"The devil!" said the physician. "But what can I do for you in the matter? Surely your lordship does not believe in philtres and love-draughts?"
"Ridiculous!" cried the Earl impatiently. "If you will grant me a few moments, I will explain myself."
Dr. Lascelles folded his arms, threw himself back in the chair, and prepared to listen to his young friend's narrative.
"The lady to whom I am attached," continued the Earl, "is, as I ere now informed you, in every way worthy of an alliance with me; and she is moreover deeply attached to me. She has never loved another, and declares that she never can. No apparent circumstances interfere with our union; and she has done me the honour to assure me that she should be alike proud and happy to own me as her husband. She is entirely her own mistress; and, even if she were not, her friends would present no barrier to our marriage. Yet she refuses me—and for some mysterious cause which she will not explain. I have just left her,—left her in a state of anguish such as I never before witnessed—such as I hope never to behold again!"
"Perhaps she has been guilty of some weakness which she is afraid you would discover?" suggested Dr. Lascelles.
"Oh! no—no," exclaimed Arthur, enthusiastically: "in an unguarded moment—carried away by a hasty suspicion of the kind—I hinted at that possibility,—and I soon repented of my rashness! The lady's countenance flushed with a glow of honest indignation; and, instantly veiling her blushes with her hand, she burst into tears. I could pledge my existence, doctor, that she is purity itself."
"But wherefore do you consult me in the matter?" asked Lascelles.
"You must admit, doctor," answered Ellingham, "that my position is a singular one in reference to the lady of whom I speak. What am I to conjecture? Suspense is terrible; and yet, not for worlds would I again attempt to extort her secret from her."
"The motive may be a physical one," said the doctor.