The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-01-18

cnuuren lett 20 the cnarlty OF rlcn relatiVes
who could hardly have been less generous to
their bitterest enemy"
The hot blood rose in his wasted cheek, and
burned in his sunken eyes, as he uttered the
last sentence; and it spoke more strongly
than thousand words of the indignities put
upon them in the home to which they were
unwelcome.
"My uncle, who was left our guardian, is
q passive easy-going man, entirely under the
control of his clever and unscrupulous wife.
l have had hip p-disease ever since I can re-
member, and SO, of course, when we were
taken to our guardians house, was looked
upon wholly as burden, to be endured, not
enjoyed. But Gervaise, who was always well
and strong, they made slave herself nearly
to death, and she cheerfully submitted
for my sake. Again and again I i'm
plored her to run away with me somewhere,
if it were only to die in the street, for the
sake of getting out of that house. Oh, you
can't conceive how l loathed the place, how
I longed to get away with Gervaisel 1 don't
know whether it would have been solved to
this day, had not my uncle and family de-
cided to go abroad. OF course we were left
behind. was glad of it, but Gervaise was
not, though she thought travel would have
benefited me.
81 knew then just as we'll as / do now
though / didn't tell her so-that nothing in
this world could ever help me, and life in its
best state has never been such a blessing that
would try to keep it if 1 felt it slipping
away
He smiled q sweet, melancholy smile that
pierced ny heart; and could only press the
thin fingers that lay in mine.
my one sorrow is in leaving Gervaise all
alone; but time heals almost any wound, and
1 hope some time she will be loved as she
deserves by one who can be more than
brother to her.
''But to go back. My guardians family
went away, leaving Gervaise in charge of the
house and to take care of me. We felt that
that was the time to act, and we revolved a
hundred rlans by which Gervaise was to learn
as many different meaas of making money.
eyes, that was the bitter fact. l. the man,
the natural provider, must sit with folded
hands and wait. You may imagine how 1
cursed the malignant fate which made me
impotent to support the darling girl I loved
so wei, he went on, vebemently; ''you don't
know how have learned to sympathize with
women since I've been sick all these years.
Great Heaven! 1 wonder they will consent to
live at all, for they must always be the
watchers and walters, and rarely the actors in
life.
"Well, nothing that we thought of seemed
feasible, and 1 was nearly desperate from
disappointment, when the doctor who attended
me suggested that Gervaise should go to the
institute and learn wood engraving. You
see we were both already proficient in draw
ing, my sister especially; for, as long as
our parents were alive, we had the best of
instruction, and had natural talent for it
besides. Of course we received the idea with
delight, and after the doctor, who was and is
our only friend besides yourself, had made
the necessary arrangements, Gervaise began
the lessons.
perhaps you know what a wonderful aid
to all labor necessity is. If you do not, We
do; and not many months elapsed before
Gervaise could cut her own designs on the
blocks with great skill. When she began to
be paid for her work begged her to leave
that house with me: but her sense of honor,
which in that case confess was greater than
mine, would not allow her to consent; so we
stayed till our guardian returned from Europe
last spring.
''Gervaise, meanwhile, had become of age,
and it was not very difficult to persuade my
uncle"-this with a bitter smile round the
thin, drawn lips-''to let her take me, a USE
less burden, off his hands. The doctor found
this place for us-that little lower room, you
know, is mine-where we could live abso-
lutely to each other. and not be annoyed by
curious eyes.
''At first 1 could help Gervaise good deal
in drawing: but 1 am slowly growing weaker,
and less and less able to do SO. And can't
go out to our meals as 1 used to. She thinks
it is only the winter weather, and that when
the robins and the violets come again, Ishall
be as well as have been; but know that
the next violets will blossom on my grave,
and the robins will sing my requiem"
After this we sat quiet long time, till the
red, western flames faded into yellow and then
into gray, and at last Gervaise came in.
Berties little history had opened the door
of my heart as with magic key, and looking
in found there a great love for these two
lonely and homeless ones, like myself, without
ties. But the love for each was quite diffe-
rent. felt for Herbert a strong, brotherly
affection; but for Gervaise-ah, yes, for Ger
vaise the utterly longing, thrilling tender
ness q true man feels for the woman into
whose hand he wishes to lay the treasures he
holds most dear-his happiness, his honor,
and his name.
The days slipped by. 1 could see how
rapidly Herbert Dale lost his hold on life;
how swiftly he was sinking into eternity.
My visits to them were more frequent than
before. / was filed with a fierce desire to
keep the truth about her brothers health as
long as possible from Gervaise. If she sus-
pected it, she did not speak. felt that it
was no time to tell Gervaise my love, to
speak of another future. These last days of
her life with BERTHE, which could see SO we'll
would be few, very few at most, should be
wholly theirs. 1 determined to control my
heart till she needed its tenderest ministra-
tions in the dark days of darkness and sorrow
that were certain to come.
raw, gusty afternoon in February, BERTHE
and / sat again alone. He had been reading
'Dombey and Son." and, as the fading light
grew dim, closed the book after the chapter
about Paul's death. We were filed with the
sweet pathos, the tender grief of the scene,
and perhaps tracing in our minds resem-