[Illustration: LOUIS DASHED THE GLOWING END OF HIS CIGAR IN THE NEGRO'SFACE. ]

A BEAUTIFUL POSSIBILITY

BY

EDITH FERGUSON BLACK

A BEAUTIFUL POSSIBILITY. 

CHAPTER I. 

In one of the fairest of the West Indian islands a simple but elegantvilla lifted its gabled roofs amidst a bewildering wealth of tropicalbeauty. Brilliant birds flitted among the foliage, gold and silverfishes darted to and fro in a large stone basin of a fountain whichthrew its glittering spray over the lawn in front of the house, and onthe vine-shaded veranda hammocks hung temptingly, and low wicker chairsinvited to repose. 

Behind the jalousies of the library the owner of the villa sat at adesk, busily writing. He was a slight, delicate looking man, with anexpression of careless good humor upon his face and an easy air ofassurance according with the interior of the room which bespoke acultured taste and the ability to gratify it. Books were everywhere, rare bits of china, curios and exquisitely tinted shells lay inpicturesque confusion upon tables and wall brackets of native woods;soft silken draperies fell from the windows and partially screened fromview a large alcove where microscopes of different sizes stood uponcabinets whose shelves were filled with a miscellaneous collection ofrare plants and beautiful insects, specimens from the agate forest ofArizona, petrified remains from the 'Bad Lands' of Dakota, featheryfronded seaweed, skeletons of birds and strange wild creatures, and allthe countless curiosities in which naturalists delight. 

Lenox Hildreth when a young man, forced to flee from the rigors of theNew England climate by reason of an inherited tendency to pulmonarydisease, had chosen Barbadoes as his adopted country, and had neversince revisited the land of his birth. From the first, fortune hadsmiled upon him, and when, some time after his marriage with thedaughter of a wealthy planter, she had come into possession of all herfather's estates, he had built the house which for fifteen years he hadcalled home. When Evadne, their only daughter, was a little maiden ofsix, his wife had died, and for nine years father and child had been allthe world to each other. 

He finished writing at last with a sigh of relief, and folding theletter, together with one addressed to Evadne, he enclosed both in alarge envelope which he sealed and addressed to Judge Hildreth, Marlborough, Mass. Then he leaned back in his chair, and, clasping hishands behind his head, looked fixedly at the picture of his fair youngwife which hung above his desk. 

"A bad job well done, Louise--or a good one. Our little lass isn't verywell adapted to making her way among strangers, and the Bohemianism ofthis life is a poor preparation for the heavy respectability of a NewEngland existence. Lawrence is a good fellow, but that wife of hisalways put me in mind of iced champagne, sparkling and cold. " He sighedheavily, "Poor little Vad! It is a dreary outlook, but it seems my oneresource. Lawrence is the only relative I have in the world. 

"After all, I may be fighting windmills, and years hence may laugh atthis morning's work as an example of the folly of yielding tounnecessary alarm. Danvers is getting childish. All physicians get to beold fogies, I fancy, a natural sequence to a life spent in hunting downgerms I suppose. They grow to imagine them where none exist. "

He rose, and strolled out on the veranda. As he did so, a negro, whosesnow-white hair had earned for him from his master the sobriquet ofMethusaleh, came towards the broad front steps. He was a grotesque imageas he stood doffing a large palm-leaf hat, and Lenox Hildreth felt anirresistible inclination to laugh, and laughed accordingly. Hismorning's occupation had been one of the rare instances in which he hadrun counter to his inclinations. Sky blue cotton trousers showed twobrown ankles before his feet hid themselves in a pair of clumsy shoes; ascarlet shirt, ornamented with large brass buttons and fastened at thethroat with a cotton handkerchief of vivid corn color, was surmounted byan old nankeen coat, upon whose gaping elbows a careful wife had sewnpatches of green cloth; his hands were encased in white cotton glovesthree sizes too large, whose finger tips waved in the wind as theirwearer flourished his palm-leaf headgear in deprecating obeisance. 

"Well, Methusaleh, where are you off to now?" and Lenox Hildreth leanedagainst a flower wreathed pillar in lazy amusement. 

"To camp-meetin', Mass Hildreff. I hez your permission, sah?" and thenegro rolled his eyes with a ludicrous expression of humility. 

His master laughed with the easy indulgence which made his servantsimpose upon him. 

"You seem to have taken it, you rascal. It is rather late in the day toask for permission when you and your store clothes are all ready for astart. "

"'Scuse me, Mass Hildreff, " with another deprecating wave of thepalm-leaf hat, "but yer see I knowed yer wouldn't dissapint me of depriv'lege uv goin' ter camp-meetin' nohow. "

Lenox Hildreth held his cigar between his slender fingers and watchedthe tiny wreaths of smoke as they circled about his head. 

"So camp-meeting is a privilege, is it?" he said carelessly. "How muchmore good will it do you to go there than to stay at home and hoe mycorn?"

The eyes were rolled up until only the whites were visible. 

"Powerful sight more good, Mass Hildreff. De preacher's 'n uncommonrelijus man, an' de 'speriences uv de bredren is mighty upliftin'. Yes, sah!"

"Well, see that they don't lift you up so high that you'll forget tocome down again. I suppose you have an experience in common with therest?"

"Yes, Mass Hildreff, " and the palm-leaf made another gyration throughthe air. "I'se got a powerful 'sperience, sah. "

"Well, off you go. It would be a pity to deprive the assembly of suchan edifying specimen of sanctimoniousness. "

"Yes, sah, I'se bery sanktimonyus. I'se 'bliged to you, sah. "

With a last obsequious flourish the palm-leaf was restored to itsresting-place upon the snowy wool, and the negro shambled away. When hehad gone a few yards a sudden thought struck his master and he called, --

"Methusaleh, I say, Methusaleh!"

"Yes, sah, " and the servant retraced his steps. 

"What about that turkey of mine that you stole last week? You can't goto camp-meeting with that on your conscience. Come, now, better take offyour finery and repent in sackcloth and ashes. "

For an instant the negro was nonplused, then the palm-leaf wasflourished grandiloquently, while its owner said in a voice of witheringscorn, --

"Laws! Mass Hildreff, do yer spose I'se goin' ter neglec' de Lawd ferone lil' turkey?"

His master turned on his heel with a low laugh. "Of a piece with thewhole of them!" he said bitterly. "Hypocrites and shams!"

"Evadne!" he exclaimed impetuously, as a slight girlish figure cametowards him, "never say a single word that you do not mean nor expressa sensation that you have not felt. It is the people who neglect thisrule who play havoc with themselves and the world. "

"Why, dearest, you frighten me!" and the girl slipped her hand throughhis arm with a low, sweet laugh. "I never saw you look so solemnbefore. "

"Hypocrisy, Vad, is the meanest thing on earth! The pious people at thechurch yonder call me an unbeliever, but they've got themselves to thankfor it. I may be a good-for-nothing but at least I will not preach whatI do not practise. "

"You are as good as gold, dearest. I won't have you say such horridthings! And you don't need to preach anything. I am sure no one in allthe world could be happier than we. "

Her father put his hand under her chin, and, lifting her face towardshis, looked long and earnestly at the pure brow, about which the brownhair clustered in natural curls, the clear-cut nose, the laughing lipsparted over a row of pearls, and the wonderful deep gray eyes. 

"_Are_ you happy, little one?" he asked wistfully. "Are you quite sureabout that?"

"Happy!" the girl echoed the word with an incredulous smile. "Why, dearest, what has come to you? You never needed to ask me such aquestion before! Don't you know there isn't a girl in Barbadoes who hasbeen so thoroughly spoiled, and has found the spoiling so sweet? Do Ilook more than usually mournful to-day that you should think I am piningaway with grief?" She looked up at him with a roguish laugh. 

He smiled and laid his finger caressingly on the dimpled chin. "Dearlittle bird!" he said tenderly; "but when this dimple captivates theheart of some one, Vad, you will fly away and leave the poor father inthe empty nest. "

Her color glowed softly through the olive skin. She threw her armsaround his neck and laid her face against his breast. "You know better!"she exclaimed passionately. "You know I wouldn't leave you for all the'some ones' in the world!"

Her father caught her close. "Poor little lass!" he said with a sigh. 

The girl lifted her head and looked at him anxiously. "Dearest, what_is_ the matter? I am sure you are not well! You have been sitting toolong at that tiresome writing. "

"Yes, that is it, darling, " he said with a sudden change of tone. "Writing always does give me the blues. I think the man who invented theart should have been put in a pillory for the rest of his natural life. Blow your whistle for Sam to bring the horses and we will go for a ridealong the beach. "

Evadne lifted the golden whistle which hung at her girdle and blew thecall which the well-trained servant understood. "Fi, dearest!" she said, "if there were no writing there would be no books, and what would becomeof our beautiful evenings then? But I am glad you do not have to writemuch, since it tires you so. What has it all been about, dear? Am Inever to know?"

"Some day, perhaps, little Vad. But do not indulge in the besetting sinof your sex, or, like the mother of the race, you may find your applechoke you in the chewing. "

Evadne shook her finger at him. "Naughty one! As if you were not threetimes as curious as I! And when it comes to waiting, --you should havenamed me Patience, sir!"

Her father laughed as he kissed her, then he tied on her hat, threw onhis own, and hand-in-hand like two children they ran down the verandasteps to where the groom stood waiting with the horses. 

CHAPTER II. 

A month full of happy days had flown by when Evadne and her fatherreturned one morning from a long tramp in search of specimens. Adelightful afternoon had followed, he in a hammock, she on a low seatbeside him, arranging, classifying and preparing their morning's spoilfor the microscope. Suddenly she turned towards him with a troubledface. 

"Dearest, how pale you look! Are you very tired?"

"It is only the heat, " he answered lightly. "We had a pretty stiff walkthis morning, you know. "

"And I carried you on and on!" she cried reproachfully. "I was soanxious to find this particular crab. Isn't he a pretty fellow?" and shelifted the box that her father might watch the tiny creature's play. "Ishall go at once and make you an orange sherbet. "

"Let Dinah do it and you stay here with me. "

"No indeed! You know you think no one can make them as well as I do. Ipromise you this one shall be superfine. "

"As you will, little one, --only don't stay away too long. "

He lay very still after she had left him, looking dreamily through thevines at the silver spray of the fountain. The air had grownoppressively sultry; no breath of wind stirred the heavily droopingleaves, no sound except the rhythmic splash of the fountain and the softlapping of the waves upon the beach. He closed his eyes while theirceaseless monotone seemed to beat upon his brain. 

"Forever! Forever! Forever!"

A spasm of pain crossed his face as Evadne's voice woke the echoes witha merry song. "Poor little lass!" he murmured. Then he smiled as shecame towards him, quaffed off the beverage she had prepared with lovingskill, and called her the best cook in all the Indies. 

"Has it refreshed you, dearest?" she asked anxiously. 

"Immensely! Now you shall read me some of Lalla Rookh, and after dinnerI will set about making a Mecca for your crab. "

Evadne stroked the dainty claws, --

"Poor little chap! So you are a pilgrim like the rest of us. I wish wedid not have to go on and on, dearest!" she exclaimed passionately, "why cannot we stand still and enjoy?"

"It would grow monotonous, little Vad. Progress is the law of all being, and seventy years of life is generally enough for the majority. Youwould not like to live to be an old lady of two hundred and fifty? Thinkhow tired you would be!"

She laid her cheek against his upon the pillow. "I should _never_ growtired, --with you!"

The evening drew on, hot and breathless. Low growls of distant thunderwere heard at intervals, and in the eastern sky the lightning played. 

Evadne watched it, sitting on the top step of the veranda, her whitemuslin dress in happy contrast with the deep green of the vines whichclustered thickly about the pillar against which she leaned. On the stepbelow her a young man sat. He too was clad in white and the rich crimsonof the silken scarf which he wore about his waist enhanced his Spanishbeauty. A zither lay across his knees over which his hands wanderedskilfully as he made the air tremble with dreamy music. Mr. Hildrethpaced slowly up and down the veranda behind them. 

"What is the news from the great world, Geoff? I saw a troop shipsignaled this morning. Have you been on board yet?"

"No, sir, I have been looking over the plantation with my father allday, and only got home in time for dinner. "

"You chose a cool time for it!" and Mr. Hildreth laughed. 

Geoffrey Chittenden shrugged his shoulders. "When Geoffrey Chittenden, Senior, makes up his mind to do anything, he has the most sublimeindifference for the thermometer of any one I ever had the honor ofknowing. But the ship only brought a small detachment, I believe; shewill carry away a larger one. The garrison here is to be reduced, youknow. "

"Yes, it is a mistake I think. Will Drewson have to go? He has been onthis Station longer than any of the others. "

"Yes, his company has marching orders for Malta. He told me last nighthe was coming to take leave of you next week. "

"Our nice Captain Drewson going away!" Evadne exclaimed, aghast. "Why, dearest, he is one of our oldest friends!"

"The law of progression, Vad darling. "

"How I hate it!" she cried, while her lips trembled. "Why can't we justlive on in the old happy way? You will be going next, Geoff, and theHamiltons and the Vandervoorts. Does nothing last?"

Her voice hushed itself into silence and again Lenox Hildreth heard thesoft waves singing, --

"Forever! Forever! Forever!"

"Oh yes, Evadne, " Geoffrey said with a laugh: "we are very lasting. Itis only the unfortunate people under military rule who prove unreliable. Let me sing you my latest song to cheer your spirits. I only learned itlast week. "

He struck a few chords and was beginning his song when a low groan madehim spring to his feet. Evadne passed him like a flash of light and flewto her father's side. He was leaning heavily against a pillar with hishandkerchief, already showing crimson stains, pressed tightly against hislips. 

They laid him gently down and summoned help. After that all was like ahorrible dream to Evadne. She was dimly conscious that friends came withready offers of assistance, and that Barbadoes' best physicians wereunremitting in their efforts to stop the hemorrhage; while she stoodlike a statue beside her father's bed. She was absolutely still. When atlast the hemorrhage was checked the exhaustion was terrible. Evadnelonged to throw herself beside him and pillow the dear head upon herbosom, but Dr. Danvers had whispered, --

"A sudden sound may start the hemorrhage again, --the slightest shock issure to. " After that, not for worlds would she have moved a finger. 

The day passed and another night drew on. One of the physicians wasconstantly in attendance, for the hemorrhage returned at intervals. Justas the rose-tinted dawn looked shyly through the windows, her fatherspoke, and Evadne bent her head to catch the faint tone of the voicewhich sounded so far away. 

"Vad, darling, I have made an awful mistake! I thought everything asham. I know better now. Make it the business of your life, little Vad, to find Jesus Christ. "

Again the red stream stained his lips, and Dr. Danvers came swiftlyforward, but Lenox Hildreth was forever beyond all need of human care. 

 * * * * *

A week passed, and day after day Evadne sat by her window, speaking noword. Outdoors the fountain still sparkled in the sunshine and the birdssang, but for her the foundations of life had been shaken to theircenter. Her friends tried in vain to break up her unnatural calm. 

"If you would only have a good cry, Evadne, " Geoffrey Chittenden saidat last, "you would feel better, dear. That is what all girls do, youknow. "

She turned upon him a pair of solemn eyes, out of which the merrysparkle had faded. "Will crying give me back my father?"

"Why, no, dear. Of course I didn't mean that. But these things are boundto happen to us all, sooner or later, you know. It is the rule of life. "

"'The law of progression, '" she said with a dreary laugh. "I wish theworld would stop for good!"

When the clergyman came she met him quietly, and he found himself not alittle disconcerted by the steady gaze of the mournful grey eyes. He wasnot accustomed to dealing with such wordless grief, and he found hisfavorite phrases sadly inadequate to the occasion. There was an awkwardpause. 

"Dr. Danvers says your father told him some time ago that, in the eventof his death, he wished you to make your home with your uncle inAmerica?" he said at length. 

Evadne bowed. 

"Well, my dear young lady, you will find it in all respects a mostdesirable home, I feel confident. Judge Hildreth holds a position ofgreat trust in the church, and is universally esteemed as a Christiangentleman of sterling character. "

The grey eyes were lifted to his face. 

"Shall I find Jesus Christ there?"

"Jesus Christ?" The clergyman echoed her words with a start. "I beg yourpardon, my dear. The Lord sitteth upon his throne in the heavens. Wemust approach him reverently, with humble fear. "

"That seems a long way off, " said Evadne in a disappointed tone. "Theremust be some mistake. My father told me to make it the business of mylife to find him. "

"Your father, my dear! Oh, ah, ahem!"

An indignant flash leaped into the grey eyes. Evadne rose and faced him. "You must excuse me, sir, " she said quietly. Then she left the room. 

And the tears, which all the kindly sympathy had failed to bring her, atthe first breath of censure fell about her like a flood. 

CHAPTER III. 

Judge Hildreth sat with his family at dinner in the spacious dining-roomof one of the finest houses in Marlborough. He was a handsome man, witha stateliness of manner attributable in part to the deferential homagewhich Marlborough paid to his opinion in all matters of importance. Hiswife, tall and queenly, sat opposite him. Two daughters and a soncompleted the family group. Louis Hildreth had his father's dark blueeyes and regular features, but there were weak lines about the mouthwhich betokened a lack of purpose, and the expression of his face wasmarred by a cynical smile which was fast becoming habitual with him. Isabelle, the eldest, was tall and fair, except for a chill hauteurwhich set strangely upon one so young, while her firmly set lipsbetokened the existence of a strong will which completely dominated herless self-reliant sister. Marion Hildreth was just Evadne's age, with apink and white beauty and soft eyes which turned deprecatingly atintervals towards Isabelle, as though to ask pardon for imaginarysolecisms against Miss Hildreth's code of etiquette. 

The covers were being changed for the second course when a servantentered and approached the Judge, bearing a cablegram upon a silversalver. He ran his eyes hastily over its contents, then he leaned backheavily against his chair, while an expression of genuine sorrow settleddown upon his face. 

"Your Uncle Lenox is dead, " he said briefly, as the girls plied him withquestions. 

"Dead!" Mrs. Hildreth's voice broke the hush which had fallen in theroom. "Why, Lawrence, this is very sudden! We have looked upon Lenox asbeing perfectly well. "

"It is not safe to count anyone well, Kate, who carries such a lurkingserpent in his bosom. Only forty-three! Just in his prime. Poor Len!"The Judge leaned his head upon his hand, while his thoughts were busywith memories of the gay young brother who had filled the old homesteadwith his merry nonsense. 

"And what will become of Evadne?" Again Mrs. Hildreth's voice broke thesilence. 

"Evadne?" the Judge looked full in his wife's face. "Why, my dear, thereis only one thing to be done. I shall cable immediately to have her cometo us. " He rose from the table, his dinner all untasted, and left theroom. 

Louis was the first to speak. "A Barbadoes cousin. How will you likehaving such a novelty as that, Sis, to introduce among youracquaintance?" He bowed lazily to Mrs. Hildreth. "Let me congratulateyou, lady mother. You will have the pleasure of floating another budinto blossom upon the bosom of society. "

"I do not see any room for congratulation, Louis, " Mrs. Hildreth saiddiscontentedly. "It is a dreadful responsibility. One does not know whatthe child may be like. "

"Hardly a child, mamma, " pouted Marion. "Evadne must be as old as I. "

"If that is so, Sis, she must have the wisdom of Methusaleh!" and Louislooked at his sister with one of his mocking smiles. "At any rate shewill afford scope for your powers of training, Isabelle. It must bedepressing to have to waste your eloquence upon an audience of one. "

Isabelle tossed her head. "I am not anxious for the opportunity, " shesaid coldly. "Likely the child will be a perfect heathen after runningwild among savages all her life. "

Louis whistled. "A little less Grundy and a little more geography wouldbe to your advantage, Isabelle! Barbadoes happens to be the crème de lacrème of the British Indies. I would not advise you to display yourignorance before Evadne, or your future lecturettes on theconventionalities may prove lacking in vital force. "

"Why, Isabelle, my dear, you must be dreaming!" and her mother lookedannoyed. "Don't let your father hear you say such a thing, I beg of you!When he visited Barbadoes he was delighted, and he thought Evadne'smother one of the most charming women he had ever met. If she had livedof course Evadne would be all right, but she has been left entirely toher father's guidance, and he had such peculiar ideas. "

"When, did she die, mamma?" asked Marion. 

"I am sure I cannot remember. Six or seven years ago it must have been. But we rarely heard from them. Your Uncle Lenox was always a wretchedcorrespondent, and since his wife's death he has hardly written at all. "

"The house of Hildreth cannot claim to be well posted in the matter ofblood relations, " said Louis carelessly, as he helped himself to olives. 

 * * * * *

Upon the deck of one of the Ocean Greyhounds a promiscuous crowd wasgathered. Returning tourists in all the glory of field glasses and tweedsuits; British officers going home on furlough from the differentoutposts where they were stationed; merchants from the rich markets ofthe far East; picturesque foreigners in national costume; and a bishopwho paced the deck with a dignity becoming his ecclesiastical rank. There was a continuous hum of conversation, mingled with intermittentripples of laughter from the different groups which were scattered aboutthe deck. Among the exceptions to the general sociability were thebishop, still pacing up and down with his hands clasped behind him, anda young girl who sat looking far out over the waves, utterly heedless ofthe noise and confusion around her. 

She was absolutely alone. The gentleman under whose care she wastraveling made a point of escorting her to meals, after which heinvariably secured her a comfortable deck chair, supplied her liberallywith rugs and books, and then retired to the smoking-room, with theserene consciousness of duty well performed; and Evadne Hildreth wasthankful to be left in peace. She was no longer the buoyant, merry girl. Her vitality seemed crushed. Hour after hour she sat motionless, herhands folded listlessly in her lap, looking out over the dancing waves. She had caught the last glimpse of her beloved island in a grey stupor. Everything was gone, --father and home and friends, --nothing thathappened could matter now, --but, oh, the dreary, dreary years! Did thesun shine in far-away New England, and could the water be as blue as herdear Atlantic, with the gay ripple on its bosom and the music of itswaves? She looked at the tender sky, as on the far horizon it bent lowto kiss the face of the mysterious mighty ocean which stretched "a seawithout a shore. " That was like her life now. All the beauty ended, yetstretching on and on and on. And she must keep pace with it, against herwill. And there was no one to care. She was all alone! No, there wasJesus Christ!

She started to find that the Bishop's lady was speaking to her. Evadnerecognized her, for she sat at the next table, and several times she hadstood aside to let her pass to her seat. Something about the solitary, pathetic little figure, the hopeless face and mournful grey eyes, hadwon the compassion of the good lady, for she was a kindly soul. 

"My dear, you have a great sorrow?" she said gently. "I hope you havethe consolations of our holy religion to help you bear it. "

Evadne turned towards her eagerly. Her husband was the head of thechurch. Surely _she_ would know. 

"Can you help me to find him?" she asked abruptly. 

"Find whom, my dear? Have you a friend among the passengers?"

"Jesus Christ. "

"Oh!" The Bishop's lady sat back with the suddenness of the shock, "Areyou in earnest, my dear?" she asked with a tinge of severity in hertone. "This is a very serious question, but, if you really mean it, Iwill lend you my Prayer Book. "

Evadne smiled drearily. "Oh, yes, I am terribly in earnest. My fathersaid I was to make it the business of my life. "

"Oh, ah, yes, to be sure, " said the lady a trifle absently. "That isvery proper. Christianity should be the great purpose of our life. "

"I do not want Christianity, " said Evadne impatiently, "I want Christ. "

"My dear, you shock me! The eternal verities of our holy religion mustever be--"

"Do you believe in him?" asked Evadne, interrupting her. 

"Believe in him? whom do you mean?"

"Jesus Christ. "

Aghast, the Bishop's lady crossed herself and began repeating theApostles' Creed. 

"That makes him seem so far away, " said Evadne sadly. "I do not want himin heaven if I have to live upon earth. Have _you_ found him?" she askedeagerly. "Are you on intimate terms with him? Is he your friend?"

The Bishop's lady gasped for breath. That she, a member of the Church ofthe Holy Communion of All Saints should be interrogated in such afashion as this! "I think you do not quite understand, " she said coldly. "I will lend you a treatise on Church Doctrine. You had better studythat. "

"Charlotte, " said her husband when she reached her stateroom, "I havearrived at an important decision this afternoon. I have finallyconcluded to take the Socinian Heresy as my theme for the noon lectures. The subject will admit of elaborate treatment and afford ample scope forscholarship. "

"Heresy!" echoed his wife, who had not yet recovered her equanimity;"why, Bertram, I have just been talking to a young person who asked meif I was on intimate terms with Jesus Christ!"

"Ah, yes, " said the Bishop absently, "the radical tendencies of thepresent day are to be deplored. Have you seen that my vestments are inorder, Charlotte? I shall hold Divine service on board to-morrow. "

In a neighboring stateroom a lonely soul, bewildered and despairing, struggled through the darkness towards the light. 

 * * * * *

The last snow of the winter lay in soft beauty upon the streets ofMarlborough as Evadne's train drew into the railway station. Instantlyall was bustle and confusion throughout the cars. Evadne shrank back inher seat and waited. Instinctively she felt that for her there would beno joyous welcome. Inexpressibly dreary as the journey had been she wassorry it was at an end. An overwhelming embarrassment of shyness seizedupon her, and the chill desolation of loneliness seemed to shut downabout her like a cloud. 

A young man sauntered past her with his hands in his pockets. When hereached the end of the car he turned and surveyed the passengersleisurely, then he came back to her seat. He lifted his hat with lazypoliteness. 

"Miss Hildreth, I believe?"

Evadne bowed. He shook hands coolly. 

"I have the honor of introducing myself as your cousin Louis. "

He made no attempt to give her a warmer greeting, and Evadne was glad, but how dreary it was!

Louis led the way out of the station to where a pair of magnificenthorses stood, tossing their regal heads impatiently. A colored coachmanstood beside them, clad in fur. 

"Pompey, " he said, "this is Miss Evadne Hildreth from Barbadoes. "

The man bent his head low over the little hand which was instantlystretched out to him. "I'se very glad to see Miss 'Vadney, " he said withsimple fervor. "I was powerful fond of Mass Lennux;" and Evadne felt shehad received her warmest welcome. 

She nestled down among the soft robes of the sleigh while the silverbells rang merrily through the frosty air. It was all so new andstrange. A leaden weight seemed to be settling down upon her heart andshe felt as if she were choking, but she threw it off. She dared not letherself think. She began to talk rapidly. 

"What splendid horses you have! Surely they must be thoroughbreds? Noordinary horses could ever hold their heads like that. "

Louis nodded. "You have a quick eye, " he said approvingly. "Most girlswould not know a thoroughbred from a draught horse. You have hit uponthe surest way to get into my father's good graces. His horses are hishobby. "

"What are their names?"

"Brutus and Caesar. The Judge is nothing if not classical. "

As they mounted the front steps the faint notes of a guitar sounded fromthe front room. 

"Confound Isabelle and her eternal twanging!" muttered Louis, as hefumbled for his latch-key. "It would be a more orthodox welcome if youfound your relations waiting for you with open arms, but the Hildrethfamily is not given to gush. Isabelle will tell you it is not good form. So we keep our emotions hermetically sealed and stowed away underdecorous lock and key, polite society having found them inconvenientthings to handle, partaking of the nature of nitroglycerine, you know, and liable to spontaneous combustion. "

He opened the door as he spoke and Evadne followed him into the hall. She shivered, although a warm breath of heated air fanned her cheek. Theatmosphere was chilly. 

Marion, hurried forward to greet her, followed more leisurely byIsabelle and her mother, who touched her lips lightly to her forehead. 

"I hope you have had a pleasant journey, my dear, although you mustfind our climate rather stormy. I think you might as well let the girlstake you at once to your room and then we will have dinner. "

"Where is the Judge?" inquired Louis. 

"Detained again at the office. He has just telephoned not to wait forhim. He is killing himself with overwork. "

To Evadne the dinner seemed interminable and she found herselfcontrasting the stiff formality with the genial hospitality of herfather's table. She saw again the softly lighted room with its openwindows through which the flowers peeped, and heard his gay badinage andhis low, sweet laugh. Could she be the same Evadne, or was it all adream?

Isabelle stood beside her as she began to prepare for the night. Shewished she would go away. The burden of loneliness grew every momentmore intolerable. Suddenly she turned towards her cousin and cried indesperation, --

"Can _you_ tell me where I shall find Jesus Christ?"

Isabelle started. "My goodness, Evadne, what a strange question! Youtook my breath away. "

"Is it a strange question?" she asked wistfully. "Everyone seems tothink so, and yet--my father said I was to make it the business of mylife to find him. "

"Your father!" cried Isabelle. "Why Uncle Lenox was an----"

Instantly a pair of small hands were held like a vice against her lips. Isabelle threw them off angrily. 

"You are polite, I must say! Is this a specimen of West Indian manners?"

"You were going to say something I could not hear, " said Evadne quietly, "there was nothing else to do. "

Isabelle left the room, and, returning, threw a book carelessly upon thetable. "You had better study that, " she said. "It will answer yourquestions better than I can. "

"I told you she was a heathen!" she exclaimed, as she rejoined hermother in the sitting-room; "but I did not know that I should have toturn missionary the first night and give her a Bible!"

Upstairs Evadne buried her face among the pillows and the aching heartburst its bonds in one long quivering cry of pain. 

"Dearest!"

CHAPTER IV. 

A day full of light--warm and brilliant. The sun flooding the widefields of timothy and clover and fresh young grain with glory; fallingwith a soft radiance upon the comfortable mansion of the master ofHollywood Farm, with its spacious barns and long stretches of stabling, and throwing loving glances among the leaves of its deep belt ofwoodland where the river sparkled and soft rugs of moss spread theirrich luxuriance over an aesthetic carpet of resinous pine needles. 

Near the limits of Hollywood the forest made a sudden curve to theright, and the river, turned from its course, rushed, laughing andeager, over a ridge of rocks which tossed it in the air in sheets ofsilver spray. 

Standing there, leaning upon a gun, a boy of about seventeen looked longat a squirrel whose mangled body was staining the emerald beauty of themoss with crimson. His face was earnest and troubled, while theexpression of sorrowful contempt which swept over it, made him seemolder than he was. It was a strong face, with deep-set, thoughtful eyeswhich lit up wondrously when he was interested or pleased. His mouth wassensitive but his chin was firm and his brown hair fell in soft wavesover a broad, full brow. People always took it for granted that JohnRandolph would be as good as his word. They never reasoned about it. They simply expected it of him. 

He began to speak, and his voice fell clear and distinct through thesilence. 

"And you call this sport?" There was no answer save the soft gurgle ofthe river as it splashed merrily over the stones. 

"You are a brute, John Randolph!" And the wind sighed a plaintive echoamong the trees. 

He was silent while the words which he had read six weeks before andwhich had been ringing a ceaseless refrain in his heart ever since, obtruded themselves upon his memory. 

"It is the privilege of everyone to become an exact copy of JesusChrist. "

"Well, John Randolph, can you picture to yourself Jesus Christ shootinga squirrel for sport?" He tossed aside the weapon he had been leaningupon with a gesture of disgust, and, folding his arms, looked up at thecloud-flecked sky. 

"Are you there, Jesus Christ?" he asked wistfully. "Are you lookingdown on this poor old world, and what do you think of it all? Men madein God's image finding their highest enjoyment in slaughtering hiscreatures. Game Preserves where they can do it in luxurious leisure; foxhunts with their pack of hunters and hounds in full cry after one poordefenceless fox, and battle-fields where they tear each other limb fromlimb with Gatling gun and shells; and yet we call ourselves honorablegentlemen, and talk of the delights of the chase and the glories of war!Pshaw! what a mockery it is. "

Stooping suddenly he laid the squirrel upon his open palm and gentlystroked the long, silky fur. He lifted the tiny paws with their perfectequipment for service and looked remorsefully at the eyes whose lightwas dimmed, and the mouth which had forever ceased its merry chatter. Agreat tenderness sprang up in his heart toward all living things and, lifting his right hand to heaven, he exclaimed, "Poor little squirrel, Icannot give you back your happy life, but, I will never take another!"

Then he knelt, and scooping out a grave, laid the little creature torest at the foot of a tree in whose trunk the remnant of its winterstore of nuts was carefully garnered. When at length he turned toleave the spot the tiny grave was marked by a pine slab, on which waspencilled, "Here lies the germ of a resolve. July 17th, 18--"

He walked slowly along the fragrant wood-path, looking thoughtfully atthe shadows as they played hide and seek upon the moss, while throughthe trees he caught glimpses of the sparkling river which sang as itrolled along. 

When he reached the border of the woodland he stood still and his eyesswept over the landscape. Hollywood was the finest stock farm in thecountry. After his father's death he had come, a little lad, to livewith Mr. Hawthorne, and every year which had elapsed since then made itgrow more dear. He loved its rolling meadows, its breezy pastures andits fragrant orchards. Its beautifully kept grounds and outbuildingsappealed to his innate sense of the fitness of things, while its air ofabundant comfort made it difficult to realize that the world was full ofhunger and woe. He loved the green road where the wild roses blushed andthe honeysuckle drooped its fragrant petals, but most of all he lovedthe graceful horses and sleek cows which just now were grazing in thefields on either side; and the shy creatures, with the subtle instinctby which all animals test the quality of human friendship, took him intotheir confidence and came gladly at his call and did his bidding. 

When he reached the end of the road he stopped again, and, leaningagainst the fence adjoining the broad gate which led to the house, gavea low whistle. A thoroughbred Jersey, feeding some distance away, liftedher head and listened. Again he whistled, and with soft, slow tread thecow came towards him and rubbed her nose against his arm. He took herhead between his hands, her clover-laden breath fanning his cheeks, andlooked at the dark muzzle and the large eyes, almost human in theirtenderness. 

"Well, Primrose, old lady, you're as dainty as your namesake, and assweet. Ah, Sylph, you beauty!" he continued, as a calf like a young fawnapproached the gate, "you can't rest away from your mammy, can you?Primrose, have you any aspirations, or are you content simply to eat anddrink? You have a good time of it now, but what if you were kicked andcuffed and starved? You are sensitive, for I saw you shrink and shiverwhen Bill Wright, --the scoundrel!--dared to strike you. He'll never doit again, Prim! Have you the taste of an epicure for the juicy grassblades and the clover when it is young, --do you love to hear the birdssing and the brook murmur, and do you enjoy living under the trees andwatching the clouds chase the sunbeams as you chew your cud? Do youwonder why the cold winter comes and you have to be shut up in a stallwith a different kind of fodder? Do you ever wonder who gave you lifeand what you are meant to do with it? How I wish you could talk, oldlady!"

He vaulted over the gate, and whistling to a fine collie who camebounding to meet him, walked slowly on towards the stables. 

"Hulloa, John!" and a boy about two years his junior threw himself off ahorse reeking with foam. "Rub Sultan down a bit like a good fellow. There'll be the worst kind of a row if the governor sees him in thispickle. "

John Randolph looked indignantly at the handsome horse, as he stood withdrooping head and wide distended nostrils, while the white foam drippedover his delicate legs. 

"Serve you right if there were!" and his voice was full of scorn. "You're about as fit to handle horseflesh as an Esquimaux. "

"Oh, pish! You're a regular old grandmother, John. There's nothing tomake such a row about. " And Reginald Hawthorne turned upon his heel. 

John threw off coat and vest, and, rolling up his sleeves, led theexhausted horse to the currying ground. Reginald followed slowly, hishands in his pockets. 

"How did you get him into such a mess?" he asked shortly. 

"I don't know, I didn't do anything to him, " and Reginald kicked thegravel discontentedly. "I believe he's getting lazy. "

"Sultan lazy!" and John laughed incredulously. "That's a good joke! Why, he is the freest horse on the place!"

"Well, I don't know how else to explain it. He's been on the go prettysteadily, but what's a horse good for? Thursday afternoon we had ourcross-country run and the ground was horribly stiff. I thought he hadsprained his off foreleg for he limped a good deal on the home stretch, but he seemed to limber up all right the last few miles. I was sorry notto let him rest yesterday; would have put him in better trim I supposefor to-day's twenty mile pull, --but Cartwright and Peterson wanted tomake up a tandem, and when they asked for Sultan I didn't like torefuse. They are heavy swells, and you know father wants me to get inwith that lot. But that shouldn't have hurt him. They only went as faras Brighton. What's fifteen miles to a horse!"

"Fifteen miles means thirty to a horse when he has to travel back thesame road, " said John drily; "and your heavy swells take the toll out ofhorseflesh quicker than a London cabby. "

"Why, John, what has come to you? You're the last fellow in the world towant me to be churlish. "

"That's true, Rege, --but I don't want them to cripple you as they havepoor Sultan. What kind of fellows are they?"

"Oh, not a bad sort, " said Reginald carelessly. "Lots of the needful, you know, and free with it. Not very fond of the grind, but always up todate when there are any good times going. What do you suppose put Sultanin such a lather, John? I was so afraid father would catch me that Icame across the fields, and it was just as much as he could do to takethe last fence. I made sure he was going to tumble. "

"Well for you he didn't, " and John smoothed the delicate limbs with hisfirm hand, "these knees are too pretty for a scar. Go into the vet room, Rege, and bring me out a roll of bandage. "

"Hulloa! That will give me away to the governor with a vengeance! Whatare you going to bandage him for?"

"He is badly strained, and if I don't his legs will be all puffed by themorning. It will be lucky if it is nothing worse. He looks to me as ifhe was in for a touch of distemper, but I'll give him a powder andperhaps we can stave it off. "

Reginald brought the bandage and then stood moodily striking at a beetlewith his riding whip. He was turning away when a hand with a grip ofsteel was laid on his shoulder and he was forced back to where thebeetle lay, a shapeless mass of quivering agony, while a low stern voiceexclaimed, --

"Finish your work! Even the cannibals do that. "

Reginald wrenched himself free. "Pshaw!" he said contemptuously, "it'sonly a beetle. " But he did as he was told. 

Then he stood silently watching as with swift skilfulness John swathedthe horse's limbs in flannel. "I guess Sultan misses you, John. Over atthe college livery their fingers are all thumbs. "

"Poor Sultan!" was all John's answer, as he led the horse into a largepaddock thickly strewn with fresh straw. 

A night full of stars--silent and sweet. John Randolph leaned on thebroad gate which opened into the green road where he had lingered in theafternoon. The thoughts which surged through his brain made sleepimpossible, and so, lighting his bull's-eye, he had gone to the stablesto see how Sultan was faring, and then wandered on under the mystery ofthe stars. 

The night was warm. A breeze heavy with perfume lifted the hair from hisbrow. He heard the low breathing of the cattle as they dozed in thefields on either side, and the soft whirr of downy plumage as the greatowl which had built its nest among the eaves of the new barn flew pasthim. Suddenly a warm nose was thrust against his shoulder and, with theassurance of a spoilt beauty, the cow laid her head upon his arm. Helifted his other hand and stroked it gently. 

"Hah, Primrose! Are you awake, old lady? What are your views of lifenow, Prim? Do the shadows make it seem more weird and grand, or doesmidnight lose its awesomeness when one is upon four legs?"

He looked away to where the stars were throbbing with tender light, crimson and green and gold, and the words of the book which he had beenstudying every leisure moment for the past six weeks swept across hismental vision. 

"'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk indarkness, but shall have the light of life. '

"'The light of life, '" he repeated slowly. "Why, to most people lifeseems all darkness! What is 'the light of life'?"

Still other words came stealing to his memory. 'I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one cometh unto the Father, but by me. ' 'Except yeturn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into thekingdom of heaven. ' 'This is life eternal, that they should know theethe only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus. '

A great light flooded John Randolph's soul. 

