“‘Ah, ha! here we are, Lottie! Eddie’s in New York!’ screamed the old parrot, as he jumped down on Lottie’s shoulders.
“‘Ah, ha! here we come, my boy!’ exclaimed Dr. Dodson, as he met me at the door and gathered me by both shoulders, holding me square before him, and gazing into my face with his kind, keen eyes, first drawing me close to him, then pushing me back, as if inspecting some article he intended to purchase. ‘Ah, ha! here we are, my boy, all right! You’ve come out wonderfully; much taller, much better looking; don’t look so green—more polish—not such a booby now, are you, my boy?’
“I did not have time to answer his questions; he pitched them in so thickly and rapidly that I could not have put a word in edge-wise.
“‘Glad to see you home again, my boy! plenty of work to do, lots of patients on hand; you can dive in, you see, right away. Been to see Lottie? Yes, of course you have! had to see her before you came to me. Oh, you sly rascal! had to go to her first, eh? Well, well, well, such is life, you know! I was a fool once myself, when I was young! We are all fools when in love! I was in love with Dolly when she was young; Heaven bless her! I think I am in love with her yet! There, go in, my boy, and see her; she is crazy to see you. Ah, ha! my boy, here we go!’
“Then he shoved me in the house, calling at the top of his voice:
“‘Here, Dolly, our old boy has come at last! hug him first, then scold him roundly for going to see Lottie before coming to see us. Ah, ha! yes he did, a good-for-nothing rascal! Lottie is making a fool of him! Fact is, she is making a fool of herself, also! Well, well, old woman, we were young once, ourselves! you know how it is, yourself!’
“The next morning I sought an interview with Harry, and was deeply pained to see the change that had taken place in his appearance. His face was very pale, his cheeks appeared to be sunken, and his general appearance indicated great mental anguish. The lively smile that used to light up his handsome face in the days of old was absent now. He greeted me kindly, but the tone of his voice made me shiver; it was so melancholy that it startled me.
“‘How is she now?’ I inquired, alluding, of course, to Viola.
“‘Worse all the time—growing more reckless,’ said he, with a mournful shake of the head. ‘For Heaven’s sake, go see her at once.’
“‘Why not go yourself?’ I asked; ‘you could have more influence with her than all the men in the world.’