"I am a widowah, suh, and a childless old man," continued the colonel;
"my only boy fell in the wah ah, and it broke his mother's heaht. Pahdon
me," he said, as his voice shook a little, and the least glimmer of a
tear stood in his eye, "I rahely talk of these mattahs of a puhely
pehsonal kind, but, as you are kind enough to be intehested in my
affaiahs, I say this much by way of explanation."
"I am sure, Colonel Morton, we deeply sympathize with you in so great a
double bereavement," interposed the dominie.
"Indeed we do, sir, most sincerely," added the lawyer.
"I thank you, gentlemen," answered the courteous Southerner. "I was
going to remahk that the only pehson in whom I feel a family intehest is
my lamented wife's sistah, a Madame Du Plessis, who has resided foh many
yeahs in yoah city of To-hon-to. May I enquiah, gentlemen, if you have,
either of you, heahd the name befoah?"
Coristine replied that, incidentally, he had heard the names of both
Madame Du Plessis and her daughter.
"I am awaah, suh, that my wife's sister has a daughtah. Can you tell me
of my sister-in-law's suhcumstances, and what her daughtah, my niece, is
like in appeahance?"
"Only from hearsay, Colonel.
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