"'I' and 'me, '" he whispered. "Why, it is a personality. It is Jesushimself! He is the way to the kingdom, the truth of the kingdom and thelife of it. The kingdom of heaven, not far away in space, but set uphere and now in the hearts of men who live the life hid with Christ inGod. I see it all! Jesus Christ is the light of the life which God givesus through his Son. "

He stretched his hands up towards the glistening sky. 

"Jesus Christ, " he cried eagerly, "come into my life and make it light. I take thee for my Master, my Friend. I give myself away to thee. I willfollow wherever thou dost lead. Jesus Christ, help me to grow likethee!"

The hush of a great peace fell upon his soul, while through thelistening night an angel stooped and traced upon his brow the kinglymotto, 'Ich Dien. '

CHAPTER V. 

"Don, Don, me's tumin', " and the baby of the farm, a little child withsunny curls and laughing eyes, ran past the great barns of Hollywood. 

John Randolph was swinging along the green road with a bridle over hisarm, whistling softly. He turned as the childish voice was borne to himon the breeze. "All right, Nansie, wait for me at the gate. " Then hesprang over the fence and crossed the field to where a group of horseswere feeding. 

The child climbed up on the gate beside a saddle which John had placedthere and waited patiently. He soon came back, leading a magnificent bayhorse, and began to adjust the saddle. 

"Now, Nan, I'll give you a ride to the house. Can't go any furtherto-day, for I have to cross the river. "

The child shook her head confidently. "Me 'll go too, Don. "

"I'm afraid not, Nan. The river is so deep, we'll have to swim for it. That is why I chose Neptune, you see. "

"Me's not 'fraid, wiv 'oo, Don. "

"Better wait, Baby, till the river is low. Well, come along then, " asthe wily schemer drew down her pretty lips into the aggrieved curvewhich always conquered his big, soft heart. She clapped her hands withglee, as he lifted her in front of him and started Neptune into a brisktrot, and made a bridle for herself out of the horse's silky mane. 

"Gee, gee, Nepshun. Nan loves you, dear. "

When they reached the fording place John's face grew grave. The riverhad risen during the night and was rushing along with turbulentstrength. There was no house within five miles. His business wasimperative. He dared not leave the child until he came back. Crouchingupon the saddle, he clasped one arm about her while he twisted his otherhand firmly in and out of the horse's mane. 

"Are you afraid, Nansie?"

She twined her arms more tightly about his neck until the sunny curlsbrushed his cheek. 

"Me'll do anywhere, wiv 'oo, Don. "

Just as the gallant horse reached the opposite bank Reginald gallopeddown to the ford on his way home for Sunday. 

"Upon my word, John, you're a perfect slave to that youngster! What madthing will you be doing next, I wonder?"

"The next thing will be to go back again, " said John with a smile, whileNan clung fast to his neck and peeped shyly through her curls at herbrother. 

"Where are you off to?"

"Henderson's. "

Reginald turned his horse's head. "I might as well go along. A man's afool to ride alone when he can have company. "

John gave him a swift, comprehensive glance. 

"How are things going, Rege? You're not looking very fit. "

Reginald yawned and drew his hand across his heavy eyes. "Oh, all right. Oyster suppers and that sort of thing are apt to make a fellow drowsy. "

"Don't go too fast, Rege. "

"Why not?" said Reginald carelessly. "It suits the governor, and thatbook you're so fond of says children should obey their parents. "

 * * * * *

"I declare, John, you're a regular algebraic puzzle!" he exclaimed laterin the day, as he stood beside John in the carpenter's shop, watchingthe curling strips of wood which his plane was tossing off with sweepingstrokes. "You put all there is of you into everything you do. You takeas much pains over a plough handle as you would over a buggy!"

"Why not? God takes as much pains with a humming-bird as an elephant. Mere size doesn't count. "

"Nan loves you, Reggie, " and a tiny hand was slipped shyly into herbrother's. 

"All right, Magpie, " he said carelessly. "You had better run home now tomother. Your chatter makes my head ache. "

The laughing lips quivered and the child turned away from him to Johnand hid her face against his knee. He lifted her up on the bench besidehim and gave her a handful of shavings to play with. 

"I don't see how you accomplish anything with that child everlastinglyunder your feet!" Reginald continued, "yet you do two men's work andseem to love it into the bargain. I'm sure if I had to cooper up all thethings on the farm as you do, I should loathe the very sight of tools. "

"I _do_ love it, Rege. Jesus Christ was a carpenter, you know. I getvery near to him out here. "

"Jesus Christ!" echoed Reginald with a puzzled stare. "What is comingto you, John?"

"It has come, Rege, " John said with a great light in his face. "I havefound my Master. "

"Upon my word, John, you are the queerest fellow! What next, I wonder?"

"The next thing, Rege, " and John laid his hand affectionately upon hisfriend's shoulder, "is for you to find him too. "

"So, you're going to turn preacher, John? You'll find me a hard subject. A short life and a merry one is what I am going in for. I've no turn forChristianity. "

"It pays, Rege. "

"Don't believe it. How can life be worth living when you're drivellingpsalm tunes all day long?"

John laughed, and there was a new note of gladness in his voice whichReginald was quick to notice. "I haven't begun to drivel yet, Rege; andlife counts for a good deal more when a man has an object than when heis living just to please himself. "

"And who should a man please but himself, I should like to know?"

"Jesus Christ. "

 * * * * *

"Upon my word!" said Reginald some weeks later, as he came upon Johnsitting astride a cobbler's bench busily mending a pair of shoes, whileNan looked on admiringly. "Do you learn a new trade every month?"

John laughed quietly. "I took up this one because there are so manyrepairs always needed on the harness, and your father thinks all talentshould be utilized. "

There was a quizzical look about his mouth as he spoke. Reginald caughtthe look and answered hotly. 

"The governor ought to be ashamed of himself! Why don't you strike, John?"

"Why should I? Knowledge is power, Rege. "

"Knowledge of shoemaking!" said Reginald contemptuously. "It won't addto your strength much, John. "

"Never can tell, " said John sententiously. "You remember that lamefellow saved a battle for us by knowing how to shoe the general'shorse. "

"Next thing you'll be going in for a blacksmith's diploma!"

"I'm thinking of it, " said John coolly. "That fellow at the Forks has nomore sense than a hen. He pared so much off Neptune's hoof last weekthat he has been limping ever since. I had to take him this morning andhave the shoes removed. "

"I wish you'd do some shirking, John, like the rest of us. "

"Jesus Christ never shirked, Rege. "

"Pshaw! You're so ridiculous!" and Reginald walked discontentedly away. 

"Here, John, John, I say, " he called, when the time came for him toreturn to College, "go catch and saddle Sultan for me. You're so fond ofwork, you might as well have two masters. Be quick now, for I'm in themischief of a hurry. "

John's face flushed. This boy was younger than himself, and his fatherhad been Mr. Hawthorne's friend. 

"Do you hear what I say, John?" demanded Reginald. "You're only here asa servant any way, and I'll be master some day, so you might as welllearn to obey me now. "

John's brow cleared, while the words echoed in his heart with a gladrefrain, --

"A servant of Jesus Christ, " and "The Lord's servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all . .. Forbearing. " After all, life was a matterbetween himself and the Lord Jesus. What could Reginald's taunts affecthim now?

"All right, " he said quietly, and started for the field. 

"I declare!" muttered Reginald, as he watched the tall, lithe formcross the field with springing step, "you might as well try to make thefellow mad now, as to storm Gibraltar! What has come to him?"

"Here you are, Sir Reginald, " said John good-humoredly, as he led thefreshly groomed horse to the riding-block. 

Reginald's voice choked. "Shake hands, John, " he said huskily. "I am abrute! There must be something in this new fad of yours after all. Ifyou had spoken to me as I did to you just now, I should have knocked youdown. "

He rode on for a mile or two in moody silence, then he gave hisshoulders an impatient shrug. 

"I'd like to know what it is about John Randolph that makes me feel sosmall! I have good times and he is always on the grind. I have all themoney I can spend and he has nothing but the pittance the governor giveshim, and yet he is three times the better fellow of the two. I envy himhis spunk and go. He comes to everything as fresh as a two-year old, andhe works everything for all there is in it. To see him climbing thathill yesterday, with the youngster on his shoulder, actually made mefeel as if climbing hills was the jolliest thing in life. And it's sowith everything he does. Confound it! I don't see why I can't get thesame comfort out of things. I don't see where the fellow gets his vim. If I worked as hard as he does, I'd be ready to tumble into bed insteadof pegging away at Latin and Mathematics. I'll have to put on a spurt inself-defence or he'll be tripping me up with his questions. He's got thelongest head of anyone I know. The idea of the governor daring to setsuch a fellow as that to cobble shoes!"

"It's queer about the governor, " he continued after a pause. "He'salways ready to shell out when I ask him for money, but he keeps poorJohn with his nose to the grindstone all the year round. I suppose heexpects me to pay him in glory. He's set his heart on my being ajudge, --Judge Hawthorne of Hollywood. Sounds euphonious, and I verilybelieve the old gentleman has begun to roll it like a sweet morsel underhis tongue. Can't say I have a special aptitude for the profession, andcertainly the brains are not in evidence, but I suppose the governorthinks money will take their place. He has found it takes the place ofmost things. 

"Sultan, old boy, we seem down on our luck this morning. We had bettertake a speeder to raise our spirits. It is hardly the thing for JudgeHawthorne of Hollywood to envy John Randolph his humdrum life of mendingrakes and shoes, " and he urged his horse into a mad gallop. 

 * * * * *

"I believe I'd like to be poor and work, John, " he exclaimed one day. "It gets tiresome having everything laid ready to your hand, withnothing to do but take it. Life must be full of snap when you have todash your will up against old Dame Fortune and wrest what you want outof her miserly clutches. "

"Yes, " said John simply, "Jesus Christ was poor. "

"Look here, John. If you don't stop that nonsense, people will bedubbing you a crank. "

"I am ready!" he cried, and there was a strange, exulting ring in hisvoice. "They called him mad, you know. "

CHAPTER VI. 

Evadne found herself one morning in Judge Hildreth's roomy coach-house, watching Pompey, as he skilfully groomed her uncle's pets. 

It had been decided that after the summer holidays, she should become amember of the fashionable school which Isabelle and Marion attended. Inthe meantime she was left almost entirely to her own devices. Her unclewas away all day, Louis at College, and her aunt busy with socialduties. Her cousins had their own particular friends, who were not slowto vote the silent girl with the mournful grey eyes, full of dumbquestioning, a bore; while Evadne, accustomed to being her father'scompanion in all his scientific researches, found their vapid chatterwearisome in the extreme. 

Horses were a passion with her, and she noted with pleased interestPompey's deft manipulations. She stood for a long time in silence. Pompey had saluted her respectfully then kept on steadily with his work. Dexterously he swept the curry-comb over the shining coats and thendrew it through the brush in his left hand with a curious vocalaccompaniment, something between a long-drawn whistle and a sigh, andthe horses laid their heads against his shoulder affectionately andlooked wonderingly at the stranger out of their large, bright eyes. 

"Did you really know my father?" she asked at length. 

"Laws, yes, Missy!" and Pompey's honest black face grew tender withsympathy. "Mass Lennux stayed with the Jedge 'fore he went terBarbadoes, an' he spen' powerful sight of his time out here wid me an'de horses. He wuz allers del'cut, --warn't able ter do nothin' in thisyere climate, --but he bed sech a sperit! He wouldn't ever let folks knowwhen he wuz a sufferin'. He use ter call me 'Pompous, '" and Pompeychuckled softly. "He say when I git inter my fur coat I look as gran' onde box as de Jedge do inside; an' one day he braided de horses' manesinter a hunderd tails an' tied 'em wid yaller ribbun, 'cause he said decrimps wuz in de fashun an' yaller wuz de Jedge's 'lecshun color. DeJedge wuz powerful angry. He don't like no sech tricks wid his horses. But, laws, he couldn't keep angry wid Mass Lennux! He jes' stood widhis hans on his sides an' larf an' larf, till de Jedge he hev ter larftoo, an' he call him a graceless scamp, an' say he send him terCoventry, an' Mass Lennux he say 'all right ef de Jedge go 'long too, an' take de horses, he couldn't do widout dem nohow. '"

"Were these the horses my father used to ride?"

"Laws, no, Missy. Dey wuz ez black ez night. Mass Lennux use ter call'em Egyp an' Erybus. "

Pompey's face softened. 

"When my leetle gal died he jes' put his han' on my shoulder an' sezhe, --'Pompous, you jes' go home an' cheer up de Missis, yer don't hev nocall to worry 'bout de horses. ' An' he tuk care of dem jes' as ef he'dben a coachman. We'll never fergit it, Dyce an' me. "

Evadne's eyes shone. That was just like her father!

"'Specs little Miss is powerful lonesum 'thout Mass Lennux?"

The soft voice was full of a genuine regret. Evadne sank down on a benchwhich stood near by and burst into tears. 

"Oh, Pompey, I wish I could die!"

"'Specs little Miss hez no call ter wish dat, " said Pompey gently. "'Specs de Lord Jesus wants her to live fer him. "

Evadne opened her eyes in wonder. 

"'The Lord Jesus, '" she repeated. "Why, Pompey, do you know him?"

A great joy transfigured the black face. 

"He is my Frien', " he said simply. 

Evadne leaned forward eagerly. "Oh, Pompey, if that is true, then youcan help me find him. "

Pompey smiled joyously. "Miss 'Vadney don't need ter go far away ferdat. He is right here. "

"Here!" echoed Evadne faintly. 

"Lo, I am wid you all de days'" Pompey repeated softly. "De Lord Jesusdon't leave no gaps in his promises, Miss 'Vadney. He's allers wid mewherever I is workin', an' when I is up on my box a drivin' troo destreets, he's dere. He's wid me continuous. Dere's nuthin can sepratePompey from de Lord, " he added with a sweet reverence. 

"How can you be so sure?" she asked wistfully. 

"I hez his word, Missy. You allers b'lieved your father? 'I will notleave you orphuns, I will cum ter you. ' I 'specs dat verse is meantspeshully fer you, Miss 'Vadney. "

"But we can't see him, " said Evadne. 

"Only wid de eye of faith, Missy. We trusts our friens in de dark. Youdidn't need ter see your father ter know he wuz in de house?"

"Oh, no!" Evadne's voice trembled. 

"It's jes' de same wid my Father, Miss 'Vadney. "

"How can you call God so, Pompey?"

A great sweetness came over the homely face. 

"'Cause he hez sent his Sperit inter my heart, an' poor black Pompey canlook up inter de shinin of his face an' say 'my Father, ' 'cause I'sehidden away in his Son. I'se a little branch abidin' in de great Vine. I'se one wid de Lord Jesus. "

"I don't know where to look for him!" Evadne cried disconsolately. 

Pompey laid aside his curry-comb and brush and folded his toil-wornhands. 

"Lord Jesus, " he said quietly, "here is thy little lamb. She's out in dedark mountain, an' she's lonesum an' hungry, an' de col' rain of sorrowis beatin' on her head. Lord, thou is de good Shepherd. Let her hear thyvoice a callin' her. Carry this little lamb in thy bosom an' giv her dejoy of thy love. "

 * * * * *

Judge Hildreth sat in his library far into the night. He was reading forthe twentieth time the letter which Evadne had placed in his hands themorning after her arrival, and as he read, he frowned. 

"It is ridiculous, absurd!" he exclaimed impatiently. "Just of a piecewith all of Len's quixotic theories. By what possible chance could achild of that age know how to manage money? She would make ducks anddrakes of the whole business in less than a year!"

A letter addressed to Evadne lay upon the pile of age-worn papers in anopen drawer at his side. 

"I enclose herewith a letter to Evadne, " his brother had written, "giving full and minute explanations as to her best course in thematter. These she will follow implicitly, under your supervision, and Ifeel confident the result will be a well-developed character along thelines on which women, through no fault of their own, are so lamentablydeficient, namely, the proper conduct of business and management ofmoney. "

Judge Hildreth looked again at the envelope with its clear, boldaddress. "That is not the handwriting of a fool, " he muttered. "I wish Icould make up my mind what to do. "

Through the solemn hush of midnight his good and evil angels contendedfor his soul. In a strange silence he listened to their voices, the oneinsidious, tempting, the other urging him to take the upright course. Had his eyes not been holden he would have seen them, the onedark-browed, malignant, clothed in shadows, the other robed in light;while other angels hovered near and looked on pityingly. The white-robedangel spoke first. 

"It is not a question to be decided by your judgment. There is no othercourse left open to you. "

Mockingly the other answered. "It is a most unprecedented proceeding. You should have been appointed her guardian, with sole control. "

"It is your brother's last will and testament. "

"Some wills are made to be broken. This one is against sound reason. "

"It is the only honorable thing to do. "

"It is unnecessary. The child need not know, and, if she did, wouldthank you for saving her from care. "

"It is your brother's money. He had a right to do as he will with hisown. "

"If he had known to what straits this year's speculations have broughtyou, he would be glad to give you a lift. If you do not have money nowwhat are you going to do? This has come just in time, for you know yourcredit is already strained to its utmost. " "Your niece will be anxiousto have your advice as to profitable investments. You can borrow themoney from her. "

"That would be awkward, in case the bottom fell out of the mine. Alittle capital in hand would give you a chance to water the Panhattanstock and develop a new lead in the Silverwing. "

"If you use money that does not belong to you, you will be a thief!"

"If you do not use it, you will be a pauper. You have paper out now tofive times the amount of your income. This is an interposition ofProvidence to save you from ruin. "

"What right had you to put yourself in the way of ruin?"

"You did it to advance the interests of your family. The Bible says, 'Ifany provide not for his own, especially his own kindred, he . .. Is worsethan an infidel. '[Footnote: Marginal rendering A. V. ]"

"If you do this thing you will be dishonored in the sight of God. "

"If you do not save yourself from this temporary embarrassment, you willbe disgraced in the eyes of the world. You owe it to your position insociety, and the church, to keep above the waves. " The listeningspirits heard a low, malicious laugh of triumph and the white-robedangel turned sadly away. 

Judge Hildreth had thrust Evadne's letter, with his own, far under thepile of papers, and double-locked the drawer!

 * * * * *

Above the coach-house was a large room where Pompey kept a store of hayand grain, and there Evadne often found herself ensconced withIsabelle's Bible, during the long mornings when she was left to amuseherself as best she might. The atmosphere of the house stifled her, andPompey had loved her father! It was scrupulously clean. Under Pompey'srégime spiders and moths found no tolerance, and a magnificent black cateffectually frightened away the audacious rodents which were tempted todepredations by the toothsome cereals in the great bins. In one cornerPompey had improvised for her a luxurious couch of hay and rugs, and inthis fragrant retreat Evadne studied her strange new book. She broughtto it a mind absolutely untrammeled by creed or circumstance, and inthis virgin soil God's truth took root. Slowly the light dawned. Herswas no shallow nature to leap to a hasty conclusion and then forsake itfor a later thought. Gradually through the darkness, as God's flowersgrow, this human flower lifted itself towards the light. 

Sometimes she would sit for hours with the stately cat upon her knee, thinking, thinking, thinking, while Pompey sang his favorite hymns abouthis work and the mellow strains floated up the stairway and soothed herlonely heart. His childlike faith became to her a tower of refuge, andoften, when bewildered by life's inconsistencies, she felt as if theeternal realities were vanishing into mist, she was calmed and comfortedby his happy trust. 

"I cannot imagine, Evadne, " said Isabelle one evening at dinner, "whatpleasure you can find in sitting in a stable in company with a negro! Itcertainly shows a most depraved taste. "

"Christ was born in a stable, Isabelle. "

"What in the world has that to do with you?"

"I am beginning to think he has everything to do with me, " answered hercousin quietly. 

"Well, " said Isabelle with a toss of her head, "we are known by thecompany we keep. I should imagine Pompey's curriculum of manners was noton a very elevated plane. "

"Pompey! Isabelle, " said Judge Hildreth suddenly. "Why, my dear, Pompeyis a modern Socrates, bound in ebony. There is no danger to beapprehended from him. "

"Well, it is a peculiar companionship for Judge Hildreth's niece, thatis all I have to say, " said Isabelle coldly, "but _chacun à son goût_. "

"I read this morning in your Bible that God had chosen the base thingsof the world, and things which are despised, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are. What does that mean, Isabelle?"

"Really, Evadne, we shall have to send you to live with Doctor Jerome!"said her aunt, with a careless laugh. "You are getting to be a regularinterrogation point. We are not Bible commentators, child, you cannotexpect us to explain all the difficult passages. 

"The Embroidery Club meets here tomorrow, Evadne, " exclaimed Marion, "and I don't believe you have touched your table scarf since they werehere before. What will Celeste Follingsby think? She works so rapidly, and her drawn work is a perfect poem. "

"No, I have not, " confessed Evadne. "It seems such silly work, to drawthreads apart and then sew them together again. "

Isabelle elevated her eyebrows with a look of horror. 

Louis laughed. "She's a hopeless case, Isabelle. You'll never converther into an elegant trifler. You might as well throw up the contract. "

"It seems to me, Evadne, " said his sister icily, "that you might have alittle regard for the decorums of society. Don't, I beg of you, giveutterance to such heresies before the girls. And I wish you would notcall it _my_ Bible. I did not make it. "

"That is quite true, Evadne, " said Louis gravely. "If she had, therewould have been a good deal left out. "

Isabella shot an angry glance at him but made no remark. Her brother'ssarcasms were always received in silence. 

"Eva, " she said after a pause, "I intend to call you by that name infuture, --your full one is too troublesome. "

Evadne shivered. Her father was the only one who had ever abbreviatedher name. "I shall not answer to it, " she said quietly. 

"Why, pray?"

"Because, I suppose, in common with the rest of the lower animals, Ihave a natural repugnance to being cut in two. "

"How tiresome you are!" exclaimed Isabelle with a pout. "I do not objectto my first syllable. All the girls at school call me Isa. Mamma, didyou remember to order the tulle for our wings? Claude Rivers hasfinished hers and they are perfectly sweet. She showed them to me thisafternoon. "

"Wings, Isabelle! What in the world are you up to now?"

"A Butterfly Social, Papa. We must raise money in some way. The churchis frightfully in debt. "

"That is a deplorable fact, but I did not know butterflies were famed asfinanciers. "

"Oh, of course it is just for the novelty of the thing. The last socialwe had was a Mother Goose, and we have had Brownie suppers and Pink teasand everything else we could think of. We must have something toattract, you know. "

"I wonder if it really pays?" ventured Marion. "It never seems to methere is much left, after you deduct the cost of the preparation. Peoplemight as well give the money outright. It would save them a world oftrouble. "

"Why, you silly child, it is to promote sociability in the church. As tothe trouble, of course we do not count that. We must expect to makesacrifices. "

"But they do not make the church any more sociable, " said Marion boldly, who, having struck for freedom of thought, was following up heradvantage. "The same people take part every time and the others are leftoutside. "

"Nonsense!" said Isabelle hotly. "It is only those who cannot afford totake part, and think what a treat it is for them to look on!"

"A sort of half-price theatre, " said Louis with a sneer. 

"I don't believe they find the looking on such fun as you think, " saidMarion, who was astonished at herself. "Suppose you try if they wouldn'tlike to take part and offer your place in the Cantata to Jemima Dobbs. "

"Well done, Sis!" and Louis applauded softly. 

Isabelle's lip curled. "Upon my word, Marion, you bid fair to become ashot an anarchist as Louise Michel. It is a mystery to me where you findout the Christian names of all the ungainly people in the congregation. The other sopranos would feel complimented to have a prima-donna with aface like a full moon and hands like a blacksmith's foisted upon them!One must have a little regard for appearances, " and Isabelle drew hergraceful figure up to its full height. 

"Jemima Dobbs isn't dynamite, and I have no anarchical tendencies, "persisted Marion stoutly, --"but beauty is only skin deep, Isabelle. Shesupports a sick mother and five children and that is more than any ofthe rest of us could do, " and Marion, frightened at her momentarytemerity, shrank back into her shell. 

"It is a most unaccountable thing, Lawrence, " said Mrs. Hildreth, "whythe church should be so heavily encumbered. I am sure you contributehandsomely and the pew rents are high. There is always a largecongregation. I cannot understand. "

"It is largely composed of transients though, my dear, and they nevercarry more than a nickel in their pockets, so the weight of the burdenfalls upon a few. The expenses are very heavy. Jerome wants to make itthe most popular church in the city, and the new quartette proves anextravagant luxury. "

"Oh, well, " said Mrs. Hildreth, "of course one cannot grudge the moneyfor that. Professional singing is such an attraction! The way MadameRialto took that high C last Sunday was superb. "

"Well, " said Isabelle, "I don't think there is any doubt that DoctorJerome is the most popular preacher in the city. He is going to preachnext Sunday on the moral progress of social sciences, and next month hecommences his series of sermons on the social problems of the day. Hedoes take such an interest in sociology. "

"But why doesn't he preach Jesus Christ?" asked Evadne wonderingly. 

"You will get to be a regular fanatic, Evadne, if you ring the changeson that subject so often. Doctor Jerome says he wants his people to havean intelligent idea of the progress of events. Of course everyoneunderstands the Bible. 

"I do think he is the loveliest man!" she continued rapturously, "he isso sympathetic; and Celeste Follingsby says he is 'perfectly heavenly inaffliction. ' Her little sister died last week, you know. It is soawkward that it should have happened just now. She will not be able totake any part in the Cantata, and she had the sweetest dress!"

"Very ill-timed of Providence!" said Louis gravely. "What a pity it is, Isabelle, that you couldn't have the regulation of affairs. " He yawnedand strolled lazily towards the fireplace. When he looked round again, Evadne was the only other occupant of the room. 

"Well, coz, what do you think of the situation? I belong to theworldlings, of course, but I confess the idea of Jesus Christ at aButterfly Social is tremendously incongruous. We have the best of it, Evadne, for we live up to our theories. Give it up, coz. You'll find ita hopeless task to make the Bible and modern Christianity agree. "

He looked at his watch. 

"I say, Evadne, Jefferson is playing at the Metropolitan in Richard III. To-night. Let us go and hear him. "

And Evadne went, and enjoyed it immensely. 

CHAPTER VII. 

"I am going for a long ride into the country, Evadne, " said her uncleone morning, "would you like to come with me?"

Evadne gave a glad assent. After her beautiful tropical life, it seemedto her as if she should choke, shut away from the wide expanse of skywhich she loved, among monotonous rows of houses and dingy streets. 

As they left the city behind them and the road swept out into the open, she gave a long sigh of delight. Her uncle laughed. 

"Well, Evadne, does it please you?"

"It is the first time I have felt as if I could breathe, " she said. 

"So you don't take kindly to Marlborough? Well, I suppose it is a rudeawakening from your sunny land, but you will get used to it. We growaccustomed to all life's disagreeable surprises as time rolls on. "

Evadne shivered. "I do not think I shall ever grow accustomed to it, Uncle Lawrence. "

"Ah, you are young. We grow wiser as our hair turns grey. "

"If that is wisdom, I do not care to grow wise. "

"Not grow wise, Evadne!" said her uncle quizzically. "In this age, whenwomen claim a surplusage of all the brain power bestowed upon the race!What will you do when you have to attend to business?"

"Business, " echoed Evadne, "I have never thought about it, UncleLawrence. "

"No turn for dollars and cents, eh? Did your father never consult youabout his affairs?"

Evadne's lip quivered. "Oh, yes, " she said, and her words were a cry ofpain, "he consulted me about everything, but I do not think there wasever any mention of money. Does money constitute business, UncleLawrence?"

"Wealth gives power, Evadne. Money is one of the greatest things in theworld. While we are on the subject I may as well tell you that yourfather wrote me concerning the disposition of his property. I shall lookafter your interests carefully, together with my own, and give you thesame quarterly allowance that my own girls have. When you are older Iwill go more into detail, but it is not worth while now to worry yourhead over columns of uninteresting figures. I shall open an account foryou at the National Bank and you can draw on that for your expenses. Your aunt will initiate you into the mysteries of shopping. By the way, you must have gone through that experience in Barbadoes. How did youmanage there?"

Evadne turned her head away and clenched her hands tightly as the floodof bitter-sweet memories threatened to engulf her. 

"Papa always went with me, " she said slowly, "whatever he liked Ichose. "

Judge Hildreth gave a sigh of relief. He had extricated himself from adifficult position with diplomatic skill. It did not occur to him that alie which is half the truth is the meanest kind of a lie. He hadacquainted his niece with all that was necessary for her to know atpresent, and at the same time left himself a loophole of escape from theimputation of disregarding his brother's wishes. When she became oldenough to assume the responsibility, and he got his affairs straightenedout sufficiently to admit of transferring to her care the funds whichwere so absolutely essential to his present success, he would put Evadnein full possession of her inheritance. Results had proved the wisdom ofhis decision. By her own acknowledgment his niece had never given athought to the subject. His brother's plan would be a height ofimprudence from which he was bound to shield her. 

In Evadne's mind also thought was busy. "Money is one of the greatestthings in the world, " her uncle had said, and she had read that morning, "tongues shall cease, and knowledge shall be done away, but love neverfaileth. Now abideth faith, hope, and love; the greatest of these islove. " Was Louis right? Did Christians and the Bible not agree? And thebusiness of _her_ life was to find Jesus Christ. Was there any money inthat?

When they reached Hollywood, where Judge Hildreth had business with Mr. Hawthorne, Evadne was in an ecstasy of silent rapture. She had neverdreamed what a New England farm might be. Its varied beauty, clad in thedazzling robes of early summer, came upon her with the suddenness of arevelation. She begged to be allowed to wait for her uncle out of doors, and wandered slowly on past the great barns to where the wide gatestretched across the green road. When she reached it she stopped andlooked with keen delight at the beautiful creatures in the fields oneither side. The sunshine fell upon her with loving warmth; in thedistance she could hear the whirr of a mowing machine and the shouts ofthe men at work. A magnificent young horse thrust his head familiarlyover the fence near by, and under the shade of a great tree Primrose, with her graceful calf beside her, was lazily chewing her cud. 

Everything spoke of contentment and comfort and peace. An unutterablelonging seized upon the lonely girl. Here at least she would have God'screatures to love, and his woods and the sky! She laid her head downupon the gate with a smothered cry. 

"If I only belonged, --like the cows!"

"Pitty lady!"

Startled by the sweet, baby voice, Evadne looked up to find a pair oflaughing blue eyes peeping sympathetically at her. The sun-bonnet hadfallen back and the golden curls were tossed in luxurious confusion overthe little head. 

Evadne caught the child in her arms. 

"You little darling!"

"Yes, me is, " said the child, resting contentedly within Evadne'sembrace, as if, with the mysterious telepathy of childhood, sherecognized a spiritual affinity which she was bound to help. "Me's verynice. Don says so. "

"And who is Don?" asked Evadne. 

"Don's my bootiful man. Me's doin' to marry Don when me gets big. Oh, dere he is!" and breaking from Evadne, she rolled herself between thebars of the gate and ran at the top of her speed towards John Randolph, who just then appeared around a bend in the road, one arm thrown lightlyover the neck of the horse he had been training. 

"Halloo, Nansie!" Evadne heard his cheery greeting, saw him stoop andlift the child on to the horse's back, and was so interested in thepretty scene that she forgot she was a stranger. When she came toherself with a start the little cavalcade had reached the gate and JohnRandolph stood before her with his hat in his hand. 

Evadne bowed. "It is so beautiful!" she said. "I have been waiting formy uncle and lost myself among the harmonies of Nature. "

John Randolph's eyes lightened. "It is God's world, " he answered with asweet reverence. 

Evadne looked full into the shining face. "Do you know Jesus Christ?"she asked impulsively. 

The face softened into a great tenderness. "He is my King. "

"And do you love him?"

"With all there is of me. "

A servant came just then to say the Judge was waiting. 

"I will come at once, " Evadne said courteously. Then she turned oncemore to John. "And what do _you_ think of life?" she cried softly. 

"Life!" he said, and there was a strange, exultant ring in his voice. "Life is a beautiful possibility. "

There was no time for more, but in the spirit realm of kinship nomultitude of words is needed. Only a few moments had passed, yet in thatlittle space two souls had met. What did it matter if the deviousturnings of life should lead them far apart, or the barring gate ofcircumstance forever separate them? They had found each other!

"Pitty lady!--Nan loves oo, dear, " and the child whom John held seatedon the broad top rail of the gate, held up her rosy lips for a kiss. 

Instinctively Evadne held out her hand to John. Spiritual ethics laughat the conventionalities of time. "Good-bye, " she said, "and thank you. "

She looked back once to wave her hand to little Nan. John was standingas she had left him, one arm encircling the child who nestled close tohim, while over his right shoulder the horse had thrust his handsomehead. Always afterward she saw him so. It was a parable of what God hadmeant man to be. 

 * * * * *

Long after the sound of the carriage wheels had died away John stoodmotionless, beholding again as in a vision the earnest face andwonderful grey eyes. Then he stooped for his hat which had fallen to theground when he had taken her hand in his. As he did so, he saw a daintybit of lawn lying on the other side of the gate. He put his hand betweenthe bars and caught it just as the breeze was about to blow it away. Helooked at the name which was delicately traced in one corner with astrange sense of pleasure: Evadne. 

"It fits her, " he said to himself. "There's a sweet elusiveness abouther. She makes me think of a bird. She'll let you come just so far, until she gets to trust you, and then you'll have all her sweetness. "

He drew a long breath which was strangely like a sigh, and, folding thehandkerchief carefully, put it in his pocket. 

"Pitty lady, " murmured little Nan drowsily, and John caught her up andkissed her, --he could not have told why. 

 * * * * *

"I do think Dorothy Bruce is the kindest creature!" exclaimed Marion oneSaturday morning as they lingered with a pleasant sense of leisure overthe breakfast table. "She offered to give up the whole of to-day to me. I thought it was lovely when she works so hard all the week. "

"Give it up to you. Why, what do you mean, Marion? We never haveanything to do with her in school. What could you possibly want of herhere?"

"Oh, it is that doleful algebra, " sighed Marion. "It is utterlyimpossible for me to get it into my head, and Dorothy takes to it like aduck to water, and she is a born teacher. Madame Castle says heraptitude for imparting knowledge amounts to genius. You must allow itwas kind of her, Isabelle. "

Isabelle shrugged her shoulders. "Self-interested, most likely. Thatsort of people would do anything to obtain a foothold. "

"Oh, Isabelle!" cried Evadne. "Do have a little faith in yourfellow-man! Why should you set yourself up on a pinnacle and despiseeveryone who is poor, when the father of us all hoed for a living?"

Louis looked up from the paper he was reading. "There are two thingsIsabelle has no faith in, Evadne. The Declaration of Independence andthe book she loaned you. One says all men are free and equal, --the otherthat God has made of one blood all the nations of the earth. Her SereneHighness objects to this. She will have the blue blood come insomewhere, though where she gets it from heaven only knows!"

"Louis, I do wish you would not be so radical!" Isabelle said, peevishly. "You must admit there is such a thing as culture andrefinement. "

"Certainly I admit it. The only thing I object to is that you talk as ifyou possessed a monopoly of the article, whereas I hold that it is justa question of environment. It is no thanks to you that you were not borna Hottentot or a Choctaw. Give yourself the same ancestors andsurroundings as your chimney-sweep and wherein would you be superior tohim? And when it comes to ancestry, by the way, probably Miss Bruce cantrace back to some of the grand old Highland chiefs who coveredthemselves with glory long before the lineage of Hildreth had emergedfrom obscurity. "

"I don't know anyone who likes to choose his company better than you!"observed Isabelle sarcastically. 

"Certainly I do. Similarity of environment presupposes similarity oftastes. Probably my idea of enjoyment would not accord with thechimney-sweep's, but at the same time I don't look down on the poorbeggar because he hasn't been as fortunate as I in getting his breadwell buttered. There is a law of cultivation for humanity as well asplants. Surround a succession of generations with all the advantages ofwealth, education and travel, and you produce the aristocrat; just asyou get the delicate Solanum Wendlandi from the humble potato blossom. Set your aristocrat in the wilderness to earn his living by the sweat ofhis brow, --let the rain and wind beat upon his delicate skin, --shut himaway from all the elevating influences to which he has been accustomed, and, in course of time, what have you? His descendants have retrograded. The Solanum has become a potato again. "

"That is all very well, " said Isabelle, "but I believe the instinct ofculture will be dormant somewhere. "

"Then why do you not recognize it in your chimney-sweep? For all youknow he may be the descendant of some impecunious sire of a lordlyhouse. Probably plenty of them are. "

Louis rose and tossed the paper carelessly to his mother, who had beenan amused listener to the discussion. It never occurred to him to do sobefore. What did women want to know about politics or the turf?

"Jesus Christ never seemed to care about externals, " said Evadnesoftly. "He chose his friends among the common people. "

"For pity's sake, Evadne!" cried Isabelle. "When will you learn that theBible is not to be taken literally?"

"Not to be taken literally!" echoed Evadne in wonderment. "How is it tobe taken then?"

"Isabelle means that we have to make allowances, " said her aunt. "Christcould do a great many things that you cannot. "

Evadne was silent, while the words of Jesus kept ringing in her ears:"For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have doneto you. " If only she could understand!

"By the way, Evadne, " said Mrs. Hildreth, "I beg you will not repeatyour mistake of yesterday. "

"What do you mean, Aunt Kate?"

"Bringing such a disreputable character into the house. When I came inand found her sitting in the hall and you talking to her I was perfectlyparalyzed. Horrible! Why her rags were abominable, and her feet werebare!"

"But she had no shoes, Aunt Kate, and she was just my height. I was soglad that my clothes would fit her. "

"A pretty thing to have your clothes paraded through the streets bysuch a creature! Most likely she would pawn them for gin. I am sure shewas an improper character. "

"But, Aunt Kate, " pleaded Evadne, "Jesus Christ says we must clothe thenaked and feed the hungry if we would be his followers. I must do as hetells me for I am going to follow him. "

"Your uncle does enough of that for the family, " said her aunt coldly. "I do not wish you to try any such experiments again. "

Puzzled and chilled, Evadne left the room. Was obeying the commands ofChrist only an "experiment" after all?

She crept up to her favorite retreat and threw herself upon her gaylycovered couch. "Oh, Jesus Christ!" she cried passionately, "I am _glad_I did not live in Galilee when you were there! Aunt Kate and Isabellewould have thought it bad form for me to follow you in the crowd wherethe sinners were. But they can't keep me from doing so now!

"Oh, I wish I were dead! No one would care. Yes, Pompey would be sorry. Louis would call it 'a sable attachment, ' but Pompey loved my father. Oh, dearest! dearest!"

She buried her head in her hands while wave after wave of desolationbroke over the lonely soul. "A beautiful possibility" her knight of thegate had said. Could life become that to her?

Downstairs Pompey began to sing, --

 "Shall we meet beyond the river, Where the surges cease to roll, Where in all the bright forever Sorrow ne'er shall press the soul?"

The rich vibrations rolled up and trembled about her. She held out herarms and her voice broke in a cry of triumphant faith, "Yes, we _shall_meet, Lord Jesus, face to face!"

CHAPTER VIII. 

