Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-02-13
PRINCE CHARLIE.


quiet awhie--an unusual thing for him
when he suddenly raised himself on his ell
how and looked at me.
'See here says he. lie spoke as plain
as could be- though he hadn't much voice
the doctors said his lungs were all gone
but for all that anybody could tell that he'd
always had real pleasant way Of speak
ing. Somehow he did have a coaxing way
with him, different from any man ever
took care Of No matter what he said--and
he had no patience whatever YOU couldn't
get angry and you couldn't help trying to
please him.
Tell me now just what they say, he
went on IL suppose | can't last much
longer =
"Oh, we can't none of US tell what turn
you may take, says /, helping him TO lie
down as easy as | could and fixing the
spread over him. He never was suited if
it wasn't all Strengthened up as nice and
as smooth as could be, though he wouldn't
keep it so for five minutes
He looked at me with those big, dark
eyes Of his-his face was so thin that his
eyes did look out of all reason, but even
then you would have known him for a
handsome man
81 want to tell you my story, says he.
They often begin in that way 1t ap
pears like when they re away from all their
own folks, and feel that they they've got
to go, they cant rest till you know all
about EN- Land knows it don't do any
good but | always humor my patients
though some Of the nurses do call me a
fool for my pains IF it does 'em any
good. let EN- talk says |, 81 always lis
ten" But sometimes they get all mixed up
and can't tell you anything straight after
all sometimes they drop off in the middle.
But this one was a real gentleman, and
knew he had a story-coming to the hOspi-
tai as he did, straight from his office, and
the young man that came with him saying
He hasn't got any friends to 90 to.
81 thought you was going to sleep to
night says l. sitting down by him com
Portable like But he didn't take no notice
Of me he Just stretched out his hand and
looked at it. He had the whitest little
hand, as slender and white as any lady's
and on his third finger he wore a hand
some seal ring. 1t was a green seal, with
kind of fgger on it. 1t belongs to my
family coat of arms says he, aud he
laughed kind of scornful. And then he
looked up at me with that wistful look of
his and says he Il want you to send it
TO somebody when it's all over with me
I'm going to tell you who she is before |
finish my story"
Then he shifted himself little aud went
right on without looking at me. couldn't
have stopped him if had tried to.
"To begin with says he, 81 was born
at sea. I'm the man without a country. !
never had one Ny mother had been anus
ing herself in Europe and she went on anus
ing herself for a good many years after.
don't think she troubled hersel: much
about me, though | have heard her say
that looked like AN angel, in long curls
and velvet knickerbockers 1t isn't what l
should have supposed but women ought to
know best about these things.
I'VE had plenty of money in those days
My father was in business. | didn't know
very much about it except that he furnished
the wherewithal We had to ask him for
it and sometimes he clustered little about
our spending so much, but it always came,
| went to school and to college. had
plenty of friends, plenty of fun, and didn't
want for anything in those days"
He stopped for minute and looked at
me real pitiful.
"'Tisnt much of story when you come
to tell it," SAYS he, somehow it seems like
more than it is
/ But pretty soon he looked at his ring
again it was too loose on his finger, and
| he began turning it around with the other
poor, thin hand.
They had all sorts of names for me,
| he began my own name is Charles Ed
ward They say there has always been
one IN the family since the time of King
Charles. But it was Prince Charlie often
er than anything else, She would laugh
and call me the Pretender' Heaven
knows | didn't pretend with her-it had
got down to dead earnest by that time. But
| haven't got to that yet.
Il came home from college, and there
didn't seem to be anything very pressing
for me to do. Father never spoke of my
going into profession, and | hated bus-
ness Mother and Anna-Anna was my
eldest sister, then there was a little one
they both liked to have me to 90 about with
them, for father was sick enough of it by
that time. We Travelled, too. We spent
one winter in the Bermudas, and Anna
and | went over to England for a year.
We made regular dig of it, seeing all the
English cathedrals That was Mans idea.
But we had no end of a good time. Then
we came home, and father got slower and
slower about supplying the sinews of war.
To tell the TRUTH | got pretty deep IN debt,
though l had mistrusted something for a
good while
''At last the crash came-and it was q
bad one. II was all up with Hurd and En-
derby-father was the Enderby He came
home and shut himself up in the bedroom
he wouldn't see even mother, and there was
the very dickens to pay What could l do
had no more idea than a baby. Anna
that girl has tremendous pluck-and good
she's one of the best girls alive-Anna
went to governessinR, Ned and Mortimer
the two Younger boys, came home from
. ! and xyant in II STRIKE ms
th.t's good way TO be ? cad, bat didn'
blame them. Father-well, father wa
found dead one morning. | suppose it wa
all right-apoplexy of the heart, or some
thing of that kind they called it. Mothe
went home to her elder brother and tool
Alice with her. Everything went under tn
; hammer and was fairly turned out of doors
. How little women know about life
Anna, poor girl, thought | could do any
! thing. With your talents, she used 10 sa!
bless you my talents we're all for orna
q ment and not for use They wouldn't brinl
, sixpence in the market. Some of father
old friends wanted 10 help me. ! tried
! government cleTkship, but that was wors
| than being a galley slave, To come in a
/ Just such a minute like barber or boot
black couldn't stand that, Then
, went to Mexico with a party. 1t was
] Dlk bulnB lntTt was a lllhlhE nNhoihoi MI
a piece of railroad to be built, and lon
payroll / was in the office. was ther
nearly two years, but | got down with tn
fever and had pretty bad time, so on
day started for New York. When | 90
|. in sight of land had just one dollar in m
G pocket"
4 What did you do = says l.
:. "Oh, | gave that to the steward, say
~ he, trying TO laugh. IL had my trunks pl
I on hack aud drove up TO the Brunswick
. registered and turned 10 90 out. Sc
a here /! called out TO the clerk, give thu
fellow a couple of dollars for me when the
= get my trunks in'-and off | walked an
!, left him 10 pay the driver.
Il stopped there for week, and hunte
n up an old friend and borrow ell fifty. The
n got taken on a newspaper. But that vi
= work twenty-fOur hours day. II pulle
= me right down, | couldn't eat-l just live
on brandy and strong coffee. never VI
as strong as Sampson,
a "Well-here / am at last he bega
70 again, after lying still a few minute
- "When | began ! meant TO tell YOU about
l. woman. OF course there was more tht
It one, never could resist a pair of brig
It eyes aud they didn't resist me much eithe
r But not one of them would have stood
me through thick and thin, nor did ! ca
W for any one of them long There was
a Spanish girl in Mexico who would have e
l. joyed running a knife through me b
ON New York was too far away.
There is girl though-God knowsho