The Irish standard., 1896-06-27

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toms te in. 81 II
81 Nv lines, Ii. place 90 the ilflg N
. had cpycred At first. She Of Ten Aail1s
70 remember sthat I was her physfc 81
and suffered me to depart withont
hearing word bearing on her long
cherished aches and agonies. She hasiSs
become acquainted with everybody s. ins u
the village; nobody knew better
she tho true inuardness of.every II
of mild scandal retailed from one end
OF 1t to the other. She was hand gu
glove with the ringlealers In Ito speial
diversions, and was the moving spirit
in an enterprise which promised to &
eclipse anything Of the sort ever It,
tempted in Rodneytown. This was no
less than o Pete Internationally" a. II
tie programme. had it, in which yonths
and maidens Of many lands were to be !.
personated by the young people of the
village. There were to be tableaux,
recitations, music and daneing, and al- J.
together SO. iemhat ambitious list o1 &
advertisement. Mrs. Loring had ass
s,lmed tho responsibility Of designing
the costumes, q duty which she was
well fitted to perform, for she was
blessed with q keen eye Tor color et.
fects, and her, travels had made her .
Trustworthy, source of Information re-
garding the details Of the picture IL
was proposed to present. There were
no suggestions of invalidism il her az
she hustled about on her, conEanial
tasks; ths buster she was, the greater
her content. The fete was 70 sher q
mental and physical tonic, 1nope bene-
fetal than any possible oombination VI
chemicals. This realized, but with
the perveree. pessimiem brought about
by my season of unrest, / feared thatit
would result in opening her eyes ia
the truth that she needed NO physiaaanl
And when that discovery was made,
how long WOULD she and her niece tarry
in that quiet ncighborhoodp @
The weather about this time took q
turn for the worse; for 48 hours
dense fog hung over the. coast. It
thinned somewhat by the third smorn-
ing. The banks Of nistwere drifting
seward when plodded across the
Plain to the house on the knoll, Lamar.
who was awaiting ein the living room.
appeared to be giving himself up to
idleness, for there were no books on tho
table at which he sat. and DO seemed
to be unusually willing to engage in des-
ultory chat. After little, he tod
me that lie had been feeling far from
we'll for some weeks, and that the dc.
pressing weather had aggravated hia
trouble. ~. - s,.,.,
To stranger he would have looked:
a sick man, but perhaps association
had blunted my perceptions in his case,
and his words surprised me. Assured
ly he was no weaker than on the night
when he first came to me. II there
had been any change, 1t had been an
improvement. The old air Of the flu
gitive had in great part disappeared,
though he still gave one the impression
Of continual vigilance.
he described his symptoms with his
habitual deliberateness, closing the ac-
count will. a statement that he believed
his heart to be affected seriously, and
that he desired me to examine him at
once.
81 am afraid that you are correct In
your diagnosis" said I, when the task
had been accomplished. 'There is car.
diac trouble. tits far advanced"
"Its character?"
'Valvular. should like consulta-
ton at once"
"Of what ndvantage?" he asked, az
coolly as if he were not discussing his
own death sentence. 1.-THE disease is
mortal: Treatment cannot cure it,"
"Dut it may prolong life" urged.
Besides, it is only fairness to yourself
to have an experts opinion. Take my
advice
Pardon, but must decline to do 90.
/ am content with your skill unaided.
It is q confirmation of my own suspicion4
The end is not so much; have tho
warning-it is all desire" q
He was silent for a little, this strange
being, his expression unchanged, his
self-control absolute. When at last ha
spoke there was no hint of emotion in
his voice as he asked the question I
dreaded to hear. ' . r.
How long may I, in reason, count
upon?" ~
II cannot tell you definitely" ans
swered. 'Tt may be a year. two years,
three years; 1t may be tomorrow. a 4
shock, d."
st comprehend. But, nndistnrbed,
what time do the odds favor7'' ri
six months. But it is no more than
the widest guesswork." @ ..4r-.s
Again there was a pause. Presently i
he asked: 80
"You spoke of shock. would it be
Of necessity fatal?" ,~sss X 81
''No. But it would be the one chance
In ten if it were not" knew my man
well enough to understand that be de-,
sired no evasions. ~. ~ !. s
''You speak from the book" hej
said, quietly; ''but in that think you
wrong. I rate the chance greater" s Il.
"May you be in the right Of it." 1
sud; but he made TO comment upon,
the hope thus expressed. Soon alter
q .. - -