up in his face with her blue eyes, through which the loveof the whole race of loving women from which she had sprung, as wellas her own, seemed to look, and held out her little hands; but eventhen Thomas Merriam could not understand, and stood looking at her.
"Why--did you do it?" he stammered.
"Because you would have me no other way, and--I couldn't bear thatanything like that should come between us," she said, and her voiceshook like a harp-string, and her pale face went red, then paleagain.
But Thomas still stood staring at her. Then her heart failed her. Shethought that he did not care, and she had been mistaken. She felt asif it were the hour of her death, and turned to go. And then hecaught her in his arms.
"Oh," he cried, with a great sob, "the Lord make me worthy of thee,Evelina!"
There had never been so much excitement in the village as when thefact of the ruined garden came to light. Flora Loomis, peepingthrough the hedge on her way to the store, had spied it first. Thenshe had run home for her mother, who had in turn sought Lawyer Lang,panting bonnetless down the road. But before the lawyer had startedfor the scene of disaster, the minister, Thomas Merriam, hadappeared, and asked for a word in private with him. Nobody everknew just what that word was, but the lawyer was singularlyuncommunicative and reticent as to the ruined garden.
"Do you think the young woman is out of her mind?" one of the deaconsasked him, in a whisper.
"I wish all the young women were as much in their minds; we'd have abetter world," said the lawyer, gruffly.
"When do you think we can begin to move in here?" asked Mrs. MarthaLoomis, her wide skirts sweeping a bed of uprooted verbenas.
"When your claim is established," returned the lawyer, shortly, andturned on his heel and went away, his dry old face scanning theground like a dog on a scent. That afternoon he opened the sealeddocument in the presence of witnesses, and the name of the heir towhom the property fell was disclosed. It was "Thomas Merriam, thebeloved and esteemed minister of this parish," and young Evelinawould gain her wealth instead of losing it by her marriage. Andfurthermore, after the declaration of the name of the heir was thisadded: "This do I in the hope and belief that neither the greed ofriches nor the fear of them shall prevent that which is good and wisein the sight of the Lord, and with the surety that a love which shalltriumph over so much in its way shall endure, and shall be a blessingand not a curse to my beloved cousin, Evelina Leonard."
Thomas Merriam and Evelina were married before the leaves fell inthat same year, by the minister of the next village, who rode over inhis chaise, and brought his wife, who was also a bride, and wore herwedding-dress of a pink and pearl shot silk. But young Evelina worethe blue bridal array which had been worn by old Squire Adams'sbride, all remodelled daintily to suit the fashion of the times; andas she moved, the fragrances of roses and lavender of the old summersduring which it had been laid away were evident, like sweet memories.
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