The Two Elsies | Page 9

asking too much, my
dear brother?"
"You could not ask too much of me, Eric," Lester said with emotion;
"and if my Elsie is willing, it shall be as you wish."
Eric expressed his thanks, and his hope that Elsie would not object.
"My darling will not be a troublesome charge," he said; "she has her
faults, of course, but they are not of a kind to make her a disagreeable
inmate of your family; and her admiration for her Aunt Elsie is so great
that, doubtless, she will yield readily to her wishes and study to be like
her in her loveliness of character and manners."
"Yes; Evelyn is a child any father might be proud of," assented Lester.
"Surely her mother cannot help being fond of her, and you would not
separate them, Eric?"
Eric looked much disturbed. For a moment he seemed lost in thought;

then said, "I cannot tell just what Laura will do; she certainly must have
some affection for our child, but not enough, I fear, to make her willing
to resign any pleasure for her sake. I think she will not care for a settled
home when I am gone, but will spend her time in flitting about from
one fashionable resort to another; and in that case Evelyn would be
only a burden and care to her: one she will probably be glad to get rid
of. I see plainly that it could be for neither your happiness nor Laura's
to attempt to live together; but perhaps you would be willing to receive
her as a guest occasionally, and for a short time?"
"Certainly," Lester said; "and to assist her pecuniarily, if necessary."
"Thank you for the generous offer," returned Eric, gratefully; "but there
will be no need to trespass upon your kindness in that way. Laura has
some money of her own, and her proportion of mine will make her very
comfortable; while the remainder will be sufficient to clothe and
educate Evelyn, and give her a moderate income afterward for the rest
of her life, if it is not lost in any way; and that she will not be robbed of
it in her minority I feel certain, having been so fortunate as to secure
you for my executor," he added, with an affectionate glance and smile.
"I shall certainly do the best I can to take care of it for her," Lester said,
his voice a little unsteady with the thought that these were his brother's
dying wishes to which he was listening; "but I am not a business man,
and--"
"I am quite willing to trust to your good sense, honesty, and love for
your niece," interrupted Eric, hearing the approaching footsteps of Elsie
and his daughter.
Evelyn's wish that she might sometimes have her father to herself was
gratified. Lester and Elsie were thoroughly considerate, and almost
every day went out together for an hour or more, leaving the little girl
to perform the duties of nurse.
Then there was an interchange of confidences and endearments such as
was not indulged in the presence of any third person, and Eric
improved the occasion to give his darling much tender and wise

fatherly counsel which he thought might be of use to her in the coming
years when he would no longer be at her side.
He did not tell her of the trial that was drawing so near--the parting that
would rend her heart--but she more than half suspected it, as she saw
him day by day grow weaker, paler, and thinner.
But the very idea was so terrible that she put it resolutely from her, and
thought and talked hopefully of the time when he would be well again.
And he could not bear to crush the hope that made her so bright and
happy; but he spoke often to her of the blessedness of those who sleep
in Jesus, and made her read to him the passage of Scripture which tells
of the glories and bliss of heaven--of the inheritance of the saints in
light--the things which "eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither the
heart of man conceived"--the things that God hath prepared for them
that love him, for them "who have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb."

CHAPTER IV.
"Never morning wore To evening, but some heart did break."
TENNYSON.
Laura lingered at Newport for several weeks after the arrival of Lester
and Elsie at Crag Cottage; so that the brothers had abundance of time
and opportunity for private talks and business arrangements, and
Evelyn to practise the rôle of hostess.
When at last she did reach home, she was greatly shocked at the change
in her husband; and she heaped reproaches upon poor Evelyn for