's soft voice. "Father sent me up for
the express purpose that you might not be alarmed when you heard. I must
have managed badly to frighten you. I assure you nothing has happened,
at least nothing very particular, only,--well, father is very rheumatic,
and the warm weather has done him no good. He has not been out of the
house for a month, though we did not mention it in our letters, always
hoping that by the next time we wrote he would be better. But he has not
left his room till he contrived to go in the cab yesterday. Oh! Annie,
he has sold his business to Dr. Capes. He--father--said it was no use to
protract the struggle, it was only doing more mischief; he would never
be able, at his age, to go about again so as to act fairly by his
patients. He has given up everything to the bank's creditors, and will
pass through the bankruptcy court. He bade me tell you that he could see
no other way, and he was afraid Rose or you might read his name in the
_Gazette_ without being prepared for it."

"Father ill, old, and a bankrupt!" Annie's cry was bitter. "It is hard
after his long life of honourable industry. I can never forgive Mr.
Carey."

"Hush! hush! Annie, you must not say that. Nothing would grieve father
more. Nobody has suffered like the Careys. Besides, father always says
that he alone was to blame for buying the bank shares. He did it of his
own free-will, just that he might grow richer in the idlest manner
possible for him to do so. Dr. Capes has taken our house, the Old
Doctor's House too, and father and mother went into apartments--those
over Robarts the book-seller's--yesterday, till they could look about
them." Dora was crying quietly all the time she was speaking, and at the
same time she was breaking off to say with pathetic resigned trust like
her mother's, "But only think, Annie dear, how much worse it might have
been! What a great deal we have to be thankful for. Look at poor Mr.
Carey sitting paralyzed, and quite childish; and do you know the sad
news arrived last night that poor poor Colonel Russell is dead? He had a
sun-stroke, and died within twelve hours; he has not been three months
at his new post. Dear father has all his senses, and he says himself he
may live for years and years."

"I hope so," said Annie fervently; but it is doubtful whether she fully
appreciated the blessings of her lot at that moment. She busied herself
for a few minutes with Dora, her nurse's instinct as well as her
affec