Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1867-02-23

that my cousin Andre had copied the
Quaint hunting he wore at the re-
gents ball. The library was a room in
which I spent good deal of rny life;
and / ordered a curtain to be hung be-
fore this picture.
We had been married three months
when Eveline one day asked:
'Who is the lord of the chateau near.
est to this?"
I looked at her with astonishment'
,"My dearest" answered, -'fdo you
not know that there is no other chat
can within. forty miles of Pay YER
dump, 1~0-T owE wnv2
"IndeedP' she said; ''that is strange. +"
/ asked her why the fact seemed
strange to her; and after much entreaty
/ obtained from Der the reason of her
surprise.
gGIn her walks about the park and
woods during the last month she had
met man who, by his dressand bear
ing, was obviously of noble rank. She
had imagined that he occupied some
chateau, near at hand, and that his
estate joined ours. / was at loss to
imagine who this stranger could be; for
"a y eslise of Puy Yerdun iay IN the
heart OF a desolate region, and unless
when some travellers coach went lum-
bering and jingling through the village
one had little more chance of encount-
eriDg gentleman than of meeting a
demigod. r
"Eave you seen this man often, Eve
hne?" i asked. .,.....,v, a--.i
She answered, in a tone which had a
touch of sadness, ST see him every
day." tf d5 $3.50 s4at +.
"Where, dearest?" 20
Sometimes in the park, sometimes
In the wood! You know the little cas-
cade, Hector, where there is some old
neglected rock-work that forms a kind
of cavern. 1 have taken fancy to that
spot, and have spent many mornings
there reading. OF late 1 have seen the
stranger there every morning.
c"He has never dared to address
you?p s ~ -es ~
Never. / have looked. mp from my
book, and have seen him standing at a
little distance, watching me silently. -
have continued reading, and when /
have raised my eyes again have found
him gone. He must approach and de-
part with a stealthy tread, for L never
hear his football. Sometimes / have
almost wished that he would speak to
me. 1t is SO terrible to see him stand
ing silently there. .q 4-f ..s ..s
"He is sos&e fnsolent peasant who
seeks to brighten you"
My wife shook her head.
"Heis no peasant" she answered.
sit is not by his dress alone Judge,
for that is strange to me. He has an
air of nobility which it is impossible to
mistake"
SIS he young or old?''f -afs. sE -
''He is yonng and handsome" s..
1 was much disturbed by the idea of
this strangers intrusion on my wife's
solitude; and 1 went straight to the
village to inquire if any stranger had
been seen there. could hear of no
one. questioned the servants close
/ ly, but without result. Then deter
mined to accompany my wife IN her
walks, and to Judge for myself of the
rank of the stranger. $3.50
For. a week / devoted all my mornings
to rustic rambles with Eveline in the
park and woods; and in all that week
we saw no one but an occasional pea
household returning from a neighbor-
ing farm. aa ..'a ~ a- e
was man of stadious habits, and
those summer .rambles disturbed the
even current of my life. My wife per-
ceived this, and entTeated me to trou-
BILE myself no further.
81 will spend my mornings in the
pleasaunce, Hector" she said; 'the
stranger cannot intrude upon me
there" ls @
81 begia 10 think the stranger is only
a phantssn of your own romantic
brain, I replied, smiling at the earnest
face lifted to mine. "a chatelaine who
is always reading romances may well
meet handsome cavaliers in the wood
lands. Idare say / have Mile Scuderi
to thank for this noble stranger, and
that he is only the great Cyrus in mod
ern costume. ~ .e
''Ah, that is the point which mysti-
fies me, Hector" she said. 1.-THE stran-
ger s costume is not modern. He looks
as an old picture might look if it could
descend from its frame"
Her words panied me. for they re-
minded me OF that hidden picture in
the library, and the quaint hunting
costume of orange and purple which
Andre de Brissac wore at the Regents
ball. .7
After this my wife confined her walks
to the pleasaunce; aud for many weeks
L heard no more of the nameiess stran
ger. / dismissed all thought of him
from my mind, for graver and heavier
care had come upon me. My wifes
health began TO droop. The change in
her was SO gradual as to be almost i'm
perceptible to those who watched her
day by day. 1t was only when she put
on rich gain dress which she had not
worn for months that saw how wasted
the form must be on which the en-
bro;dered bodice hung so loosely, and
how wan and dim were the eyes which
had once been brilliant as the jewels
she wore in her hair. ~
1 sent messenger to Paris to sum-
mon one of the court physicians; but
knew that many days must needs
elapse before he could arrive at Puy
Verdan. =
In the interval / watched my wife
with unutterable fear.
It was not her health only that had
declined. The change was more pain
full to behold than any physical aItera-
tion. The bright and sunny spirit had
vanished, and in the place of my joy
Gus young bride / beheld a woman
weighed down by rooted melancholy.
In vain I sought to fathom the cause
of my darling's sadness. She assured
me that she had no reason for sorrow
or discomfort, and that if she seemed
sad without motive, must forgive