The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1866-01-19

chartered of new dresses and Christ
mas parties, and of our own merry
Christmas eve dance.
That afternoon, quite late, Agnes
and stole to our labratory. That
day had distilled a strange, exquis-
lie draught, after an old German re-
ceipt To this another ingredient
must be added.
and if properly DONE" said the
sage madman, thou shalt see imme-
diately the purple hue change to
bright gold, and sparkle like unto it.
Many men have lived unto q century,
and yet been young, who have tasted
daily of this. Though in n million
tunes thou nayst not once succeed in
making il, it is a sovereign cure for all
PAIN, and for wrinkles, and for gray
hairs and for sadness
If not the elixir, surely something
very like it; and we two stood with
our eager eyes upon the cleaning liz
uid, slowly dropping into tho darker
draught with which it was to mingle.
She wore u dress OF pale brown sill,
like a dead leaf in hue, and coral orna-
monts. In this attire her dark beauty
grew more exquisite. No loyelier
creature ever lived
1t was on my lips to tell her SO,
when something happened. What
shall / call it? How describe it? l
can only say that sense and thought
seemed blotted out by pain What it
was, where | was the cause, the
meaning were enigmas to me. All
who have had the slightest personal
experience Of an explosion, viii under
stand what | mean
For a while the world was chaos and
] nothing
TO tins day I cannot guess what
caused the accident Whether [ had
made % mistake whether any med
ding fingers had been at work, 1 do
not know Il may have Loen lay mad
dream was "A crime, and that for it |
was punished They found the lab
ra,ory a mass Of broken glass and
metal the windows blown out The
Goals in 4 furnace scattered on the
floor; aud picked me up for dead.
That the explosion originated some
how in the furnace, WAS believed; but
how | could not tell, nor could Agnes,
for in one moment both were sensolcss
as The corpses We resembled.
That graceful figure in the robe OF
dead leaf tints, with It's cbon hair, its
coral ornaments. its innocent maiden
passion il its eyes the figure and the
face Of Agnes Muir were the last
things l ever looked upon in life, for
in that moment was stricken blind
hopelessly. totally, for the world at
least, eteinally blind.
/ One day | knew this They gave
to Agnes Muir the task Of telling me
the trath; aud | heard it and lived
Ii was more than blindness to me it
was death; death To all hopes and as
pirations Of my life Ih4 SCIENCE
Ind loved, the mad sweet dreams OF
golden ehxirs of beauty and Of life
were at an end: and, worse than all, ]
fell that l. blind and helpless. dared
not clam the haad and hcals Of ono
beautiful as Agnes Muir She would
keep her hoth. l knew, but / would
never demoSa the sacrifice. I schoolet
: myself to GOODNESS. l shut the agony
OF my loss in my own soul IuttercC
! no word of love to her and one day
CROPPING my dark way TO her side,
said these words TO her:
agnes, You are free a blind man
has 40 right to we'd or WOO. Coo
bless you, for your kindness to me-
for what | know you would say an'
. try to feel; bat
| broke down. Icould say no more
Peryersely put it out Of her power t
! say.
She only put out one soft hand, guide
Inc to scat, and sold, gently, with
! faint fall in her voice l had noticed o
] late
LET wooing and wedding be for
T gotten am your sister now, an'
will be your sister while hive, Otho.
: SO it was over that passionatelove
! dream of boy and girl--wiih it IN.
youth, as it seemed; yet l Was no
quite miserable, for Agnes was indee'
+ u sister to me-
= She had told my mother all, an
: thereafter there was no hesitation /
her tenderness to me. When in d
! helpless darkness | needed aid, II yoic
called me brother, and near me | fel
n Agnes She read to me--sanS to N
+ and prayed beside me i'll our greo
: pew in the quiet Sabbaths. She ney
n er forgot me for any one-neyer. |
- my saddest hour, when chafed an
- panied to peryerse anger l drove tn
+ rest away, she forsook me not.
: Yet l had dreampt of her SO long a
= my wife, could / be contcnted but
g be the helpless brother she led an
- ministerod unto and pitied? AnswC
!" me in your heart, if you be man an
4 lover who read this,
Yet the worst came aiterward, wit
the step and voice of Harold Malcoln
~ / had never seen him, but l used
le fancy him tall, fair, athletic, wit
- soft blue eyes and smile like h
~ voice.
/ used to sit and imagine how !
r was looking at Agnes Muir while
IT, spoke to her. Something they sal
v together. l would never sing no.