The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1852-1855, 1854-10-26

moouyI ne HAS iOSt MS neart, ana know!
not what to do. He wanders hither anC
thither, shuns his former places of amuse
ment, avoids his military companions; anC
in short is as miserable as a lover can wei
be, thus disappointed One night, Just af
ter he had left his hotel, on foot, a figure
mutled to the very ears stopped him.
We'll, Monsieur, what would you will
me?' asked the soldier. .t-,et 80
'You would know the name of the whit
domino?' was the reply.
4 would indeedP' replied the officer
hastily, How can it be done?'
Follow me- =.
+ TO the end Of the earth if it will bring
me to her.
But you must be bHndfolded.'
very well
Step into this vehicle .3r ..s
i am at your command.
And away ratified the young soldier and
bis strange companion.
This may be trick reasoned Eugene
Merville, but have no fear of personal
violence. am armed with this trusty sa-
bre, and can take care of myself
But there was no cause for fear, since he
soon found the vehicle hadstopped, and he
was led blindfolded into a house. When
the bandage was removed from his eyes he
found himselfin a richly furnished boudoir,
and before him stood the domino just as
he had met her at the masked ball. To'fall
upon his knees and tell her how much he
had thought of her since their separation,
that his thoughts had never left her, that he
loved her devotedly, was as natural as to
breathe, and he did so most gallantly and
sincerely.
Shall l believe all you say?'
Lady, let me prove it by any test you
may put upon me-
know then that the feelings you avow
are mutual Nay, unloose your arm from
my waist. have something more to say
Talk on forever. lady! Your voice is
music to my heart and ears
Would you marry me, knowing no more
of me than you now do?'
Yes, if you were to go to the very altar
masked!' he replied.
Then l will test you.'
How, lady2'
For one year be faithful to the love you
have professed, and will be yours-as tru-
ly as Heaven shall spare my life.'
% cruel, cruel suspense'
you demur?'
Nay, lady, shall fulfil your injunctions
as promised,
'Ifat the expiration ola year you do not
hear from me, then the contract chall be
null aad void, Take this half ring she
continued, and when supply the broken
portion | will be yours.
He kissed the little emblem, swore again
and again to be faithful, and pressing her
hand to his lips, bade her adieu. He was
conducted away again as mysteriously as
he had been brought thither, nor could he
by any possible means discover where he
had een;his companion rejecting all bribes,
and even refusing to answer the simplest
questions.
Months roll on. Colonel Merville is true
to his vow, and happy in the anticipation
of love. Suddenly he was ordere1 on an
embassy to Vienna, that gayest of all Eu-
ropean capitals, about the time that Ma
poleon is planning to marry the Arch-duch-
ess Maria Louisa. The young colonel is
handsome, manly, and already distinguish
ed in arms, and becomes at once great
favorite at court, every effort being made
by the women to captivate him, but in vain;
he is constant and true to his VOW.
But his heart was not made of stone; the
very fact that he had entertained such ten
der feelings for the white domino, had
doubtless made him more susceptible than
before. Atlast he met the young Baroness
Caroline Waldrof, and in spite ofhis vows
she captivates him, and he secretly curses
the engagement he had so blindly made at
Paris. She seems to wonder at what she
believes to be his devotion, and yet the dis
lance that he maintains. The truth was,
that his sense of honor was so great, that,
though he really loved the young baroness,
and even that she returned his affection,
still he had given his word, and it was sa-
cred
The satin domino is no longer the ideal
of his heart, but assumes the most repuls-
i've form in his imagination, and becomes,
in place of his good angel-his evil genius
Well, time rolls on; he is to return in a
few days; it is once more the carnival sea-
son, and in Vienna, too, that gay city. He
joins in the festivities of the masked ball,
and what wonder fills his brain, when a
bout the middle of the evening the white
domino steals before him, in the same white
satin dress he had seen her wear a year
before at the French Opera House in Paris
Was it not fancy?' 80. Y.
1 come, Colonel Eugene Merville to
hold you to your promise, she said, laying
hand lightly upon his arm.
is this reality or dream?' asked the
amazed soldier. ~
Come, follow me, and you shall see
thatit is reality continued the sk,pleas-
antly. .e j..
Il wilI.'
Have you been faithful to your prom.
ise?' asked the domino, az they retired in
to neighboring saloon.
Most truly in act, butalas, I fear not in
hearth
Indeed
1T is too true, lady, that I have seen and
loved another, though my vow to you has
kept me from saying so to her.
And who is this that you thus love?
| 1T Iii L. ,,,,t1, and xJot1 ruil