This
extinction of my family--for I am now left without a relation in the
world, excepting a half-sister--and this destruction of our old home,
have made my native village horrible to me. When I visited the scene of
desolation, ten years ago, the village seemed to me like a huge
graveyard, in every part of which some happiness of my boyhood was
entombed; and I vowed that I would never go near it again. In the matter
of family recollections, I am exquisitely sensitive."
"I respect your feelings, sir," said the inventor, "and regret that I
should be the means of reviving these painful recollections. But I have,
a duty to perform."
"And I will no longer delay you in its performance. Now be kind enough
to let me know the worst at once. I can stand it." Marcus unconsciously
sat up more erect, as if to brace himself against a shock.
"On my arrival in the village, my first act was to seek out some of the
oldest inhabitants. I found that most of them distinctly remembered you,
and your brother--Aurelius, I think, was his name. You will pardon me
for telling you the exact result of my inquiries, but I found that these
old inhabitants, without a single exception, gave you a very bad name,
and your brother a very good one.
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