Smyrna times., 1867-05-29

rencontret-read this: Mons VaIerian peintre,
Farts,, aUec sa femme Only think of his
being here! | have not seen him since he
threatened to blow out his brains"
Poor devil! You treated him very badly,
Cora. Who did he marry?"
"Oh, some little English model, to whom
he had been engaged for years-ever since she
was child. wish her joy of him. Have
you mind to see them? Shall we stop the
night here? You wanted sketch of the lake;
he shall make me half dozen"
: THAT sort of fellow'sa bore!' said the gen
tleman, lighting his cigar. Besides, you'll
have to make the fellow believe you re in love
with him again, in order to get your sketches;
and it ism t worth it. How can you ever have
found any thing worth it? Gratifed vanity,
eh? You twisted him round your little finger,
the young tool, all the time was in Russia.
Well, | hope you found it amusing. | always
think society OF that secOnd-rate sort a nuis-
ance."
''He was really very tolerable, the whole
thing rather amused me for time-until he
began to take it no grand Serieur. When he
grew dull and taciturn, talked of nothing but
death and despair, of course | was obliged to
to shut the door in his face. 1t would rather
interest me to see him again, though, added
the lady, carefully buttoning her glove. Let
us send for him.
And this was the woman for whom, one
short year ago, L would have laid down my
lite-tor whose sake | had cast aside the treas
ure which, undeserving as | was, had found
nesting in my heart once more! Blind fool
that | had been! Oh, for those wasted, worse
than wasted, hours! | telt, in that moment,
how one burning drop of shameful memory
may embitter whole cuptul Of present hap
pinesS. Else where there no justice under
heaven: while faithful men, whose love has
never swerved, are forever severed, this side
the grave, from all they have best loved on
earth. Was it my darlings avenging angel
who had brought this couple here tonight,
that my ears might testify to the baseness of
her who seduced me from my hearts first
allegiance?
This is what I heard the husband reply:
Ma chere, it would be dull work for me
watching you try to rehOOk your fish. No
doubt you would succeed-you always do. But
put it to you fairly-est-ce que celia Udut t@
peine? You who have had ell perOrs at your
| feet--you may leave your poor artist in peace
at last, eh, to the miserable enjoyment OF his
model wife. She Furnishes him enough for
his infdelity before marriage, depend on It,
"No doubt; and 1 should like to have seen
my friend hen-pecked, replied the lady, with
smile. 1T was just because he vas so diff
|
| amused myself with him, mon cher, during
your absence. knew you would never have
tolerated him in the house-as be never plays
ecGrte, but as you were i'll Russia, it was rather
an amusing cahnge, after all the 6LdSeS men OF
the Jockey Club, to listen to this passionate
sentimental painter, with his talk about Christ
ian art, and his enthusiasm about the color OF
ones hair aud the turn of ones neck, and
his utter absence Of all conventiOnallty. He
was quite refreshing, | assure you, until he
came to be bore. By-theby, you never saw
the picture he did of he in the dress | wore
at the Princess Mathilde's bal costume? If
we stald here the night"
Here the fresh horses were brought out; and
in the imprecations which accompanied the
tugging at the rope harness and the showing of
the beasts into their places at the pole, | lost
the remainder of this sentence.
IF | have any luck, before we return to
) Paris LII send to the fellow and buy his pic
ture," said the husband; but tonight re-
member that SchwartZeuheim is to meet al
; Como"
! And he plays ecarte! l will get the minia-
| ture from Valerlan, however, without youl
buying it, mon ana.
f "YOu shall not have long to wait, / mur
e murmured; aud disengaging myself from the
: arms OF my darhng who followed Inc, pale anC
= ba:hed In tears, entered our little room and
; ran to case which stood near the bed. Among
e a number of other miniatures was one half
v finished, which had not looked at for months
e | seized a sponge full of water and passed il
e several times across she hard, beautiful, white
: lace that looked out at me less and less dis
e tinctly, until nothing but the taintest shadow
e of a face was leIt. Then | wrote will
s my pencil across it-'V alerian' Last Gift.
| inf fh,. haloonv nhny Jvnra inst ~, ri, M,
t The padrone, surrounded by his satellites
d stood cringing aud congeing at the door; tn
}, postillion was already i'll his saddle, the coure
r climbing deity into his rumble. | took N
it aim just as the whip went ''crack!' aud tn
n wheels, with sudden jerk, began revolving
the bit of ivory dropped straight into her lar
d She was startled and looked quickly up. Ou
r eyes met. was leaning we'll over the balloon
e, this time, with my arm around my angel
le neck; and it was with no felgned fervOr of pa
L. sion that | pressed my lips to hers. The ca
J. riage was rolling out of sight in the moonligf
and the dust, but could just catch the scorl
ie tul smile on that pale sculptured face, und'
OF its black-lace bonnet, before a turn OF ii
road hid the woman from me-forever.
n, Yes, forever on this side the grave; for
learn that she is now dead. 1t was painfu
-, lingering end; some internal torture eatiI
Ill away her life, and with it her dearly-cherisht
as beauty. What comfort had she her dearl
=, cherished beauty. What comfort had she
OK those last hours, when her husband was pla
cal ing ecarte at his club, and her admirers hi
OF all deserted her, with no baby fingers clasp
1as about her neck, no children's voices to che
the love-forgotten silence? Was the solita
LED woman haunted by the memory Of lives s.
he had burnad up and laid desolate?
ges Why have written down the story of tho
eur few moments in balcony2 Because 10
'no back to them with thankfulness, as to the cri
>. when my eyes were fully opened. l KIN
~ myself know that until then, blinded
axe the woman's beauty, never really saw
II as she was. But for this there have be
times happily when might have regretted Il
he'd nv little angel lacked the Athenian grace q
ave brilliancy that in another exercised so fata
lold smell over me- AS it is, thank God for
are heIpmate He has given me; for her sw
trusting nature, for the heaven Of her ia
,ed: which always brings me peace when / Il
Ah, into il. And when see her baby curled
this s rose-leaf on her bosom, and heI two stu
-. ola.u Eathar's nallek and mimic "a