Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1876-02-26

N0-'I = -
he Is . friend Of mine." Madam
: Ricard said.
"How happy you must be 10 posses
such iriendi" exclaimed F delia, Wit
, sparkling eyes. "He Ia q hero-a RET
hero Of the time In which We live
Gould there be an act more c0urageo !
! than his part In the victory Of Octobe
81 All, how I should love to look upo
, his bravo facet But I forget. ! am
vassal by fate's special design. VIII
should / dream OF heroes 7"
"Go on, my dear, with your dream
ing, "said Madame Ricard, with friend
ly little nod. "That is precisely th
use Of an occasional slavery, 10 max
one dream OF noble things. You ar
quite free at this moment, however
Would you like 10 go with mo to-nigh
to the balli"
II WAS we'll for the hospitable impuls
of the little lady that this astounding
proposition was not made until after the!
had dined. Fidelia turned pale will
ecstasy at the very thought. To go Il
the ball To see with her own eyes tn
enchanting scenel To have veritabl'
glimpse Of the hero's brave faoel Sh,
answered after Q moment Of profounl
silence and with . feminine reservation
that yelled the intensity OF her assent
II should like 10 go, il I had white
"There is nothing 30 easily obtained,
said Madame Ricard, "as q white bodice
and skirt. She bade her raaid hasten
to the Office Of the hotel and order ur
stairs q trunk marked with Q blue
rosette. t
Out of this trunk came white gauge
skirts, which were made to envelop the
young girl in layers Of grace, until the
effect Of white was dense, yet ethereal,
like lily. A bodice was found that
conformed easily to the plant form.
Blue ribbons, the tint of forget-me nots,
embellished the draperies; the coiffure,
with the exception Of plain blue fillet,
was left in its natural "falling grace"
"Simple and coy1nse IL fdut, and al
together as I wish," said Madame Ri.
card, when the toilet was complete.
They arrived late at the ball, but not
irritsted by haste; and Madame Ricard
was gratif1ed to find the excitement of
pleasure at its height. Fidelia was pre-
septed to the hero of the night, and at
his own request. he engaged her hand
for the next dance. '.''
Not the next waltz only, but the next
and next, Fidelia found herself the part
ner of Colonel Darrell. He took her to
supper, and she became the object of
interest to all eyes. The gossips made
her the heroine of the night. But of
these lesser honors Fidelia was quite un-
conscious. She reveled in the thought
that she had seen again and again-and
with an expression in his eyes Of 30 much
kindness to herself-the hero's brave
face. .,.
After supper he left her a while, but
returned to beg brief promenade upon
the balcony, which had been decorated
to be one Of the attractions of the night.
Madame Ricard gave consent. And it
was there, under the green archway Of
palms and hot-house plants that i'm
provised tropical vista, that Colonel
Darrell said to the young girl who seem
ed to him the personification of guile
less sweetness and digni6ed beauty:
\" Will you give me one of these little
blue rosettes as keepsake of the
night ?"
81 would-indeed, I would, said
Fidelia, with charming hesitation; "but
they are not mine to give"
A strange expression darted across the
hero's face; and then, with bended head,
he gave one glance into Fidelia's eyes
that made her cheeks, from her very
he rt. blush.
"These are yours to give, he said,
gently the brown curls that
the evening wind had blown across his
arm. "May II" he asked; and being
and while they still moved
onward in the current Of the crowded
he succeeded in. possessing
himself of lock Of the beautiful hair;
and he took the little keepsake with him
when he went to Europe upon his ap-
pointed embassy. ' ,..
And Fidelia-had she any keepsake of
him None, excepting the association
Of his grandeur with the fascination of
her first ball, and recollection that
,he never took without dropping her
syelids, and blushing cheek and heart
. recollection of one glance.
Two years abroad, but all this time
Madame Ricard corresponded with her
riend Colonel Darrell; and she sent him
,very three months, quite unknown to
Fidelia, photograph of her lovely
orotegee, whom she managed to have
with her in cities where her
passion for travel allowed her to linger
/ fortnight or month. t.
The people of the town in which the
lived were much excited by
IN event that occurred during the first
year of Colonel Darrel's absence in
Europe. The event was the rebuilding
II the Darrell homestead in a style of
mingled comfort and magnifcence un-
,aralleled in the region round. When
he edifce was complete, the grounds
we're elaborately embellished, and the
Interior was furnished in captivating
aste.
Still greater was the excitement when,
wo years after tho night of the ball
yiven in his honor, Colonel Darrell re-
urned to his native town; and having
Iettled himself in his superb mansion,
made Fidelia Kingsland his vito. It was
lmored tn at there had been CORE
pondence between the now welded
overs for half a year or more before the
,olonel's return. H .h.
In the meantime the bright little
lame, Madame Ricard, had vanished
rom the earth. But Fidelia never for
rot her benefactress. Particularly she
the words said to her by
Ter strange visitor on the night Of her
"There is nothing so
as friend"
When she became established in her
'wn house, she would not allow herself
o sink into the absorbing happiness Of ,
owe. She was good and affectionate to
II, even to her step-sisters, who forgot
low in her prosperity that in adverse
lours they had treated her with con- l
empt. The townspeople called her, &C.
ordingly as the adjoctives struck their f,
ppreciating sense, affable, kind, chari-
able, courteous, friendly. ...
Friendly was the true word. +
I" For friendship was my fortune"
aid Fdelia. "Let me never be miser .
f the inestimable prize"