"Pompey, " said Evadne one morning, "I am going to see your wife. "

The black face beamed with satisfaction. "Dyee'll be mighty uplifted, Miss 'Vadney. She think a powerful sight o' Mass Lennux. "

Evadne stood watching him as he gave finishing touches to the silvermountings of the handsome harness. "I don't believe there is anotherharness in Marlborough that shines like yours, Pompey, " she said with alaugh. "You are as particular with it as though every day was a specialoccasion. "

"So 'tis, Miss 'Vadney, " said Pompey simply. "Can't slight nuthin' whende Lord's lookin' on. Whoa, Brutis! Dere's goin' ter be Holiness to deLord written on de bells ob de horses bimeby, Missy. I'se got it writdere now. "

"I believe you have, Pompey, " said Evadne soberly, "for you do your workjust as perfectly whether Uncle Lawrence is going to see it or not. Italmost seems as if you were trying to please someone out of sight. "

Pompey drew himself up to his full height. "I'se a frien' ob de LordJesus, Miss 'Vadney. I'se got ter do everything perfect 'cause ob dat. Couldn't bring no disgrace on my Lord. "

"But would that disgrace him?" asked Evadne in wonderment. 

"Why, yes, Missy. Ef I wuz a poor, shifles' crittur, only workin' fer depraise o' men, folks would say, --'he's no differen' frum de rest; you'vegot to keep yer eye on him ef yer want tings done properly. De King'schillen ain't no better dan de worl's chillen be. '

"De Lord Jesus, he say to me, --'Pompey, you must be faithful in delittle things as well as in de big. I never slurred nuthin when I wuz awalkin' up and down troo Palestine. I sees you, Pompey; don't make nodifference whether de earthly master does or not. ' So I does all delittle tings to de Lord, Miss 'Vadney, an' de Jedge knows he can depen'on Pompey. Whenever he wants me, I'se here. "

"That is lovely!" said Evadne softly. "But don't you get dreadfullytired doing the same work over and over? Every day you have to doexactly the same things. It is as bad as a tread-mill. You just keep ongoing round and round. "

Pompey gave one of his low chuckles. "'Specs dat's de way in dis worl', Miss 'Vadney. We'se got ter keep on eatin', an' we can't sleep enuff onenight ter last fer a week, --but I 'low it's jes' one o' de beautifullaws ob de Lord, --de sun an' de moon an' de stars keeps a'goin over desame ground most continuous. So long as we'se doin' his will, Missy, itdon't matter much whether we'se goin' roun' an' roun' or straight ahead. Stan' over, Ceesah!" and Pompey gave a final polish to the horse'salready immaculate legs. 

"Why don't you blacken their hoofs, Pompey? They used to do it inBarbadoes. "

Pompey's eyes twinkled. "Dat's a no 'count livery notion, Miss 'Vadney, a coverin' up de cracks an' makin' de horse's hufs look better dan deyis. De King's chillens can't stoop ter any sech decepshuns. De LordJesus says, 'Pompey, I is de truff. You's got ter speak de truff an'live de truff ef you belongs ter me. ' We ain't got no call ter cover upanything, Miss 'Vadney, ef we'se livin' ez de Lord wants us to. 'Sides, der ain't no 'cashun fer it. Ef we keeps de stable pure an' de food goodan' gives de horse de right kind of exercise an' plenty of 'tention, dehufs will take care ob demselves, " and he held Caesar's foot up for herinspection. 

"Halloo, Evadne, are you taking lessons in farriery? What's the matter, Pompey? Has Caesar got a sand crack?" and Louis sauntered up, theinevitable cigar between his lips. 

"I don't 'low my horses ever hez sech things, Mass Louis, " said Pompeygrandly. 

"Ha, ha! what a conceited old beggar you are. But I'll give the devilhis due and acknowledge the horses are a credit to you. " He held a dollartowards him balanced on his forefinger. "Here, take this and fill yourpipe with it. "

"Don't want no pay fer doin' my dooty, Mass Louis. "

"Pshaw, man! Take a tip, can't you?"

Pompey shook his head. "I don't smoke, Mass Louis. "

"Don't smoke!" ejaculated Louis. "You don't here, I know, because theJudge is afraid of fire, but you'll never make me believe that you don'tspend your evenings over the fire with your pipe. You darkeys are asfond of one as the other. "

"You's mistaken, Mass Louis, " said Pompey quietly. 

"'Pon my word! And why don't you smoke, Pomp? You don't know what you'remissing. It is the greatest comfort on earth. "

"'Specs I don't need sech poor comfort, Mass Louis. I takes my comfortwid de Lord. "

Pompey's voice was low and sweet. Evadne felt her heart glow. 

"But come now, Pomp, " persisted Louis, "that's all nonsense. You musthave some reason for not smoking. Everybody does. Come, I insist on yourtelling me. "

Pompey was silent for a moment. "'The pure in heart shall see God, '" hesaid slowly. "I 'low, Mass Louis, de King's chillen's got ter be pure inbody too. "'

"You insolent scoundrel! How dare you?" and Louis dashed the glowing endof his cigar in the negro's face. 

For a moment Pompey stood absolutely still, --the cigar which had leftits mark upon his cheek lying smouldering at his feet, --then he turnedquietly and walked away. 

Louis strode out of the coach-house. Evadne followed him, her eyesblazing. "You are a coward!" she cried passionately. "You would not havedared to do that to a man who could hit you back. You forced him to tellyou and then struck him for doing it! If this is your culture andrefinement, I despise it! I am going to be a Christian, like Pompey. That is grand!"

"Well done, coz!" and Louis affected a laugh. "There's not much of the'meek and lowly' in evidence just now at any rate. "

He looked after her as she walked away, her indignant tones stilllingered in his ears. "By Jove! there's something to her though she isso quiet! I must cultivate the child. "

Seen through Evadne's clear eyes his action looked despicable and hisbetter nature suggested an apology, but he swept the suggestion asidewith a muttered "Pshaw! he's only a nigger, " and turned carelessly onhis heel. 

"You are Dyce!" cried Evadne impulsively when she reached the cottage inwhose open doorway a pleasant-faced colored woman was standing. "Pompeyhas told me about you. I think your husband is one of the grandest men Iknow. "

"Thank you, Missy. Walk right in, I'se proper glad ter see Mass Lennux'schile. "

"Why, how did you know me?" asked Evadne wonderingly. 

The woman laughed softly. "Laws, honey, you'se de livin' image of yerPa. "

She excused herself after a few moments and Evadne laid her head againstthe cushions of a comfortable old rocking chair and rested. She wonderedsometimes where her old strength had gone. She had never felt tired inBarbadoes. The tiny room was full of a homely comfort which did herheart good. There were books lying on the table and flowers in thewindow, a handsome cat purred in front of the fireplace, and on abracket in one corner an asthmatic clock ticked off the hours withwheezy vigor. In an adjoining room Evadne could see a bed with its gaypatchwork quilt of Dyce's making, and in the little kitchen beyond sheheard her singing as she trod to and fro. A couple of dainty muslindresses were draped over chairs, for Dyce was the finest clear starcherin Marlborough, and her kitchen was all too small to hold the productsof her skill. She entered the room again bearing a tray covered with asnowy napkin on which were quaint blue plates of delicious bread andbutter, pumpkin pie, golden browned as only Dyce could bake it, and acup of fragrant coffee. 

"I did not know anything could taste quite so good!" Evadne said whenshe had finished, "you must be a wonderful cook. "

Dyce laughed, well pleased. "When de Lord gives us everything inperfecshun, 'specs it would be terrible shifles' of me ter spoil it inde cookin', Miss 'Vadney. "

"The Lord, " repeated Evadne. "You know him too, then? You must, if youlive with Pompey. "

Dyce's face grew luminous. "He is my joy!" she said softly. 

"And does he make you happy all the time?" asked the girl wistfully. "You seem to have to work as hard as Pompey. What is it makes you soglad?"

"Laws, honey, how kin I help bein' glad? De chile o' de King, on de wayter my Father's palace. Ain't dat enuff 'cashun ter keep a poor culleredwoman rejoicin' all de day long? I'se so happy I'se a singin' all detime over my work, an' in de street; it don't matter where I be. "

"But you can't sing in the streets, Dyce!"

"Laws, chile, don't yer know de heart kin sing when de lips is silent?It's de heart songs dat de King tinks de most of, but when de heart gitstoo full, den de lips hez ter do deir share. "

"But suppose you were to lose your eyesight, or Pompey got sick, or----"

Dyce gave one of her soft laughs. "Laws, honey, I never supposes. DeLord's got no use fer a lot o' supposin' chillen who's allers frettin'demselves sick fer fear Satan'll git de upper han'. De Lord's reignin', dat's enuff fer me. I 'low he'll take care o' me in de best way. "

Evadne looked again at the exquisitely laundered dresses. "Why do youwork so hard?" she asked. "Doesn't Pompey get enough to live on?"

"Oh, yes, honey; de Jedge gives good wages; but yer see, we wants to doso much fer Jesus dat de wages don't hold out. "

"So much for Jesus!"

"Why, yes, Missy. He says ef we loves him we'll do what he tells us, an'he's tol' us ter feed de hungry, an' clothe de naked, an' go preach degospel. So, when we cum ter talk it ober, it seem drefful shifles' in meter be doin' nothin' when de Lord worked night an' day, so I begun tertake in laundry work an' now we hev more money ter spen' on de Lord. Butwe never hez enuff. De worl's so full o' perishin' souls an' starvin'bodies. I tells Pompey I never wanted ter be rich till I began ter do deKing's bizniss. It's drefful comfortin' work, Miss 'Vadney. "

 * * * * *

The chill March wind blew fiercely along the streets of Marlborough oneafternoon and Evadne shivered. She had been standing for an hour wedgedtightly against the doors of the Opera House by an impatient crowd whichswayed hither and thither in a fruitless effort to force an entrance. Itwas Signor Ferice's farewell to America and it was his whim to make hislast concert a popular one, with no seats reserved. Every nerve in herbody seemed strained to its utmost tension and her head was in a whirl. She turned and faced the crowd. A sea of faces; some eager, some sullen, some frowning, all impatient. The scraps of merry talk which had floatedto her at intervals during the earlier stages of the waiting were nolonger heard. A gloomy silence seemed to have settled down upon everyone. Suddenly a laugh rang out upon the keen air, --so full of a clearjoyousness that people involuntarily straightened their droopingshoulders, as if inspired with a new sense of vigor and smiled insympathy. 

Evadne started. Surely she had heard that voice before! It mustbe, --yes, it was, --her knight of the gate! Their eyes met. A great lightswept over his face and he lifted his hat. Then the surging crowdcarried him out of her range of vision. 

"I don't see what you find to look so pleased about, Evadne, " grumbledIsabelle, as they drove homeward. "For my part I think the whole thingwas a fizzle. "

"I was thinking, " said Evadne slowly, "of the power of a laugh. "

"The power of a laugh! What in the World do you mean?"

"I mean that it is a great deal better for ourselves to laugh than tocry, and vastly more comfortable for our neighbors. "

"Evadne will not be down, " announced Marion the next morning as sheentered the breakfast room. "She caught a dreadful cold at the concertyesterday and she can't lift her head from the pillow. Celestine thinksshe is sickening for a fever. "

"Dear me, how tiresome!" exclaimed Mrs. Hildreth. "I have such a horrorof having sickness in the house, --one never knows where it will end. Ring the bell for Sarah, Marion, to take up her breakfast. "

"It is no use, Mamma. She says she does not want anything. "

"But that is nonsense. The child must eat. If it is fever, she will needa nurse, and nurses always make such an upheaval in a house. "

"You had better go up, my dear, and see for yourself, " said JudgeHildreth. "Celestine may be mistaken. "

"Mercy!" cried Isabelle, "it is to be hoped she is! I have the mostabject horror of fevers and that is enough to make me catch it. Fancyhaving one's head shorn like a convict! The very idea is appalling. "

"Oh, of course if there is the slightest danger, you and Marion willhave to go to Madame Castle's to board, " said her mother. "It is veryprovoking that Evadne should have chosen to be sick just now. "

"Not likely the poor girl had much choice in the matter, " laughed Louis. "There are a few things, lady mother, over which the best of us have nocontrol. "

"I wish you would go up and see the child, Kate, " said Judge Hildrethimpatiently. "If there is the least fear of anything serious I will sendthe carriage at once for Doctor Russe. It is a risky businesstransplanting tropical flowers into our cold climate. "

The kind-hearted French maid was bending over Evadne's pillow when Mrs. Hildreth entered the room. She had grown to love the quiet strangerwhose courtesy made her work seem light, and it was with genuine regretthat she whispered to her mistress, --"It is the feevar. I know it well. My seestar had it and died. "

Evadne's eyes were closed and she took no notice of her aunt's entrance. Mrs. Hildreth spoke to her and then left the room hurriedly to summonher husband. Even her unpractised eyes showed her that her niece wasvery ill. 

Doctor Russe shook his head gravely. "It is a serious case, " he said, "and I do not know Where you will find a nurse. I never remember aspring when there was so much sickness in the city. I sent my last nurseto a patient yesterday and since then have had two applications for one. It is most unfortunate. The young lady will need constant care. Sherequires a person of experience. "

Pompey, waiting to drive the doctor home, caught the words, spoken as hedescended the steps to enter the carriage, and came forward eagerly. "Ifyou please, Missus, " he said, touching his hat, "Dyce would come. She'shed a powerful sight of 'sperience nussin' fevers in New Orleans. She'dbe proper glad ter tend Miss 'Vadney. "

"How is that?" questioned the busy doctor. "Oh, your wife, my goodfellow? The very thing. Let her come at once. "

So Dyce came, and into her sympathetic ears were poured the deliriousravings of the lonely heart which had been so suddenly torn from itsgenial surroundings of love and happiness and thrust into the chillingatmosphere of misunderstanding and neglect. 

Every day the patient grew weaker and after each visit the doctor lookedgraver. Mrs. Hildreth began to feel the gnawings of remorse, as shethought of the lonely girl to whom she had so coldly refused adaughter's place; and the Judge's thoughts grew unbearable as heremembered his broken trust; even Louis missed the earnest face which hehad grown to watch with a curious sense of pleasure; while the girls atschool felt their hearts grow warm as they thought of the young cousinso soon to pass through the valley of the shadow. 

But Evadne did not die. The fever spent itself at last and therefollowed long days of utter prostration both of mind and body. Dyce'scheery patience never failed. Her sunny nature diffused a brighthopefulness throughout the sick chamber, until Evadne would lie in adreamy content, almost fancying herself back in the old home as shelistened to the musical tones and watched the dusky hands which sodeftly ministered to her comfort. One day after she had lain for a longtime in silence, she looked up at her faithful nurse and the grey eyesshone like stars. 

"Dyce!" she cried softly. "I have found Jesus Christ!"

CHAPTER IX. 

Reginald Hawthorne lay upon a couch on the wide veranda of his lovelyhome. The birds held high carnival around him, --nesting in the largecherry tree, playing hide and seek among the fragrant apple blossoms andmaking the air melodious with their merry songs. Brilliant oriolesflashed to and fro like gleams of gold in the sunlight, as they builttheir airy hammocks high among the swaying branches of the great willow, and one inquisitive robin swept boldly through the clustering vineswhich screened the front of the veranda and perched upon his shoulder. He heard the merry hum of the bees at work and the strident call of thelocusts, mingled with the distant neighing of horses and the soft lowingof the cows, but all the sweetness of nature was powerless to lift thegloom which seemed to envelop him as in a shroud. His face was white anddrawn with pain and there were heavy rings beneath his eyes. ReginaldHawthorne would be a cripple for life. 

The College Football Club had met a New York team in the yearlycontest, which was looked forward to as one of the events in theathletic world, and Reginald had been foremost among the leaders of theplay. Fierce and long had been the fight and the enthusiastic spectatorshad shouted themselves hoarse with applause or groaned in despair whenthe honor of Marlborough seemed likely to be lost. Then had come amighty onward rush and the opposing forces concentrated into oneseething mass of struggling humanity. When they drew apart at last theCollege boys had made the welkin ring with shouts of victory, but theirbravest champion lay white and still upon the field. 

Long days and nights of pain had followed, when John and Mrs. Hawthornewere at their wits' end to alleviate the sufferings of the unfortunateboy. Now the pain had resolved itself into a dull aching but Reginaldwould never walk without a crutch again. 

The mortification to his father was extreme. A passionate man, he hadcentred all his hopes upon his son, whose position in life he fondlyexpected to repay him for his years of unremitting toil, and this wasthe end of it all! He grew daily more overbearing and hard to please, and his ebullitions of disappointment and rage were terrible to witness. He vented his anger most frequently upon John, the sight of whosesuperb strength goaded the unhappy man into a frenzy, and John'sforbearance was tried to the utmost, but there was a sweet patiencegrowing in his soul which made it possible to endure in silence, howevercapricious or unreasonable the commands of his master might be, andReginald, watching him critically, marvelled at the mysterious innerstrength of his friend. 

He came along now with his quick, light step and drew a chair up besideReginald's couch. He planned his work so as to be with the invalid asmuch as possible, and his constant sympathy and cheer were all that madethe days bearable to him. 

"Well, Rege, how goes it?" he asked in tones as tender as a woman's. 

Reginald looked up at him with envious eyes. There was such a freshnessabout this strong young life, as if every moment were a separate joy. 

"I wish I was dead!" he answered moodily. 

"Don't dare to wish that!" said John quickly, "until you have made themost of your life. "

"The most of my life!" echoed Reginald contemptuously. "That's well put, John, I must say! What is my life worth to me now? You see what myfather thinks of it. A useless log, as valuable as a piece of wastepaper. I believe it would have pleased him better if I had been killedoutright. He wouldn't have had the humiliation of it always before hiseyes. If it had been any sort of a decent accident, I believe I couldbear it better, but to be knocked over in a football match, like theprecious duffer that I am--bah!"

The concentrated bitterness of the last words made John's heart ache. "Looking backward, Rege, " he said quietly, "will never make a man ofyou. It is only a waste of time and vital tissue. But there are lots ofnoble lives in spite of limitations. Paul had his thorn in the flesh, you know, and Milton his blindness. Difficulties are a spur to the bestthat is in us. "

"Difficulties, John. You never look at them, do you?"

John laughed. "It is not worth while except to see how to surmountthem. "

"I wish you could be idle just for an hour, " said Reginald peevishly, "you make me nervous. "

John took another stitch in the halter he was mending. "Old FatherTime's spoiling tooth is never still, Rege. I have to work to keep pacewith it. "

"I should think you would need a month of loafing to made up for thesleep you have lost. You're ahead of Napoleon, John, for he only keptone eye open, but I've never been able to catch you napping once. Howhave you stood it, man?"

"Forty winks is a fair allowance sometimes, Rege. "

Reginald groaned. "Your pluck is worth a king's ransom, John. I wish Ihad it. "

John began to whistle softly as he drew his waxed ends in and out. 

"I declare, John, I can't fathom you!" and Reginald moved impatientlyupon his couch. "You are invulnerable as Achilles. I never saw a fellowget so much comfort out of everything as you do, and yet your life is asteady grind. What does it all mean?"

"It means, " said John softly, "that I am a Christ's man, and he haslifted me above the power of circumstances. Jesus is centre andcircumference with me now, Rege. 

"You were talking yesterday about some men wanting the earth. I _own_the earth, because it belongs to my Father, --the best part of it, youknow, --there is a truer giving than by title deeds to materialacres--and the world has grown very beautiful since my Father made meheir of all things through his Son. The birds' songs have a new note inthem, and the sunlight is brighter, and there is a different blue inthe sky. I'm monarch of all I survey because I get the good out ofeverything, --mere earthly possession doesn't amount to much, a man hasto leave the finest estates behind him, --but I get the concentratedsweetness of it all wherever I am. It is God's world, you know, and heis my Father. "

John was called away just then to attend to some gentlemen who had cometo look at the horses, and Reginald waited for his return in vain. Heheard his father's voice once, raised high in stormy wrath, then all wasstill again. Some time afterwards, through the leafy curtain of hisveranda, he saw Mr. Hawthorne drive past with a face so distorted withpassion that he shivered. 

"There's been no end of a row this time, " he soliloquized. "It is amystery to me why John puts up with it. He's free to go when he chooses. I'm sure I'd clear out if I wasn't such a good-for-nothing. The governoris getting to be more like a bear than a human being, it's a dog's lifefor everybody unlucky enough to be under the same roof with him. "

 * * * * *

Down at the bend of the river a tall figure lay stretched upon the moss. The river laughed and the birds sang, but John Randolph's face wasburied in his arms. 

To leave Hollywood--that very night! The place whose very stones weredear to him, where he had learned all he knew of home. To be turned offlike a beggar, without a moment's warning, after all his years of toil!To say good-bye forever to the human friends who loved him, and thedear, dumb friends whom he had fondled and tended with such constantcare. Never again to swing along through the sweet freshness of themorning before the sun was up to find the earliest snowdrops for Mrs. Hawthorne, or take a spin in the moonlight with every nerve a-tingleacross the frozen bosom of the lake, or wander in delight along the woodroads when every tree was clad in the witching beauty of a silver thaw, or sweep across the wide stretching country in the very poetry ofmotion, or hear the soft swish of the tall grass as it fell in fragrantrows before the mower, or the creak of the vans as they bore its ripenedsweetness towards the great barns, while bird and bee and locust joinedin the harmony of the Harvest Home, until the sun sank to rest amidstcloud draperies of royal purple and crimson and gold and thesweet-voiced twilight soothed the world into peace. 

On and on the hours swept while John fought his battle. At length herose, and with long, lingering glances of good-bye to every tree androck and flower, began his homeward way. He would think of it so whilehe could. In a few short hours he would be a wanderer upon the face ofthe earth. A sudden joy crept into the weary eyes. So was Jesus Christ!

"Why, John, what has happened!" cried Reginald, as his faithful nursecame to make him comfortable for the night. "You look like a ghost, andyou have had no dinner! What the mischief is to pay? You must have beenprecious busy to leave me alone the whole afternoon. "

"I have been, Rege, " said John quietly, "very busy. "

"I declare, John, I'd make tracks for freedom if I were in your shoes. You're a regular convict, and, since you've had me on your hands, agalley slave is a gentleman of leisure in comparison! Why don't you go, John? You've had nothing but injustice at Hollywood. "

John fell on his knees beside the bed. "I am going, Rege. Your fatherhas ordered me away. "

When the thought which has floated--nebulous--across our mental vision, suddenly resolves itself into tangible form and becomes a solid fact tobe confronted and battled with, the shock is greater than if no shadowypremonition had ever haunted the dreamland of our fancy. Reginald gave alow cry, then he lay looking at John with eyes full of a blank horror. His mind utterly refused to grasp the situation. 

"You see, Rege, it is this way, " said John gently. "Your father seems tohave taken a dislike to me and lately I have fancied he was only waitingfor an excuse to turn me off. As soon as those fellows began to talk tohim about the horses I saw there was trouble brewing. Everything I didwas wrong, and once he swore at me. He would order me to bring one horseand then change his mind before I got half across the field, and then hewould rail at me for not having brought the first one. 

"They pitched on Neptune at last, and asked if he had been registered. Isaid 'No, ' so then they refused to pay the price your father asked, andhe had to come down on him. He was furious, and, as soon as the men'sbacks were turned, he ordered me out of his sight forever. He says Ihave ruined the reputation of Hollywood, " John's voice broke. 

"But, John, you mustn't go!" cried Reginald. "You cannot! My father isout of his mind. People don't pay any attention to the ravings of alunatic. "

John shook his head sadly. "He is master here, Rege. There is nothingelse for me to do. "

"But, John, it is impossible--preposterous! Why, everything will go toruin without you, and I will take the lead. "

"No, no!" said John quickly. "You will be a rich man some day, Rege. Wealth is a wonderful opportunity. Prepare yourself to use it well. "

"I tell you I can't do anything without you, John. I am like a shipwithout a rudder. It is no use talking. I cannot spare you. You must notgo!"

"If you take the great Pilot aboard, Rege, you will be in no danger ofdrifting. It is only when we choose Self for our Captain that the shipruns on the rocks. "

 * * * * *

"Don, Don!" The child heard his step in the hall long before he reachedthe door. He was coming, as he did every night, to give her a ride inhis arms before she went to by-by. She held out her little arms fromwhich the loose sleeves had fallen back. John lifted her up, for thelast time. 

He laid his strong, set face against the rosy cheek, and looked into thelaughing eyes which the sand man had already sprinkled with his magicpowder. "Nansie, baby, I have come to say good-bye. "

"Not dood-bye, Don, oo always say dood-night. "

"But it is good-bye this time, little one, there will be no moregood-nights for you and me. I am going away. "

A bewildered look swept over the child's face. "Away!" she echoed, "toleave Nan an' Pwimwose an' the horsies? Me'll do too, Don. He'll doanywhere wid oo, Don. "

"I wish I could take you!" and John strained her to his breast. "Butthere is no Neptune to carry us now, little one. Your father sold himthis afternoon. "

"My nice Nepshun!" The child's lip quivered, but something in thesuffering face above her made her say quickly, "Me'll be dood, Don, an'when oo turn back, me'll be waitin' at de gate. "

She patted his cheek confidingly. "Nice Don! Nan loves oo, dear, an'Desus. Nan loves Desus 'cause oo do, Don. "

John's voice choked. "Keep on loving, Nansie. "

"Yes, me will. Does Desus carry de little chil'en in his arms like oodo, Don? Me's so comf'able. Me loves Desus. "

The little arm, soft and warm, crept closer around his neck, while thegolden curls swept his cheek. "Oo's my bootiful man, Don. Me'll marry oowhen me gets big, " and then, all unconscious of the sorrow which shouldgreet her in the morning, the baby slept. 

To and fro across the floor John trod lightly with his precious burden. His arms never felt the weight. They would be such empty armsbye-and-bye! Then at last he laid her down, and, taking a pair ofscissors from his pocket, he carefully severed one of the golden ringsof hair, and laid it within the folds of the handkerchief which he stillcarried in his vest pocket. The fair girl and the little child. Theseshould be his memory of womanhood. 

[Illustration: 'ME'LL DO ANYWHERE, WIV OO, DON. ]

 * * * * *

In Reginald's room kind-hearted Mrs. Hawthorne was weeping bitterly. Sheloved John as her own son, but no one ever dreamed of disputing thetyrannical dictates of the master of Hollywood, however unjust theymight be. 

Reginald lay as John had left him with his face buried in the pillowsand utterly refused to be comforted. What comfort could there be ifJohn was going away? It never occurred to him that his mother neededcheer as much as he. Like all selfish souls his own pain completelyfilled his horizon. 

CHAPTER X. 

"I don't see what we are to do about Evadne!" and Mrs. Hildreth sigheddisconsolately. "She looks like a walking shadow. I should not besurprised if she had inherited her father's disease, and they say nowthat consumption is as contagious as diphtheria. "

"Horrors!" cried Isabelle. "Do quarantine her somewhere, Mamma, untilyou are quite sure there is no danger. I haven't the faintestaspirations to martyrdom. "

"It is a great care, " sighed Mrs. Hildreth. "All of you children havealways been so healthy. I don't believe Doctor Russe will listen to hergoing to the seaside, and the mountains are so monotonous! Otherpeople's children are a great responsibility. "

Suddenly Isabelle clapped her hands. "I have it!" she cried. "Send herup to Aunt Marthe, and then we can tease Papa to let us go to Newport. Marion is going to spend the summer with Christine Drayton, you know, and Papa does not intend to leave the city, so we can persuade him thatit is our duty to seize such a golden opportunity of doing thingseconomically. I am sure I don't know what people must think of us, nevergoing to any of the fashionable places. For my part I think we owe it toPapa's position to keep up with the world. "

"I believe it might be managed, " said Mrs. Hildreth after someconsideration. "It was very clever of you to think of it, Isabelle. Youought to be a diplomat, my dear, " and she smiled approvingly on herdaughter. 

 * * * * *

The train swept along through the picturesque Vermont scenery and Evadnelooked out of her window with never ending delight. 

"I am like a poor, lonely bird, " she said to herself, "who flits fromshore to shore, seeking rest and finding none. Another journey in thedark! I wonder what will be at the end of this one? Well, I'll hope forthe best. Aunt Marthe's letter was kind, and her name sounds as cheeryas Aunt Kate's sounds cold. "

Mr. Everidge came to meet her as the train steamed into the littlestation, and Evadne soon found herself seated in a comfortable carriagebehind a handsome chestnut mare, bowling along a fragrant country road, catching glimpses at every turn of the verdure-clad hills. 

She found her new uncle very pleasant. There was a silver-tonguedsuavity about him in striking contrast to the growing preoccupation ofJudge Hildreth, and a sort of airy self complaisance which took it forgranted that he should be well treated by the world. 

"I am very glad you have come, my dear niece, " he said, "to relieve thetedium of our uneventful existence. You must let our Vermont air kissthe roses into bloom again in your pale cheeks. It has a world-widereputation as a tonic. I hope you left our Marlborough relatives in apleasant attitude of mind? It is one of the evidences of thisprogressive age that you should woo 'tired Nature's sweet restorer' onenight under the roof of my respected brother-in-law, the next under myown. The ancients, with their primitive modes of laborious transit, wereonly half alive. We of to-day, thanks to the melodious tea-kettle andinventive cerebral tissue of the youthful Watt, live in a perpetualhand-clasp, so to speak, and, by means of the flashing chain of lightwhich girdles the globe are kept in touch with the world. It is food forreflection that the thought which is evolved from the shadowy recessesof our brain to-day, should be, by the mysterious camera of electricity, photographed upon the retina of the Australian public to-morrow, and weneed to have the archives of our memory enlarged to hold the voluminouscorrespondence of the century. 

"Ah, Squire Higgins, good-evening. My niece by marriage, Miss Hildrethof Barbadoes. "

The Squire lifted his hat, there was a little desultory conversation, then the carriages went on their separate ways, and soon Evadne foundherself at her destination. 

She looked eagerly at the pretty house with its _entourage_ of flowersand lawns, grand old trees and distance-purpled hills, then Aunt Martheappeared in the doorway and she saw nothing else. 

She was of medium height with a crown of soft, brown hair, and eyeswhose first glance of welcome caught Evadne's heart and held hercaptive. There was a wonderful sweetness about the smiling mouth, andthe face, although not classically beautiful, possessed a subtlespiritual charm more fascinating than mere physical perfection of colorand form. She moved lightly with a buoyant youthfulness strangely atvariance with the stately dignity of Mrs. Hildreth and the studiedrepose of Isabelle. 

"You dear child!" The soft arms held her close, the sweet lips caughthers in a kiss, and Evadne felt with a great throb of joy that theweary bird had found a resting-place at last. 

She led her into a cool, tastefully furnished room, drew her down besideher on the couch and took off her hat and gloves, then she handed her afan and went to make her a lemon soda. 

Evadne looked round the room with its soft curtains swaying in thebreeze, the cool matting on the floor with a rug or two, the lightbookcases with their wealth of thought, the comfortable wicker rockers, the bamboo tables holding several half cut magazines, an openwork-basket, a vase with a single rose, while on the low mantel acluster of graceful lilies were reflected in the mirror. "Why, this ishome!" she cried and she laid her head against the cushions with adelightful sense of freedom. 

The early supper was soon announced and Evadne found herself in a cozydining-room seated near a window which opened into a bewildering vistaof summer beauty. There were flowers beside each plate as well as in thequaintly carved bowl in the centre of the table. Evadne caught herselfsmiling. That had always been a conceit of hers in Barbadoes. 

Everything was simple but delicious. The tender, juicy chicken, thedelicate pink ham, the muffins browned to a turn, the Jersey buttermoulded into a sheaf of wheat, and moist brown bread of Aunt Marthe'sown making, the blocks of golden sponge cake, the crisp lettuce, thefragrant strawberries, the cool jelly frosted with snow. Evadne drankher tea out of a chocolate tinted cup, fluted like the bell of a flower, and felt as if she were feasting on the nectar of the gods, while Mr. Everidge's silvery tones kept up a constant stream of talk and AuntMarthe's beautiful hospitality made her feel perfectly at home. 

"Tea, my dear Evadne, " he said, as he passed her cup to be refilled, "isan infusion of poison which is slowly but surely destroying the coatingsof the gastronomical organ of the female portion of society. I trembleto think of the amount of tannin which analysis would show deposited inthe systems of the votaries of the deadly Five o'clock, and theunhealthy nervous tension of the age is largely traceable to theexcessive consumption of the pernicious liquid. Chocolate, on thecontrary, taken as I always drink it, is simple and nutritive, with nounpleasant after effects to be apprehended, but this decoction of bitterherbs, steeped to death in water far past its proper temperature, isconcentrated lye, my dear Evadne, nothing but concentrated lye. By theway, Marthe, I wish you would give your personal supervision to thepreparation of my hot water in the future. Nothing comparable to hotwater, Evadne, just before retiring. It aids digestion and inducessleep, and sleep you know is a gift of the gods. The Chinese mode ofpunishing criminals has always seemed to me exquisite in its barbarity. They simply make it impossible for the unhappy wretches to obtain a winkof sleep, until at length the torture grows unbearable and they findrefuge in the long sleep which no mortal has power to prevent. So, mydear Marthe, see to it if you please in future that my slumber tonic isserved just on the boil. The worthy Joanna does not understand themysteries of the boiling process. Water, after it has passed theinitiatory stage becomes flat, absolutely flat and tasteless. What I hadto drink last night was so repugnant to my palate that I found itimpossible to sink into repose with that calm attitude of mind which isso essential to perfect slumber. 

"See to it also, my dear, that I am not disturbed at such an unearthlyhour again as I was this morning. Tesla, the great electrician, has puthimself on record as intimating that the want of sleep is a potentfactor in the deplorably heavy death rate of the present day. He thinkssleep and longevity are synonymous, therefore it becomes us to bendevery effort to attain that desirable consummation. "

Involuntarily Evadne looked at Mrs. Everidge. Her face was slightlyturned towards the open window and there was a half smile upon her lips, as if, like Joan of Arc, she was listening to voices of sweeter tonethan those of earth. She came back to the present again on the instantand met her niece's eyes with a smile, but in the subtle realm ofintuition we learn by lightning flashes, and Evadne needed no furthertelling to know that the saddest loneliness which can fall to the lot ofa woman was the fate of her aunt. 

Immediately after supper Mrs. Everidge persuaded Evadne to go to herroom. The long journey had been a great strain upon her strength and shewas very tired. 

"I wish you a good night, Uncle Horace, " she said as she passed him inthe doorway. 

"And you a pleasant one, " he rejoined with a gallant bow. "'We are suchstuff as dreams are made of--and our little life is rounded with asleep. '"

She lay for a long time wakeful, revelling in the strange sense of peacewhich seemed to enfold her, while the evening breeze blew through theroom and the twilight threw weird shadows among the dainty draperies. At length there came a low knock and Mrs. Everidge opened the door. 

Evadne stretched out her hands impulsively. "Oh, this beautifulstillness!" she exclaimed. "In Marlborough there is the clang of the cargongs and the rumble of cabs and the tramp of feet upon the pavementuntil it seems as if the weary world were never to be at rest, but thishouse is so quiet I could almost hear a pin drop. "

Mrs. Everidge smiled. "You have quick ears, little one. But we arequieter than usual to-night; Joanna is sitting up with a sick neighbor, your uncle went to his room early, and I have been reading in mine. "

She drew a low chair up beside the bed. "Now we must begin to getacquainted, " she said. 

"Dear Aunt Marthe!" cried Evadne, "I feel as if I had known you all mylife. "

She gave her a swift caress. "You dear child! Then tell me about yourfather. "

Evadne looked at her gratefully. No one had ever cared to know about herfather before. Forgetting her weariness in the absorbing interest of hersubject, she talked on and on, and Mrs. Everidge with the wisdom of truesympathy, made no attempt to check her, knowing full well that therelief of the tried heart was helping her more than any physical restcould do. 

"And now, oh, Aunt Marthe, life is so desperately lonely!" she said atlast with a sobbing sigh. 

Mrs. Everidge leaned over and kissed the trembling lips. "I thinksometimes the earthly fatherhood is taken from us, dear child, that wemay learn to know the beautiful Fatherliness of God. We can never findtrue happiness until our restless hearts are folded close in the hush ofhis love. Human love--however lovely--does not satisfy us. Nothingcan, --but God!"

"The Fatherliness of God, " repeated Evadne. "That sounds lovely, butpeople do not think of him so. God is someone very terrible and faraway. "

"'And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. ' Does that sound asif he were far away, little one? 'As one whom his mother comforteth, sowill I comfort you. ' Why, God is father and mother both to us, dearchild. Can you think of anyone nearer than that?"

Evadne caught her breath in a great gladness. "I believe you are hisangel of consolation, " she said in a hushed voice. 

"'Even unto them will I give . .. A place and a name better than of sonsand daughters, '" quoted Aunt Marthe softly. "That means a location andan identity. Here, sometimes, it seems as if we had neither the one northe other. Christ follows out the same idea in his picture of theabiding place which is being prepared for you and me. Everything onearth is so transitory, and the human heart has such a hunger forsomething that will last. "

"Have you felt this too?" cried Evadne. "I thought I was the only one. "

Mrs. Everidge laughed. "The only one in all the world to puzzle over itsproblems! Oh, yes, the older we grow, the more we find that the greatmajority have the same feelings and perplexities as ourselves, althoughsome may not understand their thought clearly enough to put it intowords. "

"What is your favorite verse in all the Bible?" asked Evadne after apause. 

Mrs. Everidge laughed again, and Evadne thought she had never heard alaugh at once so merry and so sweet. 

"You send me into a rose garden, dear child, and tell me to select thechoicest bloom out of its wilderness of beauty. How can I when every onehas a different coloring and a fragrance all its own? Two of my specialfavorites are in the Revelation, --'To him that overcometh, to him willI give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and uponthe stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receivethit. ' 'And they shall see his face, and his name shall be on theirforeheads. '

"That means a possession and a belonging. It is the spiritual symbolwhich binds us to our heavenly lover for eternity just as the weddingring is a pledge of fidelity for our earth time. It is only as we see itso, that we get the full beauty of the religion of Jesus. Hischurch--the inner circle of his chosen 'hidden ones'--is his bride, andwhat can be more glorious than to be the bride of the King of kings? Thedear souls who only serve him with fear do not get the sweetness out ofit at all. How can they, when their lives are all duty? 'Perfect lovecasteth out fear' and there is no duty about it, for when we love, it isa joy to serve and give. It hurts the Christ to have us content to besimply servants when he would lift us up to the higher plane offriendship, when he has put upon us the high honor of the dearest friendof all! Earthly brides spend a vast deal of time and thought over theirtrousseau, so I think Christ's bride should walk among men with a sweetaloofness while the spiritual garments are being fashioned in which sheis to dwell with him. The Bible says a great deal about dressing. 'Letthy garments be always white'--the sunshine color, the joy color--forbye and bye we are to walk with him in white, you know. Our spiritualwardrobe must be fitted and worn down here. It is a terrible mistake toput off donning the wedding robes until we come to the feast. And thewardrobe is very ample. Christ would have his bride luxuriouslyappareled. 'Be clothed with humility. ' That is a fine, close-fittingsuit for every day, but over it we are to wear the garment of praise andthe warm, shining robe of charity. Can you fancy anything more beautifulthan a life clothed in such garments as these? And to me the loveliestof all is charity. The highest praise I ever heard given to a woman wasthat 'she had such a tender way of making excuses for everybody. '

"Very fair must be the bride in the eyes of her royal lover, clothed inthe garments which he has selected, --all light and joy and tenderness, for, the King's daughter is all glorious within. "

"Aunt Marthe, " said Evadne, after a long silence, in which they had beentasting the sweetness of it, "I do not need to ask if you know JesusChrist?"

