ter men than
your father."

"I should be exceedingly angry if any one else said that to me," she
returned indignantly.

At that he drew her closer to him with a little pleased laugh. "We love
each other very dearly, do we not, my darling?" he said; then sighed
deeply.

"Indeed we do!" she answered, gazing anxiously up into his face. "How
pale and ill you look, papa! do lie down and rest."

"Presently, when my work has progressed a little farther," he said,
putting her gently aside, straightening himself and resuming his pencil.

Evelyn was beginning a remonstrance, but at the sound of wheels upon the
drive sprang to the window, exclaiming, "Can mamma be coming back
already? She has perhaps changed her mind about attending the party. No,"
as she caught sight of the vehicle, "it is the doctor. I'm glad."

"Go, receive him at the door, daughter, and show him in here," said Mr.
Leland; "and as I desire a private interview, you may amuse yourself in
the grounds while he stays."

"Yes, sir; and oh, I do hope he will be able to give you something that
will make you well directly," the little girl replied, bestowing a look
of loving anxiety upon her father, then hastening to obey his order.

She received the physician at the front entrance, with all the graceful
courtesy of a refined lady, ushered him into the library, then putting on
a garden-hat, wandered out into the grounds.

It was the month of roses, and they were to be found here in great
variety and profusion; they bordered the walks, climbed the walls, and
wreathed themselves about the pillars of the porches, filling the air
with their rich fragrance, mingled with that of the honeysuckle, lilac,
heliotrope, and mignonette.

Evelyn sauntered through the garden, pausing here and there to gather one
and another of the most beautiful and sweet-scented of its floral
treasures, arranging them in a bouquet for her father; then crossed the
lawn to an artistic little summer-house built on the edge of the cliff,
where it almost overhung the river.

The view from this spot was magnificent, extending for many miles and
embracing some of the grandest scenery of that region; and to Evelyn and
her father, both dear lovers of the beauties of nature, it was a favorite
resort.

Seating herself upon a rustic bench, she passed some moments in absorbed,
delighted contemplation of the scene so familiar, yet ever new.

The thought that anything worse than a passing illness th