Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-01-15
THE EUCLASE RING.

than ten years ago, and in these days one
lives fast and forgets soon, and some of
the details may have escaped me- But it
was your rcmark about words breaking
no bones that recalled the tale. To mo
words arc living things, endowed with a
power that few of us give them credit for
possessing. l believe with Adelaide Anne
Proctor that
Every word has its own spirit,
True or false, which never dies.
And think that the story of Cocilo Longs
life goes far toward Endorsing my opinion
You must remember Frank Whiting
toni He was my godson, and l was very
fond of him, and when he introduced mo
to his af1ianced bride Miss Cecile Long l
was fully prepared to be almost as fond of
her as he was
She was certainly a very charming girl
bright, handsome and attractive-and l
turned a deaf ear to the disparagers who
whispered that she was weak and shallow,
had been n tremendous 1irt, and was,
moreover extremely delcate-a bundle Of
nerves and a most unfit wife for man
who had his way to make in the world
thought them admirably well suited and
they seemed to think the same l never
knew them to differ on any subject save
one, and upon that occasion Frank solicit
ed my friendly Intervention.
] remember the time and the place so
well. We were sitting at tea together tete-
a-tete in the coy little boudoir Of my house
in Queen street, Mayfair. l can see now
the rays of the setting sun fltering through
the dark green Persicnnes and touching
with golden light the bright brown locks
of my godson's curly head, and | can hear
as plainly as 1 did then the note of pas
sionate pain in his eager tones He was
not one to suffer in silence when a woman
was at hand to sympathize, and in me he
knew he had ever the most sympathetic of
friends.
Have you ever noticed, - he said, "that
little ring with the pale green stone that
Cecile wears on the third finger of her
right hand. No, it is not a crysolite. 1t is
euclase, stone found in the Ural noun
tains. 1t is rather IA rare stone, believe,
and the ring was given to her by the young
Polish artist who used to be hanging about
her at Ostend. He wanted to marry her,
1t seems, and--and he had no business to
give her ring and she ought not to wear
1t. Don't you agree with me?"
l did but, as l am nothing if not con-
ciliatory, | murmured something soothing
about "a gift from a departed friend. "
However, Frank would not be put off in
this manner, and he made me promise to
take an early opportunity of speaking to
Cecile on the subject and pointing out to
her the improperly of wearing young
Anatotf S gift.
You must try and prevail upon her to
throw it away or to give it to you, or to do
anything she likes with it, but do not let
me see it on her finger. She must not
wear it, "
promised to do my utmost to induce
Ceclo to see the matter from his point of
view, which was also mine, and with that
intent l sought and obtained an early in
teryiew with her. l put the case gently
but plainly before her. | appealed both to
her respect for the convenances and her
love for Frank But l spoke in vain.
II am very sorry, Mrs. Groy, but l can
not do what Frank asks. really cannot
In the first place, it is a physical impossi-
bility My hand has grown so much fatter
since poor Paul placed this ring on my
finger that l cannot remove it now. Here
1t is, here it remains until l grow thin
again And besides, l swOre to him that
would never remove it whatever happen
ed "
what made you take such vow?" 1
asked.
II don't know; can't say. was hur-
ried into it, 1t happened like this: We
were walking on the Digue at Ostend one
evening. Nine Anatoff and mamma were
on in front. Paul and 1 were behind He
was in very low spirits that day, for he
had just seen some specialist, who had told
him point blank that he had not six weeks
to live, and he could not bear the thought
of dying and leaving me. Up to that mo-
ment he had always cherished secret hope
that l might yet become his wife-poor
Paul He was a Pole, you know, and very
romantic and superstitious and altogether
different from any other man l have ever
known. His despair that evening terrified
me, and when he asked me if l would
grant him one last request, whatever 1t
might be, l answered Yes, without think
ing-anything to comfort the poor fellow.
And the request was that should let him
place this ring on the third finger of my
right hand, and as he did so repeat after
him some sentences in Polish. did 1t, and
then he told me that had sworn solemnly
to wear this ring until death, to be buried
with it, and that had asked God to unite
us hereafter, even If it should be his good
pleasure to separate us here upon EARTH"
And you took that vow and you ut
tered that prayer" l exclaimed in horror.
Yes" she said. "What else could l dog
Paul was in despair and he was dying.
1t would have been cruel to refuse him.
There are times when l regret horribly
having acceded to his request, and yet
am quite sure that if the time were to
come over again l should behave exactly
the same. -
There l entirely agreed with her. "If
the time were to come over again." we
should most of us "behave exactly tho
lame. " AS were the bygone days, so will
the coming ones be. The Ethiopian can
not change his skin. The copy book moral
list has told us that Experience teaches"
Possibly she does, but l fancy that the
number of her pupils who have profted
by her lessons is very small, and 1t will
take her all she knows to enable her to
hold her own (as an inspirer Of conduct)
against temperament-for the physical