of the
door she heaved a deep sigh, and it was this that startled her lover;
but as he had his head in a stooping position, and was busy brushing his
coat, the sound seemed to him to come from the farther end of the room,
which was obscured in darkness. He was not aware that fat ladies' sighs
were proportionate to their size. However, now that his heart's idol was
present, he cared nothing for aught else; so, taking her small hand, he
led her to the window, and they stood gazing with mutual consent at the
starry heavens. Gregory spied them there, and mischievously closed the
door. What conversation ensued is only known to the two who were engaged
in it, but every one noticed that when Ann Harriet reappeared her step
was light if not actually fantastic, and her mild countenance beamed
with a moonlike radiance, so serenely bright as to reveal a heart
buoyant with bliss. Soon after, the company dispersed, and the damsel,
retiring to her dormitory, was soon dreaming sweetly of 'her betrothed,'
and imagined that all the bells in Peonytown were rung on her wedding
day.

Sleep on, Ann Harriet! Thou hast waited long for the happy hour; but
thou wert thyself weighty, and it was fit that thou, too, shouldst deal
deliberately in matters of _'great' weight_.

The next day she informed her uncle of her intention to marry the
accomplished Drummond Dobbs, and received his hearty approval; for
Dobbs's character was good, and without a scar.

The nuptials were to take place without delay, and so Ann Harriet
hastened home to make the requisite arrangements.

CHAPTER III.

'In wedlock a species of lottery lies,
Where in blanks and in prizes we deal;
But how comes it that you, such a capital prize,
Should so long have remained in the wheel?'

MOORE.

Ann Harriet was determined that her wedding should be a romantic one;
she said that it was by no means an every-day affair, and therefore it
should be carried out in a style proportionate to its rarity. After
consulting Mrs. Pendergast, and searching through a pile of 'New York
Dashers,' she was much inclined to a midnight wedding, especially as
Mrs. Pendergast offered to loan her patent lamp for the occasion; but
when they suddenly happened to hear of a marriage celebrated in the wild
and picturesque woods of the White Hills, it was immediately decided
that there was