He greeted them with effusion, for he was radiant with good spirits, having decided to put his fate to the test to-day, scarcely dreaming of a refusal. “You will come with me for a spin through the park, will you not, Eva? It is the finest day I ever saw--crisp underfoot and bright overhead! It will put new life in you. Come, we must not lose a minute of this glorious opportunity!” “Go, dear, and get ready. It will brighten your spirits,” added her aunt, so eagerly that she did not know how to refuse. She went slowly to her room, but while she was changing her silken gown for a cloth one, and wrapping herself warmly in a sealskin cloak, she was thinking ruefully: “If I go I cannot keep him from proposing to me! He will be sure to seize upon the opportunity. I have evaded him so long! And I grieve to wound his heart by a refusal, but I had as well have it over and done with, since it is inevitable, sooner or later.” With a sigh of resignation she went down to her handsome suitor, wondering at her own indifference to him, and wishing she could like him well enough to marry him and please everybody. It did not occur to her, as it might have done to many a society girl, to accept him without love for the sake of all the advantages he had to offer. In the primitive society in which she had been raised, no young girl ever thought of marrying for any other reason but love. And Eva was true to the pure instincts of her nature. Her heart must go with her hand. But she dreaded Reggie’s pain and auntie’s and papa’s disappointment when she had refused her suitor. She hoped they would not scold her, or sulk, as auntie sometimes did when things did not go to her liking. With these rueful thoughts in her mind Eva was helped into the sleigh that went flying over the smooth crust of snow to Central Park, that was already filled with a joyful throng. “See how enviously the fellows all nod at me! What wouldn’t they give to be in my place by your side, Eva?” chuckled Reggie, in high good humor with himself and the world. “Oh, no, it is just your fancy,” she answered, blushing at his open praise. “Not a bit of it! They are all in love with you, Eva. Do you know what the fellows say at my club? That you are the prettiest girl that ever came to New York.” “They are very kind, I’m sure, but it cannot be true!” she answered shyly. The handsome grays were just spinning along, the young pair in the sleigh were bowing and smiling every other minute to some of their acquaintances, the sky was blue and clear, the air was full of exhilarating ozone and the music of sleigh bells. Somehow it all got into Eva’s blood like wine, and she did not feel so miserable as she did an hour before. It was pleasant, sleigh riding with such fine horses and such a handsome young man, and, like most any other young girl, she enjoyed being told that she was fair to look upon. A little pensive smile curved her sweet, red lips and encouraged her admirer to proceed: