rang the bell, and ordered his breakfast to be sent up to him.

That afternoon he called on Mabel Mortimer and her cousin. He found the
young ladies in the drawing room, and with them a dark, fine-looking,
middle-aged gentleman, whom Mabel introduced as Mr. Middleton. Something
in the looks as well as name of the stranger made Dr. Lacey involuntarily
start with surprise, and he secretly wondered whether; this gentleman was
in any way connected with the Middletons of Kentucky. He was not kept long
in doubt, for Florence, who was very talkative, soon said, "We were just
speaking of you, Dr. Lacey, and Mr. Middleton seems inclined to claim you
as an acquaintance, on the ground of your having been intimate with his
brother's family in Kentucky."

"Indeed!" said Dr. Lacey; then turning to Mr. Middleton, he said, "Is it
possible that you are a brother of Mr. Joshua Middleton?"

"Yes, sir," returned the stranger, eyeing Dr. Lacey closely; "Joshua is my
brother, but for more than twenty years I have not seen him, or scarcely
heard from him."

"Ah," answered Dr. Lacey, in some astonishment, and then, as he fancied
there was something in Mr. Middleton's former life which he wished to
conceal, he changed the subject by asking Mr. Middleton if he had been
long in the city.

"Only two weeks," he replied, and he proceeded to speak of himself,
saying, "For many years past I have been in the Indies. About the time my
brother Joshua married, my father died. When his will was opened, I
thought it a very unjust one, for it gave, to my brother a much larger
share than was given to me. In a fit of anger, I declared I would never
touch a penny of my portion, and leaving college, where I was already in
my senior year, I went to New York, and getting on board a vessel bound
for the East Indies, I tried by amassing wealth in a distant land, to
forget that I ever had a home this side of the Atlantic. During the first
years of my absence my brother wrote to me frequently, and most of his
letters I answered, for I really bore him no malice on account of the
will. I had not heard from him for a long time, until I reached this
city."

"Are you going to visit Kentucky?" asked Dr. Lacey.

"It is my present intention to do so," answered Mr. Middleton; "but first
I wish to purchase a summer residence near the Lake, and after fitting it
up tastefully, I shall invite my nieces to visit me. You are acquainted
with them, I believe."

Dr. Lacey ans