Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. 1"T was usual with Remington and Stoughton to -- remain down-town until late in the afternoon, returning just in time to get ready for dinner. They were apt to walk the distance, so as to obtain a little fresh air and exercise. Sometimes they took the " Elevated," and tried to make a few calls at the afternoon tea-hour. The gay season had begun, and invitations to all sorts of entertainments were pouring in upon them. Their social position gave them the entree to the most agreeable houses in town. One afternoon, shortly after the episode at Del- monico's, Stoughton carried his friend to call on Mrs. Fielding. She lived on Fifth Avenue in the vicinity of Sixtieth Street. The irreproachable manservant who answered the bell had reached a period of life equally removed from the rawness of youth and the seediness of age. With a demeanor subdued, and not too unctuous to be consistent with a proper self-respect, he aided them to take off their overcoats in a large hall, exquisitely furnished in the spirit of the modern school of high art. " What name shall I say, sir ?" " Mr. Remington, please." " Thank you, sir." The servant drew aside the portiere which hung across the doorway of the adjoining room : " Mr. Woodbury Stoughton— Mr. Remington." Remington found himself in a spacious parlor, dim with faint daylight, strained through colored shades, and the afterglow of a wood fire. A maze of low tables, footstools, and other tasteful-looking knick-knacks separated the young men from their hostess, whose sofa was beside the distant hearth. She laid aside the volume which lay open on her lap and rose to greet them with a cordial smile. She was dressed simply, in a loose-fitting costume of some cashmere material of a neutral, greenish-brown tint. A single pale pink ro...