One  of  these  gentlemen  was  especially  welcome.  This  was
the  Baron  Yon  Storck,  who  claimed  to  be  an  Austrian  noble-
man of  great  wealth.  In  support  of  his  assertion,  when  he
appeared  at  fashionable  entertainments,  he  covered  the  front
of  his  coat  with  ribbons  of  every  hue  in  the  rainbow.  He
made  his  appearance  in  New  York  society  almost  simultane-
ously with  the  Swiggs,  and  from  the  first,  devoted  himself
particularly  to  them  or  to  Miss  Arabella,  the  heiress  of  the
three  millions.
As  might  have  been  expected,  in  the  course  of  a  few
months  the  Baron  proposed  for  the  hand  of  Miss  Arabella,  to


90  THE   SECRETS   OF   THE   GREAT   CITY.
the  great  delight  of  papa  and  mamma,  and  the  youug
people'  were  formally  engaged.  After  this  the  young  lady
and  her  mother  constantly  amused  themselves  with  writing
the  future  title  of  the  former,  'just  to  see  how  it  looked.'
Such  a  piece  of  good  fortune  could  not  be  kept  secret,  and
Miss  Arabella  was  the  object  of  the  envy  of  scores  of  damsels
who  had  been  trying  in  vain  to  ensnare  the  elegant  foreigner
in  their  own  nets,  which  were  not  so  heavily  baited.
Oae  morning  the  Baron  waited  upon  Mrs.  Swigg,  and  pro-
ducing an  enormous  document,  written  in  German,  and  fiir-
nished  with  a  huge  red  seal  stamped  with  an  eagle,  informed
her  that  the  paper  was  a  peremptory  order  from  his  Govern-
ment, which  he  had  just  received,  commanding  him  to  return
home  at  once,  as  his  services  were  needed.  He  added  that  he
could  not  disobey  the  command  of  his  sovereign,  and  asked
that  his  marriage  with  Arabella  might  take  place  at  once,  so
that  they  might  sail  for  the  old  world  in  the  next  Bremen
steamer.