The lovely face took on an added beauty. "He is my life, " she said. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Evadne was swinging in the hammock one golden summer afternoon, hummingsoft snatches of her old songs while she played with her aunt's petblack and tan. The sweet freshness of her new existence was rapidlyrestoring tone to her mental system, and life no longer seemed ahopeless task. The days were full of dreamy contentment. She spent longmornings under the murmuring pines in the deep belt of forest whichstretched for miles behind the house, or helped Mrs. Everidge keep therooms in dainty order; drove with her along the grass-bordered roads, while ears and eyes feasted on the symphonies of Nature and the everchanging beauty of the hills; or stood beside Joanna in a trance ofdelight out in the fragrant dairy, whose windows opened into a wildsweetness of fluttering leaves, and whose cool stone floor made achannel for a purling brook, watching her as with dexterous hands sheshaped and moulded the bubbley dough or tossed up an omelet or made oneof her delicious cherry pies, conscious through it all of the sweetinfluence which seemed to pervade every corner of the house and grounds. 

"I wonder what it is about you, you dear Aunt Marthe?" she soliloquized, as she pulled Noisette's silky ears. "When you are away I cannot bear togo into the house, --everything seems so different, so cold anddark, --but the moment you come home again it is as lovely as ever. Concentrated light. Yes, that name would suit you, for light is sweetand pure and stimulating and precious. If all the people in the worldwere like you, _what_ a world it would be!"

She looked up as she heard footsteps approaching, and then rose towelcome her visitor. A woman twenty years her senior, bright, capable, energetic, with a shrewd face and kindly eyes whose keen glance wasquick to pierce the flimsy veil of humbug, and a tongue whosegood-natured sarcasm had made more than one pretender feel ashamed. 

"How do?" she said briskly, as she took the chair Evadne offered. "Ihope you're feelin' better sence you've cum?"

"Much better, thank you. I am very sorry my aunt is not at home. "

"I'm sorry likewise, though it don't make as much difference as it mighthave done, as I'm callin' a purpose to see you. "

"That is very good of you, " said Evadne with a laugh. There was a spicyflavor about this child of the mountains which she found refreshing. 

"It's a bit awkward, " continued her visitor with a twinkle in her eye, "as we'll have to do our own introducin'. My name's Penelope Riggs, Penel for brevity. What's yours?"

"Evadne Hildreth. "

"Evadne. That's uncommon and pretty. I'm goin' to call you so if you'renot objectionable to it. Life's too short for handles. "

Evadne laughed merrily. "I'm not in the least objectionable, " she said. 

"No, that's a fact, " said her visitor after a moment's kindly scrutiny. "You're true and thorough. I knew I was goin' to like you when I saw youin meetin'. "

Evadne flushed with pleasure. "Why, that is a beautiful character! Ionly wish I deserved it. But I fear you are very much mistaken in me, though it is very kind in you to think such nice things. "

"Nonsense, child! I don't waste my time thinkin'. Let me have a goodlook at your face for half an hour and I'll know as much about you asyou could tell me in a week. Malviny Higgins has just come back fromBosting with her head full of sykick forces an' mental affinities an'the dear knows what else, but I think it's just a cultivation of ourcommon senses--number, five. You can feel a person without touchingthem; it's in the air all round you; and you don't need muchdiscrimination to know whether what you will say will hurt them or be ablessin'. The main thing is to put yourself in their shoes before youbegin to talk. "

"Their shoes, Miss Riggs, " laughed Evadne, "why they might not fit. "

"Penelope, " corrected her visitor, "Penel for brevity. Yes, they willtoo, that kind of shoe leather is elastic. It's the old Bible doctrine, 'never do anything to others that you wouldn't like others to do toyou. ' If people got the shoes well fitted before they let their tonguesloose, there would be a deal less sorrow and heartburn in the world. "

"'Love thy neighbor as thyself, '" said Evadne. "I never thought of it inthat way before. "

"Well, " said Miss Riggs briskly, "I'm dredful glad you've cum, Evadne. It'll do Mis' Everidge a sight of good to have you, though MartheEveridge is raised above the need of humans as far as any mortal can beon this earth. With all their inventions there ain't nobody discoveredhow to make spiritual photographs yet, or I would have the picture of_her_ character in all the windows of the land. 'Twould do more goodthan miles of tracts. I agree with Paul that livin' epistles make thebest readin' an' it don't seem fittin' that she should be shut up inthis little place where only a few of us have the right kind ofspectacles to see her through. Most of the folks just allow it's Mis'Everidge's way, and would as soon think of tryin' to imitate her as atadpole would a star. "

"But we are to imitate Christ, " said Evadne. 

"'Course, child! But it's dredful comfortin' to have a human life infront of us to show us that is possible. Lots of times when life lookslike a long seam an' the sewin' pricks my fingers, a new light falls onthis picture, and I sez to myself, 'Penel, ' says I, 'look at MartheEveridge. The Lord has made you both out of the same material. Thereain't no reason why she should be always gettin' nearer heaven and yougoin' back to earth. She has difficulties and worriments, same as youhave, but if she can make every trial into a new rung for the ladder onwhich she is mountin' up to God, there ain't no reason why you shouldmake a gravestone out of yours to bury yourself under; and so I starton with a new courage, an' when we get to the end of the journey, I'llnot be the only one who'll have to thank Marthe Everidge for showin' theway. "

Evadne's eyes shone. "You make me feel, " she cried, "as if I wouldrather live a beautiful life than do the most magnificent thing in theworld!"

"That's a safe feelin' to tie to, " said Penelope with an approvingsmile; "for character is the only thing we've got to carry with us whenwe go. "

"Well, " she continued, "I must be goin'. I did think I'd be forehandedin callin', but mother's been dredful wakeful lately, and when daylightcomes, it don't seem as if I had the ambition of a snail. She don't liketo be left alone for a minit, mother don't, so it's a bit of a puzzle tokeep up with society. "

She laughed cheerily as she held out her hand. "Well, I'm dredfulpleased to have met you. I'll be more than glad to have you come inwhenever you're down our way. "

Evadne watched her as she walked briskly along the road. "She is notAunt Marthe, " she said slowly; "I suppose Louis would call it a case ofthe solanum and the potato blossom, but she is one of the Lord's plantsall the same. "

"Aunt Marthe, what _is_ culture?" she asked suddenly, as later in theafternoon Mrs. Everidge sat beside her hammock. "Is Louis right? Is itjust the veneer of education and travel and environment?"

"You can hardly call that a veneer, little one. Real education goes verydeep. Emerson says 'nothing is so indicative of deepest culture as atender consideration of the ignorant. ' I think that culture, to beperfect, must have its root in love. It is impossible that anyone filledwith the love of Christ should ever be discourteous or lack inthoughtfulness for the feelings of others. "

"Why that must be what Penelope Riggs meant by her 'elastic shoeleather, '" said Evadne with a laugh, and then she repeated theconversation. 

"Oh, she has been here! I am glad. It will do you good to know her. Sheis the cheeriest soul, and the busiest. She always acts upon me as atonic, for I know just how much she has had to give up and how hard herlife has been. "

"Why, Aunt Marthe, she says when she gets to heaven she will have tothank you for showing her the way. She thinks you are perfection. "

"'Not I, but Christ, '" said Aunt Marthe with a happy smile. She wentinto the house and returned with a book in her hand. "You asked whatculture really was. This writer says 'Drudgery. ' Listen while I give youa few snatches, then you shall have the book for your own. 

"'Culture takes leisure, elegance, wide margins of time, a pocket-book;drudgery means limitations, coarseness, crowded hours, chronic worry, old clothes, black hands, headaches. Our real and our ideal are nottwins. Never were! I want the books, but the clothes basket wants me. Ilove nature and figures are my fate. My taste is books and I farm it. Mytaste is art and I correct exercises. My taste is science and I measuretape. Can it be that this drudgery, not to be escaped, gives 'culture?'Yes, culture of the prime elements of life, of the very fundamentals ofall fine manhood and fine womanhood, the fundamentals that underlie allfulness and without which no other culture worth the winning is evenpossible. Power of attention, power of industry, promptitude inbeginning work, method and accuracy and despatch in doing it, perseverance, courage before difficulties, cheer, self-control andself-denial, they are worth more than Latin and Greek and French andGerman and music and art and painting and waxflowers and travels inEurope added together. These last are the decorations of a man's life, those other things are the indispensables. They make one's sit-faststrength and one's active momentum, --they are the solid substance ofone's self. 

"'How do we get them? High school and college can give much, but theseare never on their programmes. All the book processes that we go to theschools for and commonly call our 'education' give no more thanopportunity to win the indispensables of education. We must get themsomewhat as the fields and valleys get their grace. Whence is it thatthe lines of river and meadow and hill and lake and shore conspireto-day to make the landscape beautiful? Only by long chiselings andsteady pressures. Only by ages of glacier crush and grind, by scour offloods, by centuries of storm and sun. These rounded the hills andscooped the valley-curves and mellowed the soil for meadow-grace. It was'drudgery' all over the land. Mother Nature was down on her knees doingher early scrubbing work! That was yesterday, to-day--result ofscrubbing work--we have the laughing landscape. 

"'Father and mother and the ancestors before them have done much tobequeath those mental qualities to us, but that which scrubs them intous, the clinch which makes them actually ours and keeps them ours, andadds to them as the years go by, --that depends on our own plod in therut, our drill of habit, in a word our 'drudgery. ' It is because we haveto go and go morning after morning, through rain, through shine, throughtoothache, headache, heartache to the appointed spot and do theappointed work, no matter what our work may be, because of the rut, plod, grind, humdrum in the work, that we get our foundations. 

"'Drudgery is the gray angel of success, for drudgery is the doing ofone thing long after it ceases to be amusing, and it is 'this one thingI do' that gathers me together from my chaos, that concentrates me frompossibilities to powers and turns powers into achievements. The aim inlife is what the backbone is in the body, if we have no aim we have nomeaning. Lose us and the earth has lost nothing, no niche is empty, noforce has ceased to play, for we have no aim and therefore we arestill--nobody. Our bodies are known and answer in this world to such orsuch a name, but, as to our inner selves, with real and awful meaningour walking bodies might be labelled 'An unknown man sleeps here!'

"'But we can be artists also in our daily task, --artists not artisans. The artist is he who strives to perfect his work, the artisan strives toget through it. If I cannot realize my ideal I can at least idealize myreal--How? By trying to be perfect in it. If I am but a raindrop in ashower, I will be at least a perfect drop. If but a leaf in a wholeJune, I will be a perfect leaf. This is the beginning of all Gospels, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand just where we are. '"

"Oh!" cried Evadne, drawing a long breath, "that is beautiful! I feel asif I had been lifted up until I touched the sky. "

"Marthe, " exclaimed Mr. Everidge reproachfully, suddenly appearing inthe doorway with a sock drawn over each arm, "it is incomprehensible tome you do not remember that my physical organism and darns haveabsolutely no affinity. "

Mrs. Everidge laughed brightly. "If you will make holes, Horace, I mustmake darns, " she said. 

"Not a natural sequence at all!" he retorted testily. "When the wear andtear of time becomes visible in my underwear it must be relegated toReuben. "

"But Reuben's affinity for patches may be no stronger than your own, Uncle Horace, " said Evadne mischievously. 

Mr. Everidge waved his sock-capped hands with a gesture of disdain. "The lower orders, my dear Evadne, are incapable of those delicateperceptions which constitute the mental atmosphere of those of finermould. The delft does not feel the blow which would shiver the porcelaininto atoms, and Reuben's epidermis is, I imagine, of such a hornyconsistency that he would walk in oblivious unconcern upon theseelevations of needlework which are as a ploughshare to my sensitivenerves. It is the penalty one has to pay for being of finer clay thanthe common herd of men. "

Evadne looked at Mrs. Everidge. A deep flush of shame had dyed hercheeks and her lips were quivering. 

"Oh, Horace, " she cried, "Reuben is such a faithful boy!"

"My dear, " said her husband airily, "I make no aspersions against hismoral character, but he certainly cannot be classed among thevelvet-skinned aristocracy. By the way, I wish you would see in futurethat my undergarments are of a silken texture. My flesh rebels atanything approaching to harshness, " and then he went complacently backto his library to weave and fashion the graceful phrases which flowedfrom his facile pen. 

"Why should he go clothed in silk and you in cotton!" cried Evadne, jealous for the rights of her friend. 

Mrs. Everidge's eyes came back from one of their long journeys, "Oh, Ihave learned the luxury of doing without, " she said lightly. 

Evadne threw her arms around her impulsively. "But why, oh, Aunt Marthe, why should not Uncle Horace learn it too?"

"We do not see things through the same window, " she answered with asmile and a sigh. 

CHAPTER XII. 

John Randolph walked slowly through the soft dawning. It had been abrilliant night. The late moon had risen as he was bidding good-bye tothe graceful creatures he should never see again, and Hollywood had beenclad in a bewitching beauty which made it all the harder to sayfarewell. Far into the night he had lingered, visiting every corner ofthe dearly loved home, then at last he had turned away and walkedsteadily along the road which led to Marlborough. 

The sun rose in a blaze of splendor and the birds began to twitter. Thegripsack which he carried grew strangely heavy, and he felt faint andweary. The long strain of the day before was beginning to tell upon him, and it was many hours since he had tasted food. 

A sudden turn of the road brought him in sight of a trig little farm, against whose red gate a man was leaning, leisurely enjoying the beautyof the morning before he began work. He had a pleasant face, strong andpeaceful. No one had ever known Joseph Makepeace to be out of temper orin a hurry. He would have said it was because he commenced every daylistening to the inner voice among the silences of Nature. JosephMakepeace was a Quaker. 

"Why, John, lad!" he cried, "thou art a welcome sight on this fairmorning. Come in, come in. Breakfast will soon be ready and thou art insore need of it by the look of thy face. " He gave John's hand a mightygrasp and took his gripsack from him. 

"Why, John, hast thou walked far with this load? Where were all thehorses of Hollywood? Is anything wrong, John? I don't like thy looks, lad. "

John's voice trembled. "I have left Hollywood" he said. "Mr. Hawthornehas turned me off. "

"Left Hollywood! You don't mean it, John? Well, well, folks say RobertHawthorne has not been right in his mind since his boy got hurt. Ibelieve it now. It's a comfort that the great Master will never turn usoff, lad. Thee'd better lie down on the lounge and rest thee a bit, John, while I go and tell mother. "

He entered the spotless kitchen where his wife was moving blithely toand fro. "Thee has another 'unawares angel' to breakfast, Ruth. It's agrand thing being on the public road!"

Ruth Makepeace laughed merrily. "An angel, Joseph? I hope he's not likethy last one, who stole three of my best silver spoons!"

"So, so, thee didst promise to forget that, Ruth, if I replace them nexttime I go to Marlborough. "

"Well, so I do, except when thee does remind me. Is this a very hungryangel, Joseph? Does thee think I'd better cook another chicken?"

"He ought to be hungry, poor lad, but I doubt if he eats much. Does theeremember friend Randolph, Ruth?"

"Of course I do. But he's been dead these ten years. Thee doesn't meanhe's come back to breakfast with us?"

Her husband put his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. Then hekissed her. "Thee is fractious this morning, Ruth. Friend Randolph had ason, thee dost mind, whom Robert Hawthorne took to live at Hollywood. Itis he whom the good Lord has sent to us to care for, Ruth. He's justbeen turned adrift. "

"If thee wasn't so big I would shake thee, Joseph! The idea of JohnRandolph being in this house and thee beating round the bush with thineangels!" and with all her motherhood shining in her eyes, Ruth Makepeacestarted for the parlor. 

In spite of the overflowing kindness with which he was surrounded Johnfound the meal a hard one. He had been used to breakfast with little Nanupon his knee. 

"When thee is rested we'll have a talk, lad, " said his host, as theyrose from the table; "but thee'd better bide with us for the summer andnot fret about the future: thee dost need a holiday. "

"Of course thee dost, John!" said blithe little Mrs. Makepeace. "I wishthee would bide for good. "

Her husband laid his hand upon his shoulder. "Thou knowest, lad, thereis the little grave out yonder. Thee should'st have his place in ourhearts and home. Would'st thee be content to bide, John?"

John Randolph looked at his friends with shining eyes. "You have done megood for life!" he said, "but the world calls me, I must go. I mean towork my way through college, and be a physician, Mr. Makepeace. "

"So! so! Well, we mustn't stand in the way, Ruth. Thee'll make a goodone, John. But how art thee going to manage it, lad?"

"The Steel Works in Marlborough pay good wages. I mean to get a placethere if I can, and study in the evenings. "

"Why, John, lad, the Steel Works shut down yesterday afternoon. "

For an instant the brave spirit quailed, only for an instant. "Then Imust find something else, " he said quietly. 

"It's a bad season, John, and the times are hard. " Joseph Makepeacethought for a moment. "There's friend Harris up the river. What dostthee think, Ruth?"

"Why, he wants men to pile wood, " exclaimed his wife. "Thee would'st notset John at that!"

"Lincoln split rails, " said John with a smile, "why should not I pilethem? It's clean work, and honest, Mrs. Makepeace. "

"He has a logging camp in the winter. Thee would'st have good pay then, John. "

"But thee would'st be so lonely, John, amongst all those rough men! Andthee did'st say once it was dangerous, Joseph. It's not fit work forJohn. "

"I am not afraid of work, Mrs. Makepeace, and I can never be lonely withJesus Christ. "

 * * * * *

In far Vermont Evadne was reading aloud from a paper she had broughtfrom the post-office. "The whole sum of Christian living is justloving. " "Do you believe that, Aunt Marthe?"

"Surely, dear child. Love is the fulfilling of the law, you know. Whenwe love God with our whole heart, and our neighbor as ourselves, thereis no danger of our breaking the Decalogue. 'He who loveth knoweth God, 'and 'to know him is life eternal. '"

"Just love, " said Evadne musingly. "It seems so simple. "

"Do you think so?" said Aunt Marthe with a smile. "Yet people find itthe hardest thing to do, as it is surely the noblest. Drummond calls it'the greatest thing in the world' and you have Paul's definition of itin Corinthians. Did you ever study that to see how perfect love wouldmake us?

"'Love suffereth long, ' that does away with impatience; 'and is kind, 'that makes us neighborly; 'love envieth not, ' that saves fromcovetousness; 'vaunteth not itself, ' that does away with self-conceit;'seeketh not its own, ' that kills selfishness; 'is not provoked, ' thatshows we are forgiving; 'rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, ' makes uslove only what is pure; 'covereth [Footnote: Marginal rendering. ] allthings, ' that leaves no room for scandal; 'believeth all things, ' thatdoes away with doubt; 'hopeth all things, ' that is the antithesis ofdistrust; 'endureth all things, ' proves that we are strong; and then thebeautiful summing up of the whole matter, 'love never faileth. ' If thatis true of us, it can only be as we are filled with the spirit of theChrist of God, 'whose nature and whose name is love. '"

"You see such beautiful things in the Bible!" said Evadne despairingly, "why cannot I get below the surface?"

"You will, dearie. You forget I have been digging nuggets from thisprecious mine for years and you have just begun to search for them. Would you like another drive, or do you feel too tired?"

"Not in the least. What can I do for you?"

"I would like to send some of that currant jelly I made yesterday to oldMrs. Riggs, if you are sure you would like to take it?"

"As sure as sure can be, dear, " said Evadne with a kiss, "Where shall Ifind it?"

"In the King's corner. "

"'The King's corner?'" echoed Evadne with a puzzled look. 

"Oh, I forgot you did not know. I always give the Lord the first fruitsof my cooking, and keep them in a special place set apart for his use, then, when I go to see the sick, there is always something ready totempt their fancy. It is wonderful what a saving of time it is. I rarelyhave to make anything on purpose, --there is always something prepared. "

She followed her niece out to the carriage, helped her pack the jellysafely, with one of her crisp loaves of fresh brown bread, bade her amerry farewell and went back to the house again singing. 

"Oh, Aunt Marthe!" cried Evadne, as she drove slowly under the trees, "shall I ever, ever learn to be like you?"

She found the old lady sitting by the fire wrapped up in a shawl, although the day was sultry. 

"Good-morning, " said Evadne, as she deposited her parcels on the table. "I come from Mrs. Everidge. She thought you would fancy some of herfresh brown bread and currant jelly. "

"Hum!" said the old lady ungraciously, "I hope it's better than the lastwuz. Guess Mis' Everidge ain't ez pertickler ez she used ter be. "

"Aunt Marthe!" cried Evadne indignantly. "Why, everything she does isperfection!"

"Land, child! There ain't no perfecshun in this world. It's all a wale, a wale o' tears. We'se poor, miserable critters, --wurms o' thedust, --that's what we be. "

"There isn't any worm about Aunt Marthe, " cried Evadne with a laugh. "Ithink you must be looking through a wrong pair of spectacles, Mrs. Riggs. "

"Land, child! I ain't got but the one pair, an' they got broke thismorning. But it's jest my luck. Everything goes agin me. "

"But you can get them mended, " said Evadne. 

"Sakes alive! There ain't much hope o' gettin' them mended, with Penelbehindhand on the rent, an' the firin' an' the land knows what else. Idon't see why Penel ain't more forehanded. I tell her ef I wuz ez youngan' ez spry ez she be, I guess I'd hev things different, but, la! that'sPenel's way. She's terrible sot in her own way, Penel is. She's notwillin' ter take my advice. Children now-a-days allers duz know morethan their mothers. "

"Where is Penelope?" asked Evadne. 

"Oh, skykin' round. She's gone over to Miss Johnsing's ter help with thequiltin'. That's the way she duz, an' here I am all alone with the fireter tend ter, an' not a livin' soul ter do a hand's turn fer me! She sezshe hez ter do it ter keep the pot bilin'--'pears ter me Penel's potstake a sight uv bilin'. "

"But she has left a nice pile of wood close beside you, Mrs. Riggs. "

"La, yes, " grumbled the old lady, "but it's dretful thoughtless in herter stay away so long, when she knows the stoopin' cums so hard on myrheumatiz. An' it's terrible lonesome. I get that narvous some days I'mall of a shake. 'Tain't ez ef she kep within' call, but t'other day shewent clean over ter Hancocks, --a hull mile an' a half! She sez she hezter go where folks wants things done, but that's nonsense, folks oughterwant things done near at hand, --they know how lonesome I be. Why, a bearmight cum in an' eat me up for all Penel would know. She gits so takenup a' larfin' an' singin', she ain't got no sympathy. Oh, it's a wale o'tears!"

"But there are no bears in Vernon, Mrs. Riggs, " laughed Evadne. 

"Land, child! you never know what there might be!" said the old ladytestily. "Be you a' stayin' at Mis' Everidge's?"

"Yes, " said Evadne, "she is my aunt. "

"Hum! I never knew she hed any nieces, 'cept them two gals uv JedgeHildreth's down ter Marlborough. "

"I am their cousin, Mrs. Riggs. I used to live in Barbadoes. "

"Well, I declar! Why, Barbaderz is t' other side of nowhere! Used terbe when I went ter school. Well, well, some folks hez a lion's share uvsoarin' an' here I've ben all my life jest a' pinin' my heart out tergit down ter Bosting, an' I ain't never got there! But that's allers theway. I never git nuthin'. I'm sixty-nine years old cum Christmas an' Iain't never ben further away frum hum than twenty miles hand runnin', an' here's a chit like you done travelin' enuff ter last a lifetime. "

"But I didn't want to travel, Mrs. Riggs, " said Evadne gently. "I wouldso much rather have stayed at home. "

"There you go!" grumbled the old lady. "Folks ain't never satisfied withtheir mercies. Allers a' flyin' in the face uv Providence. I tell youwe'se wurms, child; miserable, shiftless wurms, a' crawlin' down in thiswalley of humiliation, with our faces ter the dust. "

"But you've got a great deal to be thankful for, Mrs. Riggs, " venturedEvadne, "in having such a daughter. Aunt Marthe thinks she is a splendidcharacter. "

"So she oughter be!" retorted the old lady, "with sech a bringin' up ezshe's hed. But land! childern's dretful disappointin' ter a pusson. There ain't a selfish bone in _my_ body, but Penel's ez full uv 'em. She'll let me lie awake by the hour at a time while she's a' snoozin'on the sofy beside me. She don't sleep in her own bed any more because Ihev ter hev her handy ter rub me when the rheumatiz gits ter jumpin'. She sez she can't help bein' drowsy when she's workin' through the day, but land! she'd manage ter keep awake ef she hed any sympathy! She ain'tgot no sympathy, Penel ain't; an' she ain't a bit forehanded. 

"But I don't 'spect nuthin' else in this world. It's a wale o' tears an'we ain't got nuthin' else ter look fer but triberlation an' woe. Man ezborn ter trouble ez the sparks fly upward, an' a woman allers hez thelion's share. "

Evadne burst into the sitting-room with flashing eyes. "Aunt Marthe, ifI were Penelope Riggs, I would shoot her mother! She's just a crookedold bundle of unreasonableness and ingratitude!"

Mrs. Everidge laughed. "No, you wouldn't dear, not if you _were_Penelope. "

"But, Aunt Marthe, how does she stand it? Why, it would drive me crazyin a week! To think of that poor soul, working like a slave all day, andthen grudged the few winks of sleep she gets on a hard old sofa. Ideclare, it makes me feel hopeless!"

"The day I climbed Mont Blanc, " said Mrs. Everidge softly, "we had awonderful experience. Down below us a sudden storm swept the valley. The rain fell in torrents, and the thunder roared, but up where we stoodthe sun was shining and all was still. When we walk with Christ, littleone, we find it possible to live above the clouds. "

"An Alpine Christian!" cried Evadne. "Oh, Aunt Marthe, that isbeautiful!"

CHAPTER XIII. 

"The ancient Egyptians, Evadne, " remarked Mr. Everidge the next day atdinner, as he selected the choicest portions of a fine roast duck forhis own consumption, "during the period of their nation's highestcivilization, subsisted almost exclusively upon millet, dates and otherfruits and cereals; and athletic Greece rose to her greatest cultureupon two meals a day, consisting principally of maize and vegetablessteeped in oil. Don't you think you ladies would find it of advantage tocopy them in this laudable abstemiousness? There is something repugnantto a refined taste in the idea of eating flesh whose constituentparticles partake largely of the nature of our own. "

"Why, certainly, Uncle Horace, " said Evadne merrily. "I am quite readyto become a vegetarian, if you will set me the example. The femininemind, you know, is popularly supposed to be only fitted to follow amasculine lead. "

"Ah, I wish it were possible, my dear Evadne, but the peculiarsusceptibility of my internal organism precludes all thought of mymaking such a radical change in the matter of diet. Even now, in spiteof all my care, indigestion, like a grim Argus, stares me out ofcountenance. I wish you would bear this fact more constantly in mind, mydear Marthe. This duck, for instance, has not arrived at that stage ofabsolute fitness which is so essential to the appreciation of a delicatestomach. A duck, Evadne, is a bird which requires very careful treatmentin its preparation for the table. It should be suspended in the air fora certain length of time, and then, after being carefully trussed, laidupon its breast in the pan, in order that all the juices of the body mayconcentrate in that titbit of the epicure, --then let the knife touch itsrichly browned skin, and, presto, you have a dish fit for the gods! Theskin of this duck on the contrary presents a degree of resistance to thecarver which proves that it has been placed in the oven before it hadarrived at that stage of perfection. "

"Why, Horace, " laughed Mrs. Everidge, "I thought this one was justright! You remember you told me the last one we had, had hung five hourstoo long. "

"Exactly so. My friend, Trenton, will tell you that five hours is allthe length of time required to seal the fate of nations. It is a pettheory of his that the finale of the material world will be rapid. Hebases his conclusions upon the fact of the steady decrease in the volumeof the surrounding atmosphere and the almost instantaneous action of allof Nature's destructive forces, fire and flood, storm and sunstroke, lightning and hail, earthquake and cyclone. Oh, _apropos_ of my eruditefriend, Marthe, he has promised to spend August with us, so you willhave to look to your culinary laurels, for he is accustomed to dine atDelmonico's. "

"Professor Trenton coming here in August!" cried Mrs. Everidge indismay. "Why, Horace, you never told me you had invited him!"

"My dear, I am telling you now. "

"But I meant to take Evadne up to our mountain camp in August. I am surethe resinous air would make her strong. I had my plans all laid. "

"'The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley, '" said her husbandsuavely. "Evadne's mental strength cannot fail to be developed byintercourse with such a clever man. We must not allow the culture of thebody to occupy so prominent a place in our thoughts that we forget themind, you know. "

"A fusty old Professor!" pouted Evadne. "Oh, Uncle Horace, why didn'tyou leave him among his tomes and his theories and let us be free toenjoy?"

"Mere sensual gratification, Evadne, " said Mr. Everidge, as hereplenished his plate with some dainty pickings, "is not the true aim oflife. I consider it a high honor that the Professor should consent todevote a month of his valuable time to my edification, for he is gettingto be quite a lion in the literary world. You had better have yourchamber prepared for his occupancy, Marthe. As I remember him at collegehe had a fondness amounting almost to a craze for rooms with a westernaspect. "

Joanna came in to announce the arrival of a visitor whom Evadne hadalready learned to dread on account of her continual depression. 

"Oh, Aunt Marthe!" she exclaimed, "must you waste this beautifulafternoon listening to her dolorosities. I wanted you to go for adrive!"

"You go, dearie, and take Penelope Riggs. It will be a treat to her andyou ought to be out in the open air as much as possible. "

Evadne went out on the veranda. Through the open window she could hearthe visitor's ceaseless monotone of complaint mingled with the softnotes of Mrs. Everidge's cheery sympathy. "Oh, dearest, " she murmured, "if you had seen this beautiful life, you would have known that there isno sham in the religion of Jesus!"

She waited long, in the hope that Mrs. Everidge would be able toaccompany her, then she started for the Eggs cottage. She found the oldlady alone. "Where is Penelope, Mrs. Riggs?"

"Oh, skykin' round ez usual, " was the peevish response. "It's churchwork this time. When I wuz young, folks got along 'thout sech aneverlastin' sight uv meetins, but nowadays there's Convenshuns, an'Auxils an' Committees, an' the land knows what, till a body's cleandistracted. Fer my part I hate ter see wimmen a' wallerin' round in themud till it takes 'em the best part uv the next day ter git their skirtsclean. "

"But there is no mud now, Mrs. Riggs, " laughed Evadne. 

"Land alive, child! There will be sometime. In my day folks used terstay ter hum an' mind their childern, but now they've all took tersoarin' an' it don't matter how many ends they leave flyin' loose behind'era. "

"But Penelope has no children to mind, Mrs. Riggs. "

"Land alive! She hez me, an' I oughter be more ter her than a duzzenchildern, --but she ain't got no proper feelin's, Penel ain't. When I'ma' lyin' in my coffin she'll give her eyes ter hev the chance ter rub myrheumatiz, an' run for hot bottles an' flannels an' ginger tea. It's anongrateful world but I allcrs sez there ain't no use complainin'; it'swhat we've got ter expec', --triberlation an' anguish an' mournin' an'woe. It's good enuff fer us too. Sech wurms ez we be!"

"Well, Evadne, how do you do, child? I'm dretful glad to see you, " andPenelope, breezy and keen as a March wind, came bustling into the room. "Why, yes, I'm well, child, if it wasn't for bein' so tumbled about inmy mind. "

"What has tumbled you, Penelope?" asked Evadne with a merry laugh. 

"The Scribes and Pharisees, " was the terse rejoinder. "I've just cumfrom a Committee meeting of the Missionary Society an' I'm free toconfess my feelin's is roused tremendous. Seems to me nowadays thechurch is built at a different angle from the Sermon on the Mount an'things is measured by the world's yardsticks till there ain't muchsense in callin' it a church at all. Ef you'd seen the way SquireHiggins' girls sot down on poor little Matildy Jones this afternoon, just because her father sells fish! Their father sells it too, but he'sgot forehanded an' can do it by the gross, an' so they toss their headsan' set a whole garden full o' flowers a' shakin' upan' down. They'reallers more peacocky in their minds after they git their spring bunnets. The Lord said we was to consider the lilies, but I guess he meant us toleave 'em in the fields, for I notice the more folks carries on the topsof their heads the less their apt to be like 'em underneath. "

"But what did they say to her?" asked Evadne. 

"You're young, child, or you'd know there's more ways of insultin' thanwith the tongue, an' poor little Matildy is jest the one to be hurt thatway. Some folks is like clams, the minute you touch 'em, they shutthemselves up in their shells an' then they don't feel what you do to'em any more'n the Rocky mountains, but Matildy isn't made that way. Shejust sot there with the flushes comin' in her cheeks an' the tearsshinin' in her pretty eyes till my heart ached. I leaned over to her an'whispered, 'Don't fret, Matildy, they ain't wuth mindin'. She gave me alittle wintry smile but the tears kep a' comin' an' by an' bye she gotup and went out, an' ef she don't imitate the Prophet Jeremi an' waterher piller with her tears this night, then I've changed my name sencemornin'. 

"I was so uplifted in my mind with righteous indignation that I feltcalled upon to let it loose, so I begun in a musin' tone, as ef I washavin' a solil. "

"'A solil?'" said Evadne in a mystified tone. 

"Why, yes; talkin' to myself, child. I did think, ef there was any placefolks was free an' eqal 'twould be in the Lord's service, ' sez I. 'TheBible teaches it's a pretty dangerous bizness to offend one uv theselittle ones. I'm not much of a hand at quotations, but there's anunpleasant connection between it an' a millstun, ' sez I. 

"Malviny Higgins tossed her head an' giv me one uv her witherinestlooks, but I'm not one uv the perishin' kind, so I kep on a' musin'. 

"'It's wonderful what a difference there is between sellin' by the poun'an' the barrel, ' sez I. 'It's unfortunet that there's only one way tothe heavenly country, an' it's a limited express with no Pullmanattached. The Lord hedn't time to put on a parlor car fer the wholesaletrade; seems like as if it was kind uv neglectful in him. It would hevbeen more convenient an' private. '

"Malviny's cheeks got as red as beets an' the flowers on her bonnetdanced a Highland Fling as she leaned over to whisper somethin' to hersister, but I hed relieved my feelin's an' could join in quite peacefullike when Mrs. Songster said we'd close the meetin' by singin' 'Blest bethe tie that binds. ' Well, there'll be no clicks in heaven, that's oneblessin'. "

"'Clicks, ' Penelope?"

"Why, yes, child, the folks that gets off by themselves in a corner an'thinks nobody outside the circle is fit to tie their shoe. I expect tohev edifyin' conversations with Moses an' Elija, an' the first thing Imean to ask him is what kind of ravens they really were. "

"'Ravens, '" echoed Evadne bewildered, "what _do_ you mean, Penelope?"

"Sakes alive, child! Haven't you read your Bible? and don't you know theravens fed the old gentleman in the desert, an' that folks now say theywere Arabs, because the ravens are dirty birds an' live on carrion, an'it stands to reason Elija couldn't touch that if he hed an ordinarystumach. As if the Lord couldn't hev made 'em bring food from the king'stable if he hed chosen to do it! It's all of a piece with the way folkshev now of twistin' the Bible inside out till nobody knows what itmeans. For my part I believe if the Lord hed meant Arabs he would hevsaid Arabs an' not hev deceived us by callin' 'em birds uv prey. Folksis so set against allowin' anything that looks like a meracle thatthey'll go all the way round the barn an' creep through a snake fence ifthey can prove it's jest an ordinary piece of business. They do saythere are some things the Lord can't do, but I'm free to confess I'venever found them out. "

 * * * * *

"Aunt Marthe, " said Evadne, when they had settled down for their eveningtalk, "what does it all mean? 'The victory of our faith, ' you know, andthe 'Overcomeths' in Revelation? I thought Christ got the victory forus?"

"So he does, dear child, and we through him. I came across a lovelyexplanation of it some time ago which I will copy for you; it has beensuch an inspiration. Listen, --

"'When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at naught and yousmile inwardly, glorying in the insult or the oversight, --that isvictory. 

"'When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, yourtastes offended, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, andyou take it all in patient and loving silence, --that is victory. 

"'When you are content with any food, any raiment, any climate, anysociety, any position in life, any solitude, any interruption, --that isvictory. 

"'When you can bear with any discord, any annoyance, any irregularity orunpunctuality (of which you are not the cause), --that is victory. 

"'When you can stand face to face with folly, extravagance, spiritualinsensibility, contradiction of sinners, persecution, and endure it allas Jesus endured it, --that is victory. 

"'When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, nor torecord your works, nor to seek after commendation; when you can trulylove to be unknown, --that is victory. '"

"Now I see!" exclaimed Evadne. "It means the beautiful patience withwhich you bear aggravating things and the gentle courtesy with which youtreat all sorts of troublesome people. Oh, my Princess, I envy you youraltitude!"

CHAPTER XIV. 

Professor Trenton had come and gone and the glory of the autumn was overthe land. The early supper was ended and Evadne had ensconced herself inher favorite window to catch the sun's last smile before he fell asleep. In the room across the hall Mr. Everidge reclined in his luxuriousarm-chair and leisurely turned the pages of the last "North AmericanReview. " It was Saturday evening. 

"Why, Horace, can this be possible?" Mrs. Everidge entered the roomquickly and stood before her husband. Neither of them noticed Evadne. 

"My dear, many things are possible in this terrestrial sphere. Whatparticular possibility do you refer to?"

"That you have discharged Reuben?" The sweet voice trembled. Mr. Everidge's tones kept their usual complacent calm. 

"That possibility, my dear, has taken definite form in fact. "

"But, Horace, the boy is heart-broken. "

"Time is a mighty healer, my love. He will recover his mental equipoisein due course. "

"But you might have given him a month's warning. Where is the poor boyto find another place? It is cruel to turn him off like this!"

"Really, my dear Marthe, I do not feel myself competent to solve all theproblems of the labor question, " said Mr. Everidge carelessly. "Reubenmust take his chances in common with the rest of his class. "

"But, Horace, I cannot imagine what your reason for this can be! Wherewill you find so good a boy?"

"I am not aware that Socrates thought it necessary to acquaint theworthy Xantippe with the reasons for his conduct, " remarked Mr. Everidgesuavely. "The feminine mind is too much disposed to jump to hastyconclusions to prove of any assistance in deciding matters ofimportance. The masculine brain, on the contrary, takes time for calmdeliberation and weighs the pros and cons in the scale of a wellbalanced judgment before arriving at any definite decision. But myreason in this case will soon become apparent to you. I do not intend tokeep a boy at all. "

"But who will take care of Atalanta? Are you going to forsake yourcherished books for a curry-comb?"

"Really, Marthe!" exclaimed her husband in an aggrieved tone, "it isincomprehensible that you should have such a total disregard for thedelicacy of my constitution, --especially when you know that the veryodor of the stable is abhorrent to my olfactory senses. Atalanta hasquarters provided for her at the Vernon Livery, and one of the groomshas orders to bring the carriage to the door at two o'clock everyafternoon. "

"But that will make it very awkward, Horace. I so often have to use thecarriage in the morning. "

"'Have, ' my dear Marthe, is a word which admits of manysubstitutions, --'cannot' in this case will be a suitable one. I find itis necessary to resume possession of the reins. Atalanta is retrogradingand is rapidly losing that characteristic of speed which made her name afitting one. There is a lack of mastery about a woman's handling of theribbons which is quickly detected by horses, especially when they are ofmore than average intelligence. "

"But, Horace, if Reuben goes, Joanna will go too. You know she promisedher mother she would never leave him. "

"In that event, my dear, you will have an opportunity to become moreintimately acquainted with the mysteries of the culinary art, " observedMr. Everidge cheerfully. "It will be a splendid chance to evolve thatfinest of character combinations, Spartan endurance coupled withAmerican progressiveness. "

Mrs. Everidge smiled. "But what if I do not have the Spartan strength, Horace?"

