had
appeared, and asked for a word in private with him. Nobody ever
knew just what that word was, but the lawyer was singularly
uncommunicative and reticent as to the ruined garden.

"Do you think the young woman is out of her mind?" one of the deacons
asked him, in a whisper.

"I wish all the young women were as much in their minds; we'd have a
better world," said the lawyer, gruffly.

"When do you think we can begin to move in here?" asked Mrs. Martha
Loomis, her wide skirts sweeping a bed of uprooted verbenas.

"When your claim is established," returned the lawyer, shortly, and
turned on his heel and went away, his dry old face scanning the
ground like a dog on a scent. That afternoon he opened the sealed
document in the presence of witnesses, and the name of the heir to
whom the property fell was disclosed. It was "Thomas Merriam, the
beloved and esteemed minister of this parish," and young Evelina
would gain her wealth instead of losing it by her marriage. And
furthermore, after the declaration of the name of the heir was this
added: "This do I in the hope and belief that neither the greed of
riches nor the fear of them shall prevent that which is good and wise
in the sight of the Lord, and with the surety that a love which shall
triumph over so much in its way shall endure, and shall be a blessing
and not a curse to my beloved cousin, Evelina Leonard."

Thomas Merriam and Evelina were married before the leaves fell in
that same year, by the minister of the next village, who rode over in
his chaise, and brought his wife, who was also a bride, and wore her
wedding-dress of a pink and pearl shot silk. But young Evelina wore
the blue bridal array which had been worn by old Squire Adams's
bride, all remodelled daintily to suit the fashion of the times; and
as she moved, the fragrances of roses and lavender of the old summers
during which it had been laid away were evident, like sweet memories.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EVELINA'S GARDEN***

******* This file should be named 17891.txt or 17891.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/8/9/17891

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United S