flaring up of hope and expenditure, then a long
summer of wavering promise, followed by an inevitable winter of
disappointment.

The old colonel was, both by inheritance and the habit of many
successful years, a man of great affairs, and when the crash came he was
too old to change. When he bought, he bought heavily. He planted for
large results. There was nothing petty about him, not even his debts.
And now the end had come.

As Evelyn stood gazing upon his handsome, placid face her eyes were
blinded with tears. Falling upon her knees at his side, she engaged for
a moment in silent prayer, consecrating herself in love to the life
which lay before her, and as she rose she kissed his forehead gently,
and passed to her own room.

On the table at her bedside lay several piles of manuscript, and as
these attracted her, she turned her chair, and fell to work sorting them
into packages, which she laid carefully away.

Evelyn had always loved to scribble, but only within the last few years
had she thought of writing for money that she should need. She had
already sent several manuscripts to editors of magazines; but somehow,
like birds too young to leave the nest, they all found their way back to
her. With each failure, however, she had become more determined to
succeed, but in the meantime--_now_--she must earn a living. This was
not practicable here. In the city all things were possible, and to the
city she would go. She would at first accept one of the tempting
situations offered in the daily papers, improving her leisure by
attending lectures, studying, observing, cultivating herself in every
possible way, and after a time she would try her hand again at writing.

It was nearly day when she finally went to bed, but she was up early
next morning. There was much to be considered. Many things were to be
done.

At first she consulted her father about everything, but his invariable
answer, "Just as you say, daughter," transferred all responsibility to
her.

A letter to her mother's old New Orleans friend, Madame Le Duc, briefly
set forth the circumstances, and asked Madame's aid in securing a small
house. Other letters sent in other directions arranged various matters,
and Evelyn soon found herself in the vortex of a move. She had a wise,
clear head and a steady, resolute hand, and in old mammy a most capable
servant. The old woman seemed, indeed, to forget nothing, as she bustled
about, packing, suggesting, and, spit