ers felt rested on them. In spite of every care and all
that either doctor or nurses could do, little Eva fell a victim to the
disease; and, after her death, Mrs. Phillips for the first time seemed
to realize the danger of the others. Everything had gone so
prosperously with her since her marriage; she had known no sorrow, and
little annoyance; she had always had her husband at her side to smooth
everything for her, so that she really scarcely knew what the
contingencies and trials of life were; but this death, happening when
the father who loved his children so dearly was absent, affected the
indolent and generally unimpressible woman very strongly. She felt that
she was somehow to blame about it. "What will Stanley say when he comes
home? Oh, what will he say to me for losing his darling child? Oh, why
did he go to America, and leave me with such a charge? And the others
will be sure to die, too!"--were her constant lamentations.

Her grief made her quite unfit to take any charge of the survivors, and
yet she was incredulous when she was told by her brother-in-law, or by
the Misses Melville, that they were really recovering. It was not till
her husband returned, which was as soon as he possibly could, and
assured her that they were quite out of danger, that she gave any
credit to it. Mr. Phillips felt the loss of one of his children more
keenly than most men, but he was grateful to see that he was likely to
save the others, and he did full justice to the care and attention
which they had received from Vivian and Jane and Elsie.

Francis Hogarth was in London, attending a short parliamentary session,
when the children were so ill, and was constant in his inquiries as to
their health. Dr. Vivian Phillips forced Jane and Elsie out to hear
their cousin make his first speech one evening, when the patients were
decidedly convalescent. Jane was very much pleased with Francis' DEBUT,
and though Elsie thought it rather tame, because it was not on an
important subject, and was very calmly delivered, she was glad that he
had not broken down, for it seemed a most imposing assembly for a
stranger to address. Francis had visited the Derbyshire Phillipses,
according to promise, after his election was over, and had been a good
deal interested in Dr. Vivian, both on account of his own
qualifications, and because Jane Melville had been interested in him.
He now felt that Jane and the young physician were placed in very
intimate relati