will and human effort would all be in vain to overcome evil if
divine strength did not flow into them. And unless we desire and
pray for this divine strength we cannot receive it."






VII.

A VISIT WITH THE DOCTOR.





"HOW are you to-day, Mrs. Carleton?" asked Dr. Farleigh, as he sat
down by his patient, who reclined languidly in a large cushioned
chair.

"Miserable," was the faintly spoken reply. And the word was
repeated,--"Miserable."

The doctor took one of the lady's small, white hands, on which the
network of veins, most delicately traced, spread its blue lines
everywhere beneath the transparent skin. It was a beautiful hand--a
study for a painter or sculptor. It was a soft, flexible hand--soft,
flexible, and velvety to the touch as the hand of a baby, for it was
as much a stranger to useful work. The doctor laid his fingers on