reat
change came over her; her sufferings were borne with patience and
resignation; and when the end came she passed peacefully and quietly
away, leaving her bereaved daughter mourning the separation, but not as
those without hope of a blessed reunion at some future day, in that land
where sin and sorrow, sickness and pain are unknown.

CHAPTER III.

Through all the six long weeks of her mother's illness at Fairview
Evelyn had been a most devoted, tender nurse, scarcely leaving the sick
room for an hour by day or by night. She bore up wonderfully until all
was over and the worn-out body laid to rest in the quiet grave; but then
came the reaction; strength and energy seemed suddenly to forsake her,
and thin, pale, sad, and heavy-eyed, she was but the shadow of her
former self.

Change of air and scene was the doctor's prescription. She was very
reluctant to leave home and friends for a sojourn in new scenes and
among strangers, but receiving an urgent invitation from Captain and
Mrs. Raymond to spend some weeks at Woodburn with her loved friend
Lucilla, and finding that her uncle and aunt--Dr. Conly also--highly
approved, she gladly accepted; all the more so because she had learned
that Grandma Elsie too, whom she loved even better than ever for her
kindness to the dear departed, was about to spend some days or weeks
with her daughter Violet. That was an added attraction to what Evelyn
esteemed one of the most delightful places, and inhabited by the
dearest, kindest, most lovable people anywhere to be found.

She was most heartily welcomed by the entire family, Lucilla and Grace
being particularly joyful over her arrival.

It was delightful spring weather, and family and guests, older and
younger, spent much of the time in the beautiful grounds or in driving
and riding about the country.

The captain pronounced Eva hardly in a fit condition for study, and for
her sake required his daughters Lucilla and Grace to pass only an hour
or two daily in the schoolroom; so that they were able to give to Eva as
much of their society as he considered desirable for her under the
circumstances--seeing that she needed a good deal of quiet rest and
sleep in order to regain the youthful vigour she had lost during the
exhausting nursing of her invalid mother.

His kindness was highly appreciated by all three, and under its benign
influence Eva made rapid improvement in health and spirits, enjoying
every day of her sojourn