St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-01-23


the brilliantly lighted hall on the way
to my room, thinking of the fair stran-
ger. suddenly found myself face to
face with her, and to my surprise she
addressed me in as pure English as l
could use myself: % sir she said, will
you not come and see my father? He
is very sick, and we have no friends
here, and we.knOw no one in the CITY,
assured her it would be pleasure to
afford her any assistance in my power
and Immediately followed her to her
fathers room. AS l entered the door 1
saw an old gentleman lying on the bed,
whose form was slowly but surely vast
ing away with consumption, and as l
approached the bed he made a sign,
which any of you, being Odd Fellows,
would have recognized as quickly as L
did. | answered it of course and soon
learned that the old man was an Amer
lean and a Brother Odd Fellow, and if
you could have seen his emaciated face
light up with Joy, as we clasped hands
in true fraternal greeting, you would
have realized what a blessed thing it
is to find Brother in a foreign land
and among strangers. His name was
Marshall, and his home was in Boston.
He was a retired merchant, with ample
means, and no family except the daugh-
ter who was with him. He had been
out of health for a number of years,
and his physician had advised trip to
Europe. So, in company with his
daughter, he had crossed the ocean
about six months previous to their ar
rival in Paris, and had been wander
ing about from place to place, until at
last they had taken up quarters in the
same city and hotel where | was STOP
ping. Instead of growing stronger,
Mr.. Marshall had been growing weaker
all OF the time, until now he was unable
to sit up, and the French doctor who
had been called in gave little hopes of
his ever leaving his bed alive; and to
crown the sum of their miSfOrtunes,
the remittance, which had been ordered
from their London bankers to reach
them in Paris, had for some unaccount
able reason failed to come to hand
and they found themselves without
funds to meet their necessary expenses
In this dilemma they had no friend up
on whom to call, and they were Obliged
to throw themselves upon the generos.
ity of a stranger. Miss Marshall, sitting
opposite me at the table, had recOg
nized this pin as au emblem of ODD
Fellowship, and had spoken to he
father of it, as she knew he was a mem
ber of the Order, and he had requeste,
her to call me in, as he should feel bet
ter satisfied to receive assistance fren
a Brother Odd Fellow than from an,
other. .
These circumstances l learned partl,
from Mr.. Marshall and partly from hi
daughter, for the old gentleman was
too weak to talk much. OF course | a
once set his mind at rest in regard tt
pecuniary matters, assuring him it wal
my pleasure as well as my duty, tC
supply all his wants till the arrival o
the remittances from London. 1t wal
easy to see that his days were few oil
earth, and | knew it was my duty t.
stay by him and render his last houri
as comfortable as | could. | chanceC
family, resident in Paris, and | at once
interested them i'll the case, tor l knew
that Miss Marshall would soon be with.
out parent, and it would be inconven-
lent for her to be alone in the great city
thousands of miles from home, with DC
friend but myself, and almost an ell
tire stranger. She seemed almost
heart-broken when told that her father
could not recover, and would never
leave Paris alive.
But / will hasten over those gloomy
days. l delayed my departure from the
city until, at the end of month, we
had laid Mr.. Marshall quietly to rest in
the little French cemetery. Then ]
turned my back upon Paris for years
wandering in other parts of the old
world. Miss Marshall concluded to
stop in Paris year at least, that she
might be near her fathers grave. The
remittances having arrived, she had
ample means at her command, and as
her fathers affairs in America were in
good hands, she accepted the invitation
of my friends to make their home her
abode while she remained in the city.
She was very grateful to me for all |
had done for herself and her father and
her eyes filed with tears and her hand
trembled as she placed it in mine when
| bade her good bye. Her grief at her
fathers death was very deep; for he
had been her all on earth.
The next year passed rapidly to
me, journeying from place to place,
and at its end found myself again III
the city of fashion and gaiety, on my
way home TO America. Miss Marshall
was still in Paris, and gave me very
cordial welcome. The first keen pangs
of grief had passed away, but she still
mOurned for the one best friend her
life had ever known, for her mother
had died before she could remember.
After the separation of year she SEEM
ed more beautiful to me than ever, and !
determined, if it was possible to make
it appear agreeable to her, to make
her Mrs. Sydney Morton. But | don't
propose to tell you all the particulars
of my courtship; what means | had re-
course to in order to persuade her that
L should make very respectable kind
of a husband, or how | finally popped
the all important question, or how lone
it took her to decide what answer te
give me. All this is not a part of the
story, and it is none of your business
either. l went about it in my own way
and it is sufficient for you to know thai
| succeeded and brought Miss Marshall
home with me in the person of Mrs
Morton and the worst wish l have foI
you, my friends, is that when you ell
gage in like enterprise you may NEE
with as good success as did, and bt
as fortunate in your choice.
And now you know why l place S,
much value upon this pin; for had
not worn it at that time, l probabl
should not have been called upon 4,
aid the Marshalls, and should have lei
Paris when / first intended to do so
and the unknown face would alway,
have been no more than pleasan
dream, while BOW it is happy, ever,