resort.

Seating herself upon a rustic bench, she passed some moments in absorbed,
delighted contemplation of the scene so familiar, yet ever new.

The thought that anything worse than a passing illness threatened her
beloved father had not yet entered her youthful mind, and she was
serenely happy as she sat there waiting for the departure of the
physician as the signal that she might return to him.

From her earliest recollection he had been father and mother both to her,
Mrs. Leland's time being too fully occupied with her onerous duties to
society to allow her to bestow much attention upon her child.

Had the husband and father taken a like view of his responsibilities,
Evelyn would have been left almost entirely to the care of the servants;
but to him the formation of his child's character, the cultivation of her
mind and heart, was a duty that outweighed all social claims, and to
which even business might to some extent be sacrificed.

Nor was it a duty only, but also a delight. And so well was she rewarding
his efforts that he found her, at thirteen, more companionable than her
mother had ever been; taking an enthusiastic interest in his professional
work, and sharing his aspirations after perfection therein and
recognition as one of the foremost architects of his day.

In her esteem he had already distanced all competitors; no one else could
plan a house so well for comfort, convenience, and beauty combined. Also
he was to her the very embodiment of all that was unselfish, good, and
noble.