Uncle Joseph

Agnes was changed somewhat of late. She had grown more thoughtful and
quiet, while her manner toward Maddy was not as haughty as formerly.
Guy thought her improved, and thus was not so delighted as he would
otherwise have been, when, one day, about two weeks after Uncle
Joseph's arrival at Honedale, she startled him by saying she thought
it nearly time for her to return to Boston, if she meant to spend the
winter there, and asked what she should do with Jessie.

Guy was not quite willing for Agnes to leave him there alone, but when
he saw that she was determined, he consented to her going, with the
understanding that Jessie was to remain--a plan which Agnes did not
oppose, as a child so large as Jessie might stand in the way of her
being as gay as she meant to be in Boston. Jessie, too, when
consulted, said she would far rather stay at Aikenside; and so one
November morning, Agnes, wrapped in velvet and furs, kissed her little
daughter, and bidding good-by to Maddy and the servants, left a
neighborhood which, since Uncle Joseph was so near, had become so
intolerable that not even the hope of winning the doctor could avail
to keep her in it.

Guy accompanied her to the city, wondering why, when he used to like
it so much, it now seemed dull and tiresome, or why the society he had
formerly enjoyed failed to bring back the olden pleasure he had
experienced when a resident of Boston. Guy was very popular there, and
much esteemed by his friends of both sexes, and great were the efforts
made to entertain and keep him as long as possible. But Guy could not
be prevailed upon to stay there long, and after seeing Agnes settled
in one of the most fashionable boarding houses, he started for
Aikenside.