The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-01-02

1t aud have kept II ever since, for
knew no one else who was nearer to
I Melroe than myself, for he wns an or
phaD, and without brothers or sisters.
III he had had sweetheart | would
! have sent il to her, that she might have
known what a hero she had lost in this
youiig fellow, whose delicate, sensitive
nature shrank from the conflicts which
his great soul urged him into. | have
seen many brave charges, many fOrlorn
hopes, carried since that day, Howith,
but never saw braver. charge OF Il
more forlorn hope carried than this that
led Melroe TO his death. We mourned
| Dalzen, good fellow, but there was
something in the loss of Melroe that
went beyond every other loss. We
loved him better than we knew, and
when we buried him there every one
of us recalled that sentence of his,
might recol from the encounter but /
should recoil ten times more from the
skulking away from it! >"
A momentary silence fell upon us all
as the colonel ceased. But as he closed
his memorandum book, shutting In the
voice broke the silence.
| 0dunts, RlNc IL W lilc-IIDlldlltt mti-
roe's GORDON beu!"
"You, Patty?"
eyes, to me, James," Patty answered
quite steadily, though white as the dead.
| Mechanically, perhaps instinctively
the colonel held out the sacred memento
without word. But the colonel's wife
had no such delicate instinct of the
truth.
"What do you mean, Patty?" she
exclaimed.
| p" mean," returned Patty with great
dignity, that l have better right to
Holland Melroe's Gordon bleu than any
one else." 80
go, Patty! and all the time you
were-'' i
But Mrs. Kings discretion came back
to her; it was too late, however, to an
swer her purpose.
Yes, Emily; all the time l was en-
gagged to Morton Eamesl But you
know who brought me into that. 1t
was scarcely my own, and Holland
Melroe never sought me after he dis
covered this. l knew his heart and
mine. When got news of his death,
| broke my engagement to Morton, but
could not GO talking about Holland
then. had no right to tell the truth
then, who could not tell it before who
had to be told by death what the whole
truth meant even to myself"
BY this time we had all been brought
up, as it were, to Patty's revelation,-
all but Mrs. King. [ noticed vaguely
that she looked disturbed, and glanced
uneasily at Maj. Howith. But tor that
| should have forgotten his presence,
yet even then he did not seem an in
trudcr, stranger though he was.
The colonel, always fond of his little
sister Patty, as he called her, found new
cause for tenderness now. She had
been NIelroc's sweetheart -Melroe,
whom he had loved! And, leaning
forward, he took her i'll his arms and
kissed her.
The next morning ! got the meaning
of Mrs. Kings disturbance. She came
into my room with the words:
Just think of Patty's making sucl
a mess of i'll"
"What do YOU mean?" | inquired
thoroughly amazed.
son dear! What do | mean? Dom
YOU see that Major Howith was i'm
lnensely pleased with Patty? And now
Just for that old sentimental nonsense
being dragged out, it will fall through
for he is not the man to play secon,
fiddle to any other man, dead or alive
And it would have been such a gooC
match for Patty!" wound up the fas
cinating but worldly Mrs. King.
turned upon her the full vials o
my wrath. Patty had come out mos
nobly, aud she ought to be ashamed i
she could not appreciate such nobility
declared. But | did no good; sh'
only reiterated her regrets at Patty
: mess" not whit disturbed by IN,
vials of wrath. But in this iteration
she was cnt short by her husband
! voice, as he came in from the littl'
library which communicate with tn
room we occupied:
Emily, you do not know men quit
so we'll as you think you do, my dear
When l went into the smoking room
:, last night, Mai. IIowith joined me, an
D what do you think he said to me?"
i "Well, WHAT" said Emily, maxim
a little impatient movement.
" He said that if Patty was to be wo
> by any living man he should try hi
e best to win her. You see, my deal
q your way of looking upon things does
+ Mt always fit the case and the people
Howith is man TO appreciate just sue
: silent endurance and falthfulness q
l' Patty revealed, and he does not believ
Z that her heart is forever buried in Me
Il roc's grave any more than | do.
C was my story of Mel. that made ever,
;. thing fresh and living to her again, an
> now Mrs. Emily, don't you talk tn
l. over to Patty--not word, or you ma
l. never have Maj. Howith for a brothe
4, in-law."
VI Mrs. Emily laughed.
y "Oh, can keep q secret when llk
7, as well as Patty, and I'll keep thi
and | am glad your sentiment h
W turned ont better than my sense, til
= tue, sir,n she retoried gaily.
ne Her husband laughed too, but
n looked at her, / thought, little sad
"a as he replied: All, En-, perhaps you
w see sometime that our sentiment, as "
is call it, is better than your sense"
=. But she never will.
~ ~
~ Seven years ago this conversati
m took place--seven years ago this We
~ day: and this morning l went down
- the st. Dennis to cali upon Mrs. Fel
he Landy Howlth, who had Just arr "
Al. from England on three months Wis
sh Before i left her sweet faced Eneli
nd girl came in bringing sweet fac
ms half English aud half-American baby
To- two years, who looked for all the wo
he as much like young Castilian as
dark eyed mother.
col "And what is his name?" asked.
,oe "Holland-Holland Melroe Howl
,ot Felix named him, and he would hi
mt IL SO. Was not it superb of him9 l
i'm Felix is snperb--you never saw 81
s i man, dear, as Felix"
ore l told my cousin. the colonel, of {
md conversation. He looked at his "
!" that pretty, light-natured, mscinat
Dut little Emily 4a0 lf..
ke' Here's onr sentiment against y
md sense, Mrs. Emily. You see how v
his it works"