re Louise, and it was only by God's mercy that she
was enabled to keep up under the manifold trials that all too thickly
strewed her path. Her father, sobered for a time by the dreadful death
of his child, through his own negligence, soon fell back into his evil
ways, and became more incapable than ever. The business would have gone
to the dogs had it not been for his heroic daughter, who not only looked
after the household, but managed the mill and shop as well. All this was
done in such a quiet, unostentatious manner that no one of their friends
or customers but thought that the father was the chief manager.

But Louise had other trials in store. Her sister Therese was growing up
into young womanhood, and rebelled against her gentle, loving authority.
The father aided Therese in the rebellion, as he thought Louise kept too
tight a hold of the purse-strings. Between father and sister, poor
Louise had a hard time of it; she even, at one time, was compelled to
sell some valued trinkets to pay a bill that was due, because money she
had put by for the purpose was squandered in drink and finery.

The father died, and then after many years we see Louise Gerretz
established in the house of Van Zwanenburg the artist, the same who had
taken young Paul as a pupil. Both Louise and Paul were now his adopted
children; nor was he without his reward. Under the beneficent rule of
the gentle Louise things went so smoothly that the artist and his pupils
blessed the day when she came amongst them.

But before the advent of Louise, her brother Paul had imbibed a great
share of his master's dark and gloomy nature, and, what was perhaps even
worse, had already, young as he was, acquired the habit of looking at
everything from a money-making standpoint.

Another great sorrow was in store for Louise, though she came from the
ordeal with flying colours, and once more the grand self-sacrificing
nature of the young woman shone out conspicuous amidst its surroundings
of sordid self-interest. It was in this way. The nephew of Van
Zwanenburg, with the approval of his uncle, wooed and eventually
obtained her consent to their marriage.

On the death of the father, Therese had been taken home by an aunt, who
possessed considerable means, to Brussels. The aunt was now dead, and
Therese, who inherited some of her wealth, came to reside near her
sister and brother. She was prepossessing and attractive, and very soon
it became evident that the lover o