Away! upon this earth beneath
There is no spot where thou and I
Together, for an hour could breathe.—Byron.
General Lyon was the first to break the ominous silence. Turning to the bridegroom, he sternly demanded:
“Sir! what is the meaning of this?”
“Ask your beautiful grand-daughter, sir, who, doubtless, to serve her own pleasure, has lent herself to the basest fraud ever practised upon a man,” answered Alexander, now livid with suppressed rage.
The old gentleman looked gravely upon the laughing face of Anna, and inquired, sadly:
“What is this that you have done, my child?”
Miss Lyon hesitated and looked confused.
“Pray, my dear sir,” said Dick Hammond, taking advantage of the pause and advancing to her rescue, “let me explain this humiliating affair.”