. "There is no good
fellowship, no harmony among the people."

"I will tell you why that is," cried an animated lieutenant; "that is
because there is no house as a point of reunion, where one is sure to
find and make acquaintances, and to be amused, and where each individual
ascertains his own merits by the effect they produce on society at
large."

"Yes, we have had nothing of that kind since the Varniers left us," said
the captain.

"Varniers!" cried Edward, with an eagerness he could ill conceal. "The
name sounds foreign."

"They were not Germans--they were emigrants from the Netherlands, who
had left their country on account of political troubles," replied the
captain.

"Ah, that was a charming house," cried the lieutenant, "cultivation,
refinement, a sufficient competency, the whole style of the
establishment free from ostentation, yet most comfortable; and
Emily--Emily was the soul of the whole house."

"Emily Varnier!" echoed Edward, while his heart beat fast and loud.

"Yes, yes! that was the name of the prettiest, most graceful, most
amiable girl in the world," said the lieutenant.

"You seem bewitched by the fair Emily," observed the cornet.

"I think you would have been too, had you known her;" rejoined the
lieutenant; "she was the jewel of the whole society. Since she went away
there is no bearing their stupid balls and assemblies."

"But you must not forget," the captain resumed once more, "when you
attribute every thing to the charms of the fair girl, that not only she
but the whole family has disappeared, and we have lost that house which
formed, as you say, so charming a point of reunion in our neighborhood."

"Yes, yes; exactly so," said an old gentleman, a civilian, who had been
silent hitherto; "the Varniers' house is a great loss in the country,
where such losses are not so easily replaced as in a large town. First,
the father died, then came the cousin and carried the daughter away."

"And did this cousin marry the young lady?" inquired Edward, in a tone
tremulous with agitation.

"Certainly," answered the old gentleman; "it was a very great match for
her; he bought land to the value of half a million about here."

"And he was an agreeable, handsome man, we must all allow," remarked the
captain.

"But she would never have married him," exclaimed the lieutenant, "if
poor Hallberg had not died."

Edward was breathless, but he did not speak a word.

"She would have been compelled