"That is merely a matter of imagination, my love. It proves the truth ofmy theory that necessity develops capacity. A woman of leisure, for wantof suitable mental pabulum, grows to fancy she has every ill that fleshis heir to, whereas, when she is obliged by compelling circumstances toput her muscles into practice, her mind acquires a more healthy tone. Self-contemplation is a most enervating exercise and involves atremendous drain on the moral forces. "

"Do you think I waste much time in that way, Horace?" Mrs. Everidgespoke wistfully, and Evadne, forced to be an unwilling listener to theconversation, felt her cheeks grow hot with indignation. 

"My dear, I merely refer to the deplorable tendency of your sex. All yourequire is moral stamina to tear yourself away from the arms of Morpheusat an earlier hour in the It is a popular illusion, you know, that workperformed before sunrise takes less time to accomplish and is betterdone than later in the day. My mother used to affirm that sheaccomplished the work of two days in one when she arose at three a. M. , but then my mother was a most exceptional woman, " with which partingthrust Mr. Everidge retired behind the pages of his magazine. 

Upstairs in her own room Evadne paced the floor with tightly clenchedhands. "Oh!" she cried, "what shall I do? I hate him! I hate him! Howdare he! He ought to be glad to go down on his knees to serve her, sheis so sweet, so dear! Oh, I cannot bear it! That she should be compelledto endure such servitude, and I can do nothing to help, nothing!nothing!" She threw herself across the bed and burst into a passion oftears. Was this the silent girl whom Isabelle had voted tiresome andslow?

A little later than usual she heard the low knock which always precededthe visit which she looked forward to as the sweetest part of the day. Could it be possible she would come to-night? Was no thought of selfever permitted to enter that brave, suffering heart?

She rose and opened the door. The dear face was paler than usual butthere was no shadow upon the smooth brow. Marthe Everidge had crossedthe tempest-tossed ocean of human passion into the sun-kissed calm ofChrist's perfect peace. 

Evadne threw her arms around her neck and laid her storm-swept face uponher shoulder. "Forgive me!" she cried, "I heard it all. I could not helpit. I think my heart is breaking. Do not be angry, you see I love youso! How can I bear to have you subjected to this? You are so tender, sotrue. There is such a charm about you! You are so beautifully unselfish!Oh, my dear, my dear, how can you, do you bear it?"

Mrs. Everidge lifted her face tenderly and kissed the quivering lips. "It is 'not I but Christ, ' dear child. That makes it possible. " Then shedrew her over to the lounge and began to undress her as if she had beena baby. "My dear little sister. You are utterly exhausted. You are notstrong enough to suffer so. "

"Oh, will you let me be your sister and help you bear your burdens?"cried Evadne, unconscious that all the time the skilful hands werekeeping up their sweet ministry and that her burden was being lifted forher by the one who had the greater burden to bear. 

When she was comfortably settled for the night Mrs. Everidge drew herlow chair up beside the bed. Evadne caught her hand in hers and kissedit reverently. "I wish I could make you understand how I honor you!" shesaid. 

"You must not do it, dear!" said Aunt Marthe quickly. "Honor the King. "

After a pause she began to speak slowly and her voice was sweet and low. "When, the first night you came, you asked me if I knew Jesus Christ, Itold you he was my life. That explains it all. It is very sweet of youto say the kind things that you have about me but they are not true. Inand of herself, Marthe Everidge is nothing. The moment she tries to liveher own life she utterly fails. If there is anything good about herlife, it is only as she lets Christ live it for her. "

"I do not understand, " said Evadne with a puzzled look. "How is itpossible for any one else to live our lives for us?"

"No one can but Jesus, " said Aunt Marthe with a smile. "He does theimpossible. Take that exquisite fifteenth chapter of St. John and studyit verse by verse. 'Abide in me, and I in you. ' There you have the twoabidings. We are _in_ Christ when we believe in him and are acceptedthrough the merit of his blood and brought by adoption into the familyof God, but not until he abides in our hearts shall our lives become asbeautiful as God means them to be. Fruitfulness, --that is the cryeverywhere. Men are calling for intellectual fruitfulness and mechanicalfruitfulness, and are bending their energies to find the soil which willdevelop at once the best quality and greatest amount of fruit. Take atree, to make my meaning clearer. The tree may abide in the soil and bejust alive, but it is not until the essence of the soil enters into andabides in the tree, that it really grows and bears fruit. Growers of thefinest varieties will show you plums that look as if they had beenfrosted with silver, and peaches with cheeks like the first blush ofdawn. The 'fruits of the Spirit, ' have a wondrous bloom and an exquisitefragrance. "

"'Love, joy, peace, '" Evadne repeated slowly, "'long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. ' But those belong to the Spirit, AuntMarthe. "

"Yes, dear child, the Spirit of Jesus. The Spirit whom he sent tocomfort his people when he took his bodily presence from the earth. Theholy, indwelling presence which is to reveal the Christ to us andprepare us for the abiding of the Father and the Son. It is thebeautiful mystery of the Trinity. "

"But we cannot have the Trinity abiding in our hearts!" said Evadne inan awestruck voice. 

"The Bible teaches us so. "

"Not God, Aunt Marthe!"

"Jesus is God, little one. He said to the Jews, 'I and my Father areone. ' He says plainly, 'If any man love me, he will keep my word and myFather will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode withhim, ' and in another place we are told to be filled with the Spirit. Itis three persons but three in one. "

"I do not understand, Aunt Marthe. "

"No, dear, we never shall, down here. Thomas wanted to do that andChrist said 'Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. 'The Spirit is continually giving us deeper insight into the love of theSon, just as the Son came to make known to the world the wonderful loveof the Father. "

"But 'be filled, '" said Evadne. "That looks as if we had something to dowith it. "

"So we have, dear child. Suppose a man owned one hundred acres of landand gave you the right of way through it from one public road toanother, --that would leave him many acres for his own use on which youhave no right to trespass. I think we treat Jesus so. We are willingthat he should have the right of way through our hearts, but we forgetthat every acre must be the King's property. There must be no rightsreserved, no fenced corners. Jesus must be an absolute monarch. "

Mrs. Everidge spoke the last words softly and Evadne, looking at heruplifted face, shining now with the radiance which always filled it whenshe spoke of her Lord, saw again that glowing face which she had watchedacross the gate at Hollywood and heard the strange, exultant tones, 'Heis my King!' Ah, that was beautiful! That was what Aunt Marthe meant, and Pompey and Dyce. 

"Jesus must come to abide, not merely as a transient guest, " Aunt Marthecontinued in her low tones. "We must give him full control of ourthought and will. We must hand him the keys of the citadel. We must givethe all for the all, --that is only fair dealing. You see, dear child, Christ cannot fill us until we are willing to be emptied of self. Hemust have undivided possession. There is a vast amount of heartache, little one, in this old world, and self is at the bottom of it all, whenwe stop to analyze it. We want to be first, to be thought much of, to beloved best. No wonder that the selfless life seems impossible to mostpeople. Think what a continuous self-sacrifice Christ's life was! Soutterly alone and lonely among such uncongenial surroundings withpeople uncouth and totally foreign to his tastes. Ah! we don't realizeit. We look at him doing the splendid things amidst the plaudits of themultitude, but think of the monotonous, weary days, going up and downthe sun-baked streets surrounded by a crowd of noisy beggars full of allsorts of loathsome disease, and the humdrum life in Nazareth; and allthe time the great heart aching with that ceaseless sorrow, --'His ownreceived him not!' Oh, what a waste of love! We do not realize that itis in these footsteps of his that we are called to follow. We arewilling to do the great things, with the world looking on, but not forthe loneliness and the pain! It seems a strange antithesis that Paulshould count that as his highest glory, and yet how comparatively fewseem counted worthy to enter with Christ into the shadow of thatmysterious Gethsemane which lasted all his life. 'The fellowship of hissufferings. ' It must surely mean the privilege of getting very near hisheart, just as human hearts grow closer in a common sorrow, --knit bypain. Yes, dear child, self must die: and it is a cruel death, --thedeath of the cross. But then comes the newness of life with its strange, sweet joy which the world's children do not know the taste of. How canthey when it is 'the joy of the Lord, ' and they reject him?"

"You talk of the cross, Aunt Marthe, and other people talk of crosses. Aunt Kate and Isabelle are always talking about the sacrifices they haveto make, and Mrs. Rivers carries a perfect bundle of crosses on herback. She is wealthy and has everything she wants, and yet she is alwayswailing, while Dyce is as happy as the day is long. Do the poorChristians always do the singing while the rich ones sigh?"

Mrs. Everidge smiled. "We make our crosses, dear child, when we put ourwishes at right angles to God's will. When we only care to please himeverything that he chooses for us seems just right. I have heard peoplespeak as if it were a cross to mention the name of Christ. How could itbe if they loved him? Do you find it a cross to talk to me about yourfather? People make a terrible mistake about this. The only cross we arecommanded to carry is the cross of Christ. "

"And what is that, Aunt Marthe?"

"Self renunciation, " said Aunt Marthe softly, "the secret of peace. 

"Among all the pictures of the Madonna, " she continued after a pause, "the one I like best is where Mary is sitting, holding in her hands thecrown of thorns; everything else had been wrenched from her grasp, butthis they had no use for. What a legacy it was! As I look at it I seehow he has gathered all the thorns of life and woven them into thatkingly garland which is his glory. All the wealth of the Indies couldnot shed as dazzling a light as that thorny crown. Like the bravesoldier who gathered into his own breast the spears of the enemy, Christhas taken the sting from our sorrows and made us more than conquerorsover the wounds of earth. Surely he has tasted it all for us, --thebaseness and coldness and ingratitude and treachery which have wrunghuman hearts all through the ages, --when Judas betrayed him, Peterdenied him and they all forsook him and fled, do you suppose any otherpain was comparable to that? Only our friends have the power to woundus, you know, and, 'he was wounded in the house of his friends. ' Whenpeople talk of the crucifixion they think of the nail-torn hands andpierced side, --I think of his heart! Oh, my Lord, how _could_ they treatthee so!"

Evadne looked wistfully at the rapt face, irradiated now by themoonlight which was streaming in through the window. "_How_ you lovehim, Aunt Marthe!"

"He is my all, " she answered simply. The girl stroked the hand whichshe still held in both her own. She is absolutely satisfied, she thoughtsorrowfully, she wants nothing that I can give her. And then through thestillness she heard the sweet voice singing, --

 "I love thee because thou hast first loved me, And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree; I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow, If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. "

CHAPTER XV. 

"Dear Aunt Marthe, " cried Evadne one afternoon, "what is love?"

"I will answer you in the words of one who for years has lived thelove-life, " said Mrs. Everidge. 

"'One must be himself infinite in knowledge to define it, infinite incomprehension to fathom it, infinite in love to appreciate it. Love isGod in man, for "God is love, " and "every one that loveth is born ofGod;" but love is not merely veneration, nor respect, nor justice, norpassion, nor jealousy, nor sympathy, nor pity, nor self-gratification;to love something as our own is but a form of self-love; to lovesomething in order to win it for ourselves is just a perpetration of thesame mistake. ' Dr. Karl Gerok wrote, --'Love is the fundamental law ofthe world. First, as written in heaven, for God is love; second, aswritten on the cross, for Christ is love; third, as written in ourhearts, for Christianity is love, ' And Drummond tells us that 'Love--isthe rule for fulfilling all rules, the new commandment for keeping allthe old commandments, Christ's one secret of the Christian life. ' Andanother writer says, --'You are a personality only as your heart lives, and the heart lives only as it loves. Love is all action, therefore theamount of your active love measures the size of your personal heart. '"

"Love has been defined as 'the desire to bless. ' That is like divinelove, for there can be no self thought in God. God's love is over alland above all, but when our love responds to his, his love becomes to usa personal experience. Love can reach down when in loving trust we reachup. Love is like the seed. It manifests no life until it begins to grow. Like the seed it must rise out of the dark ground into the light ofheaven, --out of self thought into God. God's love to us is like thesunlight. We can make it our own only by being in it, if we try to shutup the sunlight, we shut it out. We forget to do wrong when loving God. As we love God, the love we feel for him goes out to others. "

Evadne sighed. "You make it seem a wonderful thing to be a Christian, "she said. 

"To be a Christian, little one, Andrew Murray tells us, 'just means tohave Christ's love. ' Real love means giving always, of our best. "

[Illustration: THE SILENT FIGURE WITH THE AWFUL ENTREATY IN ITS STARINGEYES]

God so loved that he gave his Son, the essence of himself. Jesus gavehis life, not only in the final agony of the crucifixion, but allthrough the beautiful years of ministry in Nazareth and Galilee. Thereis a truer giving than of our temporal goods. Our friends, if theyreally love us, want most of all what we can give them of ourselves. Itis those who give themselves to the world's need who come nearest to thedivine pattern Christ has set for us to copy, and, if we truly love him, we shall want not his gifts but himself. 

"People seek after holy living instead of perfect loving, they do notrealize that we can be truly holy only as we love, for 'love is thegreat reality of the spiritual world. '"

Evadne laid her cheek caressingly against Mrs. Everidge's. "If it wereonly you, dear, how delightfully easy it would be, but do you suppose itis possible for me to love Aunt Kate and Isabelle?"

"Yes, dear child, with the love of God. "

"You can't imagine how I dread the idea of going back!" Evadne said witha sigh. "This summer has been like a lovely dream. How shall I endurethe cold reality of my waking?"

"Where is your joy, little one?"

"Joy, Aunt Marthe!" exclaimed Evadne drearily, "why, I haven't got anyapart from you. Just the mere thought of the separation makes my heartache. "

"'The joy of the Lord, '" said Mrs. Everidge softly. "If Jesus Christ isable to fill heaven don't you think he ought to be able to fill earthtoo? The trouble is we turn away from him and pour our wealth of love atearthly shrines. Mary showed us the better way, --she _broke_ the box, that every drop of the precious ointment might fall on his dear head. What is going to be the crowning satisfaction of heaven? Not that weshall meet our friends, as so many seem to think, but that we shallawake in _his_ likeness and see _his_ face. We shall be 'together, '--wehave that comfort given us, but it will be 'together with the Lord. ' Heis to be the centre of attraction and delight always. What anunfathomable mystery it must be to the angels that he is not so with usnow!"

Evadne took a long, yearning look at the dear face, as if she wouldimprint it upon her memory forever. "He _is_ with you, " she said softly. "_You_ will never be a puzzle to the angels. "

 * * * * *

The time of her stay in Vernon drew near its close, and on the last daybut one she went to say good-bye to Penelope Riggs. She found hersitting alone in the house, her mother having taken a fancy to have asun bath. Her right hand was doubled up and she was rubbing it slowly upand down the palm of her left while she sang softly. 

"Why, Penelope, what are you doing?" cried Evadne in amaze. 

"Polishin', child. I learnt it long ago. One day I was that wore out Iwouldn't have cared if the sky had fallen, --things had been goin'crooked, an' Mother hadn't slept well for a fortnight, an' I was thatnarvous an' tuckered out I thought I'd fly to pieces. There's an oldhymn Mother's dredful fond of, --I don't remember how it goes now, butthere's one line she keeps repeatin' over an' over till I feel ready tojump. It's this, --'What dyin' wurms we be. ' So, when she begun her wurmsong that mornin' I just let fly. 'Ef I _am_ a wurm, ' sez I, 'I ain'tgoin' ter be allers lookin' to see myself squirm!' and with that I upand out of the house. My head was that tight inside I felt if I didn'tgit out that minit somethin' would snap. I went straight up to Mis'Everidge's. She's one of the people you see who always lives on a hill, inside an' out. When I got there I couldn't speak. My heart's weak atthe best of times an' the weather in there was pretty stormy. I justdropped into the first chair an' she put her hands on my two shouldersan' sez she, --'You poor child!' an' then she went away an' made me asyllabub. "

"'Look on the bright side, ' sez she in her cheery way when I hadfinished drinkin'. "

"'Sakes alive, Mis' Everidge, ' sez I, 'there isn't any bright side!'"

"'Then polish up the dark one, ' sez she, ez quick ez a flash. I've beentryin' to do it ever since. "

"You dear Penelope!" exclaimed Evadne, "I think you have!"

"It's all a wale, child, a wale o' tears, " old Mrs. Riggs complained asshe bade her good-bye in the porch, but when she reached the turn in theroad she heard Penelope singing, --

 "Thy way, not mine, O Lord, However dark it be! Lead me by Thine own hand; Choose out my path for me. I dare not choose my lot, I would not if I might; Choose Thou for me, My God, So shall I walk aright. "

and Evadne knew that in the brave heart the voice of Christ had made thestorm a calm. 

"You dear Aunt Marthe! How am I ever going to thank you for all youhave been to me; and what shall I do without you?" Evadne spoke thewords wistfully. They were making the most of their last evening. 

"Why, dear child, we can always be together in spirit. 'It is notdistance in miles that separates people but distance in feeling. 'Emerson says, --'A man really lives where his thought is, ' so you can bein Vernon and I in Marlborough, --each of us held close in the hush ofGod's love, which 'in its breadth is a girdle that encompasses the globeand a mantle that enwraps it. '"

Evadne caught Mrs. Everidge's face between her hands and kissed itreverently. "I mean to devote my life to making other people happy, asyou do, my saint, " she said. 

 * * * * *

"Board!" The conductor's cry of warning smote the air and the trainpassengers made a final bustle of preparation for a start. Mrs. Everidgecaught Evadne close in a last embrace. 

"My precious little sister, I shall miss you every day!" Then she wasgone, and Evadne, looking eagerly out of her window, saw the dear face, from which the tears had been swept away, smiling brightly at her fromthe platform. 

"You magnificent Christian!" she cried. "You will give others thesunshine always!"

 * * * * *

The train steamed into the station at Marlborough and again Louis cameforward to greet her with a look of admiration on his unusually animatedface. 

"Well done, Evadne! If the atmosphere of Vernon can work suchtransformation as this, it ought to be bottled up and sold at twentydollars the dozen. You go away looking like a snow-wraith, and youreturn a blooming Hebe. "

Evadne laughed merrily. "Thank you. The atmosphere of Vernon has awonderful power, " but it was not of the material ozone she was thinkingas she spoke. 

"I believe I will try it. My constitution is running down at the rate ofan alarm clock. I must take my choice between a tonic and an earlygrave. Will you vouch for like good results in my case?"

Evadne shook her head. "I do not believe it would have the same effectupon everyone, " she said. 

"Ah, then I shall be compelled to go to Europe. "

Evadne looked at him. "Yes, " she said, "I think Europe would suit youbetter. "

"That is unfortunate, --for the Judge's purse. How is Aunt Marthe?"

"She is well, " she answered with a sudden stillness in her voice. Shecould not trust herself to talk about this friend of hers to carelessquestioners. "How is Uncle Lawrence, and all the others?"

"The Judge is in his usual state of health, I fancy. We rarely meetexcept at the table and then you know personal questions are notconsidered in good form. The others are well, and Isabelle, having justreturned from the metropolis of Fashion, is more than ever _au fait_ inthe usages of polite society. But none of them have improved like you, little coz. What has changed you so?"

And she answered softly, with a new light shining in her lovelyeyes, --"Jesus Christ. "

 * * * * *

"You poor Evadne!" said Marion that evening, "what a dreary summer youmust have had, shut away among those stupid mountains! If you could onlyhave been with me, now. I never had such a lovely vacation in my life. There seemed to be some excitement every day;--picnics and boatingparties and tennis matches and five o'clocks----"

Evadne laughed. "You would better not let Uncle Horace know you are 'avotary of the deadly five o'clock' or he will empty his vials ofdenunciation upon your unlucky head. 

"Oh, Aunt Kate, he sent you a large bundle of fraternal greetings. Hesays that, 'viewed through the glamour of memory, you impress him likean Alpine landscape, when the sun is rising, and he hopes the softbrilliance of prosperity will ever envelop you in its radiance and serveto enhance the beauty of your stately calm. '"

Mrs. Hildreth smiled, well pleased. "Horace is so poetical, " she said, "but all the Everidges are clever. What a shame it seems that a man ofhis talent should be forced by ill health to exist in a place wherethere is not a single soul capable of appreciating his rare qualities. Even his wife does not begin to understand him. It seems like castingpearls before swine. "

Evadne's eyes flashed and her lips pressed themselves tightly together, but Mrs. Hildreth's gaze was fixed intently upon the lace shawl she wasknitting and Louis just then gave a sudden turn to the conversation. 

She went up to her room with a great homesickness surging at her heart. Only last night all had been lightsome and happy, now the old darknessseemed to have settled down about her again. She knelt before her windowand looked at the strip of sky which was all a Marlborough residenceallowed her. "Happy stars!" she murmured, "for you are shining on AuntMarthe!"

Far into the night she knelt there, until a great peace flooded hersoul. She raised her hands towards the sparkling sky. "To make the worldbrighter, to make the world better, to lift the world nearer to God. Blessed Christ, that was thy mission. I will make it mine!"

The next morning Louis drew her aside. "So, little coz, you did notcoincide with the lady mother's eulogium of our respected collaterallast night?"

"Why, I said nothing!" cried Evadne in astonishment. 

Louis laughed. "Have you never heard of eyes that speak and faces thattell tales?" he said. "I will just whisper a word of warning before youplay havoc with your web of destiny. Don't let a suspicion of yourdislike cross the lady mother's mind, for Uncle Horace is her beau-idealof a man. I agree with you. I think he is a cad. "

CHAPTER XVI. 

"An invitation to Professor Joliette's, " and Isabelle tossed agilt-edged card across the table to Marion; "Wednesday evening. It's nota very long invitation. What dress will you wear?"

"But you are engaged, Marion, " said Evadne; "Wednesday evening, youknow. "

"Yes, " said Marion with a sigh, "it is awkward. I do wish they wouldchoose some other night for prayer meeting. Wednesday seems such afavorite with everybody. "

"What a little prig you are getting to be, Evadne!" said Isabelle with asneer. "Your only diversion seems to be prayer meeting and church. Youare as bad as Aunt Marthe. "

"Aunt Marthe a prig! Oh, that is too funny!" and Evadne gave one of herlow, sweet laughs. "Besides, does keeping one's engagements constitute aprig, Isabelle? You wouldn't think so if you were invited to thePresident's reception. "

"The President's reception! What does get into the child! I don't seemuch analogy between the two cases. No one considers prayer meeting abinding engagement, and I'm sure we go as often as we can. "

"Not binding!" echoed Evadne. "So Christ is not of as much importance asthe President of the United States!"

"You do have such a way of putting things, Evadne!" said Marionthoughtfully. "I expect we had better refuse, Isabelle. "

"Refuse, --nonsense!" said Isabelle sharply. "You always meet the bestpeople at the Joliettes', --besides, why should we run the risk ofoffending them?"

"Why should they run the risk of offending you, by choosing a night theyknow you cannot come?" asked Evadne. 

"Ridiculous! What do they care about our church concerns? The Joliettesare foreigners. People in polite society do not give religion such anunpleasant prominence as you delight in, Evadne. For my part, I considerit very bad form. "

"Breakers ahead, Evadne, " said Louis with his cynical laugh. "Good formis Isabelle's fetich. Woe betide the unlucky wight who dares to hold anopinion of his own. "

"But, " said Evadne, the old puzzled look coming into her eyes, "I wish Icould understand. Are Christians ashamed of the religion of Jesus?"

"That's about the amount of it, little coz. It is a sort of kedge anchorwhich they keep on board in case of danger. For my part I think it isbetter to sail clear. It is only an uncomfortable addition which spoilsthe trim of the ship. "

"Oh, Louis, don't!" exclaimed Marion with a sigh. "It is so hard to knowwhat is right! Sometimes I wish I were a nun, shut up in a convent, andthen I should have nothing else to do. "

"Doubtless the Lord would appreciate that sort of faithfulness, " saidLouis gravely, "although I notice Christianity seems to be a sort ofSing-Sing arrangement with the majority. Everything is done under asense of compulsion, and the air is lurid with trials and lamentationsand woe. It is not an alluring life, and, in my opinion, the jolly oldworld shows its sense in steering clear of it. "

"Your irreverence is shocking, Louis, " said Isabelle severely, "and youare as much of an extremist as Evadne. No one could live such a life asyou seem to expect. Religion has its proper place, of course, but I donot think it is wise to speak of the deep things of life on alloccasions. "

"'I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, andhim crucified, '" quoted Evadne. "Was Paul mistaken then?"

"Certainly, my dear coz, " said Louis, as he prepared to leave the room. "The greatest men are subject to that infirmity. The only one who hasnever been mistaken is Isabelle. "

 * * * * *

"It is so provoking that we cannot have the carriage, " grumbledIsabelle, as, when Wednesday evening came, they waited for Louis in thedining-room. "At the Joliettes' of all places! I am sure I don't see, Papa, why you cannot insist upon Pompey's taking some other night offwhen we need him on Wednesdays. It is horribly awkward!"

Her father shook his head as he slowly peeled an orange. "Because I havegiven him my word, my dear. The only stipulation he made when I engagedhim was that he should not be required to drive on Sundays and Wednesdayevenings, and, when I hear people complaining about their surly, incapable coachmen, I consider it is a light price to pay. Pompey is assober as a church and as pleasant-tempered in a rain storm as awater-spaniel, --no matter what hour of the night you keep him waiting;so it is the least we can do to let the poor fellow be sure of oneevening to himself;" and the Judge opened his Times and began to studythe money market. 

"Well, " said Isabelle crossly. "I, for one, don't believe in allowingservants to have such cast-iron rules. It savors too much of socialism. "

"Exactly so, " said Louis from the doorway, where he stood leisurelybuttoning his gloves. "You will never pose as the goddess of liberty, _ma belle soeur_. It is a good thing that Lincoln got the Emancipationbill signed before you came into power, or dusky millions might still beweeping tears of blood. "

Isabelle swept past him with an indignant toss of her head, and thefront door closed after the trio with a metallic clang. 

"I don't wonder the poor child is annoyed, " said Mrs. Hildreth as sheplayed with her grapes. "It is very embarrassing when people know thatwe keep a carriage; and the Joliettes are such sticklers in the matterof etiquette. It is a ridiculous fad of yours, Lawrence, to be sopunctilious. "

"But, my dear, I gave him my word of honor!"

"What if you did? There are exceptions to every rule. "

"Not in the Hildreth code of honor, Kate. "

"Nonsense! What does a colored coachman understand about that! Why, Evadne, you cannot go to prayer meeting alone!" she exclaimed, as Evadnecame into the room with her hat on. "Your uncle is busy and I am tootired, so there is no way for you to get home. "

"I am going to Dyce's church, Aunt Kate. Pompey will bring me home. "

"Among a lot of shouting negroes! You must be crazy, child!"

"Their souls are white, Aunt Kate, and there is no color line on theRock of Ages. "

"Oh, well, tastes differ, " said her aunt carelessly, "but it is astrange fancy for Judge Hildreth's niece. Next thing you will suggestgoing to board with Pompey. "

"I might fare a good deal worse, " said Evadne with her soft laugh. "Dycekeeps her rooms like waxwork and she is a capital cook. "

"Really, Evadne, I am in despair! You have not an iota of proper pride. How are you going to maintain your position in society?"

"I don't believe I care to test the question, Aunt Kate; but I think myposition will maintain itself. "

"Well said, Evadne, " said her uncle, looking up from his paper. "Youwill never forget you are a Hildreth, eh?"

"Higher than that, uncle, " said Evadne softly. "I am a sister of JesusChrist. "

"I don't know what to make of the child, " said Mrs. Hildrethdiscontentedly, as the door closed behind her. "I believe she wouldrather associate with such people than with those of her own class. Shehas a bowing acquaintance with the most _outré_ looking individuals Iever saw. I really don't think Dr. Jerome is wise setting young girls tovisit in the German quarter. It doesn't hurt Marion, now. She only doesit as a disagreeable duty and is immensely relieved when her round ofvisits is made for the month, but Evadne takes as much interest in themas if they were her relations. Next thing we know, she will be wantingto take up slum work. I hope she won't come to any harm down among thosecrazy blacks. They always seem to get possessed the moment they touchreligion. "

"I do not think Evadne will ever come to any harm, " the Judge saidslowly. "The Lord takes pretty good care of his own. "

His wife looked at him with a puzzled expression. "I fully intendedgoing to prayer meeting myself to-night, " she said, "but it gets to be agreat tax, --an evening out of every week, --and I do dread the night airso much. "

Mrs. Judge Hildreth dipped her jeweled fingers into the perfumed waterof her finger glass and dried them on her silk-fringed napkin. "Oh, Lawrence, don't forget Judge Tracer's dinner to-morrow night. You willhave to come home earlier than usual, for it is such a long drive, andit will never do to keep his mulligatawny waiting. And, by the way, Imade a new engagement for you to-day. Mrs. General Leighton has invitedus to join the Shakespearean Club which she is getting up. It is to bevery select. Will meet at the different houses, you know, with a choicelittle supper at the close. She says the one she belonged to in Atlantawas a brilliant affair. She comes from one of Georgia's first families, you remember. "

"A Shakespearean Club!" and Judge Hildreth smiled incredulously. "Why, my dear, I never knew you and the immortal Will had much affinity foreach other!"

"Oh, of course it is more for the prestige of the thing. Mrs. Leightonsaid the General assured her you would never find leisure for it, but Isaid I would promise for you. It is only one evening a week you know. She thinks we Americans retire far too early from the enjoyments oflife in favor of our children, and I believe she is right. I certainlydo not feel myself in the sere and yellow, " and Mrs. Judge Hildrethregarded herself complacently in the long mirror before which she stood. "You will manage to make the time, Lawrence?"

"What other answer but 'yes' can Petruchio make to 'the prettiest Katein Christendom'?" replied the Judge, bowing gallantly to the face in themirror as he came up and stood beside his wife. It was a handsome facebut there was a hardness about it, and the lines around the mouth whichbespoke an indomitable will, had deepened with the years. 

"Only one evening a week, Kate, but you thought that too much of a taxjust now. "

"How absurd you are, Lawrence! When shall I make you understand thatthere are sacrifices that must be made. We owe a duty to society. Wecannot afford to let ourselves drop wholly out of the world. "

A little later Judge Hildreth entered his library with a heavy sigh. Hehad attained the ends he had striven for, he was respected alike in thechurch and the world, he held a high and lucrative position, he had awell appointed home, over which his handsome wife presided with dignityand grace, and yet, as he took his seat before his desk in the loftyroom whose shelves were lined with gems of thought in fragrant, costlybindings, life seemed to have missed its sweetness to Lawrence Hildreth. 

Evadne's words haunted him, and, like an accusing angel, the letterwhich still lay hidden under the mass of papers in the drawer which henever opened, seemed to look at him reproachfully. 

"A sister of Jesus Christ. " Sisters and brothers lived together. Was itpossible that Jesus Christ could be in this house, --this very room? Theidea was appalling. He was familiar with the truism that God waseverywhere, but he had never really believed it; and, as the yearspassed, he had found it convenient to remove him to a shadowy distancein space, less likely to interfere with modern business methods. JesusChrist, enshrined in a far off glory among his angels, appealed to thedecorum of his religious sentiment; but Jesus Christ, face to face, tobe reckoned with in the practical details of honesty and fair dealing;that was a different matter. And this was the violation of a dead man'strust, who had put everything in his power because he had faith in him!

He saw again the young brother, handsome, easy-going to a fault, butwith a sense of honor so fine as to shrink in indignation from theslightest breath of shame; read again the closing words of the farewellletter which he had read for the first time on the day now so long ago, which he would have given worlds to recall, and which, from out theshadowy recesses of eternity, laughed at his futile wish. 

"So, my dear brother, " the letter ran, "I am giving you thisresponsibility as only a brother can. I have left Evadne absolutelyuntrammelled. I have no fear that my little girl will abuse the trust. She is wise beyond her years, with a sense of honor as keen as yourown. "

The Judge's head sank upon his hands. It was for Evadne's good he hadpersuaded himself. She was too much of a child, --and now, --the lettercould not be delivered. It meant disgrace and shame. It was his duty asa father to shield his family from that. How well he could pictureEvadne's look of bewildered, incredulous surprise, and then the pain, tinged with scorn, which would creep into the clear eyes. And JesusChrist! The Judge's head sank lower as he heard the voice which has rungdown through the ages in scathing denunciation of all subterfuge andlies. 

"Woe unto you . .. Hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice andmercy and faith. "

"Woe unto you . .. Hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup andof the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. "

"Woe unto you . .. Hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchreswhich outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men'sbones. "

Lower and lower sank the Judge's head, until at last it rested upon thedesk with a groan. 

 * * * * *

They were singing when Evadne reached the humble church which Dyce andPompey called their spiritual home. The walls were white-washed and theseats were hard, for the "Disciples of Jesus" possessed but little ofthis world's goods. Two prayers followed, full of rich imagery andfervid passion, and then a young girl with a deep contralto voice beganto sing, --

 "Steal away, steal away, Steal away to Jesus! Steal away, steal away home, We ain't got long to stay here. "

The soft, deep notes of the weird melody ended in a burst of triumph, and Evadne bent her head while her tired heart thrilled with joy. Whenshe looked up again Dyce was speaking. 

"I've ben thinkin', friens, " she said, "that we don't get the sweetnessof them words inter our hearts ez we should. We'se too much taken up widde thought of de heavenly manshuns to 'member dat de King's chillen hezan inheritance on de earth. We'se not poor, lonesome people widout ahome! De dear Christ promised, 'I will not leave youse orphans, I willcome to youse, ' an' he who hez de Lord Jesus alongside, hez de best ofcompany. 'Pears like we don't let our Father's message go any deeper dande top of our heads. Ef we believes we'se preshus in his sight, --an' deBible sez we is, --we'll hev no occashun fer gettin discouraged, fer dedear Lord's boun ter do de best fer his loved ones. Ef we'se keepin'company wid Jesus we'se no call ter want de worl's invitashuns, an efwe'se hidden away in Christ's heart dere's no need fer us ter befrettin' about de little worriments of earth. Satan don't hev no chancewhere Jesus is. Ef we'se tempted, friens, an' fall inter sin, it's'cause we'se not livin' close ter de Saviour. 

"I knows we allers tinks of a home as a place where dere is good times, an' dere don't seem much good times goin' for some of us in dis worl', but dere ain't no call fer us ter spec' ter be better off dan our Lord, an ef we'se feedin' on de Lord Jesus all de time we won't min' ef deworl's bread is scarce; de soul ain't dependin' on dem tings fernourishmen' an' de Lord Jesus makes de hard bed easy an' de coarse foodtaste good. 

"'Tain't good management fer us ter be allers groanin' in dis worl'while we 'spect ter be singin' de glory song up yonder. De best singersis dem dat's longes' trainin' an' I'se feared some of us'll find itdrefful hard ter git up ter de proper concert pitch in heaven ef wesings nuthin but lamentashuns on earth. De dear Lord don't seem ter hevmade any sort of pervishun for fault findin'. He 'low dere'll betrubble, but he tells us ter be of good cheer on account of hevin' himter git de victry fer us, an' ef we keep singin' all de time, dere ain'tno time fer sighs. Let us keep a-whisperin' to our Father, my friens. It's a beautiful worl' he's put us in, an' dere ain't no combine terkeep us back from enjoyin' de best tings in it. De sky belong ter us ezmuch as to de rich folks, an' de grass an' de trees an' de birds an' deflowers; de rollin rivers an' de mighty ocean belongs ter us. De onlypriviluge de rich folks hez is dat dey kin sail on deir billows whilewe hez ter stan' alongside, --but dey's powerfu' unhappy sometimes whendey hez so much ter look after, an' we kin enjoy lookin' at deir finehouses widout hevin' any of de care. 

"We'se not payin' much complimen' ter Jesus, friens, when we 'low dat degood tings of dis worl' kin make people happier dan he kin, an' 'pearslike we ought ter be 'shamed of ourselves. De Bible sez we'se ter 'livean' move an' hev our bein' in God, ' an' it don't 'pear becomin' when wehev such a home pervided fer us, ter be allers grumblin' 'cause we can'tlive in de brown stone fronts an' keep a kerridge. We don't begin terunderstan' how ter live up ter our privilegus, friens, an' I'se bowed inshame as I tink how de dear Lord's heart must ache as he sees how littlewe'se appresheatin' his lovin' kindness. "

The tender, pleading voice ceased and then Dyce lifted her claspedhands, --"Oh, Lord Jesus, help us ter glorify thee before de worl'. Helpus ter understan' an 'preciate de wonderful honor thou hez put upon us. Make us used ter dwellin' wid thee on de earth, so as we won't feel likestrangers in heaven. Oh, blessed Jesus, by de remembrance of de thornmarks an' de nail prints an' de woun' in thy side forgive thyungrateful chillen. We'se ben a' lookin' roun on de perishin' tings ofearth fer our comfort, an' a' seekin' our homes in this worl'. Lord, help us ter find our real home in thee! Help us ter steal away terJesus, when de storm cloud hangs low and de billows roar about ourheads. Dere's no shadows in de home thou makes, fer 'de light of deworl' is Jesus, ' an' ebery room is full of de sunshine of thy love. Dere's no harm kin cum to us ef we'se inside de fold, fer thou art dedoor, Lord Jesus; dere's no danger kin touch us ef we'se hidden in decleft of de rock. Lord, make us abide in de secret place of de Almightyan' hoi' us close forever under de shadow of thy wing. "

Then the congregation dispersed to the humble homes, glorified now bythe possibility of being made the dwelling-place of the King of kings. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

It was intensely warm in the Marlborough Steel Works. Outdoors the sunbeat fiercely upon the heads of toiling men and horses while the heatwaves danced with a dazzling shimmer along the brick pavements. Indoorsthere was the steady thud of the engine, and the great hammers clankedand the belts swept through the air with a deafening whirr, while theworkmen drew blackened hands across their grimy foreheads and JohnRandolph gave a sigh of longing for the cool forest chambers ofHollywood, as he leaned over to exchange a cheery word with RichardTrueman, beside whom he had been working for over a year and for whom hehad come to entertain a strong feeling of affection. 

Varied experiences had come to him since he had said good-by to his kindQuaker friends and started on his search for work. Monotonous days ofwood piling in a lumber yard, long weeks of isolation among the gianttrees of the forest, where no sound was to be heard except the whistleof the axes, as they cleaved the air, and the coarse jokes of theworkmen, --then had come days when even odd jobs had been hailed withdelight, and he had sat at the feet of the grim schoolmistress Necessityand learned how little man really needs to have to live. And then theSteel Works had opened again and he had forged his way up through thedifferent departments to the responsible position he now held. Hispromotion had been rapid. The foreman had been quick to note the keen, intelligent interest and deft-handedness of this strangely alert newemployé. He finished his work in the very best way that it was possibleto do it, even though it took a little longer in the doing. Such workmenwere not common at the Marlborough Steel Works. He put his heart intowhatever he did. That was John Randolph's way. There was something aboutthe work which pleased him. It gave him a feeling of triumph to watchthe evolution of the crude chaos into the finished perfection, and seehow through baptism of fire and flood the diverse particles emerged atlength a beautifully tempered whole. He read as in an allegory thediscipline which a soul needs to fit it for the kingdom, and sothroughout the meshes of his daily toil John Randolph wove his parable. 

