The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-09-14

addressed, the girl touched the lit lie
bell at her bedside and asked for Annie.
The understood general of that name
came in, awkward and grotesqu ly eau
tious, having left her creaking and only
boots outside in the corridor.
"Annie," said her mistress, 81 want
you TO go on message for me. You
must t. Ike a cab"-Annie's face lit up
in spite of herself-'and go to this ad-
dress. Wait for an answer-a letter it
vii bo-and bring it back here in the
cab. Go as quickly as you possibly
can. If-the-gentleman is not there,
bring me back my letter. III give you
the fare on your return. Do you IN
derstand?"
Yes, Miss" She took the letter in
her apron-covered fingers and stumped
out again.
The girl lay still for while. 1t
seemed 10 be the outcome of long
revere when she asked suddenly, and
for the first time, for handglass.
She stared into it hard, and then
dropped it quickly, face downward, on
the counterpart.
"Shall l brig you the comb, or any
thipe?" asked the nurse.
mo, pothing."
"She never moved or spoke after that
till the servant came back an hour
later.
She brought note.
When the girl had re ad it, she said,
81 am expecting a friend-directly-to
say goodby. Will you see that every
thing is tidy, and that am not dis
turbed when he is ht r, ?'
1t was perhaps the least enjoyable
half hour in that mans careel-.he
half hour spent by the bedside of girl
with whom he only dim y remembered
to have firted-s little-when he was a
mere cub of twenty-five, aud she was
one of the passably nice girls at Can
bridge, who helped to kill wet Sunday
afternoons. In subs' quent years, when
he was the fuctuatingly intimate friend
of her brother, he could take his oath
that he had never firted at all. AS
matter of fact, she had never given him
an opportunity of doing 80. She had
become 80 proud, 30 odd, 80 unfriendly
toward him that he had thought, at
last, that she must have something
against him, and the praclic, cessation
of friendship between him and her
brother had been owing as much to
this theory as to the irresponsible cir
cumstances which separated them &C.
tually
And nowl The unacceptable wreck
of woman lay on bed at the top of a
poky fat, and told him that all her life
had been weary misery for love of
him.
81 didn't get you here to blame you,"
was one of the things she said to him,
"for there is no blame in the matter to
you or to any one else. 1t Was Just
chance. l CHANGED to love you, and
you CHANGED not to love me. l only
wanted you 10 come 30 that CO, Id get
one happy thing into my life before it
ends. pve 30 often said to nystl I
love you,' and now that / am going
for good-and that / know that dear
death is actually here in the room with
me-waiting for me to come away-I
find that l am able to say it to you.
Isn't it stranger | mean that | can
really tell you without effort, without
the least feeling of shame"
And again: II wish l could tie you
how l fe'l |. Reticence, fear, even
| WOnhi ~ pliue, all etttn 10 me now 10
be quite little things-p ltry, trivial.
The OF ly things that remain, that mat
ter at II now, are Love and Death. As
my whole life was spo led by Love, l
did want my death to be happy through
Love. And, somehow, couldn't bear
The thought of dy ing without ever once
having said the only words that matter,
Il love you'-oh, how wonderful Nc;
don't want you to say ANYTHING.
know what is in your mind. l can
hear it-but DON'T"
And just as he was going: "And
you'll remember my messages to WI l.
tel? September-you won't forgel9
write it down. Septe mber be comes
back here, and you'll be tie only per.
son who can t. II him about me.
haven't been allowed TO see any one
for weeks. didn't want to-. Only
you, just for few minutes this ever
ing. Now I've done. Thank you,
very much"
She fell back with such tearing
moan that he was about to C, II for the
pure who had exchanged a few words