St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1875-02-12

tells the trurh-a brave. bright young
En"lislf1nam, of upright, stHlwart frame.
! and face which umites trInkncSS and
gallantrN of expression to beauty of
feature. Bright, fearless, happy eyes,
dark blue III color. look out from the
canvas from beneath broad forehead.
crowned with dark, thick short curls :;
and the smile on the lips and i'll the
eyes is the smile of Il man who is true.
and tender, and bold. \ son for any
mother in the world to he proud of is
Nh. Drelincourt, if his portrait tells the
| truth.
! In the spaciousuess of the library, Il
circle of dusk surrounds the centre Of
light formed by the wide hearth with
its blazing logs, the old marble mantcl-
| piece whcrc0n tail waX-lights burn, the
table with its shaded reading lamps,
and the great velvet chair in which the
lonely lady of the castle is half hidden.
| 1t i> ChlistmHS-tide, aud, there is stir
ont oi doors but the customary silence
of Lyude Castle is untroubled by the
ScaSonablcncSS. The mcITiment and
good cheer which are permitted to the
undimini,hed retinue of servants with
80 little to do. come not nigh their mis-
!
Eve with her S.n'S portrait and her
sons letters from the foreign lands
whittier he has rcsoIted. fnr all her
company. For what Ou the writing
! table there lies Il miniature. open: it is
| the likeness of Il Young girl. She has
IA fair face. with golden hair closely
| braided III il classic fashion. deep hI"wn
| eyes, and il complexion of Il warm tint
i,
of Northern women. but i II beauty
! proper to the South. y bundle OF let
| tcrs lies beside the. miniature. and on
/ Mrs. Drelimcuurt'S lap is ii manuscript
which she has been reading this Christ
mas Eve. She has concluded its peru
,al now. and lies back in her chair. with
her eyes raised to the portrait ot her
son: : in her face there is hope her
mutcly moving lips there are PRAYERS.
Ihl> l. what she read in the manu-
script:
":.'.y You. my draI mother: | lie
coid toI You the story of my love. |
make hat clear to You which has hith-
crro been vague. brcau>c could not
Vet bear to look into lis depths of mis-
cry myself. Time and such submission
IL could bring my rchcllIou> heart 10.
have availed | can tell You all now
| can even contemplate returning Ia the
old SCENES, though never the old light
heartednc>> with which once moved
among them. 1t is fitting that you
! should know all before We meet and
81 write vou the story OF my stay III
/ Venice.
Ii LINKS itself by strong ;>socittiou
with my soiourn in the East fur ii
Wis AT Alexandria that | met Paulu
D'Oria. of whom You have alI,ady
heard. He WAS on hi> way home aitri
i visit to the Holy Land. and We met al
the house of the Italian Consul. He
had pleasant manners. and the bright
ness and courtesy of his nation. and
tastes which harmnuizcd with mine.
We struck up something NOR" than ac-
uuaiutaucc on our first meeting. Wt
agreed to visit the bazaar in company
OH the following day tur Il common pur-
pnSc-tO buy souvenirs for friends at
home. In the CuuI>r of our proceedings
"" found ON way to the jewellers qutI-
ter. and there we PASSED some time,
looi>in" at mauN beautiful things which
we could not buy and | discovered
, that my companion WIS learned il
gems. In Il dark mean little shop
where the merchant might have been
/ the original of any of the people III th,
Arabian Nights. we SAW some good tuI-
| quoi>cs and several tine strings OF am
her D'Oria and had selected som,
specimens of each when the Jewel mcI
chant directed our attention to an opa
: ring of extreme beauty. The irWc
filled Panlo D'Oria with admiration he
declared il Ia hc the finest of liz slZ,
that he had ever seen. and Il dead hIr
gain 1T the price asked toI il. lEI,
setting. in diamonds. was European
French. p'Oria said. and We Wondcic,
.. how the ring had found its way tu tn,
shop in Alexandria. where there WAS II,
other article of European workmanship
My draguman cuqun"d of the IcWc
Il merchant. and was told that there VA
Il strange enough story attached to til,
Ia ring.
In the preceding wear. when the pill
$ griu> were returuIn" from Mecca. ON
among the poorest of them (a MAJ
named Iu>uD fell sick 10y the way
side not far from Cairo. and was tcudc'
hy Il brother pilgrim. who fingered viii
: him when he could go no farther. aU,
II gave him of his scantN provision. foot
h and water. The hadji died. having
: Just before he expired. revealed To hi
= friend that he WAS the posScSsor of um
: suspected wealth. 1t consisted of Il
e opal ring, which the wr,tchcd man ha
5 Sccrcted on his person while its pIic
Il would have made him rich. and thnugl
= privation and hardship were the cause
II of his mortal illness. The hadii ha
l. neither wife nor child; a solitary dyin
h creature. save for his friend. to whoI
e he answered when he asked him VIII
Z he had not sold the jewel, that he coul
not-he was born in the month of tn
: opal. and ii was his ''luck." But h
:. badc his friend take it when he Shoul
l. he dead. and do with il as he PLEASED
1t The man sold the ring to our Jew,
Ie merchant. The story Interested Paol
ii D'Oria
is October is the month of the opal
IS he said. "My sister Beatrice was bor
" III October, she ought to Wear the jew
Ie el of her native month | will buy til
II ring
le But when he came to bargain wit
is the jewel merchant. he found that til
in price which was set on the ring was to
N high.
le Il am not rich enough" he said wit
et an easy frank smile. Beatrice mu,
ys 90 without her amulet. or wear Il hun
e. bier one" Then seeing. ip his quicl
,s Italian way. that | wished to buy I'll
ly ring. but was restrained by IL doubt
TT the good taste of doing so. he sai'
III pray buy it. Mr.. Drrlincourt don
I'd let lis both lose it. 1t is really Il spler
le did Snrcimeu and the story of il