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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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105 ravages. They were stately yet; but the flush and pride of beauty were gone. ‘And Alice--where was she? In Heaven. ‘The monk--even the monk--could bear with some grief here; for it was long since these sisters had met, and there were furrows in their blanched faces which years could never plough. He took his seat in silence, and motioned them to continue their speech. ‘“They are here, sisters,” said the elder lady in a trembling voice. “I have never borne to look upon them since, and now I blame myself for my weakness. What is there in her memory that we should dread? To call up our old days shall be a solemn pleasure yet.” ‘She glanced at the monk as she spoke, and, opening a cabinet, brought forth the five frames of work, completed long before. Her step was firm, but her hand trembled as she produced the last one; and, when the feelings of the other sisters gushed forth at sight of it, her pent-up tears made way, and she sobbed “God bless her!” ‘The monk rose and advanced towards them. “It was almost the last thing she touched in health,” he said in a low voice. ‘“It was,” cried the elder lady, weeping bitterly. ‘The monk turned to the second sister. ‘“The gallant youth who looked into thine eyes, and hung upon thy very breath when first he saw thee intent upon this pastime, lies buried on a plain whereof the turf is red with blood. Rusty fragments of armour, once brightly burnished, lie rotting on the ground, and are as little distinguishable for his, as are the bones that crumble in the mould!” ‘The lady groaned, and wrung her hands. ‘“The policy of courts,” he continued, turning to the two other |
