I placed my arm tenderly round his neck, and kissed him. I could not make answer in any other way; the words choked in my throat.
Just at the last he whispered,--
"George, stand by Görgei. He is the true patriot."
As we bent over him, he smiled at us with infinite tenderness; then his eyes closed, and his breathing became hard; he tried to speak, but only one word escaped his lips, and that so faint we could not tell if it were my name or the general's.
Rakoczy touched my arm.
"God has taken your brother to Himself!" he exclaimed solemnly.
I heard him in a dazed way, and with true thoughtfulness he retired, leaving me alone to battle with my grief.
I will not dwell upon the despair that wellnigh overwhelmed me. There are secrets of the heart that one does not betray even to the dearest of friends; but all who have lost some loved one will readily enter into my sufferings.
When Rakoczy returned, I wiped away my tears and stood up, ready, though my heart was nearly breaking, to act in a manner worthy of him who had gone from me.
The general, who, since the opening of the campaign, had grown very fond of my brother, gave orders that he should have a grand military funeral, and assisted at the ceremony himself.