St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-03-24
Selected Story.
THE WISDOM OF A CHILD.


eight years before pronounced US di
vorced, in the same room and before
the same witnesses. Ny wife was
accompanied by her father, her
mother, and two friends, while my
two old comrades, who had assisted
at the tying of my pretty love-knot,
came, with saddened faces, to wit
ness the severing of the bond.
A stiff bow, exchanged at the be-
ginning and the end of the ceremony,
was the only farewell between two
beings who for years had never had
a thought that was not shared. We
sat on a bench, where, FIVE minutes
before, had been a smiling bridal
pair, and felt within me an agita-
ton that was painful; there seemed
to be tension at my heart as if my
whole being were about to be rack
ed with torture. Was it possible
that my companion and confdant,
the woman who had cOnsOled and
encouraged me in all my trials, the
woman | had loved so long and so
dearly, could witness without regret,
without a thought of the sweet past,
the sunderlng of the bond that had
united us?
Ny glance wandered around the
room, from the ugly moulding of the
ceiling to the pictures on the wall.
but suddenly it rested on a graceful
head, with its soft, dark hair, which
| had not seen for four months, and,
through the meshes of my wite's veil,
| saw two sparkling tear-drops.
"She, too, remembers and regrets
| thought; ''perhaPs she could for
give"
Alas if we two could but have been
alone at that moment But close be-
side her was the pale, stern face of
her father and the very determined
one of her mother; those two had,
from the very beginning of the
trouble, watched her jealousy. [
had tried every means of having an
had been intercepted, my messengers
turned away, and our only meeting
had been in the presence of magls-
trate, an utter stranger, who, with
the best intentions, had with his cold
formality made matters even worse.
Since that day | have not entered
nv home. But now, on leaving the
MAYORS office, | went to the house
to pack up my clothes. l knew that
l could not live there alone among
the memories of my vanished hap
piness, so | resolved to travel, and
thus to hv from all that could re-
mind me of my wife and home. A
mutual friend arranged the details of
the matter: l was to spend the
night in the house, and the next
morning Babette, my only child,
would be allowed to come and
breakfast with me. At three o'clock
was to leave; at four, Helen would
come to take away her belongings !;
and twenty-four hours later the
house would be "To Let" party OF
workmen would come and put it in
order for the next tenant, and then
it would be left empty and desolate,
an image of my life.
stopped in the midst of my pack
ing to order a breakfast such as
would please my little Babette;
held a consultation with Lucas, my
old servant, and we chose those
dishes that the child was fond of. l
also put aside for her two little
trinkets, pretty porte-bonheur and
locket containing my own likeness.
Poor little Babette! She was
blessed with the happy ignorance OF
a child of seven, and yet she was
precocious enough to understand, in
her own way, that there was some
thing serious the matter between
papa and mamma.
At ten O'Clock precisely she came,
accompanied by my mother-in-law s
maid, who said she would return for
mademoiselle at two in the after
noon.
Who can say where and how little
girls acquire tact? They must be
born with a germ of it, and, when
developed, it makes them either
women of the world, capable OF
reading ones secret thoughts, or else
gentle, patient nurses for the sick
and wounded Babette asked me no
questions, but kissed me rather
gravely; sat on my knee before the
fire, as was her custom, and, when
I gave her the locket, pressed my
likeness to her lips, then hung it
round her neck, whispering:
81 will kiss 1t every morning and
every night"
When we had finished breakfast
however, she said, abruptly:
do YOU know mamma is coming
here at four o'clock ?"
Yes, my DEAR" | answered.
Are you not going to wait and
say good-by to her? she asked. and
after an instant's hesita ton | said
Il cannot. l have to leave the
house at three; the train will not
wait for me-
Why can't you take another
train ?" she persisted.
Because l have promised to go by
that train, and l must not break my
word, you know"
Then, forgetting her presence,
added, half aloud: And yet, if
could but see her alonei"