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Ch. 8: Family of Agate

Ch. 7: Turquoises Paris London Page of 280 Ch. 8: Family of Agate Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
VIII
The Family of the Agate
T he black and white of onyx is the flag of sober mourning. Onyx is associated in my mind with two deaths that occurred when I was sixteen, both of which made a deep impression upon me, though for different reasons.
Father was not well. We children did not know what was the matter with him. Sometimes when he thought him­self unobserved his hand flew to his heart. He had diffi­culty in breathing and seemed to be in pain, and as I watched his sufferings I was distressed to think that my mother noticed nothing. But of course she noticed and was only trying to keep his illness from us. Those were his orders. We must always remember him in the prime of life and in perfect health. He was forty-two. My mother was thirty-two (she was a wife at sixteen).
He went to a Moravian spa under doctor's orders, and I with one of my brothers was sent to spend my summer holiday on our paternal uncle's farm in Hungary. In the excitement of going we made light of our father's poor health. But we had not been away more than two weeks
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Ch. 7: Turquoises Paris London Page of 280 Ch. 8: Family of Agate
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