“‘No, no; you shall do nothing of the sort. It was not the rose itself that I cared for, but it was the emblem which would have come with it. May I know who was the lucky donee?’ “‘Certainly you may, for I assure you there is no secret connected with it. I had the _honor_ (she put the accent heavy on the honor) to present the rose to my noble, heroic brother, Edward Demar.’ “Now we should never use extravagant language, and we should worship no living being except God; but on that particular occasion I confess I committed such a sin; though if the recording angel sets it down against me, I believe he will credit me with a partial justification, at least. How could I sit there and hear the most charming woman in America boasting of the _honor_ she had done herself by presenting a rose to me, and not feel an inclination to fall down and worship her? How could I hear her dear voice sounding eloquently in praise of me, without thinking extravagant thoughts? The fact is, I was so much excited that they might have heard the loud throbbings of my heart, if they had listened. I determined, however, to put an end to Mr. Heartsell’s little _tete-a-tete_, because I knew it would please her. I went round on the north side and passed across, coming up to where they stood, and coughed as I approached, in order to notify Lottie of my arrival. “‘Your friends will be curious to know what has become of their fair hostess, Miss Wallingford,’ I observed, as I halted by her side. “‘Ah, thank you, _brother_, for reminding me of my duty,’ she replied, as she took my arm and bowed stiffly to Heartsell. ‘We will finish our little quarrel at another time, sir.’ “‘No, no; the victory is yours, and I make an unconditional surrender. Render unto Cæsar that which is his, but don’t crowd things on him that don’t belong to him.’ “‘That fellow Heartsell is an impertinent scamp, and I mean to tell him so.’ “‘If you do you will displease me beyond measure, for I think he is a perfect gentleman; I am ashamed to say that I have treated him rather unkindly to-night, and I mean to apologize as soon as I have an opportunity.’ “‘Oh! very well, if you love him, you should let him know it by all means!’ “‘See here, Edward, I must request you not to mention Mr. Heartsell’s name in my presence any more to-night; and I will also ask you to excuse me now, as I must really mingle among my guests, and give them some attention.’