Since Mary's marriage, Mr. Sedley had quite forgotten his former
suspicions of Grandison, and he was cordially received into both
houses, being, in fact, almost a member of the family.
Mr. Hazelton was a prominent member of the church and, being a
capital speaker, had undertaken to give a lecture in the basement of
that edifice addressed to young men; Mrs. Hazelton and some other
ladies were to enliven the evening with music, accompanied on the
piano by Mr. Grandison. The lecture animadverted at some length
concerning the temptations which beset young men, and warned them to
avoid vice of all kinds, drinking, gambling, and the rest. Among
other things he mentioned the social evil, and contrasted the happy
home of the chaste man and his virtuous wife with that of the drunken,
vicious libertine. The seducer was anathematized, and a graphic
description given of the poor degraded women who had lost the one
jewel in their crown. It is needless to say that both Mrs. Hazelton
and her paramour felt exceedingly uncomfortable during this discourse;
the former who was to have sung a brilliant aria at its close, grew
deadly pale, and had to leave the room. The lecturer requested
Mr. Grandison to substitute a piano solo, but strange to say, he was
unable to perform anything without notes, so the announcement was
made to the audience that, owing to the excessive heat (the
temperature was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit), Mrs.
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