ad woman
so vividly to his mind that he would rise suddenly and leave the room,
as if a ghost were haunting him. On these occasions he was sterner than
usual with Eudora, who chafed under the firm rein held upon her, and
longed to be free.

The Colonel had it in his mind to take her to Europe, hoping to secure a
desirable marriage for her. He should tell her husband, of course, who
she was, knowing that money and position would atone for the Harris
blood, and feeling that in this way he would be entirely freed from the
page of life which did not now trouble him much. He was still Crompton
of Crompton, with his head as high as ever. The Civil War had swept over
the land like a whirlwind. Tom Hardy had been among the first to enlist
in the Southern army, and been killed in a battle. The Colonel had heard
of his death with a pang, and also with a certain feeling of relief,
knowing that he was about the only one who possessed a knowledge of his
folly, or his whereabouts. There was still Jake, who wrote occasionally,
asking for his _lill Miss_ and telling of Mandy Ann, whom the war had
made free, and who had married Ted, and was living in her own house
outside the clearing. Everything was out of the way except Eudora, who,
before he had proposed his trip to Europe, took herself from him in a
most summary manner. The restraint laid upon her was becoming more than
she could bear, and she rebelled against it.

"I shall elope some day--see if I don't," she said to Peter, who still
remained in the family, and was her confidant in most things. "I shall
say 'yes' to the first man who proposes, and leave this prison for the
world, and the grand sights which Adolph says are everywhere. Here I am,
cooped up with no young society, and seldom allowed to attend a picnic,
or party, or concert, and I do so enjoy the latter, only I often feel as
if I could do better than the professionals. Adolph says I can, and he
knows."

Adolph Candida was her music teacher, who, alone of the young men in
Crompton, had free access to the house. He was a fine fellow as well as
teacher, and had done much to develop Dora's taste and love for music,
which had strengthened with her years, until her voice was wonderful for
its scope and sweetness. Naturally there sprang up between the young
people an affection which ripened into love, and Candida was told by
Eudora to ask her father's sanction to their marriage. That she could
stoop to care for her music te