When evening came he would stride cheerily along the dingy street tothe house where he and his fellow-workman lodged, refresh himself with ahot bath, don what he called his dress suit, and after their simple mealand a frolic with little Dick, the motherless boy who was the joy ofRichard Trueman's heart, he would settle down for a long evening ofstudy among his cherished books. John Randolph never lost sight of thefact that he was to be a physician by and by. 

 * * * * *

Somewhere in one of the great centers of the world's industry a workmanhad blundered. His conscience urged him to confess his mistake, whileSatan whispered with a sneer, --"Yes, and get turned adrift for yourpains, with a rating into the bargain!"

"Never mind if you do lose a week's wages, " conscience had pleaded, "your hands will be clean, " and the workman shrugged his shoulders witha muttered, "Pshaw! What do I care for that, so long as I don't gitfound out. I'll fix it so as no one kin tell it was me. "

The work was passed upon by the foreman and the Company's certificateattached. The man chuckled, "Hooray! Now that it's out from under oldDaggett's eyes nobody'll ever be able to lay the blame on me!" and hehad gone home whistling. He forgot God!

 * * * * *

The long, stifling day was drawing near its close. Half an hour more andthe workmen would be free to rest. Only half an hour! Suddenly there wasa sharp clicking sound, then a cry, and in an instant all was bustle andconfusion at the Marlborough Steel Works. The great hammers hungsuspended in mid-air, the whirling wheels were still, while the workmen, with faces showing pale beneath the grime, gathered hastily around afallen comrade. Summoned by telephone the Company's surgeon was drivingrapidly towards the Works, but his services would not be required. 

An accident. No one knew just how it happened. There must have been aflaw, a defect in some part of the machinery. These things do happen. Somewhere there had been carelessness, dishonesty, and the price of itwas--a life!

The dying man opened his eyes suddenly and looked full at John Randolph, who knelt beside him supporting his head on his arm. 

"Little Dick, " he murmured. 

"All right, Trueman, I will take care of him. "

"God bless you, John!" and with the fervid benediction, the breathceased and the spirit flew away. 

The body was prepared for the inquest, and through the gathering duskJohn, strangely white and silent, entered the house he called home, gathered the fatherless boy into his arms and let him sob out his griefupon his shoulder. 

 * * * * *

Some days after the funeral the Manager sent for John to come to hisprivate office. He was a pleasant man and had taken a kindly interest inthe capable young workman from the start. 

"Well, Randolph, this is a terrible business of poor Trueman, " he said, as he pointed him to a chair. "Terrible! I can't get over it. A fine manand one of our best finishers too. Well, we can't do anything for himnow, poor fellow, but he left a boy I think?"

"Yes, sir, " said John simply; "I have taken him to live with me. "

"Shake hands, Randolph! We _talk_ about what ought to be done and you_do_ it. Is that your usual mode of procedure?"

John laughed. "There was nothing else to do, " he said. 

"H'm. Most fellows in your position would have thought it was the lastthing possible. Have you any idea what it means to saddle yourself witha child like this? Whatever put such an idea into your head?"

"Jesus Christ, " answered John quietly. 

"Well, well, you're a queer fellow, Randolph. But how are you going tomake the wages spin out? A boy is 'a growing giant of wants whom thecoat of Have is never large enough to cover. '"

"His father managed, so can I. " John's voice shook a little. 

"His father! But he _was_ his father, you see. That makes a mightydifference. Well, Randolph, I give you up. You are beyond me. "

John rose. "Was that all you wished to say to me, Mr. Branford?"

"Sit down, man! What the mischief are you in such a hurry for? It standsto reason the Company can't let you bear the brunt of this mostdeplorable occurrence, though I don't believe we could have found abetter guardian for the poor little lad. But guardians expect to be paidfor their trouble. What price do you set, Randolph?"

"I don't want any pay for obeying my Master, Mr. Branford. "

"Your Master, Randolph?" said the Manager with a puzzled stare. 

"Yes, sir, Jesus Christ. "

"Upon my word, Randolph, you're a queer fellow! Well, if you don't wantpay, I want some one with a head on his shoulders in this office. Any ofthe fellows in the outside office would be glad of the chance to get inhere, but I want a man who understands what he is doing as well as I domyself. You have practical knowledge, Randolph, you're the man I want. Ishall expect you to start in here tomorrow morning. The salary will bedouble your present wages. And, since you have constituted yourselfguardian of the boy, I may as well tell you that the Company has decidedto set aside a yearly sum for his maintenance and education. 

"Now you can go, if you are in such a tremendous hurry, Randolph: onlydon't try any more of such toploftiness with me. It won't go down, yousee;" and the Manager chuckled softly, as John, with broken thanks, leftthe room. "I rather think I got the better of him that time!" he said tohimself. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Judge Hildreth sat in his private office, immersed in anxious thought. Every day brought new difficulties to be wrestled with in connectionwith the multitudinous schemes which were making an old man of him whilehe was still in his prime. His hair was grey, his hands trembled, hiseyes were bloodshot, and his face had the unhealthy pallor whichaccompanies intense nervous pressure and excitement. 

He knew that it was so, and the knowledge did not tend to sweeten hisdisposition. He told himself again and again that he could not helpit, --it was the force of circumstances and the curse of competition. Like the fly in the spider's parlor, he found himself inextricablyenveloped in the silken maze of deceit which he had entered so blithelyyears ago. He had ceased to question bitterly whether the game was worththe candle. He told himself the Fates had decreed it, and the game hadto be played out to the end, The principal thing now was to keep thepieces moving and prevent a checkmate, for that would mean ruin!

One of the office boys knocked at the door and presented a card, forinto this _sanctum sanctorum_ no one was permitted to enter unannounced. The card bore the name of the nominal president of the ConsolidatedProvident Savings Company, which was one of the numerous schemes thatJudge Hildreth had on hand. It was not always wise to have his nameappear. He believed in sleeping partnerships. As he explained it tohimself, that gave one a free hand. 

The Consolidated Provident Savings Company was a popular institution inMarlborough. There were conservative financiers who shook their headsand feared that its methods were not based on sound business principlesand savored too much of wild-cat schemes and fraudulent speculations, but they were voted cranks by the majority, and the ConsolidatedProvident Savings Company grew and flourished. It paid large dividends, and its stockholders were duly impressed with the magnificence of itsbuildings and the grandiose tone of its officials. 

Judge Hildreth frowned heavily as he read the name, and was about todeny himself to the visitor, but on second thought he curtly orderedthe boy to show him in. 

The man who obeyed the invitation bowed deferentially to his chief andthen took a chair in front of him, with the table between. He waselaborately dressed, and the shiny silk hat which he deposited on thetable looked aggressively prosperous. His manner betokened a mansuddenly inflated with a sense of his own importance. His hair wassandy, and the thin moustache and beard failed to cover the pitifullyweak lines of his mouth and chin. 

"Good-morning, Peters. " The Judge nodded carelessly as he spoke, but hemoved uneasily in his chair. Of late the sight of this man fretted him. It seemed as if he always saw him accompanied by a ghostly form. Hetried to shake off the impression, and told himself angrily that he wasfalling into his dotage; but his memory would not yield. He saw againthe pleading, trustful face of the man's mother as, years ago, she hadbesought him to do what he could for her son. 

"Just make a man of him, like yourself, Judge Hildreth, " she hadpleaded. "I will be more than satisfied then. I want my boy to berespected and to have a place in the world. Folks needn't know how hardhis mother had to work. "

The Judge smiled grimly as he thought of her phrasing, --"a man likeyourself. " She did not know how near to it he had come!

The boy had a surface smartness, and he had proved himself an aptscholar. The Judge had found him a willing tool in many of his deep laidschemes to get money for less than money's worth. But within the lastfew months there had been a change. A spark of manhood had asserteditself, and in the presence of his minion the Judge found himself uponthe rack. 

He was the first to speak. "I hope there is nothing out of the usual?"he said. "I intended coming over to the office before the meeting ofdirectors took place. "

"It is the same old trouble about bonds, Judge Hildreth. There are notenough of them to go round. "

The Judge rubbed his hands in simulated pleasure. "Well, that shows goodmanagement, Peters, if the public are hungry for our stock. "

"The public are fools!" said the young man, hotly. 

"Not at all, Peters. A discriminating public, you know, always choosesthe best depositaries. " He chuckled softly. He had turned his eyestowards the window so as not to see the ghostly figure behind the youngman's chair which had such a world of reproach in its face. "There isonly one thing to do, Peters. We must water it a little, eh?"

"It seems to me we've been using the watering-pot rather toofrequently. "

The Judge started. Had he detected a menace in the tone?

He temporized. His plans were not sufficiently matured yet. When theywere he would crush this tool of his as surely and as carelessly as hewould have crushed a fly. 

"Nonsense, Peters!" he said pleasantly; "that is only a little cleverfinancing to tide us over the hard places. Of course we will make it allgood to the public--by and bye. "

"How?" The question rang out through the office like a pistol shot. 

The Judge looked at the man before him in amaze. For once his faceshowed determination and an honest purpose. 

"Will you tell me how we're going to do it?" he persisted with a strangevehemence. "I've been a fool, Judge Hildreth, a blamed, gigantic fool!I've let you hood wink me and lead me by the nose for years. I've doneyour dirty work for you and borne the credit of it, too; but I swearI'll not do it any longer. I thought at first--fool that I was--thateverything you did was just the right thing to copy. My poor old mothertold me you were the pattern I was to follow if I wanted to be anhonorable man. An honorable man! Good heavens!

"Do you know where I've been these last months? I've been in hell, sir;in hell, I tell you! Every night I've dreamed of my mother and every dayI've bamboozled the public and sold bonds that weren't worth the paperthey were written on, and paid big dividends that were just some oftheir own money returned. And now you tell me to keep on watering thestock when you know we haven't a dollar put towards the 'Rest' and themoney is just pouring out for expenses and directors' fees. There'sbarely enough left over to keep up the sham of dividends. You know it aswell as I do. I've been an ass and an idiot, but I'm done with living alie. Judge Hildreth, I came to tell you that if you don't do the squarething by these people who have trusted us, I'll expose you!"

His vehemence was tremendous and the words poured out in a torrent whichnever checked its flow. He had risen and in his excitement paced up anddown the room. Now, overcome by his effort, he sank exhausted into achair. 

Judge Hildreth rose suddenly and locked the office door. When he turnedagain his face was not a pleasant sight to see. 

"President Peters, " he said sternly, "this is not the age of heroics northe place for them. In future I beg you to remember our relativepositions. You seem to forget that I am the direct cause of your presentprosperity, but that is an omission which men of your stamp are liableto make. I never expect gratitude from those whom I have befriended. 

"But when you come to threats, that is another matter. You say you willexpose me. To whom, if you please? _You_ are the President of theConsolidated Company. Your name is associated with its business. Minedoes not appear in any way, shape or form. You sign all papers, and itis you whom the public hold accountable for all moneys deposited in theinstitution. Any attempt which you might make to connect me with theenterprise would be futile, utterly futile. The public would not believeyou, and you could not prove it in any court of law. "

The man, worn and spent with his emotion, lifted his head and looked atthe Judge with dazed, lack-luster eyes. 

"Not connected with the enterprise, " he repeated, "why, the wholethought of the thing came from you! and you have drawn thousands ofdollars----"

"I have simply given advice, " interrupted the Judge haughtily. 

"Advice!" echoed the man, "and doesn't advice count in law?"

"If you can prove it;" said the Judge with a cold smile. "Do you everremember having any of my opinions in writing, President Peters? The lawtakes cognizance only of black and white, you know. "

The victim writhed in his chair, as the trap in which he was caughtrevealed itself. Heavily his eyes searched Judge Hildreth's face forsome sign of pity or relenting, but in vain. 

"And if there should come a run on the funds?" he questioned dully. 

"If there should come a run on the funds, " answered the Judge, "_you_would be underneath. "

The man's head fell forward upon the table, and the Judge, with a cruelsmile, left the room. 

 * * * * *

Two office boys lingered in the handsome offices of the ConsolidatedProvident Savings Company after business hours were over. 

"I tell you what it is, Bob, " said the eldest one, "I'm going to quitthis concern. It's my opinion it's a rotten corporation; and I don'tpropose to ruin my standing with the commercial world. "

"Gee!" exclaimed the younger boy in delight. "You're a buster, Joe, andno mistake. The president himself couldn't have rolled that sentence offbetter, or that old piece of pomposity who conies to the secret meetingswith the gold-headed cane. "

"That's Judge Hildreth. He's another deep one or I lose my guess. "

"Why, he's a No. I deacon in one of the uptown's swellest churches!"

"Guess he's a child of darkness in between times then, for I'll bet hedoes lots of underground work. I don't believe in this awfully privatebusiness. The other day, after old man Hildreth came, before thedirectors had their meeting, (he always does come just before that, toprime Peters, you know, ) what did he do but make Peters send for me toshut the transoms over his office doors, so that none of us fellowsoutside could hear what they were saying!

"I tell you I don't like the looks of things. This morning one of thoseheavy stockholders came in and wanted to take out all his money, and thepresident went white as a sheet. There's a flaw in the ready moneyaccount somewhere, I'll bet, and I'm going to leave before the bottomdrops out of the concern. If you take my advice you'll follow. "

The other boy laughed. "Bet your life I won't, then. Where'd you getsuch good pay, I'd like to know? I've had enough of grubbing along on$4. 00 a week. No, sirree, I'll keep in tow with the deacon and get myshare of all the stuff that's going, same as the other fellows do. "

"You won't do it long then, you mark my words. Did you see the presidentwhen he came into the office this morning? He looked as if he'd beengagged. I went into his office for something in a hurry afterwards andhe was head over ears in Railway Time Tables. He jumped as if he'd beencaught poaching. It's my belief he means to skip across the border. It'sthe only way for him to get out of the mess, unless he takes a dose oflead, you see. 

"Well, here goes. I'm going to write my resignation with the president'sbest gold pen. You can do as you like, but it's slow and honest for me. "

CHAPTER XIX. 

Miss Diana Chillingworth was sitting in the old-fashioned porch of herold-fashioned house which opened into an old-fashioned garden in one ofthe suburbs of Marlborough, shelling peas. Everything about Miss Dianawas old-fashioned and sweet. Her hair was dressed as she had beenaccustomed to wear it in her girlhood, and even the head mantua-maker ofMarlborough, ardent worshiper at Fashion's shrine though she was, wasforced to bow before her gentle individuality and confess that MissDiana's taste was perfect. 

She wore a morning dress of soft pearl grey, over which she had tied anapron of white lawn with a dainty ruffle of embroidery below its hem. The peas danced merrily against the sides of an old-fashioned chinabowl. Miss Diana had an aesthetic repugnance to the use of tin utensilsin the preparation of food. 

Outside there were sweet lilies of the valley and violets and pansies, and the roses wafted long breaths of fragrance to her through thetrellis work of the porch, while the morning glories hung their headsand blushed under the ardent kisses of the sun. 

In the kitchen Unavella Cynthesia Crockett, her faithful and devoted"assistant" (Miss Crockett objected to the term servant upon democraticprinciples), moved cheerily, with a giant masterfulness which bespoke asuccessful initiation into the mysteries of the culinary art. All atonce she shut the oven door, where three toothsome loaves were browning, and listened intently. Then she went out to interview Thomas, thebutcher's boy, who came three times a week with supplies. 

"The sweet-breads hez cum, Miss Di-an, " she said, appearing in the porchbefore her mistress. 

"Well, Unavella, " said Miss Diana, with a pleasant smile, "you expectedthem, did you not? We ordered them, you know. They are very nutritious, I think. "

"Hum! There's some news cum along with 'em that ain't likely to prove eznourishin'. Tummas sez the Provident Savings Company hez busted an' thepresident's vamoosed. "

"Dear me! I wish Thomas would not use such very forceful language, " saidMiss Diana. "Do you think he finds it necessary? Being a butcher, youknow? I hardly understand the words. Do you think you would find themdefined in Webster?"

Unavella's eyes twinkled through her gloom. "I guess Tummas ain't gotmuch use for dictionners, " she said. "He uses words that cums nearest tohis feelin's. He's lost two hundred dollars, Tummas hez. "

"Dear me! How very grieved I am. But a dictionary, Unavella, is thebasis of all education. Thomas ought to appreciate that. 'Busted, '" sherepeated the word slowly, with an instinctive shrinking from its sound, "that is a vulgar corruption of the verb to burst; but 'vamoosed, ' I donot think I ever heard the term before. "

"Tummas says it means to show the under side of your shoe leather. "

"The under side of your shoe leather, Unavella?" Miss Diana lifted herpretty shoe and held it up for inspection. "Do you see anything wrongwith that?"

The faithful soul threw her apron over her head with a sob. "Oh, MissDi-an!" she wailed, "it means the company's all a set of cheats, an' thebiggest rogue of the lot hez lit out--run away--an' taken the money theGin'rel left you along with him. "

CHAPTER XX. 

Miss Diana received the news in absolute silence. The brave daughter ofa brave father, she would make no moan, but the sweetness seemed to havesuddenly gone from the flowers and the light out of the sky. 

Unavella looked at her in amazement. She was used to the stormy griefwhich finds vent in tears and groans. "It beats me how different folkstakes things!" she ejaculated mentally. "Well, she'll need suthin' tokeep her strength up all the more now she ain't got nuthin' to supporther;" and, gathering peas and pods into her apron with a mighty sweep ofher arm, she marched into her kitchen in a fever of sympatheticindignation and evolved a dinner which was a masterpiece of culinaryskill. 

Miss Diana forced herself to eat something. She knew if she did not, Unavella would be worried, and she possessed that peculiar regard forthe feelings of others which would not allow her to consider her own. 

"You are a wonderful cook, Unavella, " she said, with a patheticcheerfulness which did not deceive her faithful handmaiden, who, as sheconfided afterwards to a friend, wuz weepin' bitter gall tears in hermind, though she kep' a calm front outside, for she wuzn't goin' ter beoutdid in pluck by that little bit of sweetness. "I shall be able togive you a beautiful character. "

She lifted her hand with a deprecating gesture as Unavella was about toburst forth with a stormy denial. 

"Not yet, please, Unavella; not just yet. Let me have time to think alittle before you say anything. I feel rather shaken. The news was sovery unexpected, you see, " she said with a shadowy smile, which Unavellaaverred "cut her heart clean in two. " "But everything is just right, Unavella, that happens to the Lord's children, you know. Things look alittle misty now, but I shall see the sunlight again by and bye. In themeantime there is this delicious dinner. Someone ought to be reaping thebenefit of it. Suppose you take it to poor Mrs. Dixon? She enjoysanything tasty so much and she cannot afford to buy dainties forherself. " Miss Diana would never learn the economy which is content tobe comfortable while a neighbor is in need. "And, Unavella, if youplease, you might say I am not receiving callers this afternoon. I amafraid it is not very hospitable, but I feel as if I must be alone. Thishas been rather a sudden shock to me. "

"You, you--angul!" exclaimed Unavella, as soon as she had regained theprivacy of her kitchen, while a briny crystal of genuine affectionrolled down her cheek and splashed unceremoniously into the gravy. 

Up-stairs in her pretty chamber Miss Diana sat and thought. Ruin andstarvation. Was that what it meant? She had seen the words in printoften but they seemed different now. Ruin meant a giving up and goingout, while the auctioneer's hammer smote upon one's heart with cruelblows, and one could not see to say farewell because one's eyes werefull of tears. It would not be starvation--of the body. She must bethankful for that. The house and grounds were in a good locality and shehad refused several handsome offers for them during the past year. 

She caught her breath a little as she thought of the wide stretchingfield where her dainty Jersey was feeding, with its cluster of trees inone corner, under which a brook babbled joyously as it danced on its wayto the river; the pretty barn with its pigeon-house where hersnow-white fantails craned their imperious heads; the wide porch withits flower drapery, where she sat and read or worked with her petspaniel at her feet, and where her friends loved to gather through thesummer afternoons and chat over the early supper before they went backto the city's grime and stir. 

Then in thought she entered the house. The room which had been herfather's and the library which held his books. Could she sell those! Sheshivered, as in imagination she heard the careless inventory of theauctioneer. She had never attended an auction except once, and then shehad hurried away, for it seemed to her the pictured faces were mistywith tears and she fancied the draperies sighed, as they waved in thewind which swept through the gaping windows. There were the engravingswhich she loved and the pictures her father had brought with him fromEurope, and the rare old china and her mother's silver service, and herstore of delicate napery and household linen; while every table andchair had a story and the very walls of each room were dear. Had shebeen making idols of these things in her heart?

Miss Diana knelt beside the couch, comfortable as only old-fashionedcouches know how to be. "Dear Christ, " she cried, "I am thy followerand I have gone shod with velvet while thy feet were travel-stained, andI have slept upon eider-down while thou hadst not where to lay thinehead!"

She knelt on, motionless, until the twilight fell and the stars began topeep out in the sky. Then she went down-stairs and there was a strange, exalted look upon her sweet face. 

"Unavella, " she cried softly, "I have found the sunlight, for I can say'The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of theLORD. '"

"Oh, Miss Di-an!" wailed Unavella, "I b'lieve you're goin' ter die an'be an angul afore the moon changes!"

 * * * * *

Miss Diana had been to see her lawyer and he had confirmed her decision. Her income was gone. With the exception of a couple of hundred dollars, coming to her from a different source, she was penniless. There wasnothing left her but to sell. 

When she reached home that night she looked very white and weary, buther smile was all the sweeter because of the unshed tears. Unavella hadspread her supper in the porch. She ate but little, however. "I am sorryI cannot do more justice to your skill, Unavella, " she said with hergentle courtesy, "but I do not seem to feel hungry lately. "

"It's that li-yar!" muttered Unavella grimly, as she cleared the thingsaway. "I never knowed a li-yar yit that didn't scare all the appetiteaway from a body. "

When her work was finished she came back to the porch where Miss Dianawas sitting very still in the moonlight. "Miss Di-an!" she exclaimedimpetuously, "don't you go fer to be thinkin' of sellin'! I've got aplan that beats the li-yar's all holler, ef he duz wear a wig. "

"Sit down, Unavella, " said her mistress kindly, "and tell me what itis. "

"Well, I haven't said nuthin' to you before, 'cause I knowed it wouldonly hurt you ef I wuz to let my feelin's loose about them thievin'rapscallions that dared to lay their cheatin' hands on the money theGin'rel left ye; but I've been a thinkin'--stiddy--an' while you wuzcomin' to your decision above I wuz comin' to mine below, an' now we'lltoss 'em up fer luck, an' see which wins, ef you air willin'. "

Miss Diana smiled. "Well, Unavella. " she said. 

"You decide ter leave yer hum, with all there is to it, an' me inter thebargain, an' go ter board with folks what don't know yer likins norunderstan' yer feelin's, an' the end on it'll be that you'll jest wiltaway wuss than a mornin' glory. I never did think folks sarved the Lordby dyin' afore their time comes. 

"I decide to hev you keep yer hum, an' the things in it, an' me too. Thehull on it is, Miss Di-an, _I won't be left_!" and Unavella buried herface in her hands and sobbed aloud. 

"You dear Unavella!" Miss Diana laid her soft hand upon thetoil-roughened ones. "If you only knew how I dread the thought ofleaving you! But what else is there for me to do?"

"Gentlemen boarders, " was the terse reply. 

"Gentlemen boarders!" echoed Miss Diana in bewilderment. 

"Yes. You catch 'em, an' I'll cook'em. We'll begin with two ter see howthey eat, an ef we find it don't cost too much ter fatten 'em up, we'llgo inter the bizness reglar;" after making which cannibalisticproposition Unavella looked to her mistress for approval. 

"Why, Unavella, " said Miss Diana, after the first shock of surprise wasover, "I never even dreamed of such a thing! It might be possible, ifyou are willing to undertake it, it is very good of you. But we will notmake any plans, Unavella, until I talk it over with the Lord. If hissmile rests upon it, your kindly thought for me will succeed; if not, itwould be sure to fail. I must have his approval first of all. "

She rose as she spoke and bade her a gentle good-night, and Unavellawalked slowly back to her kitchen again. "Ef the angul Gabriel, " shesoliloquized, "starts in ter searchin' the earth this night fer theLord's chosen ones, there ain't no fear but what he'll cum ter thishouse, the fust thing. "

Up-stairs Miss Diana was whispering softly, as she looked up at thestars with a trustful smile. "Oh, my Father, if it is thy will that Ishould do this thing, thou wilt send me the right ones. "

CHAPTER XXI. 

John Randolph did some hard thinking during the weeks which followedRichard Trueman's death. It was no light task which he had so cheerfullyimposed upon himself. The boy was constitutionally delicate and frettedso constantly after his father that his health began to suffer, and itgrew to be a very pale face which welcomed John with a smile when hereturned from the office. The style of living was bad for him. He wasalone all day, except for an occasional visit from the good-naturedGerman woman who kept their rooms, and, although he was a voraciousreader, the doctor had forbidden all thought of study for a year, evenhad there been a school near enough for him to attend, where John wouldhave been willing to send him. He ought to be where the air was pure andthe surroundings cheerful. John would have preferred to put up with thediscomfort of his present quarters and lay by the addition to his salarytowards the more speedy realization of his day-dream, but John Randolphhad never found much time to think of himself; there were always so manyother people in the world to be attended to. 

"Dick, my boy, " he said cheerily one evening, after they had finishedwhat he pronounced a sumptuous repast, "I have a presentiment that thismonth will witness a turning point in our career. I believe you and Iare going to become suburbanites. "

The boy's sad eyes grew wide with wonder. 

"What do you mean, John?"

"Well you see, Dick True, it is this way. As soon as I get mydegree--earn the right to put M. D. After my name, you know, --I am goingto take two rubber bags, fill one with sunshine and one with pure air, full of the scent of rose leaves and clover and strawberries--ah, Dick, you'd like to smell that, wouldn't you?--and carry one in each pocket;then, when my patients come to me for advice, the first dose I shallgive them will be out of my rubber bags, and in six cases out of ten Ibelieve they'll get better without any drug at all. You see, Dick True, the trouble is, our Father has given us a whole world full of air andsunlight to be happy in, and we poison the air with smoke and shutourselves away from the sunshine in boxes of brick and mortar, onlyletting a stray beam come in occasionally through slits in the wallswhich we call windows. It's no wonder we are such poor, miserableconcerns. You can't fancy an Indian suffering from nervous prostration, can you, Dick? and it doesn't strike you as probable that RobinsonCrusoe had any predisposition to lung trouble? So you see, Dick True, asit is a poor doctor who is afraid of his own medicine, I am going toprescribe it first of all for ourselves, and we will go whereunadulterated oxygen may be had for the smelling, and we can draw insunshine with every breath. "

The pale face brightened. 

"Oh, that will be lovely! I do get so tired of these old streets. ButJohn, --"

"Well, Dick?"

"Why do you keep calling me Dick True all the time?"

John laughed. "Just to remind you that you must be a true boy before youcan really be a True-man, Dick. I want you to be in the best company. Jesus Christ is the truth, you know, Dick. "

"Jesus Christ, " repeated the boy thoughtfully. "I wish I knew him, John, as well as you do. "

"If you love, you will know, " said John, the light which the boy lovedto watch creeping into his eyes. "He is the best friend we will everhave, Dick, you and I. "

He opened several papers as he spoke and ran his eyes over theadvertising columns. "H'm, I don't like the sound of these, " he said, "they promise too much. Hot and cold water baths and gas and theadvantages of a private family and city privileges. Everyone seems tokeep the 'best table in the city. ' That's curious, isn't it, Dick? Andnearly everyone has the most convenient location. Dick, my boy, it's onething to say we are going to do a thing, it's another thing to do it. Iexpect this suburban question is going to be a puzzle to you and me. "

And so it proved. Day after day John searched the papers in vain, untilit seemed as if a suburban residence was the one thing in lifeunattainable. But the long lane of disappointment had its turning atlength, and he hurried home to Dick, paper in hand. 

"Dick, Dick True, we've found it at last! Listen:

"Two gentlemen can be pleasantly accommodated at 'The Willows. ' AddressMiss Chillingworth, University P. O. Box 123. 

"The University Post Office is just near the College, you know, Dick, soit is in a good location. Two gentlemen--that means you and me, Dick;and 'The Willows' means running brooks, or ought to, if they are anysort of respectable trees. "

The boy clapped his hands. "When can we go, John?"

John laughed. "Not so fast, Dick. There may be other gentlemen inMarlborough on the lookout for a suburban residence. I addressed MissChillingworth on paper this morning, telling her I should give myselfthe pleasure of addressing her in person to-morrow. It is a halfholiday, you know, Dick. I like the ring of this advertisement. There isno fuss and feathers about it. She doesn't offer city privileges andpromise ice cream with every meal. "

"But, John, " said the boy, ruefully, "we're not gentlemen. You don'twear a silk hat, you know, and I have no white shirts--nothing but thesepaper fronts. I hate paper fronts! They're such shams!

"Oh, ho! Dick, so you're pining for frills, eh? Well, if it will makeyou feel more comfortable, we'll go down to Stewart's and get fitted outto your satisfaction. But don't forget that you can be a gentleman inhomespun as well as broadcloth, Dick. Real diamonds don't need to borrowany luster from their setting; only the paste do that. "

The next afternoon John strode along in the direction of 'The Willows'to the accompaniment of a merry whistle. It did him good to get out intothe open country once more, and he felt sure it would be worth a king'sransom to Dick; but when he came in sight of the house he hesitated. There must be some mistake. This was not the sort of house to open itsdoors to boarders. "Poor Dick!" he soliloquized, "no wonder you felt apremonitory sense of the fitness of frills! Well, I'll go and inquire. They can only say 'No, ' and that won't annihilate me. "

He was ushered into Miss Diana's presence, and on the instant forgoteverything but Miss Diana herself. Before he realized what he was doinghe had explained the reason of his seeking a suburban home, and, drawnon by her gentle sympathy, was telling her the story of his life. MissDiana had a way of compelling confidence, and the people who gave it toher never afterwards regretted the gift. With the straightforwardnesswhich was a part of his nature he told his story. It never occurred tohim that there was anything peculiar about it, yet when he had finishedthere were tears in his listener's eyes. 

When at length he rose to go, everything was settled between them. John's eyes wandered round the room and then rested again with acurious sense of pleasure upon Miss Diana's face. 

"I cannot begin to thank you, " he said, gratefully, "for allowing us tocome here. I never dared to hope that my poor little Dick would havesuch an education as this home will be to him, but I feel sure you willlearn to like Dick True. "

Miss Diana held out her hand, with a smile. "I think I shall like you aswell as Dick, " she said. 

 * * * * *

Weeks and months flew past and the household at 'The Willows' was a veryhappy one. Unavella was in great glee over the success of her scheme. 

"I used ter think, " she confided to her bosom friend, "thet boarders wuzgood fer nuthin' 'cept ter be an aggervation an' a plague; but Icouldn't think o' nuthin' else ter do, an' I made up my mind I'd rutherput up with 'em than lose Miss Di-an, even ef their antics did make megray-headed afore the year wuz out. But I needn't hev worritted. Twosech obligin' young fellers I never did see, an' never expect ter aginin this world. They don't never seem comfortable 'cept when they'rehelpin' a body. An' Mr. John's whistle ez enuff ter put sunshine interthe Deluge! I used ter think we wuz ez happy ez birds--Miss Di-an an'me--but I declare the house seems lonesum now when he leaves in themornin'. He's alluz at it, whistle, whistle, whistle. 'Tain't none o'them screechin' whistles that takes the top off of your head an' leavesthe inside a' hummin', but it's jest as soft an' sweet an' low!Sometimes I think he's prayin', it's that lovely. It's my belief it putsMiss Di-an in mind o' someone, fer she jest sets in the porch, when he'sa' tinkerin' round in the evenings or dig-gin' in the gardin--he's neversatisfied unless everything's jest kep spick an' span--an' there's thesweetest smile on her face, an' the dreamy look in her eyes thet folks'eyes don't never hev 'cept when they're episodin' with their past. 

"An' the way they foller her about an' treat her jest ez ef she wuz aprincess! I declare, it makes my heart warm. The young one called herhis little mother the other night, an' Mr. John sez, sez he, 'Yecouldn't hev a sweeter, Dick, nor a dearer. ' He makes me think of one o'them folks in poetry what wuz alluz a' ridin' round with banners an' aspear. "

"A knight?" suggested her friend, who had just indulged a literary tasteby purchasing a paper covered edition of Sir Walter Scott. 

"Yes, that's what I mean. An' I sez to myself, --'ef they wuz like heis, an' wuz ez plenty in the Middle Ages ez they make 'em out ter be, then it's a pity we wuzn't back right in the center uv 'em, ' sez I. "

"Lady Di! Lady Di!" and little Dick came hurrying into the library whereMiss Diana was sitting in the gloaming. "John wants you to come out andsee if you like the new flowers he is planting. He says I must be sureto put your shawl on, for the dew is falling. "

Miss Diana's eyes grew misty as her little cavalier adjusted her wrap. "Why do you give me that name, Dick?" she asked. Only one other had evergiven it to her before, in the long ago. 

"What? Lady Di?" answered the boy. "Oh, we always call you that, Johnand I. Our Lady Di. John says you make him think of the elect lady, inthe Bible, you know. "

And Miss Diana, as she passed the shelves, laid her hand caressinglyupon the beloved books with a happy smile. God had sent her the rightones!

CHAPTER XXII. 

Marion entered Evadne's room one glorious winter's morning and threwherself on the lounge beside her cousin with a sigh. 

"I don't see how you do it!" she exclaimed. 

"Do what?" asked Evadne. 

"Why, keep so pleasant with Isabelle. She works me up to the last pitchof endurance, until I feel sometimes as if I should go wild. It is nouse saying anything, Mamma always takes her side, you know, but she doesaggravate me so! Even her movements irritate me, --just the way sheshakes her head and curls her lip, --she is so self-satisfied. She thinksno one else knows anything. It must be a puzzle to her how the worldever got along before she came into it, and what it will do when sheleaves it is a mystery!"

"She is good discipline. "

Marion gave her an impetuous hug. "You dear Evadne! I believe you takeus all as that! But I don't think the rest of us can be quite as tryingas Isabelle. She does seem to delight in saying such horrid things. Shewas abominably rude to you this morning at breakfast and yet you werejust as polite as ever. I couldn't have done it. I should have sulkedfor a week. I know you feel it, for I see your lips quiver--you are assusceptible to a rude touch as a sensitive plant--but it is beautiful tobe able to keep sweet outside. "

"You mean to be _kept_, Marion, " said Evadne softly, "by the power ofGod. I have no strength of my own. "

Marion sighed dismally. "Oh, dear! I don't know what I mean, except thatI'm a failure. It is no wonder Louis thinks Christianity is a humbug, though he must confess there is something in it when he looks at you. You are so different, Evadne! I should think Isabelle would be ashamedof herself, for I believe half the time she says things on purpose toprovoke you. She doesn't seem to get much comfort out of it any way. Inever saw such a discontented mortal. Don't you think it is wicked forpeople to grumble the way she does, Evadne? It is growing on her, too. She finds fault with everything. Even the snow came in for a share ofher disapprobation this morning, because it would spoil the skating, asif the Lord had no other plans to further than just to give her anafternoon's amusement! She is _so_ self-centered!"

Evadne looked out at the street where the fresh fallen snow had spreada dazzling carpet of virgin white. "He is going to let me give anafternoon's amusement to Gretchen and little Hans, " she said. "UncleLawrence has promised me the sleigh and I am going to take them to thePark. Won't it be beautiful to see them enjoy! Hans has never seen thetrees after a snowstorm. "

"That is you all over, Evadne. It is always other people's pleasure, while I think of my own! Oh, dear! I seem to do nothing but get savageand then sigh over it. I know it is dreadful to talk about my own sisteras I have been doing--they say you ought to hide the faults of yourrelations--but it is only to you, you know. Do you suppose there is anyhope for me, Evadne?" she asked disconsolately. 

Evadne drew her head down until it was on a level with her own. "LetChrist teach you to love, dear, " she whispered, "Then, 'charity willcover the multitude of sins. '" She opened the book she had been readingwhen her cousin entered and took from it a newspaper clipping. "Readthis, " she said. "Aunt Marthe sent it in her last letter. If we followits teachings I think all the fret and worry will go out of our livesfor good. "

And Marion read, --"To step out of self-life into Christ-life, to liestill and let him lift you out of it, to fold your hands close and hideyour face upon the hem of his robe, to let him lay his cooling, soothing, healing hands upon your soul, and draw all the hurry and feveraway, to realize that you are not a mighty messenger, an importantworker of his, full of care and responsibility, but only a little childwith a Father's gentle bidding to heed and fulfil, to lay your busyplans and ambitions confidently in his hands, as the child brings itsbroken toys at its mother's call; to serve him by waiting, to praise himby saying 'Holy, holy, holy, ' a single note of praise, as do theseraphim of the heavens if that be his will, to cease to live in selfand for self and to live in him and for him, to love his honor more thanyour own, to be a clear and facile medium for his life-tide to shine andglow through--this is consecration and this is rest. "

When, some hours later, Evadne went down-stairs to luncheon, she feltstrangely happy. Marion had said Louis must confess there was somethingin Christianity when he looked at her. That was what she longed todo--to prove to him the reality of the religion of Jesus. And thatafternoon she was going to give such a pleasure to Gretchen and littleHans. It was beautiful to be able to give pleasure to people. She couldjust fancy how Gretchen's eyes would glisten as she talked to her in hermother tongue, while little Hans' shyness would vanish under the genialinfluence of Pompey's sympathetic companionship, and he would clap hishands with delight as Brutus and Caesar drew them under the arches ofevergreen beauty, bending low beneath their ermine robes, while thesilver bells broke the hush of silence which dwelt among the foresthalls with a subdued melody and then rang out joyously as they emergedinto the open, where the sun shone bright and clothed denuded twigs andtrees in the bewitching beauty of a silver thaw. It would always seem tolittle Hans like a dream of fairyland and she would be remembered as hisfairy godmother. It was a pleasant role--that of a fairy godmother. 

She started, for Louis was saying carelessly to the servant, --"TellPompey to have the sleigh ready by half-past two, sharp. "

"Why, Louis!" she spoke as if in a dream, "I am going to have the sleighthis afternoon. "

"That is unfortunate, coz, " said Louis lightly, "as probably we aregoing in different directions. "

"I am going to the Park, " stammered Evadne, "with little Hans andGretchen. "

"Exactly, and I to the Club grounds. Diametrically opposite, you see. "

"But Uncle Lawrence promised me. He said no one wanted the sleigh thisafternoon. "

"The Judge should not allow himself to jump at such hasty conclusionsbefore hearing the decision of the Foreman of the Jury. It is an unwiseprocedure for his Lordship. "

"But poor little Hans will be so disappointed! He has been lookingforward to it for weeks. "

"Disappointed! My dear coz, the placid Teutonic mind is impervious toanything so unphilosophical. It will teach him the truth of the adagethat 'there is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, ' and in thefuture he will not be so foolish as to look forward to anything. "

Evadne's lips quivered. "You are cruel, " she said, "to shut out thesunlight from a poor little crippled child!"

"My dear coz, I give you my word of honor, I am sorry. But there isnothing to make a fuss about. Any other day will suit your little beggarjust as well. I promised some of the fellows to drive them out and aHildreth cannot break his word, you know. "

"You have made me break mine, " said Evadne sadly, as she passed him togo upstairs. 

