And he could not turn the pages of the Holy Writ
unless he found some passage therein which to his mind treated
directly of her, setting forth her graces like a prophecy. "The
fairest among women," read Thomas Merriam, and nodded his head, while
his heart leaped with the satisfied delight of all its fancies, at
the image of his love's fair and gentle face. "Her price is far above
rubies," read Thomas Merriam, and he nodded his head again, and saw
Evelina shining as with gold and pearls, more precious than all the
jewels of the earth. In spite of all his efforts, when Thomas Merriam
studied the Scriptures in those days he was more nearly touched by
those old human hearts which throbbed down to his through the ages,
welding the memories of their old loves to his living one until they
seemed to prove its eternity, than by the Messianic prophecies. Often
he spent hours upon his knees, but arose with Evelina's face before
his very soul in spite of all.
And as for Evelina, she tended the flowers in the elder Evelina's
garden with her poor cousin, whose own love-dreams had been
illustrated as it were by the pinks and lilies blooming around them
when they had all gone out of her heart, and Thomas Merriam's
half-bold, half-imploring eyes looked up at her out of every flower
and stung her heart like bees.
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