Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1867-03-28

time my fancy had never SO played
me false as to shape the shadow of
the dead.
Is it strange, then, if l had forgot
ten Andres horrible promise
There was no portrait of my cousin
at Puy Verdun. 1t was the age of
boudoir art, and a miniature set in
the lid of a gold boubonniere, or hid
den artfully in massive bracelet,
was more fashionable than clumsy
life-size image, fit only to hang on
the gloomy walls of a provincial cha
teau rarely visited by it's owner. My
cousins fair face had adorned more
than one bonbonniere, and had been
concealed in more than one bracelet !;
but it was not among the faces that
looked down from the paneled walls
Of Puy Verdun.
In the library | found a picture
which awoke painful associations.-
1t was the portrait of Dc Brissac,
who had fourished in the time of
Francis the First {; and it was from
this picture that my cousin Andre
had copied the quaint hunting-dress
he wore at the Regents ball. The
library was room in which | spent
a good deal OF my life; and | order
ed IA curtain to be hung before this
picture.
We had been married three months
when Eveline one day asked,
Who is the lord of the chateau
nearest to this 7"
| looked at her in astonishment.
"My dearest" l answered, do you
not know that there is no other cha
teau within forty miles of Puy Yer
dun 2"
Indeed p she said that is
strange"
l asked her why the fact seemed
strange to her and after much en-
treaty | obtained from her the reason
of her surprise.
In her walks about the park and
woods during the last month she had
met man who, by his dress and
bearing, was obviously of noble rank.
She had imagined that he had occu.
pied some chateau neaG at hand, and
that his estate adjoined ours. | was
at loss to imagine who this stran-
ger could be for my estate of Puy
Verdun lay in the heart Of a desolate
region, and unless when some travel
er's coach went numbering and jing-
ling through the village, one had lit.
tie more chance of encountering O
gentleman than of meeting a demi-
god.
Have you seen this man often,
Eveline ?" | asked
She answered, in tone which had
a touch of sadness, II see him every
day"
Where, dearest ?"
Sometimes in the park, sometimes
in the wood. You know the little
Cas- ;ade, Hector, where there is some
old neglected rock-work that forms a
kind of a cavern. | have taken a
fancy to that spot, and have spent
many mornings there reading Of
late | have seen the stranger there
every morning"
"He has never dared to address
your"
Never. | have looked up from
my book, and have seen him standing
at little distance, watching me, 81
lently. l have continued reading /;
and when l have raised my eyes
again | have found him gone. He
must approach and depart with a
stealthy tread, for | never hear his
football. Sometimes | have almost
wished that he would speak to me-
1t is so terrible to see him standing
there"
"He is some insolent peasant who
seeks to frighten you"
NV wife shook her head.
"He is no peasant" she answered.
" 1t is not by his dress alone / Judge,
for that is strange to me. He has all
air of nobility which it is impossible
to mistake"
"Is he young or old 7"
"He is young and handsome"
l was much disturbed by the idea
Of this strangers intrusion on my
wife's solitude, and | went straight
to the village to inquire if any stran-
ger had been seen there. | could
hear of no one. | questioned the |
servants closely, but without result.
Then determined to accompany my
wife in her walks, and to judge for
myself of the rank of the stranger.
For a week l devoted all my morn
ings to rustic rambles with Eveline
in the park and woods and in all
that week we saw no one but an oc-
casional peasant in sabots, or one of
our own household returning from a
neighboring farm.
| was a man of studious habits,
and those summer rambles disturbed
the even current of my life. Ny wife
perceived this, and entreated me to
trouble myself no further.
al will spend my mornings in the
pleasaunce, Hector" she said /; "the
stranger cannot intrude upon me
there"
81 begin to think the stranger is
only phantasm Of your own roman
tic BRAIN" l replied, smiling at the
earnest face lifted to mine. Z" A cha.
telaine who is always reading ro-
mances may well meet handsome Ca
valiers in the woodlands Idare say
l have Mdlle Scuderi to thank for
this noble stranger, and that he is
only the great Cyrus in modern cos
tune"
"Ah ! that is the point which mys-
titles me, Hector" she said, "The
strangers costume is not modern
He looks as an old picture might