THE TWO ELSIES. BY MARTHA FINLEY, AUTHOR OF "ELSIE DINSMORE,' 99 "ELSIE AT NANTUCKET," "MILDRED AND etc., eto. NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. THE TWO ELSIES. CHAPTER I. "Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Funeral marches to the grave." LONGFELLOW. Ir was a lovely summer morning, glorious with sunlight, sweet with the fragrance of flowers and the songs of birds. The view from the bay-window of the library of Crag Cottage, the residence of Mr. George Leland, architect and artist, was very fine, embracing, as it did, some of the most magnificent scenery on the banks of the Hudson. The house stood very high, and from that window one might look north and south over wooded mountain, hill and valley, or east upon the majestic river and its farther shore. The nearer view was of well-kept, though not extensive, grounds; a flower-garden and lawn with a winding carriage-way leading up the hill by a gradual ascent. It was a pleasant place to sit even on a sunny summer morning, for a tall tree partially shaded the window without greatly obstructing the view, and it was there the master of the house was usually to be found, at this time of day, with Evelyn, his only child, close at his side. They were there now, seated at a table cov ered with books and papers, he busied in drawing plans for a building, she equally so with her lessons. But presently, at the sound of a deep sigh from her father, she glanced hastily up at him. He had dropped his pencil and was leaning back against the cushions of his easy-chair, with a face so wan and weary that she started up in alarm, and springing to his side, exclaimed, "Dear рара, I am sure you are not well! Do stop working, and lie down on the sofa. And won't you let me tell Patrick to go for the doctor when he has taken mamma to Riverside?" "Yes, Evelyn, I think you may," he answered in low feeble tones, and with a sad sort of smile, gently pressing the hand she had laid in his, as he spoke. "It will do no harm for me to see Dr. Taylor, even should it do no good." 66 What is that? send for the doctor? Are |