Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-08-09


heads grew into one harmonious whole, and
became in my fancy part of me, as though
| il were my room that held them, and She were
| in it singing to me. / wonder if it would
have angered her if she had known but she
never did. l never even saw her glance
! across the way.
/ At last | came to know her
They had been living nearly five years in
the old red house, when one day Mr. Robarts
was taken suddenly i'll. 1t was n kind of n
| tt and in their anxiety to get the nearest as-
/ sstance they sent across to me. OF course |
went, and it was Magdalcn who met me in
/ the hail. put her hand in mne and saving
| 'Thank you for coming my father is very
| i'll, and our doctor is away on the Continent"
| led me straight up stairs to the room where
| the old gentleman was lying insensible.
| BY the time l came down again he was not
| only conscious, but declaring himself SO much
/ better that, if had not absolutely forbidden
/ it, he would have dressed and gone out as us
ual. There were grateful tears in Magdelcn's
| eyes when she thanked me this time, and
! sweet as her voice had sounded when it float
| ed across the street in Schubert and Mozart,
| never thought the low rich tones half so
| full of melody rs now when | heard them
! speaking-as in my dreams | had some
times fancied them speaking-to me. 1t
went to my heart to chill her gratitude by
bad news but truth must out where health is
! in question, and had to tell her that | was
afraid her father would not be quite well FOR
some time yet and to ask if his medical man
! would be long away.
II don't know-months perhaps. lie was
| very i'll himself when he went Doctor. do
| you mean that there is anything the matter
with papa anything more than weakness and
this hot weather."
There was such a look of appeal in her
eyes that inyountarly 1 laid my hand on
/ hers, as if | We're soothing a child.
you know there must always be some
cause for weakness when u man is not natur-
ally feeble, my dear young lady; and even
/ little cause ought to be taken in time to pre-
vent its getting greater. l don't think there
Is any reason for you to be frightened about
! him, but he ought to have advice. and the
sooner the better
That evening got note from Mr. Rob
arts asking me to call ON him on the follow
ing morning and adding:
My own doctor is away, as you know /
detest his partner, and put no faith in his
| big-wigs. If you think you can put Inc to
rights, l shall be very glad"
l sent word that / would do as he wi he'd
and from that day no other person attended
him till his death. He had an internal mala-
dy, which had grown by neglect into even
grayer proportions than l had at first sup
/ posed. 1t was that which made him irritable
and captions, and inclined at times to tyran-
nize over the one being he loved, his only
child but he was quite aware of it, and in bis
better moments would tell me Il am afraid
pain makes me tosty, Doctor. l was harsh
with Magdalen when you were here yoster-
day but she's good girl, very good girl
She loves her old father, and never gives him
back IL sharp word or sour look"
And 1 don't believe she ever did We
were good friends now. and saw her often
and in many moods-sad and gay and play
full and dreamy-but never with frown on
the smooth fair brow or bitter words upon
her lips
Yet she had known trouble in her life. and
had been crossed in her dearest wishes 10y the
| old man TO whom she devoted her life. lie
told me all about it one evening when, Mag
| delen having gone to the opera with friend
l was playing piquet with him in her stead
The talk had turned upon her. don't
think the tea was strong enough, and he be-
gan to grumble at her absence l thought of
the various sorts of tea-cold, smoky and fla
vorless-with which my cook was in the hab-
it of favoring me. aud asked him what he
would do when She was married, adding. with
an absurd anxiety for the answer which even
struck myself that supposed he did not ex-
! pect to keep her long with him. lie looked
up from his cards, frowning.
"WEat do you mean. Doctor: You don't
think But, pshaw! She secs no one here
who would take her fancy; and the old affair
was over long ago. ! don't believe she even
remembers it now. Come, you doctors have
a way of looking into peoples feelings through
their faces. Don't you think she looks as
| well and happy as any girl you know =
Quite happy and very well" l answered
decidedly and he smiled. My words evil
| IDENTIFY pleased him
''Ha so l say. am glad you agree with
| me, for it's all owing to me. She wouldn't
have looked well or happy if she had married
some ne'er-do-well who would have brought
her to beggary and run away from her in
twelve-mOnth. Eli, what do you think =
II think such fate would have killed her
Was there eyer-auy chance Of it :"
1t was not fair question, and hesitatod
| before putting it, The old man only laughed,
| however.
Chance, 1t was touch and Co. She
wasn't twenty-one, when fellow, a younger
son, with heap of debt at his back, and not
a farthing to bless himself with, fell in love
with her, and succeeded in entrapping her
| into promise. | was away at the time and,
unfortunately, her letter enclosing one from
him missed me and she interpreted some
thing in the next l wrote her into consent;
and positively considered herself engaged to
the scamp. Egad l promise you the en-
! gngement didn't last long after l returned
She under age, so that | could have
claimed her obedience, anyhow but my
Magdalen's good girl, and had been father
and mother both to her since my poor wifes
death. She didn't need to be forced into her
duty and, as to the young adventurer, |
warrant you didn't waste soft words on him
when l showed him to the door. He begged
hard for a last interview, but / said No
you've made my child unhappy enough as it
is. | won't have you make her more so :
and didn't"
Then there was the end of it? They new
er met again p
Never. took her away next day and,
though he wrote to her ON the following one,
l thought it was one of those cases where a
father has a right to exercise his discretion.
The letter is there now" nolding his head to
a tall escritoire in the corner of the room.
'Tm an honorable man, and never even
opened it. l daresay it's full of ranting and
love-sick VOWS but they'll do no harm there,
and as for Magd0len-look at her :"
Yes, she was very calm and fair to look at
Yet, with the glad feeling that it was so, and
that the girlish love of six years back was as
the old man said dream scarcely remem-
bered, l could not repress shudder at the
pitiless way in which it had been stamped
out, and an emotion of pity for the poor boy,
who for few days had thought to possess
treasure which, in that moment | knew it
would have been death to me to lose. And
she? Up in my mind rose vision of her as
/ had first seen her-frail and white, with
dropping head and languid step. Surely,
she too must have suffered but, at least, it
was over now, and, doubtless, it was for her
happiness From my heart--a heart still
aching from the discovery of how precious
she was to mel hoped that it might be
i
with serene air.
II hardly think Magdalen will marry, he
said cheerfully. "She is difficult, very diff
cult to please, and, as you see, she loves me,
and is quite happy in her home. Perhaps,
when l am gone indeed but it is your lead
l thinky' aud he returned to the game with
renewed interest.