"Ah, you are a woman, " said Louis coolly, "that alters everything. "

Did it alter everything? Evadne was pacing her floor with flashing eyes. "Was there one rule of honor for Louis, another for herself? No! no! no!How perfectly hateful he is!" and she stamped her foot with suddenpassion. "I despise him!"

Suddenly she fell on her knees beside the lounge and cowered among itscushions, while the eyes of the Christ, reproachfully tender, seemed topierce her very soul. "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, dogood to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use youand persecute you, --that ye may be the children of your Father inheaven, for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, andsendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. "

His sorrowful tones seemed to crush her into the earth. Was this herChrist-likeness? And she had let Marion say she was better than themall! What if she or Louis were to see her now? He would say again, as hehad said before, "There is not much of the 'meek and lowly' in evidenceat present. " "And he would be right, " she cried remorsefully. "Oh, Jesus Christ, is this the way I am following thee!"

"You do right to feel annoyed, " argued self. "It hurts you to disappointGretchen and Hans. "

"It is your own pride that is hurt, " answered her inexorable conscience. "You wanted to pose as a Lady Bountiful. It is humiliating to let thesepoor people see that you are of no consequence in your uncle's house. Christ kept no carriage. It is not what you do but what you are, thatproves your kinship with the Lord. "

It was a very humble Evadne who, late in the afternoon, walked slowlytowards the German quarter. "I am very sorry, " she said quietly, whenshe had reached the spotless rooms where Gretchen made a home for hercrippled brother, "my cousin had made arrangements to use the sleighthis afternoon, so we could not have our drive. I am _very_ sorry. "

And they put their own disappointment out of sight, these kindly Germanfolk, and tried to make her think they cared as little as if they wereused to driving every day. 

"Did you notice, Gretchen, " said Hans, after Evadne had left them, "howsweet our Fraulein was this afternoon? But her eyes looked as if shehad been crying. Do you suppose she had?"

"I think, Hans, " said Gretchen slowly, "our Fraulein is learning todwell where God wipes all the tears away. "

"Are your eyes no better, Frau Himmel?" Evadne was saying as she shookhands with another friend who was patiently learning the bitter truththat she would never be able to see her beloved Fatherland again. "Arethe doctors quite sure that nothing can be done?"

"Quite sure, Fraulein Hildreth, " answered the woman with a smile, "butthere is one glorious hope they can't take from me. "

"A hope, Frau Himmel, when you are blind! What can it be?"

"This, dear Fraulein, " and the look on the patient face was beautiful tosee. "'Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty; they shall beholdthe land that is very far off. '"

And Evadne, walking homeward, repeated the words which she had read thatmorning with but a dim perception of their meaning. 'If limitation ispower that shall be, if calamities, opposition and weights are wings andmeans--we are reconciled. '

CHAPTER XXIII. 

"Uncle Lawrence, with your permission, I am going to study to be anurse. "

Judge Hildreth started. So light had been the footsteps and so deeplyhad he been absorbed in thought, he had not heard his niece enter thelibrary and cross the room until she stood before his desk. Very fairwas the picture which his eyes rested upon. What made his brows contractas if something hurt him in the sight?

Evadne Hildreth was in all the sweetness of her young womanhood. She wasnot beautiful, not even pretty, Isabelle said, but there was a strangefascination about her earnest face, and the wonderful grey eyespossessed a charm that was all their own. She had graduated with honors. Now she stood upon the threshold of the unknown, holding her life in herhands. 

Louis was traveling in Europe. Isabelle and Marion were at a fashionableFrench Conservatory, for the perfecting of their Parisian accent. Evadne was alone. She had chosen to have it so. She wanted to follow upa special course in physiology which was her favorite study. 

"A nurse, Evadne! My dear, you are beside yourself. 'Much learning hathmade you mad. '"

"'I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth andsoberness. ' I feel called to do this thing. "

"Who has called you, pray? We do not deal in supernaturalisms in thisprosaic century. "

The lovely eyes glowed. "Jesus Christ. " What an exultant ring there wasin her voice, and how tenderly she lingered over the name!

"Jesus Christ!" Judge Hildreth repeated the words in an awestruck tone. Did she see him cower in his chair? It must have been an opticalillusion. The storm outside was making the house shiver and the lightsdance. 

"You must consult your aunt, " he said in a changed voice. She noticedwith a pang how old and careworn he looked. 

"Kate, " he called, as just then he heard his wife's step in the hall, "come here. "

"What do you wish, Lawrence?" and there was a soft _frou frou_ of silkendraperies as Mrs. Hildreth's dress swept over the carpet. 

"Evadne wishes to become a nurse. "

"Are you crazy?" There was a steely glitter in Mrs. Hildreth's eyes, andher tone fell cold and measured through the room. 

"She says not, " said the Judge with a feeble smile. 

"Why should you think so, Aunt Kate?" asked Evadne gently. "Look how theworld honors Florence Nightingale, and think how many splendid womenhave followed her example. "

"To earn your own living by the labor of your hands. A Hildreth!"

"All the people who amount to anything in the world have to work, AuntKate. There is nothing degrading in it. "

"Just try it and you will soon find out your mistake. If you do thisthing you will be ostracized by the world. People make a great talkabout the dignity of labor, but a girl who works has no footing inpolite society. "

Evadne's sweet laugh fell softly through the silence. "I don't believe Ihave any time for society, Aunt Kate. Life seems too real to befrittered away over afternoon teas. "

"Are you mad, Lawrence, to let her take this step? Think of the Hildrethhonor!"

Again Judge Hildreth laughed--that strange, feeble laugh. "Evadne is ofage, Kate; she must do as she thinks right. As to the rest--I think theless we say about the Hildreth honor now the better for us all. "

He was alone. Mrs. Hildreth had swept away in a storm of wrath. Evadnehad followed her, leaving a soft kiss upon his brow. He lifted his handto the place her lips had touched--he felt as if he had been stung--butthere was no outward wound. 

The Hildreth honor! The letters in the drawer at his side seemed toconfront him with scorn blazing from every page. He put forth his handwith a sudden determination. He would crush their impertinentobtrusiveness under his heel; then, when their damaging evidence wasburied in the dust of oblivion, he would be safe and fret! Evadne knewher father had left her something. He would make special mention of itin his will--a Trust fund--enough to yield her maintenance and thepaltry pin money which was all the allowance he had ever seen his wayclear to make his brother's child. It was not his fault, he argued--hehad meant to do right--but gilt-edged securities were as waste, paper inthe unprecedented monetary depression which was sweeping stronger menthan himself to the verge of ruin. He could not foresee such a crisis. Even the Solons of Wall Street had not anticipated it. It was not hisfault. He had meant to make all right in a few years. What was thatthey said was paved with good intentions? He could not remember. Heseemed to have strange fits of forgetfulness lately. He must see thateverything was put in proper shape in the event of his death. Peopledied suddenly sometimes. One never knew. 

It would be safer to make re-investments. Yes, that was a good thought. He wondered it had never occurred to him before. His wisest plan was tohave all moneys and securities in his own name. It would make it so mucheasier for the executors. It was not fair to burden any one with abusiness so involved as his was now. Of course he would make a mentalnote of just how much belonged to his brother. It would not be safe toput it in black and white--executors had such an unpleasant habit ofgoing over one's private papers--but he would be sure to remember, and, if he ever got out of this bog, as he expected to do of course shortly, he would give Evadne back her own. It would leave him badly crippled forfunds, but one must expect to make sacrifices for the sake of principle. Then, when these letters were destroyed, they would have no clue--hefrowned. What an unfortunate word for him to use! A clue wag suggestiveof criminality. What possible connection could there be between JudgeHildreth and that?

He fitted the key in the lock and turned it, then his hand fell by hisside. No, no, he had not come to that--yet. He had always held thattampering with the mails evinced the blackest turpitude. He was anhonorable gentleman. He started. What was that? A long, low, blood-curdling laugh, as if a dozen mocking fiends stood at hiselbow, --or was it just the shrieking of the wind among the gables? Itwas a wild night. The rain dashed against the window panes in sheets ofvengeful fury, and the howling of the storm made him shudder as hethought of the ships at sea. Now and then a loose slate fell from anadjoining roof and was shivered into atoms upon the pavement, while thewind swept along the street and lashed the branches of the trees into apanic of helpless, quivering rage. Could any poor beggars be without ashelter on such a night as this? How did such people live?

He caught himself dozing. He felt strangely drowsy. He straightenedhimself resolutely in his chair and drew a package of stock certificatesfrom one of the secret drawers of the desk. He would see about sellingthe stock and making re-investments to-morrow. 

It must be done, --to save the Hildreth honor. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Once more the Hildreth household was united, if such a thing as unioncould be possible, among so many diverse elements. 

Isabelle's chill hauteur had increased with the years and a peevishdiscontent was carving indelible lines upon her face which was rapidlylosing its delicate contour and bloom. Marion's pink and white beautywas at its zenith, and the social attentions she was beginning toreceive only served to render her elder sister more than ever irritableand envious. Louis was his old nonchalant self, careless and listless, with an ever deepening expression of _ennui_ which was pitiful in one soyoung. His European travels had not improved him, in Evadne's opinion. 

She saw but little of her cousins. They passed their days in pleasure, she in work; but Marion, in her rare moments of reflection, as shethought of the strangely peaceful face of the young nurse, wonderedsadly whether Evadne had not chosen the better part after all. 

"Oh, Louis!" she cried one morning, and her voice was full of pain, "how you are wasting this beautiful life that God has given you!"

Louis stretched himself lazily in his arm-chair and clasped his handsbehind his head. "Thanks for your high opinion, coz. Of what specialcrime do I stand accused before the bar of your judgment?"

"Oh, it is nothing special, but you are just frittering away the daysthat might be filled with such noble work, and you have nothing to showfor them but--smoke!" She swept her hand through the filmy cloud whichLouis just then blew into the air, with a gesture of disdain. "Now youwill think I am preaching, but indeed, indeed I am not, only, it hurtsme so!"

Louis laughed and threw away his cigar. "No, I will not charge you withbelonging to the cloth, but I confess I should like you better if youhad not entrenched yourself behind such a high wall of prejudice againstall the good things of this life. You are too narrow, Evadne. "

Evadne folded her hands together as if she were holding a strange, sweetcomfort against her heart. "The Jews said the same about Jesus Christ, "she said, "why should the servant be judged more kindly than her Lord?"

"But there is no harm in these things, Evadne. "

"There is no good in them. Life is so real, Louis!"

"Well, I own I am a light weight in the race. But I assure you suchpeople are needed to balance matters. If every one was in such deadlyearnest as you, Evadne, the old world would go to pieces. "

"But, Louis, it is dreadful to have no purpose in life!"

"The Judge has enough of that for us both, " said Louis carelessly. "Whyshould I choke my brains with musty law when his are charged torepletion?"

"Think how it would please Uncle Lawrence!" urged Evadne. 

"True, " said Louis gravely, "but that is an argument which will bearfuture consideration. "

"Oh, Louis, " and Evadne's voice was choked with tears, "the time maycome when you would give the whole world to be able to please yourfather!"

"But, Evadne, " said Louis gently, "a man must have freedom of choice inhis vocation. My father chose the law for his profession, why should herebel if I choose dilettanteism?"

"Because it is no profession at all. I am sure he would not mind whatyou did, if it were only real work. "

[Illustration: 'TAKE HER, RANDOLF, SHE IS WORTHY OF YOU. ']

 "Oh, pshaw! Always work, Evadne. I tell you I prefer to play. MissAngel told me at the General's ball last night that she liked a man whotook his glass and smoked and did all the rest of the naughty things. "

"She is an angel of darkness, luring you on to ruin. "

Louis shrugged his shoulders. "Possibly. If so, she is disguised as anangel of light. She sings divinely. "

"So did the Sirens. "

Louis laughed. "She has promised to go for a sail with me to-morrow. Better come along, coz, and keep us off the rocks. "

Evadne was silent. 

"I like such a girl as that, " he continued. "She has common sense andmakes a fellow feel comfortable. These moral altitudes of yours are allvery fine in theory, but the atmosphere is too rare for me. "

"It is no real kindness to make you satisfied with your lowest. I wantyou to rise to your best. Oh, Louis, won't you let Christ make your lifegrand? It would be such a happiness to me!" She laid her hand upon hisshoulder. Louis caught it in his and drew her round in front of hischair. 

"Do you really mean that, little coz? Upon my word, it is the strongestinducement you could offer me. I feel half inclined to try, just foryour sake, only you see it would involve such a tremendous expenditureof moral force!" and he lighted a fresh cigar. 

 * * * * *

"I do wish you would not ride such wild horses, Louis, " said Mrs. Hildreth, as she stood beside her son in the front doorway, lookingdisapprovingly as she spoke at the horse who was champing his bitviciously on the sidewalk below. "It keeps me in a perfect fever ofanxiety all the time. "

"Whoa, Polyphemus! Stand still, sir! Pompey, have you tightened thatgirth up to its last hole? Better do it then. Don't mind his kicking. Itdoesn't hurt him. It's just his way. 

"My dear lady mother, if you knew what a pleasure it is to findsomething untamable where everything is so confoundedly slow you wouldnot wonder at my fondness for the brute. As to your anxiety, that isridiculous. A Hildreth has too much sense to be conquered by a horse andmake a spectacle of himself into the bargain. _Au revoir_. Better take adose of lavender to calm your nerves, " and Louis waved his hand to herwith careless grace, as he gathered up the reins. 

His mother looked after him with a sigh. "He is so fearless! What asplendid cavalry officer he would make! He makes me think of theregiment that went to the war from Marlborough. " Her eye fell casuallyupon Pompey who was shutting the carriage gates. "What a waste ofprecious lives it was to be sure, just to free a lot of cowardlynegroes!"

It was late in the afternoon when Pompey went up town on an errand forJudge Hildreth. The street was full of men and horses hurrying to andfro but Pompey paid them but little attention. He was busy with hisLord. 

Hark! What was that? The sound of a horse's hoofs ringing with a sharp, metallic clatter upon the paved street while children screamed and menturned white faces towards the sound and hurriedly sought the sidewalk. 

On they came, the horse and his rider. Louis pale as death, Polyphemusmad with sudden fear and his own ungovernable temper. The bit wasbetween his teeth, his iron-shod feet were thrown out in vengeful fury. 

Pompey sprang forward. 

"You can't stop him!" shouted the men. "It would be certain death!" Butjust beyond the street took a sharp turn to the right and a deep chasm, where extensive excavations for a sewer were being made, yawnedhungrily. 

The horse plunged and reared. Pompey had caught hold of the reins andwas clinging to them with all his might. 

 * * * * *

Mrs. Hildreth leaned over her son in an agony of fear. Louis was heridol. He opened his eyes wearily. His cheeks were as white as thepillow. 

"Oh, Louis!" she wailed, "I knew that wretched horse would bring you toyour death!"

"I am not dead yet, " he said, with a shadow of his old mocking smile, "although I _have_ succeeded in making a fool of myself. How is Pompey?"

"Pompey!" ejaculated his mother. "I never thought of any one but you. "

 * * * * *

Evadne stood in Dyce's little room, beside the bed with its gaypatchwork cover. The iron-shod hoofs had done their cruel work only toowell!

"Pompey, " she said wistfully, "dear Pompey, is the pain terrible tobear?"

The faithful eyes looked up at her, the brave lips tried to smile. "DeLord Jesus is a powerful help in de time of trubble, Miss 'Vadney; I'seleanin' on his arm. "

Evadne repeated, as well as she could for tears. "'Fear thou not, for Iam with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthenthee, yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right handof my righteousness. '"

And Pompey answered with joyous assurance, --"'Though I walk through thevalley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art withme; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. '"

"The Jedge hez been here, " said Dyce with mournful pride. "He say he'llnever find any one like Pompey. He say it wuz de braves' ting he everknowed any one to do. He jest cry like a chile, de Jedge did; he say henever 'spect to find sech a faithful frien' again. "

"De Jedge is powerful kind, Missy. He say he'll look out fer Dyce ezlong ez he live, " the husband's voice broke, "I don't care nuthin' 'bout dat!" and Dyce turned away with a chokingsob; "but I'se proud to hev him see what kind of a man you is. "

The night drew on. No sound was to be heard in the little cottage exceptthe ticking of the wheezy clock, as Dyce kept her solitary vigil by theside of the man she loved. She knelt beside his pillow, and, for hersake, Pompey made haste to die. As the shadows of the night were fleeingbefore the heralds of the dawn, she saw the gray shadow which no earthlylight has power to chase away fall swiftly over his face. 

He opened his eyes and spoke in a rapturous whisper. "Dyce! Dyce! I seede Lord!"

The morning broke. Dyce still knelt on with her face buried in thepillow; the asthmatic clock still kept on its tireless race; butPompey's happy spirit had forever swept beyond the bounds of time. 

 * * * * *

The humble funeral was over. The Hildreth carriage, behind whosecurtained windows sat Dyce and Evadne, had followed close after thehearse. The Judge had walked behind. 

"So uncalled for!" Mrs. Hildreth said in an annoyed tone when, she heardof it. Your father never _will_ learn to have a proper regard for _lesconvenances_. "

"Uncalled for!" ejaculated Louis. "I'll venture to say the Judge willnever have a chance to follow such a brave man again. "

"He sent his carriage. That was all that was necessary. "

"Doubtless Dyce finds that superlative honor a perfect panacea for hergrief, " said Louis sarcastically. "It is eminently fitting that Brutusand Caesar should have walked as chief mourners for they have lost thetruest friend they ever had. "

CHAPTER XXV. 

"I'm afraid poor Evadne will be worn out with such constant attendanceupon Louis, " said Marion some weeks after Pompey's death. "I don't seehow she stands it. "

"It is hardly worth her while to undertake nursing, " said Isabellecoldly, "if she cannot stand such a trifle as this. "

"Why, Isabelle, just think of the strain night after night! You wouldn'tlike it, I know. I want Mamma to get a paid nurse, but Louis won't haveany one near him but Evadne. "

"Of course _I_ could not stand being broken of my rest, " rejoinedIsabelle, "it is hard enough for me to get any under the most favorablecircumstances, but probably Evadne sleeps like a log in the daytime. Itis the least return she can make for having disgraced the family, to beof some use in it now. "

Marion laughed incredulously. "I should never think of associatingEvadne's name with disgrace, " she said. "What _do_ you mean, Isabelle?"

"Mamma says this nursing fad of hers upset Papa completely. He said theHildreth honor had better not be mentioned any more. "

"Well, I don't know. It seems to me she is of a good deal more value tohim now than the Hildreth honor. Dr. Russe says she is one of the bestnurses he ever saw. That is a high compliment, for he is dreadfullyparticular. It is my opinion, Isabelle, that Louis is a good deal worsethan we think him to be. Don't mention it to Mamma, for she is sonervous, but I heard Dr. Russo talking to Papa in the hall this morning, something about an inherited tendency and a derangement of the nervoussystem. I could not understand--he spoke so low--but Papa lookeddreadfully worried after he had gone. 

"Don't you think Papa looks very badly, Isabelle? And he seems soabsent, as if he had something on his mind. I noticed it long beforethis happened. "

Isabelle laughed carelessly. "What a girl you are, Marion! You arealways imagining things about people. For my part I have too manyworries of my own. "

Upstairs Evadne was saying wistfully, "Don't you think your life shouldbe very precious, Louis, now that two people have died?"

"Two people, Evadne? I know there was good old Pompey, --the thought ofthat haunts me night and day, --but who else do you mean?"

"Jesus Christ. "

"Oh!"

"Do you never think about him, Louis?"

"My dear coz, I find it wiser not to think. Every other man you meetholds a different creed, and each one thinks his is the right one. Whyshould I set myself up as knowing better than other people? The only wayis to have a sort of nebulous faith. God will not expect too much of us, if we do the best we can. "

"A 'nebulous faith' will not save you, Louis, " Evadne answered sadly. "God expects us to believe his word when he tells us that he has openeda way for us into the Holiest by the blood of his Son. "

"That atonement theory is an uncanny doctrine. "

"It is the only way by which sinners can be made 'at one' with anabsolutely holy God. Jesus said 'And I if I be lifted up . .. Will drawall men unto me. ' His humanitarianism did not win the hearts of themultitude. The very men he had fed and healed hounded him _on to hiscross_. "

"It is not philosophical. "

"I read this morning that 'the moving energy in the world's historyto-day is not a philosophy, but a cross. '"

"The God of the present is humanitarianism. "

"Humanitarianism is not Christ. Paul says--'Though I bestow all my goodsto feed the poor . .. But have not love, it profiteth me nothing. ' Thelove which he means is the Christ power, for no mere human love couldreach the altitude of the 13th of 1st Corinthians. Real religion is nota creed, but a Christ. It seems to me the most important questions wehave to answer are, what we think of Christ and what we are going to dowith him. 

"When Peter gave his answer--'Thou art the Christ, --the AnointedOne, --the Son of the living God, --' Christ said, 'On this rock--thefaith of thine--I will build my church. ' Humanitarianism, pure andsimple, seems to me but an attempt to imitate Christ. It is beautiful asfar as it goes, but it is not my idea of following him. "

"What is, Evadne?"

"When Jesus told his disciples to follow, he meant them to be with him. I do not think we can ever hope to be like Christ unless we believe himto be God and walk with him every day. If we have the spirit of Jesus inour hearts, we shall be model humanitarians, for we shall love ourneighbor as ourselves. "

Louis caught her hand in his. "Begin by loving me!" he cried suddenly. "I love you, dear! These long days of watching have taught me that, although I began to suspect it some time ago. It is no use sayinganything, " he went on hurriedly, as Evadne began to protest, "you mustbe my wife, for I cannot live without you!"

He drew a handsome ring, of quaint and curious workmanship which he hadbought in Venice, from his finger, and before Evadne could recover fromher astonishment, had thrust it upon hers. "See, you are mine, darling. Now let us seal the compact with a kiss. "

"Louis, you are dreaming! This can never be!" She struggled to free herhand but he held her fingers in a grasp of steel. 

"It shall be, my sweet little Puritan! Do you suppose I will ever giveyou up now? I tell you I love you, Evadne! Love you as I never thought Ishould ever love a woman. Why, you can twist me around your finger. I amlike water in your hands. "

"Louis, please listen!" implored Evadne, with a white, strained face. "This is utterly impossible, for--I do not love you. "

"I will teach you, dear, " said Louis cheerfully. "I know I have been abrute, but I will show you how gentle I can be. "

"Louis!" cried Evadne desperately, "you must let me go! I will _never_do this thing!"

She pulled vainly at the ring as she spoke. Louis' grasp never relaxed. When he spoke she was frightened at the recklessness of his tone. 

"Take that ring off your finger and I go straight to the devil! You sayyou want to win my soul. Here is your chance. You can make of me whatyou will. I own there is something in your Christianity. I can't helpsneering when I see Isabelle and Marion playing at it, but I have neversneered at you. Now, take your choice. Shall the devil have his own?"

His voice was quiet but she could see he was laboring under intenseexcitement. Evadne was in despair. What should she do? Only that morningDr. Russe had said to her, --

"It is not the injury he sustained in the fall that worries me. He willget over that. But the shock to the nervous system has been tremendous. Humor him in everything and avoid the least excitement, as you value hislife. "

She leaned over him and said gently, --"Dear Louis, you are not strongenough to talk any more to-day. I will wear the ring a little while toplease you, but remember, this other thing you want can never be. "

He looked up at her, his face pallid with exhaustion, "Promise me, " hesaid faintly, "that the ring shall stay on your finger until I take itoff. "

And Evadne promised. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Three years had slipped away and Evadne still wore her cousin's ring. Agreat tenderness was growing up in her heart toward him. She yearnedover him as only those can understand who know what it is to carry theburden of souls upon their hearts by night and day but no thought oflove ever crossed her mind. To Evadne Hildreth, love was a wonderfullysacred thing. The ring fretted her and she longed to be freed from itspresence, but Louis held her to her promise. If he only waited longenough, he persuaded himself, his patience would be rewarded. Some daythis shy, sweet bird would nestle against his heart. In the meantime hewould keep the ungenerous advantage which his illness had given him. Heforgot that it needs more to tame a bird than merely putting it in acage!

Isabelle had been intensely curious but her questions had elicited nosatisfaction from her brother, and Evadne had answered simply, "Louistook a fancy to put it on my finger: I am wearing it to please him, that is all:" and even Isabelle found her cousin's sweet dignity aneffectual bar against her morbid inquisitiveness. 

They had seen comparatively little of each other. Evadne was constantlybusy, either at private or hospital nursing, and very short were thefurloughs which she spent under her uncle's roof. Louis had spent thefirst winter after his illness with his mother in the South of France, now he was in Florida, but he wrote regularly, and Evadne answered--whenshe could. Sweet, pleading letters which he read over and over andhonestly tried to be better: but it was only for her sake; he knew nohigher motive--yet. 

It was a perfect day. Down by the river an alligator was sunninghimself, and the resinous breath of the pine trees swept its aromaticfragrance over Louis as he lay at full length in a hammock with hishands behind his head. He had thrown the magazine he had been reading onthe ground and it lay open at the article on Heredity which he had justfinished. His desultory thoughts were roaming idly over the subject, when one, more far reaching than the rest, made him start lip with asudden shock of unwelcome surprise. 

"By Jove! Can it be that I am a victim of it too? It looks confoundedlylike it, although even my sweet little Puritan has not felt it a sinagainst her conscience to keep me in the dark. "

He thrust his fingers with an impatient gesture through his hair. "Now Icome to think of it, the case grows deucedly clear. The South of Franceone winter and Florida this! Simple nervous prostration would seem tothe uninitiated better fought in the exhilirating ozone of Colorado, or--the North Pole--than in this languorous atmosphere. 'An inheritedtendency. ' Is this the pleasant little legacy which my respectedancestor has bequeathed to his only grandson? It skipped the Judge, butit caught poor Uncle Lenox, and now it has nabbed me! What a fool I havebeen not to surmise what this confounded pain meant between myshoulders! Grandfather Hildreth kept himself alive with nostrums untilhe was seventy, but he was an invalid all his life. He ought to becursed for his contemptible selfishness in bringing so much sufferingupon the race! There's none of the taint about Evadne, bless her! Russetold me the Hospital examiners said they had never passed such a perfectspecimen of health. "

He stopped suddenly and bit his lips in pain. Would he not follow hisgrandfather's example--if he had the chance?

"What in the world is the meaning of all this?"

Louis had arrived by an earlier train than he was expected and only hismother was at home to greet him. The hall was in confusion, workmen'stools lay about and ladders stood against the walls. Mrs. Hildrethlaughed lightly, as she laid her hand within her son's arm. 

"Oh, they are only getting ready for the floral decorations, " she said, "we give a reception to-morrow in honor of your return. How well you arelooking, Louis. I am so delighted to have you at home. "

"Thanks, lady mother. I do not need to ask how you have survived myabsence. How is Evadne, --and the Judge and the girls?"

His mother laughed again as she drew him on the sofa beside her. Sheseemed in wonderfully good humor. "Rather a comprehensive question, " shesaid. "Sit down and we will have a comfortable talk before the othersget home. Your father looks wretchedly but he says there is nothing thematter. I suppose it is just overwork and the usual money strain. Isabelle too is not as well as I should like her to be. Suffers fromnervousness a great deal, and depression. There is a new physician herenow, a Doctor Randolph, who we think is going to help her, although heis very young; but she took a dislike to Doctor Russe because hebelongs to the old school. And now I have a surprise for you. Marion isengaged!"

"Engaged! Why, you never hinted at it in your letters!"

"It has all been very sudden. I wrote you there was a young New Yorkervery attentive to her. "

"Yes, but that is an old story. There were two fellows 'very attentive'when I went away. How long since the present devotion culminated?"

"Just a week ago to-night: and they are so devoted!"

"A second Romeo and Juliet, eh?"--Louis' laugh had a bitter ring, --"Bythe way, what is his name?"

"Simpson Kennard. "

"Brother Simp! Rich, I suppose?"

"Oh, yes, very. In fact he is eligible in every way. "

"I see, " yawned Louis, "Possessed of all the cardinal virtues. It is agood thing his wealth is not all in his pockets, for they are apt tospring a leak. But Evadne--how is she?"

"Oh, she is always well, you know, " said his mother carelessly. "Therethey come now. "

"These Indian famines are a terrible business, " said Judge Hildreth asthey lingered over their dessert that evening. It was pleasant to haveLouis and Evadne back again. He too was glad to see his son so well. "Idon't see what the end is going to be. "

"People say that about every calamity, Papa, " said Isabelle, "but theworld goes on just the same. "

"Of course it does, Isabelle, " said her brother. "You see we can't wastetime over a few dying millions when we have to give a reception forinstance. "

"But that is a necessity, Louis, " said Mrs. Hildreth, "we must pay ourdebts to society, you know. "

"I am sure I don't see where I could economize, " sighed Marion. "Thatlecturer last night was splendid and I would like to have given himthousands but I hadn't a dollar in my purse. I never have. I spent mylast cent for chocolates yesterday. "

Evadne smiled and sighed but said nothing. The lecturer the night beforehad felt his soul strangely stirred at the sight of her glowing face, and the plate when it passed her seat had borne a shining gold piece, but perhaps she had not as many temptations as Marion and Isabelle. 

"I would have willingly filled you up a check with the cost of thefloral decorations, Marion, " said her father with a twinkle in his eye. "They would have purchased a good many bags of corn. "

"But that is ridiculous!" said Isabelle. "What would a reception bewithout flowers, I should like to know? As it is, I expect it will be apoor affair compared to the Van Nuys' last week. We never seem to beable to do anything in proper style. You would better put your new Worthgown, on the collection plate, Marion, and appear in a morning dressto-morrow night. Louis would be the first one to be scandalized if youdid!"

"Well but, Isabelle, I had to have something now. I have worn my otherdresses so many times, I am perfectly ashamed. "

"Of course, sis, " said Louis gravely, "it was a most imperativeexpenditure. It is a strange coincidence that you should have chosenthat particular make though. It has always been a fancy of mine that theLevite was robed in a Worth gown when he passed by on the other side. "

"The sufferings must be awful, " said Evadne, anxious to relieve Marion'sembarrassment. "I saw in the paper to-day that----"

Mrs. Hildreth lifted her hands in mock alarm. "Pray spare us any recitalof horrors, Evadne! I never want to hear about any of these dreadfulthings. What is the use, when one cannot help in any way?"

"You forget, Mamma, " said Isabelle with a laugh, "that Evadne revels inhorrors. What would be torture to our quivering nerves, to her atrophiedsensibilities is merely an occurrence of every day. "

Louis gave a sudden start in his chair, but on the instant Evadne laidher hand upon his arm, and its light touch soothed his anger as it hadbeen wont to soothe his pain. 

Evadne Hildreth was climbing the heights of victory. She had learned tocover her wounds with a smile. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

"Who is that calf, Evadne, standing by the piano?" Louis put thequestion to his cousin the next evening, as he sought a few moments'respite from his duties as host at her side. 

"That is Mr. Simpson Kennard. "

Louis surveyed the fashionably dressed, weak-faced, sandy-haired youngman from head to foot. "He will never get above his collar!" he said ina tone of infinite scorn. 

Evadne laughed. "You must confess it is high enough to limit theaspirations of an ordinary mortal. "

Marion fluttered up to them, her cheeks aglow with excitement. "Louis, where are you? I want to introduce you to Simpsey. He has just arrived. "

Evadne looked after her as she led her brother away. "Poor little soul. What a butterfly it is! Fancy having a husband whom one could callSimpsey!"

She started. Her knight of the gate was standing before her withoutstretched hand. A great light was in his face. "Do you remember?" heasked, and Evadne's eyes glowed deep with pleasure, as she laid her handin his. They would never be properly introduced, these two, "'Life is abeautiful possibility, '" she said, "I am proving it so every day, --but, oh, the awful suffering in the world! I cannot understand, --"

And John Randolph answered with his strong, sweet faith. "Godunderstands, _we_ do not need to. "

They were standing in an alcove partially screened by a tall palm fromthe crowd which surged up and down through the rooms. He took from hispocket a morocco case, and, opening it, held it towards her. What madethe color flush her cheeks while her eyes fell beneath his gaze? Sheonly saw a little square of lawn and lace, but the name traced acrossone corner was 'Evadne'!

"Did you leave nothing behind you at Hollywood that day?" he askedgently. 

"My handkerchief!" she cried. "I missed it before we reachedMarlborough. I must have left it at the gate. " But Evadne had left morebehind her than she knew. 

"I will keep it still, " he said, "with your permission. Will you give itto me?"

"Oh, Doctor Randolph!" Isabelle's voice fell shrill upon Evadne'ssilence, "they are calling for you in the other room to decide a knottyquestion--something about microbes. I told them I was sure you wouldknow. Will you come?"

John Randolph put the case quickly in his pocket and smiled as he turnedaway. He thought he had read consent in her lovely eyes. 

After the reception was over Evadne knelt by her window until the starsfaded one by one from the sky. Then she turned away with a happy sigh. When he came to get his answer, she would know. 

 * * * * *

"Give that to me!" Isabella spoke imperiously to the servant, who waspassing through the hall with a note in her hand. From where she stoodshe had recognized the clear handwriting of the prescriptions which thenew doctor wrote. Her demon of curiosity overcame her. The tempter wasvery near. 

The girl held the note towards her. "It is for Miss Evadne, " she said. "Miss E. Hildreth, you see. "

Isabelle gave a careless laugh. "Did you not know I had an E in my namealso? Evelyn Isabelle. I know the writing. The note is meant for me. "

So the truth and the lie mingled!When John Randolph called that evening he was ushered into the presenceof Isabelle. 

"I am so sorry about Evadne!" she exclaimed, before he had time tospeak. "She had an engagement with my brother. He monopolizes herwhenever he is at home. " She laughed affectedly. "Oh, I cannot tell youwhen it is coming off, but she has worn his ring for years. They willnot give us any satisfaction--deep as the sea, you know. It seems sostrange to me, but then I am so transparent. She is a clever girl, butvery peculiar. Does not seem to have much natural feeling, you know, butI suppose I am not fitted to judge, I am so emotional!"

John Randolph bit his lip hard. It startled him to find how sharp a paincould be. 

 * * * * *

Day after day Evadne waited but her knight never asked for his answer. She began to meet him professionally, for his reputation was steadilyincreasing, but he made no attempt to resume the conversation which hadbeen so rudely interrupted. He treated her with a delicate chivalryalways--that was John Randolph's way--and once she had caught such astrange, wistful expression on his face as he looked at her and then ata patient's arm which she was deftly bandaging. She was puzzled. Whatcould it all mean? Well, God understood. 

The surgical ward in the new Hospital at Marlborough was filled to itsutmost capacity and Evadne found her work no sinecure. The force ofnurses was inadequate to the demand. Often she would be called from herrest to minister to the critical cases which were her special care, andshe would go down to the ward saying softly, "The Master is come andcalleth for thee, " and bending tenderly over the sufferers, would beholdas in a vision the face of Christ. 

"My dear Miss Hildreth!" the superintendent exclaimed one day, "how isit that you make the patients love you so?"

Evadne laughed merrily. "If they do, " she said, "it must be because ofmy love for them. " And the Superintendent answered in a hushed voice, "Why, _that_ is the Gospel!"

They called her 'Sister, ' these rough men. She liked it so. She feltherself a sister to the world. 

It was evening and the lights were turned low in the surgical ward. Evadne was making her round before going to her room for a sorely neededrest. John Randolph, who had come to pay a second visit to aninteresting case in one of the medical wards, stood in the shadow of thedoorway and watched her hungrily. Each one wanted to say something andEvadne listened patiently. To her the mission of a nurse meantsomething higher than gruel and bandages. She never forgot as sheministered to the body that she was dealing with a soul. 

John Randolph, standing with folded arms in the doorway, heard her low, sweet laugh, as she strove to brighten up a lachrymose patient; andcaught at intervals the name of Jesus, as she reminded one and anotherof the Friend whose sympathy is strong enough to bear all the weight ofhuman pain, and once he thought he heard the sweet note of a prayer. Hestarted forward. Evadne was bending over a man who had been badlycrippled in a saw mill. His left arm was gone and all the fingers fromhis right hand. With the morbidness of those who delight inconcentrating attention upon their own sufferings, he had pulled off theloosened bandage with his teeth and held up the stump for inspection, and Evadne had laid her cool, soft hands on either side of the unsightlymass of red and angry flesh and was holding them there while she talked!

"She gives herself!" cried John Randolph with a great throb of longing. "It is what Jesus did, in Galilee. "

A wave of passion broke over him. It was not true, this story. It couldnot be! How could her nature, sweet as light, ever be attuned to that ofher cynical cousin? She was coming nearer, nearer. He would stay andmeet her. He thought he had read his answer in her eyes. Now he wouldhave it from her lips as well. 

But then, there was the ring! Isabelle had been right. It was no lady'sornament, and he had seen the initials L. H. Graven in the heart of thestone as their hands had met one day in dressing a wound. EvadneHildreth was not one to wear a man's ring lightly and John Randolph benthis head and groaned. 

"Sister, Sister, won't you sing before you go?"

"Oh, yes, Sister, give us just one song!"

The men raised themselves on their elbows in pleading entreaty, andEvadne stood in all her sweet unconsciousness before him and began to dotheir will. Soft and clear the music fell about him. The air was 'Thelast Rose of Summer' but the words were 'Jesus, Lover of my soul. ' Whenthe song was ended, John Randolph, hushed and comforted, walkednoiselessly down the stairway and out into the quiet street. 

Evadne had sung her message, while she folded its leaves of healing downover her own sore heart, and human love had paled before the exquisitebeauty of the love of God!

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

"John Randolph!"

"Rege!"

The two men stood facing each other with hands held in a vice-likegrasp, all unconscious of what was going on around them in the street. 

"Where did you come from?"

"Where have you been?"

John laughed. "In and around Marlborough all the time, except when Iwent to New York for my degree. "

"And never let us hear a word from you all these years!"

"You forget, Rege, your father forbade me to hold any communication withHollywood. "

Reginald's face grew grave. "Poor father. Well he's done with it allnow. "

"You don't mean that he is dead, Rege?"

"Yes--and little Nan. "

"Oh!" The exclamation was sharp with pain. 

"I think she fretted for you, John. She just seemed to pine away. Everyday we missed her about the same time, and they always found her in thesame place, down by the green road. Then scarlet fever came. She neverspoke of getting well--didn't seem to want to. The night she died sheput her arms around mother's neck and whispered. 'Tell Don me'll bewaitin' at the gate. ' That was all. "

John wrung Reginald's hand and turned away. Reginald looked after himwith misty eyes. "I used to tell mother it would break his heart. Inever saw any one so wrapped up in a child!"

"And your father, Rege?" John was calm again. 

"Had a fit of apoplexy soon after. I think Nan was the only thing in theworld he cared for. It had never struck him that she could die. We soldHollywood and went abroad. Mother's health broke down--she was neververy strong, you know. We spent one year in Italy and one in France, butthe shock had been too great. She lies in a lovely spot beside the sea. "

"Not your mother too, Rege!"

Reginald's voice broke. "Yes, they are all gone. It was a great deal tohappen in a few years. I am a wealthy man, John, but I am all alone inthe world, except for Elise. Well, " he added more lightly, "I havelearned not to rebel at the inevitable. It is only what we have toexpect. "

"Elise!" echoed John wonderingly, after the first shock of grief wasover. 

"My wife, " said Reginald proudly. "You must come home at once and let meshow you the sweetest woman in the world. "

"Not just yet, Rege I must pay a visit to Mrs. O'Flannigan, then thereis the hospital, and the dispensary, and I promised to concoct a bed fora poor fellow in the last stages of heart trouble. But I will cometo-night. "

"Always helping somewhere, John. What a grand fellow you are!"

