, 1861-05-23

suddenly appear in one of the boxes a woman with
q cOuntcnance of the sparkling whiteness of mar
bic. The new conner was beautiful strangely
strikingly sO-deady beautiful, as a writer Of the
romantic Plead remarked. Above her eyes, which
sparkled like two carbuncles, a double circle Of
brown marked brow and eyelashes dsdainfu
fold extended backward from the corners Of her
naughty mouth; her nostrils AFFILIATED as if from
an internal fever, and deep wrinkle appeared now
and then upon her marble-like forehead.
"There is a marveOusly beautiful woman"
murmured one of my neighbors " but it seems to
me that would not wish to be husband or lover
to her."
made no reply to the observation of my neigh
Dor, but secretly adopted bis opinion.
From the time of her entrance, my attention
was concentrated upon the unknown lady, whose
thoughts seemed to me evidently to be travelling
far away from the Theatre ltalien.
A little before the close Of the performance, a
| lackcy, with the form Of Hercules, threw upon
the shoulders Of his mistress fur-trimmed mantle
She rose, as an automatOn moved by a spring
might have done, gathered up her kerchef and
bOquet, and sailed out Of the box with all the
majesty her floating robes would permit. went
out also and followed her carriage at respectful
distance.
There was an outcry at the corner Of the street
The tongue Of the carriage had struck an old man
|
the coachman was not master Of his horses, or
whether through calculation he increased their
disOrderly speed, the coach of the unknown lady
| disappeared at the corner Of the Rue de Ia PriX.
Some one lifted the old man, who was but slightly
wounded, from the pavement, and found by his
side purse filled with gold, which passar-by
declared had been thrown there by the beautiful
lady who had been the involuntary cause Of the
accident.
nn A. .,,o ,,,ooooJ;,c, lo,,, tLo ;r,or,o Of tho
unknown constantly haunted my thoughts and on
the third evening hastened TO the Theatre ltalen
long before the hour at which the curtain rose,
| that might he able to secure the same seat near
the orchestra which l had previously occupied.
There waited with impatience for the vision again
| to appear to my eyes. A secret voice whispered
| to me that had met with a living enigma, and
resolved to unrave the mysteries that envCl0ped il.
To my intense disappointment, and despite my
frequent evocations, the box remained empty dur
| ing the evening.
len the tbnatre. and while lighting consola-
| tory cigar at the hospitahe lamp of the tobacco
merchant of the passage ChoiseUal, l felt a hand
Placed on my shoulder, and bantering voice pro-
nounced in my ear:
"What has Get your neck awryy
| turned. and saw before me an acquaintance
who is not only chrOnicler, but who is chronicle
ncarnated-a demi-sOrcerer, who is everywhere,
who sees everything, who knows everything and
divines what he does not know Having waited
rather long for a reply, he repeated his question.
"What do you mean by my neck being awry%
"Parbleu! Did not see you this evening at
the Italien with your neck stretched to the left,
watching for some one who did not deigh to show
\ herselfg'
"YOu know herr I exclaimed.
"YOu know very well that l know God and
Devil"
"Tuc; but do you know her well enough to
present me to her"
| "Yes"
"And will you present me?"
Heaven preserve youP
Because do not wish misfortune to fall
upon you"
"If make her acquaintance, is there then,
anything TO make me repent Of i'll"
"Assuredly."
al do not understand you."
"A little patience, and yOu will comprehend"
Having lighted his cigar by mine, he passed his
arm within my own, and, while we walked slowly
along the Boulevard, he recOunted to Inc the fol-
lowing history:
"The lady whom you lorgnetted beyond mea-
sure last Tuesday evening, at the Theatre ltalien
| and for whom you watched in vain this evening
| arrived eight days ago at Paris, where she has
never before appeared. Those who know her SUI
perhcially name her the Countess b. Myself
and few others, who know her better, call her
the Fatal Lady,
"She was born and lived. until she was twenty
eight years of age, at Stockholm. Her mother
died at her birth. This blow was the death Of
her father, who, leaving her an orphan at the age
Of four months, con6ded her to the care OF an
aged relative. She had three nurses, who all sue
cumbed to excessively violent affections Of the
chest At the age Of six years she was placed at
the best boarding-schoOl in Stockholm. She re-
mained there until she was fifteen. During those
nine years the institution was five times on fire,
and each time the destructive element had its vic
Tins
"She was scarcely sixteen when she was sought
in marriage by q young man Of great family and
corresponding fortune. Already the day Of be-
trothal was fixed already her afIianced had re-
ceived from Paris the eorbeile, containing, it was
said, among other marvels diamonds Of consider
able value, when one morning his Udld de ehdnabre
found him assasSinated in his bed The robbers
had stabbed him and escaped with the objects of
value contained in the apartment Of the unlortu-
nate man.
"The Young Lady piousIy wore mourning for
her aTllantcd, end during two years she remained
deaf to the words Of love that breathed along her
pathway However, her aged relative was very
DID, and it necessary that she should establish
for herself home. 4 country neighhor presented
himself, and was received at first coldly aiterward
with pleasure. She had commenced by tolcrating
his visits she ended by frtling in thcti great
charm, and praying him to prOlOng them as much
as possible by coming sooner and staying later,
until the day previous to the one when he should
remain to go away no more.
"0n that day, in order to gain quarter n an
hour, the young man mounted feet and fiery
horse. II was a stormy evening; the rain cell in
torrents. A formidable thunderclap, prcceled by
, q vivid fash Of lightning, terrified the horse "a
Madness and abandoning the road, he rushed acrOS
the iieIds directly toward torrent, in which mar
! and beast disappeared. Twodays AhrEHFd then