Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-01-15
sways the moral and the moral stamps

the intellectual
"And, after all, Cecile added, II did
nothing. l only spoke few words"
Every word has its own spirit,
True or false, that never dies.
Every word your lips have uttered
Echoes in Gods Skies"
murmured.
Don't, don'tn' she cried. "That is the
sort Of thing Paul would have said Thank
heaven, Frank Is not-transcendental "
asked her If she knew the meaning of
the word, and she laughingly replied that
she knew it was something uncomfortable.
And then she suggested that we should
change the subject
"And please tell dear old Frank not to
bother If he wants the ring, he'll have
TO saw off my finger to get it, and 1 sup
pose he doesn It wish to do that"
From that hour we dropped the subject,
and | cannot remember any further allu-
sion to it being made. l suppose the young
people came to some satisfactory under
standing, for Frank never again asked me
to Interfere in the matter, and | was thus
spared any repetition of what is always
an ungrateful as we'll as an unpleasant
task
Time passed on, and the wedding day
was fixed, and Cecile, like most brides
elect, lived in whirl. Between dressmak-
ers and friends and bridesmaids and rela-
tives, not to mention Frank, she seemed
to be ''on the go'' morning, noon and
night and | began to recognize the truth
of one of the unfavorablc remarks | had
heard. She was unquestionably extremely
delicate. She seemed to grow thinner day
by day, and sometimes, when my eye fell
on tho offending little ring with its curl
IL
soon it would not lie question of being
unable to take it off, but Of being impos-
sible to keep it on. However notwith-
standing her thinness and her pullor, she
was in excellent spirits and laughed our
fears to scorn.
One morning, about week before the
day for which the wedding had been fixed,
l went up to Savile row with the Longs
to see the final trying on Of the bridal ccs-
tune Ceciio looked lovely in her marriage
garment Of soft, rich satin, the dead white
of which was relieved here and there by
the dark green of the myrtle leaves with
which both the bodice and train were
trimmed. The whole strength of the COM
pany was summoned from the atelier above
to admire their handiwork and its wearer,
who was all smiles and gracious respon-
siVeness for time, until suddenly, with
out word or sign of warning, she
clutcheG hold Of the chair against which
she was standing and fell back in a dead
faint
We were not long in restoring her to
consciousness, but before leaving the
house ! learned, to my grief and dismay,
that this was not the first time that &C.
Giles strength had succumbed under a
similar strain.
But some young ladies never can stand
for long, " said the graceful fair haired
modiste, who looked herself ready to drop
with exhaustion. However, " she added
quickly, lit cannot be helped. One must
stand for certain time if one wishes to be
properly ittes "
Zone must suffer to be beautiful" 1
murmured sadly as l followed Cecile and
her mother down the wide handsome
staircase
The wedding day dawned dark and cold.
The sky above was one STILL gray cloud,
but around us everything was clad in the
white of freshly fallen snow-a wedding
garment or winding sheet, according to
the mood of the beholder. The wind,
which was from the east, howled dismally
down the chimney the whole time | was
arraying myself for the festvity, and the
sound filled me with n melancholy l could
neither Danish nor ignore. 1t was like the
cry of a woman in pain.
When | entered the church, lavishly dec
GRATED with white flowers and autumnal
leaves, the view was dulled and obscured
by the brown mist which came creeping
down the aisles blurring the lamps and
changing the pillars into shadows.
| had a good view of the bride as she
sod fa1.,
ed CHASTITY. Her face was white her trem-
bling lips were almost blue, and there
were purple rings round her large dark
hazel eyes.
The service commenced, but l could not
fix my attention to listen. My nerves were
on edge. The air seemed dense, as if
storm were brewing. l looked without
seeing. l listened without hearing. sud
denly my husband touched my arm and
whispered to me- "How nervous she is
She is drawing off the wrong glove! Why
don't they tell her"
Then | heard tinkling sound as of a
coin falling on the hard mosaic floor, and
l saw the smallest bridesmaid stoop and
pick up something. Then came IA cry which
resounded throughout the church. do
zobuczenia, Paul. l SAW the bridesmaids
fall back as Mrs. Long rushed between
them-and | remember no more
When l came to myself, was in the
watch communicated with the
church. My husband was with me, Us we'll
as Minnie Grey, my niece, who had oflci-
ated as chief bridesmaid. She was very
pale and her eyes were full of tears. l had
no need to ask the question. 1T is all
over | said. Il know"
Minnie burst into tears. at was in
the doctor told us, aunt And
see what Isabel picked upr' And she
handed me the ring that had looked at so
often with doubt and regret. The center
stone-the eucase-had fallen out. Inside
the banda broad one-I read, do 20
baczenin, Paul.
Only words! 1t was the spirit that had
given them life-and death. Exchange
Lenbach, the Painter.
In appearance Lenbach is typical of his
81 t..I