The Argosy, Vol. 55

This issue of The Argos (May 1893) contains Chapter XVI of the serialized novel "Mr. Warrenne: Medical Practitioner," titled "At the Opera." Leonard Warrenne, a clerk who has resigned his position after inheriting prospects, accompanies his colleague Mr. Courtenay to London's opera house to see Norma, where Courtenay's relatives—Mrs. Thomason and her daughter Ada—have secured a box. At the performance, Leonard observes Florence Reynolds, a woman from his past, in the opposite box with Lady Jane Lockwood and Captain O'Neill. As the opera progresses, O'Neill becomes increasingly agitated in his conversation with Florence, eventually losing composure, stamping angrily, and departing the box. Courtenay investigates the disturbance and converses with Lady Jane and Florence before mysteriously disappearing. Ada and Mrs. Thomason grow concerned about Courtenay's prolonged absence as the act concludes.