Frederick citizen., 1895-02-22

well; but when she discovers that am
gone, bring her away; say 1 am tired"
He wiped his eyes as he spoke. and
seemed much distressed.
stay with US tonight II you can,"
he said. IT shall leave the carriage.
and drive home in a cab. want to
talk to you In the morning. Hallam will
go to his hotel. l shall be up to re-
ceive you"
He pressed my hand again. ac-
companied him to the door, Half an
hour afterwards Terese left in company
with her lover and next best friend, the
narrator Of this over true story.
You noticed my emotion last night"
said the colonel. when he had closed
the door of his snuggery, as he called
MS library at the cottage.
when. Tom?' asked, recalling his
somewhat strange coduct while Terese
was singing for the first time as it
seemed. new song the music of which
she had taken with her.
Don't say when, you know that II
mad not found you watching me,
should have made fool of myself"
You were greatly moved"
Moved! A defeat on the field Of bat
tie could not have disturbed me more"
ne said, pacing the room.
1T is rather a pathetic ballad" 1
said. wondering what the dear old chap
mad to say to me, for he seemed both
excited and distressed.
old fellow" he said, pausing to lay
MS hand affectionately on my shoulder.
i have deceived you. You are young
enough almost to be my son. love you
as II you were. And I hope you will
not cease to respect me when you have
neard my confession. People say / am
proud man. Perhaps I am. My faith
er was; and my grandfather was fam
Gus In court and in the field. But
that Is neither here nor there. Pride
goeth before fall. The humblest man
need not envy me-"
I sat down and looked at him, as
much as to say you are exaggerating
some indiscretion.
mot at ALL" he said, as II he read
my thoughts, II have sinned, and be-
fore Heaven, as the psalmist has II, but
l have tried to atone, and I want to put
myself right with you and Hallam.
First with you, I have known you long
est. You know that Hallam has pro-
posed for Terese. I gave my consent
that he should propose to her; but
withdrew my final approval until
learnt her answer. OF course, her yes
or no would have been equally sacred
In my eyes. She has said yes. I am
to conclude the matter to-day. In an
hour l shall do so. To-day is in con-
sequence one of confidence and penance
mostly penance. And ] begin with
you"
He took up the poker and stirred up
the fire, not that it required stirring.
but as II he were arranging his
thoughts; and he looked round at me
as he laid his unlighted cigar upon the
table.
/ have known army men who have
seen him, at the head of his cavalry.
ride straight up to the enemy's guns
and. But that Is not the question
To the world as have already intimat-
ed, he is proud and cynical; but bitter
epigram and an occasional sneer at
sentiment represent the cloak which
hides a tender heart and a lifelong
regret.
THAT songw he exclaimed, II saw
you noticed how It affected me-" he
said. as he sat down again. looking
into the fire. II have always felt that
music has the power to lead one back
to the past, and revive events that one
tries to forget. Fate or Providence
must have moved Terese to sing that
song last night
Oh! the clang of the wooden shoon
Oh! the dance and the merry tunei
Happy sound OF bygone day,
1t rings in my heart for aye!
my God! If she had only known. 1t
is strange that had not heard her try
it over at home before we went out. AS
she sang, / could see the suffering hero
Inc, in her Normandy cap and sabots,
sitting alone on that old wooden pier
waiting, waiting, with the sound OF the
merry tune. turned to a dirge in her
heart"
He swept his hand over his eyes, and
spoke as II he had forgotten me.
my dear friend" he went on after a
pause, II want to confess. Let me
show you the picture that song showed
me, the picture which II still shows me
in the fire. An old Normandy pier. A
soft summer night. An English yacht
moored at the jetty. A company OF
villagers regaled by Lord Templer. the
owner; myself and companion. A Nd
dler pressed into the service. My COM
panion as lovely girl as the eyes Of a
villain ever rested upon; an olive COM
plexion; and the head of a Normandy
aristocrat on the shoulders of a peas
ant; the strength OF a fisherwoman.
Al nf
carrier. She was the most perfect type
OF Norman beauty that mind OF man
could imagine. or brain Of poet invent.
I was a young. reckless, fellow on a
yaughting cruise, putting In at the
fishing station for letters. My dis
patches came within twenty-four hours.
was ordered to join my troop in India
at once. Lord Templer sailed the next
day, leaving me to go on to Paris and
London for the outfit and necessaries.
d. not go on to Paris that day nor
the pext; stayed to make love to
Julie. l called IL making love- She
thought II was love. ponr little Norman
dy maideni The next thing there was
a wedding in the village; a friend of
Julie's was married to an Etretat fish
ernan. We danced until morning The
clang OF the wooden shoon and the
merry laughter of young and old came
back to me last night like a blight as
that song with its sad merriment took
hold Of my heart and memory. stay
ed in the village for two weeks. II was
a happy dream, but the dream OF
aend who had stolen into paradise. I
promised to return. never meant 10
do so. Her hot tears fell on my hand
a.
covered that loved her. She was In
-.loA aYwoua hataH ofhar mo