It was on his lips to send word that he was engaged, but a regard for truth would not let him make this excuse; so, after a little hesitation and debate, he answered that he would present himself during the evening.  The lady’s visitor was a widow of about thirty years of age—­rich, educated, accomplished and personally attractive.  She was from Boston, and connected with one of the most distinguished families in Massachusetts, whose line of ancestry ran back among the nobles of England.  In conversation this lady showed herself to be rarely gifted, and there was a charm about her manners that was irresistible.  Mr. Emerson, who had been steadily during the past five years growing less and less attracted by the fine women he met in society, found himself unusually interested in Mrs. Eager.

“I knew you would like her,” said his lady friend, as Mr. Emerson was about retiring at eleven o’clock.

“You take your conclusion for granted,” he answered, smiling.  “Did I say that I liked her?”

“We ladies have eyes,” was the laughing rejoinder.  “Of course you like her.  She’s going to spend three or four days with me.  You’ll drop in to-morrow evening.  Now don’t pretend that you have an engagement.  Come; I want you to know her better.  I think her charming.”

Mr. Emerson did not promise positively, but said that he might look in during the evening.

For a new acquaintance, Mrs. Eager had attracted him strongly; and his thoughtful friend was not disappointed in her expectation of seeing him at her house on the succeeding night.  Mrs. Eager, to whom the lady she was visiting had spoken of Mr. Emerson in terms of almost extravagant eulogy, was exceedingly well pleased with him, and much gratified at meeting him again, A second interview gave both an opportunity for closer observation, and when they parted it was with pleasant thoughts of each other lingering in their minds.  During the time that Mrs. Eager remained in New York, which was prolonged for a week beyond the period originally fixed, Mr. Emerson saw her almost every day, and became her voluntary escort in visiting points of local interest.  The more he saw of her the more he was charmed with her character.  She seemed in his eyes the most attractive woman he had ever met.  Still, there was something about her that did not wholly satisfy him, though what it was did not come into perception.

Five years had passed since any serious thought of marriage had troubled the mind of Mr. Emerson.  After his meeting with Irene he had felt that another union in this world was not for him—­that he had no right to exchange vows of eternal fidelity with any other woman.  She had remained unwedded, and would so remain, he felt, to the end of her life.  The legal contract between them was dissolved; but, since his brief talk with the stranger on the boat, he had not felt so clear as to the higher law obligations which were upon them.  And so he had settled it in his mind to bear life’s burdens alone.