The Portland daily press., 1862-12-12

lOllleu from the pockets OF the unWaFy. 1nere
the petted lady's maid dsposes of the rich
robe which her careless mistress has given her,
and the Partisan grisette, with the money her
nimble fingers have earned, purchases il to
adorn her neat and pretty form for the Bal
pare It mdsQue, TO which her lover takes her,
at Belleville or Montmartre. In yonder stall
hangs a tattered coat which once belonged to
amarquis, but has gone through so many hands
since then, and accumulated so much dirt and
grease in the process, that one wonders how
the dealer would have ventured to ad vance
the few sous which its last wretched owner
has raised upon IT,
In this place / exchanged, without much
difficulty. my female habiliments for suit of
respectable masculine attire. took it home,
and with feelings of shame of which could
not get rid, but yet unfiinchingly resolute, ar
rayed myself in it. As a woman / know l am
not handsome; my mouth is large and my skin
dark but this rather favored my disguise; for
had been very pretty, my beardless face and
weak voice might have awakened more suspi-
cion. cut my hair off short, parted it at one
side. brushed it with great care, aud crowned
it with iaunty cap. which, / must say, was
very becoming to me. In this dress / appeared
a toleraby wel-looking youth of nineteen or
thereabout, for the change of garments made
me look younger than / was.
As surveyed myself i'm the little cracked
looking-glass which served me as mirror, |
could not forbear laughing at the translorma-
ton. Certainly no one would have recognized
me, for l could scarcely recognize myself.
Folding the old cloak around me, / sailed
forth. With the long, thick braid of hair i
had cut from my head, l purchased break
fast the best had eaten in long time.
Then went direct to the residence of the
gentleman who said would suit him exactly,
If / were a young man. There had been some
thing in the tone of this gentleman's letter that
attracted me, l could not tell why. To my
great joy, he had not yet found the person he
wanted; and alter short conversation he en-
gagged me, at what seemed to me a princely
salary
He told me laughingy that a young woman
had applied for the situation short time pre-
vious: and seemed very much amused at the
circumstance.
Ny employer was a man already past his
prime. His hair was slightly sprinkled with
gray, and his form showed that tendency to
fullness so frequently found in persons of sed-
entary habits. But in his fine, thoughtful
eyes, and expansive brow, one saw evidence
of that noble intellect for which he was dis
tinguished, while his beaming smile and pleas
ant voice showed a genial and benevolent
heart. The kindness of his voice and manner
went straight to my lonely and desolate heart,
and affected me so much that | almost dis
graced my manhood by bursting into tears.
he occupied II l0OutSL Dul cOHlHOulDuS
house in the Quarter Latin. His domestic al
fairs were administered by a respectabe-ook-
ing elderly man, who performed the part of
cook, to his own honor and the entire satisfac-
ton of his master; while smart but mischiey-
Gus imp ola boy ran of errands, tended the
fires, swept the rooms, and kept old Dominique
in a continual fret, by his tricks and his short
comings.
Here, in the well-furnished library of my
new master, with every convenience for ammo
tation and calculation, the translation of the
Vedas was commenced. Like my father, my
employer was possessed of vast eruditon; but.
unlike him, he was also man of the world,
high in favor at court, wealthy. honored, and
enjoying the friendship of all the most noted
Swans and other celebrities of the metropolis.
During the progress of the work some of these
would occasionally enter the study where |
sat writing almost necessarily, and saw more
than one TO whom had applied in the days of
my misery, and been rejected. But happily
no one recognized me.
My kind master expressed great astonish-
ment at my proficiency in Sanscrit, and fire.
quently declared my services to be invaluable
TO him. / was sometimes able to render a
passage which he had given up as intraetable;
and he more than once asserted that my name
should appear on the title-page as well as his
own. My name? Alas had no name.
ceasing devotion TO my work; and would
sometimes playfully come behind, as / sat
writing, snatch the manuscript from my desk,
and substitute in its place some new and pop
ular book, or some time-honored French clas-
sic, to which he would command me to give
my whole attention for the next two hours, ON
lain of his displeasure.
His kindness to me knew no bounds. He
ordered Dominique and the boy Jean to treat
me with as much respect as himself. He took
me with him to the Oriental lectures of the
Biblotheque du Roi. He procured forme the
entree to the discussions ofseveralliterary and
scientific bodies, and afforded me every facility
for the Improvement ofmy mind and the de-
velopment of my powers. He introduced me
TO all that was noblest and best in the great ar
istocracy OF intellect, and constantly spoke of
me as young man of great promise, who
would one day be heard of in the world.
He used to rally me on my studious habits,
and often expressed surprise that young man
ofmy years should not seek the society of his
compeers, and especially of that other sex, to
which the heart of youth usually turns with
an irresistible, magnet-like attraction. Little
did he dream that the person he addressed be-
longed to that very sex of which he spoke
One day he startled me by saying: What
pretty hair you have, Eugene; it is as soft and
fine as that of young girl
The conscious blush rushed to my face. for
l thought he had surely discovered my secret:
but one glance at his calm countenance reas-
sured me. In his large, open, honest heart
there never entered suspicion of the base de-
ception' that had been practiced upon him.
He did not notice my emotion, and | ans
wered in as calm voice as could command:
MY mother had fine, soft hair; i have Inherit
ed it from her.
Thus passed year, the happiest had ever
known. My master became kinder and more
afectionate every day. He would often adj
dress me as mon .fls,' and seemed indeed to
regard me with feelings as warm as those of a
father to a son.
And what were my sentiments toward
this good and noble man who was so kind TO
me? / worshipped him; he was every thing to
me- Father and mother were gone, sisters
and brothers had none other friends | had
never known. Mymaster was all the world
10 me. To serve him was all / lived for To
love him, though with love that could never
be known, never be returned, was enough for
me.
have said that i was happy, but there was
one drawback TO my happiness. 1t lay in the
selfreproach felt for the deception practiced
on my beneiactor. Many times resolved to
resume my woman's garments, Ia suit OF which
| always kept by me. safe under lock and key,)
fall at his feet, and confess all. But the fear
that he would spurn me- the certainty that he
would drive me from his presence, restrained
me- L could not endure to live away from him.
Although he was, of course, unconscious of
the intensity OF the feeling with which re-
garded him, he knew-ior did not conceal