"We are in the world to help the world, else what were the use ofliving?"

"I can't do anything, " said Reginald, "with this clog. " He lookedcontemptuously at his ebony crutch as he spoke. 

John laid his hand upon his arm. "Rege, " he said in his old, tender way. "I think this very 'clog' as you call it, is a preparation to help thosewho are passing through the baptism of pain. "

 * * * * *

Mrs. Reginald Hawthorne welcomed her husband's friend with a winningcharm. She was very pretty, very graceful and very young. Reginaldidolized her. John saw that as he looked around the sumptuous home whoseevery fitting was a tribute to her taste. They had just finishedunpacking the things they had brought from Europe. 

"Strangely enough, " said Reginald with a laugh, "I told Elise thismorning that now I was going to start out in search of you!"

He had developed wonderfully. John saw that too. Travel and trial hadbrought out the good that was in him--but not the best. 

The evening passed pleasantly. Mrs. Hawthorne played beautifully, andReginald had kept ears and eyes open and talked well. 

"How about the other life, Rege?" asked John when they had a few momentsalone. "This one seems very fair. "

"All a humbug, John. You Christians are chasing a will o' the wisp, ajack o' lantern. You remember my fad for mathematics? I have followed itup, and I find your theory a 'reductio ad absurdum. ' I must haveeverything demonstrable and clear. This is neither. "

"Yet it was a great mathematician who said, 'Omit eternity in yourestimate of area and your solution is wrong. '"

Reginald shook his head. "I have nothing to do with this faith business. I go as far as I see, no further. "

"God calls our wisdom foolishness, Rege. Jesus Christ put a tremendouspremium upon the faith of a little child. "

"Things must be tangible for me to believe in them. Reason is king withme. "

"Without faith in your fellow man--and your wife--you would have a poortime of it, Rege; why should you refuse to have faith in your God? Isyour will tangible, and can you demonstrate the mysterious forces ofnature? You know you can't, Rege, you have to take them on trust; and ifyou had seen what I have, you would know that poor human reason is apitiful thing! But I won't argue with you. Some day you willunderstand. "

Reginald Hawthorne went back into the room where his wife was sitting. "Elise, darling, you have seen one of the grandest men in the worldto-night. The only trouble is that on one subject he is a crank. "

"Oh, Reginald, do you mean it! I thought he was splendid. And what awonderful face he has!"

Reginald started. "Hah! Am I to be jealous of my old friend? But I mighthave known, " he added sadly, "no one could care long for such a wreck asI!"

The girl wife put her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, "Youfoolish boy!" she whispered, "you know I shall never love any one butyou!"

And Reginald Hawthorne counted himself a perfectly happy man. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Judge Hildreth sat in his library, alone. He had left home immediatelyafter dinner, ostensibly to catch the evening train for New York, andhad sent the carriage back from the station to take his family to theChoral Festival which was the event of the year in Marlborough, and thenreturning in a hired conveyance, had let himself into his house like athief. When we sacrifice principle upon the altar of expediency, truthand honor, like twin victims, stand bound at its foot. He wanted to beundisturbed, to have time to think, and God granted his wish, until hisreeling brain prayed for oblivion!

No sound broke the stillness. With the exception of the servants in adistant part of the house, he was absolutely alone. 

He drew out his will from a secret drawer of his desk and looked it overwith a ghastly smile. "To my dear niece, Evadne, the sum of thirtythousand dollars, held by me in trust from her father. " Then came a longlist of charities. It read well. People could not say he had left allto his family and forgotten the Lord. If his executors should find adifficulty in realizing one quarter of the values so speciously setforth, they could only say that dividends had shrunk and investmentsproved unreliable. It was not his fault. He had meant well. Besides, hehad no thought of dying for years. There was plenty of time for skillfulfinancing. Other men had done the same and prospered. Why should not he?

But the letters must be destroyed. He had come to a decision at last. Itwas an imperative necessity. His hesitancy had been only the foolishscruples of an over sensitive conscience. The tremendous pressure of theage made things permissible. He was "torn by the tooth of circumstance"and "necessity knows no law. " So he entrenched himself behind abreastwork of sophisms. Long familiarity with the suggestions of evilhad bred a contempt for the good!

He stretched out his hand towards the drawer. There should be no moreweak delay. If a thing were to be done, 'twere well it were donequickly. 

The horror of a great fear fell upon him. Again his hand had fallen, andthis time he was powerless to lift it up!

The hours passed and he sat helpless, bound in that awful chain offrozen horror. In vain he struggled in a wild rage for freedom. Nomuscle stirred. Where was his boasted will power now? Hand and foot, faithful, uncomplaining slaves for so many years, had rebelled at last!

His brain seemed on fire and the flashing thoughts blinded him withtheir glare. The letters rose from their sepulchre and, clothed in themajesty of a dead man's faith, looked at him with an awful reproach, until his very soul bowed in the dust with shame. His will still layupon the desk, open at the paragraph "to my dear niece, Evadne, " and thewords "in trust, " like red hot irons, branded him a felon in the sightof God and men!

He remembered having once read a quotation from a great writer, --"WhenGod says, 'You must not lie and you do lie, it is not possible for Deityto sweep his law aside and say--'No matter. '" Did God make no allowancesfor the nineteenth century?

The others returned from the Festival, and Louis passed the doorwhistling. He had had a rare evening of pleasure with Evadne. Towardsits close, under cover of the rolling harmonies, he had leaned over andwhispered "I love you, dear!" and Evadne had held out her hand to himwith the low pleading cry, "Oh, Louis, if you really do, then set mefree!" but he had only smiled and taken the hand, on which his ring wasgleaming, into his, and settled his arm more securely upon the back ofher chair; and John Randolph, sitting opposite with Dick and Miss Diana, had watched the little scene and drawn his own conclusions with a sigh. 

The night drew on. The electric lights which it was Judge Hildreth'sfancy to have ablaze in every room downstairs until the central currentwas shut off, still gleamed steadily upon the rigid figure before thedesk, with the white, drawn face and the awful look of horror in itsstaring eyes. In an agony he tried to call, but no sound escaped thelips, set in a sphinx-like silence. 

He must shake off this strange lethargy. It was not possible for him todie--he had not time. To-morrow was the meeting of the Panhattandirectors--they were relying upon him to work through the second call onstock--and two of his notes fell due, if he did not retire them hiscredit would be lost at the bank; and there was the banquet to theEnglish capitalists, with whom he was negotiating a mining deal; and hemust arrange with his broker to float some more shares of the"Silverwing"--and manipulate, manipulate, manipulate--

An agonized, voiceless cry went up to heaven. "Oh, God, let me haveto-morrow!"

In the morning a servant found him, when she came to clean the room, andfled screaming from the presence of the silent figure with the awfulentreaty in its staring eyes. 

Louis hurried downstairs to learn the cause of the commotion, followedby Mrs. Hildreth, swept for once off her pedestal of stately calm. 

Shivering with horror the family gathered in the beautiful room whichhad been so suddenly turned into a death chamber, the servants weepingboisterously, Isabella and her mother in violent hysterics, and Marionclinging with wide, frightened eyes to Louis, who found himself thrustinto a man's place of responsibility and did not know what to do!

He sent one servant to the Hospital for Evadne--instinctively he turnedin his thought to her, --another for the Doctor; while with one armaround Marion, he tried to sooth his mother and Isabelle. 

And in the midst of all the wild commotion his father sat, unmoved andsilent, his agonized face lifted in an attitude of supplication, hislifeless hands lying heavily upon the now worthless papers, since forhim there would be no to-morrow!

 * * * * *

The stately obsequies were ended. The paid quartette had sung theirsweetest, while Doctor Jerome, standing beside the frozen face in themassive coffin, had delivered an eloquent eulogium, and Mrs. Hildreth, clad in her costly robes of mourning, had been led to her carriage byher son. Everything had been conducted in a manner befitting theHildreth honor. 

 * * * * *

"Evadne!" Louis turned a white, scared face towards his cousin, whostood beside him as he sat at his father's desk. Upstairs Mrs. Hildrethand Isabelle were in solemn consultation with a dressmaker. In thedrawing-room Marion was being consoled by Simpson Kennard. 

"Well, Louis?" She laid her hand on his shoulder gently. She was verysorry for him. 

"There is some awful mistake. Poor Father seems to have counted on fundswhich we can find no trace of. The estate is not worth an eighth of whathe valued it at. There is barely enough to keep you, mother andIsabelle, alive!" He laid his head down on the desk while great tearsfell through his fingers. The shameful mystery of it was intolerable. 

"But, Louis, have you looked everywhere? There must be someexplanation--"

Louis shook his head. "Everywhere, but in this drawer. I opened it butthere is nothing but musty old letters. I haven't time to go into themnow. Oh, little coz, I don't dare to look you in the face. All the moneythat was left you by your father is gone!"

"Don't tell Aunt Kate and the girls, Louis, There is no need that theyshould ever know. I have my profession and I am strong. Uncle Lawrencenever meant to do anything except what was right, I know. "

Louis looked up at her and there was a strange reverence in his cynicalface. He was in the presence of a Christliness which he had neverdreamed of. "I am not worthy to touch the hem of your garment, " he saidhumbly. But he did not offer to release her from her promise. He had notlearned to be generous--yet. 

Evadne's dream was ended and rude was the awaking. The idea of helpingher fellows had grown to be a passion with her and very fair had beenthe castle in the air of which she was the Princess. A home, not rich orstately but full of a delightful homeiness which should soothe and cheerthose who, walking through the world amid a storm of tears, call earth awilderness, while their desolate hearts echo the mournful question, --"Isthere any sorrow like unto my sorrow. " She, too, had been lonely, --shecould understand, and by the sweet influence of human love and sympathylift their thought above the earthly shadows up to the love of God. 

She had not dreamed of doing things on a grand scale. Evadne Hildrethwas wise enough to know that comfort cannot be dealt out in wholesalepackages, --she never forgot that Jesus of Nazareth helped the people oneby one. 

She had never questioned the terms of her father's will--if there was awill. She had supposed when she became of age there would be somechange, but her uncle had made no reference to the subject and she hadnot liked to ask. He was always kind--he would do what was best. Someday she would be free to carry out this beautiful dream of hers. Shecould afford to wait. Now there was nothing to wait for any more!

How strange it seemed, when the need was so great and she longed to helpmuch! Well, she was only a little child, --she could trust her Father. God understood. 

That was what he had said, this strong, true friend of hers, that nighthe asked the question which he had never asked again. How gentle hewas!--but it was the gentleness of strength--and how every onedepended on him! She, herself, had learned to expect the helpful wordswhich he always gave her when they met. Friendship was a beautifulthing!

CHAPTER XXX. 

John Randolph came up behind Evadne one morning as she was dressing theburns of a little lad who had been severely injured at a fire. She didnot hear his step--she was telling a bright story to the littlesufferer, to make him forget his pain, and the boy was laughing loudly. His face was very grave, but his eyes lightened as they always did whenthey rested upon her face. 

"Mrs. Reginald Hawthorne is very ill. Can you, will you come?"

And Evadne answered with a simple "Yes. " They needed so few words, thesetwo. 

"I tell you I will not die!" The piercing cry rang through the handsomeroom and fell like molten lead upon the heart of the man who withstrained, haggard face was sitting by the bedside. "You have not told methe truth, Reginald! There is a God. I feel it! You have always laughedand called me young and foolish, but I know better than you do, now. You said if our lives were governed by reason, we would meet death likea philosopher, and I do not know how to die! You used to laugh and saythe whole thing was child's play and there was nothing to fear, and Ibelieved you, --I thought you were so wise, but it was easy to believeyou then with your arms folded close about me and the sunlight streamingthrough the windows and the shouts of the children outside, but now youcannot go with me and I am afraid to go alone. " The eyes, wild anddespairing, burned fiercely in the pallid cheeks. "Do you hear, Reginald? I am afraid, I tell you; horribly afraid! You used to say youwould lay down your life to save me. Why do you not help me now?

"What makes you look so strangely, if it is all nonsense, Reginald? whydo you shut out all the sunshine and why is the house so still? You toldme once you were going to die with a laugh on your lips. I am dying, Reginald, why don't you help your wife to die as you mean to do?A----h!"

Her voice died away in a low wail of terror and the delicate blue veinsin her temples throbbed with feverish excitement. Reginald Hawthorne hadcrouched down in his chair and buried his face in his hands. The pitifulcry began again. 

"To die, when life is so sweet! To be shut up in a coffin and buried ina cold, dark grave! You don't love me, Reginald. If you did, you woulddie too--with a laugh on your lips you know--then I should have that tocheer me, and we should be together, and I should not be afraid. But nowyou look so strangely, Reginald. Don't you care for me any more? Can youlet them take me away from this beautiful world and stay in it all byyourself?

"I suppose you will give me a splendid funeral--you are so generous youknow--but I will not care whether the prison is pine or mahogany if I amto be shut up in it all alone! And you will have a long procession, withplumes and flowers and show, but you will leave me in the drearycemetery and you will come back to our home, where we have been so happytogether--so happy, just you and I--but you see you are a philosopherand I do not know how to die!

"And some day you will forget me--men do such things they say--andanother woman will be your wife and I will be all alone!"

"Sister!" The abject man in the chair held out his hands in an agony ofentreaty, "Come here and help us--if you can!" and Evadne came swiftlyinto the room, and, sitting down on the side of the bed, gathered thepitiful little figure to her heart. 

"It is not death but life, " she said gently. "This body is not _you_. The home of the soul is more beautiful than, any earthly home can everbe. It is those who are left behind dear, who mourn, not those who go. "

Elise Hawthorne laid her head on Evadne's shoulder like a tired child. "But I am afraid, " she whispered. "If this is true, and God is holy, Iam not fit, you know. "

"Your Father loves you dear, for he sent his Son to die. The thief onthe cross was a sinner, yet Christ took him to Paradise. The fitnessmust come from Jesus. His blood washes whiter than snow. "

"But I have done nothing to earn it. I have lived for myself alone. "

"We never can earn a gift, dear. God gives in a royal way. He says toyou only 'Believe I have given you life through my Son. '" Evadne hadtaken the tiny Bible which she always carried from her pocket and wasturning its pages rapidly. "Here it is. Will you raise the blind, Mr. Hawthorne, that your wife may see for herself? 'God so loved the worldthat he gave his only begotten Son, '--the best he had!--'that whosoeverbelieveth in him should not perish, ' you see there is no death for thosewho trust in him. And then 'He that believeth on the Son _hath_everlasting life. ' It does not mean that we may have it after years oftoil. The Israelites, stung by the serpents, had no time to reason orplan to live better, for they were dying, but they could turn their eyesto the brazen serpent which God had ordered to be lifted up in the midstof tho camp for an antidote to the poison. So Christ has been 'liftedup' upon the cross for us. He died instead of you. Why should you dieforever when he has paid your ransom and set you free?"

"But I cannot touch him, --I cannot be sure it is true. "

"The Israelites could not touch the brazen serpent. They simply looked, and lived. There is just one condition for us to-day and it is'Believe. ' Cannot you take your Heavenly Father at his word as you wouldyour husband? Cannot you treat God the same?"

Mrs. Hawthorne looked wonderingly at her nurse. "Treat him the same as Ido my husband!" she exclaimed. "Why, with Reginald, I believe every wordhe says. "

"And I with God, " said Evadne reverently. 

"What charm have you wrought?" asked John Randolph in a whisper, as theystood together that evening beside a quiet sleeper. "This is the firstnatural sleep she has had. I believe it will prove her salvation. "

Evadne looked up at him, and over her face a light was breaking, "I haveled her to Jesus, the Mighty to save. "

 * * * * *

The Hawthornes were going to Europe. The young wife's convalescence hadbeen tedious and it was a very frail little figure which clung to Evadnethe evening before they started. They had pleaded with her to go withthem. "Give up this toilsome work which is overtaxing your strength, "Reginald had said, as they sat together one evening in the twilight, "and make your home with us. You have grown to be our sister in thetruest sense of the word and we have learned to lean upon you, Elise andI. We can never hope to repay you, " he continued huskily, "but it wouldbe such a pleasure to have you with us for good. "

Evadne looked at the pleading eyes with which Elise Hawthorne secondedher husband's wish and her lips trembled. "How rich God is making me infriends!" she said. "I shall never forget that this thing has been inyour hearts, but I must be about my Father's business. "

And then John Randolph had come to make one of his pleasant, informalvisits and they had sat together in a beautiful fellowship, talking ofthe things pertaining to the Kingdom. 

"Doctor Randolph, " Elise asked suddenly, "what is your conception ofprayer? Evadne says it means to her communion and companionship withJesus. She says it is 'the practice of the presence of God. '"

John Randolph's face grew luminous. "To me it means a great stillness, "he said. "Did you ever think of the silences of God? 'Be still, and knowthat I am God, ' 'Stand still, and see his salvation. '"

"But are we not to ask for what we want?" asked Mrs. Hawthornewonderingly. 

"Oh, yes, but we learn to ask so little for ourselves when we love ourFather's will. The trouble is, we, want to do the talking. God wouldhave us listen while he speaks. "

"Then what does it mean to worship God?" she asked. "We cannot always bein church. "

John Randolph smiled. "We do not need to be. If our hearts are all onfire with the love of God, we worship him continually. "

When he rose to go he turned towards Evadne. "How goes life with younow, dear friend?"

The grey eyes, full of a clear shining, were lifted to his, "I amabsolutely satisfied with Jesus Christ. "

Marion was married and living in New York. Louis had taken a smallhouse, where he lived with his mother and Isabelle. He spent his days inthe monotonous routine of a hank, and to his pleasure-loving nature thedrudgery seemed intolerable, but he said little. Evadne nevercomplained!

One day he went to see her at the Hospital and she was frightened at thepallor of his face. She led him to the superintendent's receptionroom--there they would be undisturbed. He staggered blindly as heentered the room and then sank heavily on a sofa near the door. Helooked like an old man. 

"Louis!" she cried in alarm, "what is the matter?"

He took a letter from his pocket and held it toward her. It bore her ownname, and the writing was her father's!

"Can you _ever_ forgive?" Then he buried his face in his arms andgroaned aloud. The awful disgrace and shame of it seemed more than hecould bear. 

Interminable seemed the hours after Louis had left her, walking slowly, with that strange, grey shadow upon his face, and stooping as if someunseen burden were crushing him to the earth. She dared not let herselfthink. She must wait until she was alone. At last she was free to go toher room. 

Down on her knees she read the passionate farewell words, which made herheart thrill, so full of tender advice and loving thought for hercomfort. Through streaming tears she looked at the closely written pagesof instructions, so minute that she could not err--and he had dislikedwriting so much! This was the weary task which had tried him so! And allthese years she had never known. She had been robbed of her birthright!

Fierce and long the battle raged. When it was ended God heard his childcry softly, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassagainst us. "

She had forgiven!

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Mrs. Simpson Kennard was sitting in her pretty morning room with herbaby on her knee. She looked across the room at her sister who waspaying her a visit. "I wish you had a little child to love, Isabelle. Itmakes life so different. I am just wrapped up in Florimel. "

"For pity's sake, Marion, " cried Isabelle peevishly, "don't you grow tobe one of those tiresome women who think the whole world is interestedin a baby's tooth! I certainly do not echo your wish. I think childrenare a nuisance. "

Marion caught up her baby in dismay. "Why, Isabelle, just think how muchthey do for us! They broaden our sympathies--I read that only the otherday, and----"

"Broaden your fiddlesticks!" said Isabelle contemptuously. "Easy for youto talk when you have everything you want! If you had to live in thatpoky little house in Marlborough, I guess you would not find anythingvery broadening about them!

"It is perfectly preposterous to think of our being reduced to such astyle of living!" she continued, as Mrs. Kennard strove to soothe herbaby's injured feelings with kisses. "Just fancy, only one servant! Inever thought a Hildreth would fall so low. "

"But you and Mamma are comfortable, Isabelle. It is not as if you wereforced to do anything. "

"Do anything!" echoed Isabelle. "Are you going crazy?"

"Well, see how hard Evadne has to work? and she is a Hildreth as well asyou. "

"Evadne!" said Isabelle sarcastically, "with her nerves of steel andspine of adamant! Evadne will never kill herself with work. She is toomuch taken up with her wealthy private patients. You should have seenher driving round with the Hawthornes in their elegant carriage And Ireduced to dependence upon the electric cars! I don't see how shemanages to worm her way into people's confidence as she seems to do. Icouldn't, but then I have such a horror of being forward. "

"'All doors are open to those who smile. ' I believe that is the reason, Isabelle. "

"Stuff and nonsense!" was Miss Hildreth's inelegant reply. 

"She is a dear girl, Isabelle. Why will you persist in disliking herso?"

"Oh, pray spare me any panegyrics!" said Isabelle carelessly. "It is badenough to have Louis blazing up like a volcano if one has the temerityto mention her ladyship's name. "

"How is Louis?" asked Mrs. Kennard, finding she was treading ondangerous ground. 

"Oh, the same as usual. He looks like a ghost, and is about as cheerfulas a cemetery. He spends his holidays going over musty old letters inpapa's desk. I'm sure I don't see what fun he finds in it. It is soselfish in him, when he might be giving mamma and me some pleasure--butLouis never did think of anyone but himself. One day I found himstretched across the desk and it gave me such a fright! You know what astate my nerves are in. I thought he was in a fit or something, --he justlooked like death, and he didn't seem to hear me when I called. He had alarge envelope addressed to papa in his hand and there was another underhis arm that didn't look as if it had ever been opened, but I couldn'tsee the address. I ran for mamma, but before we got back he was gone andthe letters with him. Whatever it was, it has had an awful effect uponhim, though he won't give us any satisfaction, you know how provoking heis. It is my belief he is going into decline, and I have such a horrorof contagious diseases!

"If Evadne is so anxious to work, why doesn't she come and help mammaand me? It is the least she could do after all we have done for her, butas mamma says, 'It is just a specimen of the ingratitude there is in theworld. '"

 * * * * *

The months rolled by and Evadne sat one afternoon in thesuperintendent's reception room reading a letter which the postman hadjust delivered. It bore the Vernon postmark. 

She had seen but little of Mrs. Everidge through the years whichfollowed her graduation. She had been constantly busy and her aunt'shands had been full, for her husband's health had failed utterly and hedemanded continual care. Now her long, beautiful ministry was over, forHorace Everidge, serenely selfish to the last, had fallen into theslumber which knows no earthly waking, and Aunt Marthe was free. 

"I do not know what it means, " she wrote, "but something tells me Ishall not be long in Vernon. I am just waiting to see what work the Kinghas for me to do. "

Evadne pressed the letter to her lips. "Dear Aunt Marthe! If themajority had had your 'tribulum' they would think they had earned theright to play!"

She looked up. John Randolph was standing before her with a package inhis hands. 

"I have been commissioned by the Hawthornes to give this into your ownpossession, " he said with a smile. 

She opened it wonderingly. Bonds and certificates of stock bearing hername. What did it mean? John Randolph had drawn a chair opposite her andwas watching her face closely. 

"You cannot think what long consultations we have held on the subject ofwhat you would like, " he said, "you seemed to have no wishes of yourown. At last a happy thought struck Reginald, and he sent me a power ofattorney to make the transfer of these bonds and stocks to you. It is aTrust Fund to be used to help souls. We all thought that would pleaseyou best of all. You are a rich woman, Miss Hildreth. "

A great wave of joy swept over her bewildered face. "So God has sent methe fulfilment of my dream!" she said softly. And John Randolphunderstood. 

That evening she wrote to Mrs. Everidge. 

"Dear Aunt Marthe, --The King's work is waiting for you in Marlborough. The work that we used to long for--the joy of lifting the shadows fromthe hearts of the heavy laden--God has given to you and me!"

 * * * * *

"Why should you not come to 'The Willows'?"

John Randolph put the question one afternoon, as they were enjoying MissDiana's hospitality in the fragrant porch. Evadne had just finished amerry recital of their woes. 

"We have looked at houses until we are fairly distracted, Aunt Martheand I. One had a cellar kitchen, and I am not going to have my good Dyceburied in a cellar kitchen; and one had no bathroom, and another was allstairs; and they are all nothing but brick and mortar with a scrap ofsky between. I want trees and water and fields. The poor souls haveenough of masonry in their daily lives. "

"I believe it is decreed that you should come here, " he continued, afterthe first exclamations of surprise were over. "It is just the work ourlady delights in, and she cannot be left alone. Dick goes to Collegenext month and I must live in town. The house is beautiful forsituation, and a threefold cord of love and faith cannot easily bebroken. "

He looked round upon them, this man who found his joy in helping others, and waited for their answer. 

"It would be beautiful, beautiful!" cried Evadne, "if MissChillingworth were willing. But the house is not large enough, DoctorRandolph, we shall need three or four guest chambers, you know. "

"Nothing easier than to build an addition, " said John, with the quietreserve of power which always made his patients believe in theimpossible. 

Evadne laid her hand upon Miss Chillingworth's--"Dear Miss Diana, " shesaid gently, "you do not say 'No' to us; do you think you could everfind it in your heart to say 'Yes'? I know it must seem a terribleinnovation, but we could never have imagined anything half sodelightful, Aunt Marthe and I. The atmosphere--outdoors and in--isperfection!"

Miss Diana looked at the sparkling face and then at Mrs. Everidge withher gentle smile. "I find myself _very_ glad, " she said, "since I haveto lose my boys, but do you think we had better make any definite plans, dear, until we have talked it over with the Lord?"

And John Randolph said to Evadne with eyes that were suspiciouslybright; "It is impossible for anyone to get very far from the Kingdom, when they live with our Lady Di. "

The talk had wandered then to different subjects, and John Randolphlistened to the soft play of Evadne's fancy and watched the light inher wonderful eyes. Her nature, so long repressed in an uncongenialenvironment, in this new soil of love and sympathy was blossoming richlyand he found her very fair. He had rarely seen her resting. Now theshapely hands were folded together in a beautiful stillness--and thenthe breeze had waved aside a flower, and a sunbeam, darting through thetrellis, fell upon the stone in her ring and made it sparkle with abaleful fire!

"Poor Louis!" Isabelle had said, the last time he had been called toprescribe for her frequently recurring attacks of indisposition, "hewill have to wait for promotion now before he can think of marriage. Itis very hard for him. "

So again the truth and the lie had mingled. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Very sweet grew the life at 'The Willows' and Mrs. Everidge and Evadneand Miss Diana found their hands full of happy work. 

Unavella still reigned supreme in her kitchen. "'Tain't a great sightharder to cook for a dozen than six, " she had remarked sententiously, when the plan was unfolded to her, "it's only a matter uv quantity, thequality's jest the same. Ef Miss Di-an's a'goin ter start in ter be ashe Atlas an' carry the world on her shoulders, she'll find I'mwarranted ter wash an' not shrink in the rinsin'. I'm not a'goin ter beleft behind, without I hev changed my name. "

Dyce kept the rooms in spotless order and waited upon the guests. 

"Dear friend, " said Evadne one morning, as she watched her puttingloving touches to the dining table, "you take as much trouble as if youexpected Jesus Christ to be here!"

"So I does, Miss 'Vadney, " she answered simply, "I never feelscomfortable 'cept when dere's a place fer de Lord, " and Evadne answered, "Dear Dyce, you make me feel ashamed!"

Many and varied were the guests who partook of their hospitality. Thefamine which no material wealth can alleviate is not confined to thedwellings of the poor. Hearts starve beneath coverings of velvet andloneliness often rides in a carriage. Many were the patients whom theworld counted "well to do" that John Randolph sent to Evadne to becomforted. There was nothing to make them suspect that the keenintuition of the young physician had read their secret. 'The Willows'was simply a charming retreat where he sent them to try his favoritetonics of sunlight and oxygen; they never dreamed they were to be therecipients of favors which would not be rendered in the bill. 

It was a beautiful fellowship in which they were banded together, forthe Hawthornes had returned and were learning to find their pleasure indoing their Father's will. Dick True was in the brotherhood also, andnever came home for his vacations without bringing with him "some fellowwho needed a taste of love, " and the overgrown boys would glory in theirstrength as they lifted Miss Diana from the carriage after a delightfuldrive, and learn a strange gentleness as they were unconsciouslytrained in the little deeds of chivalry which bespeak a true man. 

Soon after Evadne's dream had materialized John Randolph had sent her adainty little equipage to help on the work. 

"You are too kind!" she cried, as she thanked him, "too generous!"

"Can we be that?" he asked, "when we are giving to a King? It is atheory of mine that a drive in the country with the right companion isbetter than exordiums. These poor souls have never learned to see'sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, and God in everything. 'You must give me the pleasure of a little share in your beautiful work, my friend. "

"A little share!" echoed Evadne. "Is it possible that you do not know, Doctor Randolph, how much of it belongs to you!"

The beauty of the life was that the guests were taken into the heart ofthe living and felt themselves a part of the home. They never preached, these wise, tender women, but the beautiful incidental teachings sankdeep into hearts that would have been closed fast against sermons. Therewas no stereotyped effort to do them good, they simply lived as Christdid, and the world-tired souls looked on and marveled, and rejoiced inthe sunlight of the present and the afterglow which made the memory oftheir visit a delight. 

"'Do not leave the sky out of your landscape, '" said Aunt Marthe in hercheery way, as Mrs. Dolours was wailing over her troubles. That wasall--for the time, --Mrs. Everidge believed in homeopathy--but it set herhearer thinking, and thought found expression in questioning, until shewas led to the feet of the great Teacher and learned to roll her burdenof trouble upon him who came to bear the burdens of the world. 

"'We are not to be anxious about living but about living well, '" saidMiss Diana to a young man who prided himself upon being a philosopher"that is a maxim of Plato's but we can only carry it out by the help ofthe Lord, my boy. " And he listened to Evadne's merry laugh as she peltedHans with cherries while Gretchen dreamed of the Fatherland under thetrees by the brook, and wondered whether after all the men who had madeit their aim to stifle every natural inclination, had learned the truesecret of living as well as these happy souls who laid their cares downat the feet of their Father, and gave their lives into Christ's keepingday by day. 

"You just seem to live in the present, " wealthy Mrs. Greyson said with asigh, as she folded her jeweled fingers over her rich brocade, "I don'tsee how you do it! Life is one long presentiment with me. I am filledwith such horrible forebodings. I tell Doctor Randolph, it is a sort ofmoral nightmare. "

 "Some of your griefs you have cured, And the sharpest you still have survived, But what torments of pain you endured, From evils that never arrived!"

Evadne quoted the words from a book of old French poems she had found inthe library. Then she asked gently, "Why should you worry about thefuture, dear Mrs. Greyson, when it is such a waste of time? Don't youbelieve our Father loves his children?

"A waste of time. " That was a new way of looking at it! Mrs. Greyson hadalways prided herself upon being thrifty, and, if God loved, would helet any real harm happen? She knew she would shield her children. Howblind she had been!

"Ah, but you have never known sorrow!" and Mrs. Morner drew her sabledraperies around her with a sigh. "Just look at your face! Not a shadowupon it and hardly a wrinkle. You are one of the favored ones with whomlife has been all sunshine. "

Mrs. Everidge laughed brightly. She had never pined to pose as a martyrbefore the world. 

"God has been wondrous kind to me, " she said, "but there is a cure forall sorrow, dear friend, in his love. The great Physician is the onlyone who has a medicament for that disease. It is not forgetfulness, youknow--he does not deal in narcotics--but he lays his pierced hand uponour bleeding hearts and stills their pain. Our memory is as fresh asever, but it is memory with the sting taken out. "

"Ah, but you cannot understand--how should you? You have always hadeverything you wanted, and you have never lost anything or longed forwhat has been denied you!" and a toilworn woman, whose life seemed onelong battle with disappointment, looked enviously at Miss Diana, overwhose peaceful face life's twilight was falling in tender colors. 

"Not quite everything I wanted, dear, " said Miss Diana softly, "but Ihave come to know that God himself is sufficient for all our needs. "

"Our dear Miss Diana has learned that 'we must sit in the sunshine if wewould reflect the rainbow, '" said Aunt Marthe in her low tones. "It is agood rule, 'for every look we take at self, to take ten looks at Jesus. 'She lives in the light of his smile. "

Then through the open window they heard Evadne singing, "Oh, the little birds sang east, and the little birds sang west, And I smiled to think God's greatness flowed around our incompleteness, Round our restlessness, his rest. "

And the weary soul folded its tired wings, all wounded with vainbeatings against the prison bars of circumstance, and was hushed into agreat stillness against the heart of its Father. 

 * * * * *

John Randolph sought Evadne in the familiar porch which had grown to beto him the sweetest spot on earth. 

"You are always busy, " he said with a smile, as he lifted the garmentshe was making for the little waif who was to have her first taste ofheaven at 'The Willows. ' Satan has no chance to find an occupation foryou. "

"But, oh, Doctor Randolph, what a drop in the bucket all our doingseems, when we think of the need of the world!"

"Yet without the drops the bucket would be empty, dear friend. God neverexpects the impossible from us, you know. I think Christ's highestcommendation will always be, 'She hath done what she could. ' It is whenwe neglect the doing that he is wounded. "

After a pause he spoke again. "With your permission I am going to sendyou a new patient. " There was no trace of the struggle through which hehad passed. This brave soul had learned to do the right and leave therest with God. 

Evadne laughed. "Still they come! Is it man, woman or child. DoctorRandolph?"

"Your cousin Louis. " His voice was very still. 

"Poor Louis! Is it more serious then? He has been looking wretchedly formonths. "

John Randolph examined her face critically. Could she call him "poorLouis" if she loved?

"His present trouble is nervous strain, aggravated by the unaccustomedconfinement, and some mental excitement under which he is laboring. Hemust have a long rest, with a complete change of environment. If anyonecan lift the cloud which seems to be hanging over him, I think it isyou. "

Evadne shook her head sadly. "The only one who can help Louis is JesusChrist, " she said. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Louis Hildreth lay upon a couch in the cool library the morning afterhis arrival at 'The Willows. ' Evadne had been shocked at the change inhim since she had seen him last. His eyes were sunken, while underneathpurple shadows fell upon his pallid cheeks. He touched Evadne's hand asshe sat beside him. It was his hand!

"What a splendid fellow Randolph is!" he exclaimed suddenly. "He ismaking himself felt in Marlborough, I tell you. Strange, how some menforge their way to the front, while the rest of us just float down thestream of mediocrity. No wonder we are not missed, when we drop out ofthe babbling conglomerate of humanity into silence, " he added bitterly. "Who would miss a single pair of fins from amidst a shoal of herring!"

"I think it is because Doctor Randolph is not content to float, Louis, "Evadne answered gently. "He must always be climbing higher. Like Paul, he is 'pressing towards the mark. '"

"He is a grand fellow! And the beauty of it is he never seems to thinkof himself at all. Most men would get to be top-lofty if theyaccomplished as much as he does every day. "

Evadne's lips parted in a happy smile. "I think Doctor Randolph is toomuch occupied with Jesus to have time to waste upon himself. "

"Upon my word, coz, you're a puzzle! You talk in an unknown tongue. Don't you know Self is the god we worship, and the aim of our existenceis to have it wear purple and fine linen, and fare sumptuously everyday?"

"It should not be!" cried Evadne. "Oh Louis, dear Louis, life can neverbe grand until we are able to say--'Self has been crucified withChrist!'"

 * * * * *

Weeks rolled into months and Louis was still at 'The Willows. ' Hiscynicism had come to have a strangely wistful ring. John Randolph'svisits were frequent and they held long conversations together, thesemen, the one who had seized every opportunity and made the most of it, the other who had let his golden chances slip through his fingers one byone; then John Randolph would go bravely back to his life of toil, whileLouis listened to Evadne's sweet voice as she sang in the gloaming, orwatched his ring glisten as her deft fingers were busy with their deedsof love. 

"How do you do it?" he exclaimed one evening when they were alonetogether. "You never rest! Your whole life seems to be centered in thelives of others, and there is nothing attractive about them, if therewere I could understand. It looks like such drudgery to me. Tell me, little coz, what makes you give up all your ease to make these peoplehappy?"

"When we love our Father it is our joy to do his will, " she answeredsoftly. 

"If I could live like you and Randolph I should be perfectly satisfied. I wish I had the courage to try. "

"Mere outward living cannot save us, Louis. Nothing can but faith in theatoning blood and the name and the love of Christ. Then--when webelieve, you know--all things become possible. We make an awful mistakewhen we think we know better than the Bible. Nicodemus lived a perfectoutward life, yet Christ said to him, 'Except ye be born again--of theWord and the Spirit--ye cannot see the Kingdom of God. ' We are running aterrible risk when we try to live without Jesus. "

"That is what Randolph says. He is a one idea man, if ever there wasone, and yet he is so many sided! He is the most uncompromising fellowI ever knew. I should as soon expect to see the stars fall from the skyas to see him do a shady thing. You would be amused, coz, to see thelady mother and Isabelle joining forces to lay siege to his affections. "

What meant that sudden start and then the blush which flamed up overcheek and brow? Louis Hildreth closed his thin fingers over Evadne'sring with a long drawn sigh. He was beginning to realize that a hand, without a heart, is an empty thing. 

Long after she had left him he lay motionless. This knowledge which hadcome to him so suddenly had a bitter taste. 

 * * * * *

"You ought to get well, Hildreth, and you ought to be a very happy man, "John Randolph spoke the words suddenly as he rose to take his leave. 

"I never expect to be either. When a man has all he has prided himselfupon swept away from him, and all that he longs for denied him, how canit be possible?"

"'Count it your highest good when God denies you. ' Is that too hard agospel? We shall not read it so in the light of eternity. It is onlythat Christ may become to us the 'altogether lovely' One. "

"Did you ever love--a woman?" Louis put the question suddenly, watchinghis friend's face with a jealous scrutiny. 

"Yes. " The answer was as simple and straightforward as the man. He knewof nothing to be ashamed of in this beautiful love of his life. 

"And her name was?--"

"Evadne. "

John Randolph spoke the name for the first time to another, looking upat the sky. When he turned to leave the room he saw that Louis' face wasburied among his cushions and he drove away in a great wonderment. Whatcould it all mean?

 "Knocking, knocking, who is there? Waiting, waiting, oh, how fair! 'T is a pilgrim, strange and kingly, Never such was seen before. Ah, my soul, for such a wonder, Wilt thou not undo the door?"

Evadne sang the words softly in the twilight: sang them with a greatnote of longing in her pleading voice. She and her cousin were alone. 

"Evadne, come here. "

She crossed the room and knelt beside his couch. 

"Little coz, I have let the Pilgrim in. "

And Evadne buried her face in the cushions with a low cry. The crown ofrejoicing was hers--at last!

 * * * * *

"There is only one thing wanting between you two. " Louis lookedwistfully at John Randolph and Evadne, as they stood beside him, talkingbrightly of how he should help when he grew strong. 

"And what is that?" Doctor Randolph asked the question with a smile. 

Louis drew his ring from Evadne's finger and laid her hand in that ofhis friend. "Take her, Randolph, she is worthy of you. I would not saythat of any other woman. "

With a great joy surging in his heart, John Randolph held out his otherhand. She must give herself. He could not take her from another'sgiving. 

A lovely shyness flushed into the pure face, their eyes met, and Evadnelaid her hand in his without a word. 

"Evadne!" The rich, tender tones fell throbbing through the silence, enwrapping the name in a sweet protectiveness. "Life is--for us--to dothe will of God!"

THE END.