“I am the happiest man in the world,” he answered.
“I congratulate you. Have you won a case?”
“No; I have won a wife.”
“I congratulate you doubly. Who is the lady?”
“Let me present her to you,” he laughed, taking Ruth by the hand.
Mrs. Hart dropped every thing she held—scissors, spectacles, knitting-bag—struck an astonished attitude, and uttered a sharp cry of surprise. Ruth blushed and smiled. For an instant the two ladies stood off and eyed each other. Then simultaneously they rushed toward each other, and fell into each other’s arms; and then there were tears and kisses and incoherent sounds.
Finally, “I congratulate you trebly,” said Mrs. Hart, turning to Arthur.
For a while every body was very happy and very sentimental.
When, toward midnight, Arthur returned to his own abode, Hetzel asked him where he had spent the evening.
“In heaven,” he replied.