Year: 1872

81 shall notify her of my inten-
ton Immediately l said, 'as l am
to breakfast with her this morning
at her express request


81 hastened as quickly as posi-.
BILE to that little white cottage
where Rosalie usually passed the
summer season.


"Oh! the sad day! Its darkness
still overshadows my life. My poor
sister! Well did she know that it
was my birthday. Her little par
lors were resplendent with sunshine
and filled with flowers. A large
collation. was served there. Many
beautiful presents and large bo-
quet OF roses lay upon my plate.


81 see her yet, advancing to
meet me; her face radiant with
joy and tenderness, her eyes full of
tears, her mouth smiling, her voice
silent. I still feel upon my brow
her maternal kiss. I hear her ex-
press regret that our parents could
not have lived to see that day.


81 was violently agitated, for l
knew / was going to make her sad.
Bitterly did l reproach myself for
the deception 1 had practiced in
not communicating my intentions
in the beginning. To deceive her
longer, or to inform her by letter,
seemed unmanly. l then told her
without preamble, that l had ire
vocably decided to renounce the
business of a merchant and devote
myself entirely to painting.


"You remember the day, Charles,
the insupportable heat, SO trying to
nervous organizations, and you
must especially remember the
frightful storm that fell that morn
ing upon the country. Well, the
tempest, just commencing without,
was nothing to the one my words
provoked from Rosalie. She was
overcome at first with surprise and
anger; but soon recovering herself,
there came from that mouth, that
had SO lately given me the kiss of
welcome, such epithets as migrate,
traitor, fool. l did wrong, very
wrong, in replying to her in the
same angry vein. At length she
could contain herself no longer, and, i,
raising her hand, she administered
a smarting blow in my face"


"a blow? and what did you
do?"


"Thanks to God, did nothing,
thanks to God, did nothing
Afraid of myself, l fed; and she
called me, you say?"


ooh! my sister, my sister. Oh!
that l did not hear thee, that l did
not return to thee. Oh! that we
could, by mutual pardon, efface the
errors, the faults Of that deplorable
morning; but l returned not.
FASTENED to my uncle's office for
money, and Immediately set out for
Paris; / Travelled"


"Your travels are we'll known to
me. But your sister, she at last
wrote to you"


"No! God and you alone, heard
her cry Of repentance, her express
sion Of tenderness. Resentment or
pride perhaps, prevented her. No
doubt she also thought that time
would take the conceit out of the
infant prodigy. l also kept silent,
but not from anger or resentment,
wished to first have proof of the
correctness of my judgment, and
only awaited my first success, to say
to her: You see now that was not
deceived


"Atter months ofthe closest appli-
cation l finished a picture which
sent to my friend +. He showed
it to an amateur who gave him a
good price for it. l will not say
that the money was received with
pleasure, as you are aware with
what ecstacy one views the first
fruits of his labors.


II afterwards learned that nv
painting was admitted to the salon ,
that it had been well received by
the press and the public.


"With the price of my picture l
bought for my sister q beautiful
shawl, which l sent to her with a
letter full of tenderness and broth
erly love. That letter she never
read. The gage of fraternal love
arrived too late.


'Rosalie, attacked by typhoid fe-
yer, had already lost all conscious
ness of worldly things. At the first
news of her sickness l Immediately
set out for home, but with all the
haste l made, found only her
tomb"


Merry was silent. SEEKING his
had warmly, said. "Thy remorse
is proof sufficient of the nobleness
and goodness of thy heart But
you exaggeratc the case, the wrong
is certainly not all on your side"
"Strive not to make me forget
my remorse, Charles. Unhappy be
the man that can forget the wrongs
he has done, and console himself
too quickly for the tears he has
caused others to shed.


"Above all, may God cause me to
profit by the severe lesson he has
given me. During the short race
we are to run upon earth, let us
love truly and never discover our
love too late. Let us not shut up our
affections secretly in our hearts, but
let it escape to rejoice those we love;
and to convince them Of our love
by our words and deeds, let US not
wait until it is


Too LATE"