elf. Has he really not
written and told you of his marriage?"

"He has never told me a word of his marriage, though he has written a
dozen or more letters to me within the last few weeks."

"That is very extraordinary. And did you not hear any rumor of it? Did
no one chance to see the notice of it in the papers?"

"No one that I know of. No; I heard no hint of my father's marriage from
any quarter, nor had I, nor any one else at Rockhold or at North End,
the slightest suspicion of such a thing."

"That is very strange. It must have been in the papers," said Sylvan.

"If it was I did not see it, but, then, I never think of looking at the
marriage list."

"I am inclined to think that it never got into the papers. The marriage
was private, though not secret. And you, Sylvan, should have seen that
the marriage was inserted in all the daily papers. It was your special
duty as groomsman. But you must have forgotten it, and I never
remembered to remind you of it," said Cora.

"Not I. I never forgot it, because I never once thought of it. Didn't
know it was my duty to attend to it. Besides, I had so many duties. Such
awful duties! Think of my having to be my own grandmother's church papa
and give her away at the altar! That duty reduced me to a state of
imbecility from which I have not yet recovered."

"But," said Mr. Clarence, with a look of pain on his fine, genial
countenance, "it is so strange that my father never mentioned his
marriage in any of his letters to me."

"Perhaps he did not like to mix up sentiment with business," kindly
suggested Sylvan.

"I don't think it was a question of sentiment," sighed Mr. Clarence.

"What? Not his marriage?"

"No," sighed Mr. Clarence.

"Well, don't worry about the matter. Let us order dinner and engage the
carriage to take us all to Rockhold. How astonished the darkies will be
to see us, and how much more astonished to hear the news we have to
tell! I wonder if they will take kindly to the rule of the new
mistress?" said Sylvan.

"Why did not one of you have the kindness, and thoughtfulness, to write
and tell me of my father's marriage?" sorrowfully inquired Mr. Clarence,
utterly ignoring the just spoken words of his nephew.

"Dear Uncle Clarence, I should certainly have written and told you all
about it at once, if I had not taken for granted that grandfather had
informed you of his intention, as was certainly his place to do. And
even if I had written to you on an