The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1868-07-19

of Stonehenge. =
With the fall Of the curtain the spell ii
broken, and the crowd jostle each other a
only an American crowd can one nigh
suppose the house on fire, Judging from The
eagerness each one shows to reach the opef
air. Not so Achille, who, insensible to the i'm.
patience of Egmont, kept his eyes still fixed
on the private box, the occupants of which
seemed SCI, in no hurry to move and not until
the house was nearly empty did the attend
ants of the lady envelop her III her outdoor
wrappings, nor could Achilles attention he
diverted from her movements until the car
riage bore her from all further observation.
"Well!" exclaimed Egmont, as with q
sigh Achille turned towards him, F" if all
Crisis audience heard and saw as little of
not feel particularly flattered; truly, never
saw man so completely bewitched in my
life, and by woman, too, in all probability
you will never see again, much less one
that by any possibility you can ever know"
Don't be too certain about that, my fast
baked in any determination of my life, and
I certainly do not intend to be in this. I'm
less the lady has her habitation in the moon,
1 shall see her again-aye, and know her,
too"
"She don't live quite so high up, but she
is almost as inaccessible in her present
abode" answered Egmont.
"Can it be possible" exclaimed Achille,
not giving his friend time to finish his SEN
tence, " that you know aught about herf
Tell me quick" seizing violently Egmont's
arm, "don't keep me another minute in
suspense"
"Gently, if you please, mon cher; my
arm happens to bc of flesh and blood. Here
we are at Delmonico's, and if you are not
hungry and thirsty, l am; and for your
consolation 1 promise that the moment I
appease these cravings, will tell you all 1
know, and what Mrs. Grundy says, of your
fair unknown"
Ordering a light but choice supper, sea-
soned with n bottle of champagne, Egmont
it, of Grisi and Mario, the opera in general.
the growing musical talent of the people,
evidenced by their appreciative conduct that
night, continuing his discourse on a broader
range of that and other subjects, when
Achillc, who had only been coquetting with
the contents of his plate, suddenly asked
him if lie had forgotten his promise, or sup
posed his own patience inexhaustible'?
"Why, neither one nor the other,n said
Egmont, :! only thought it pity to damp
your new found ardor too suddenly, because
n married woman"
800, Ciel ~ exclaimed Aclille, with q start
that nearly upset the table, "why7 in the
name of all the saints couldn't you have
said that before, and then there would have
been an end of the subject ?"
You Frenchmen are SO rapid with your
own language, that you cannot give a slower
and more wordy individual Il chance to say
what he wants, before you are off with your
own conclusions, and very often wrong ones,
too; SO, with your leave, III just begin that
sentence over, and if you can keep still long
enough, perhaps finish it more to your satis-
faction. Well, L was saying, because Il
married woman-that is, Il widow, same
thing to me-is not the one that l should |
think at all likely to suit your taste in the !
line matrimonial, therefore, there were
other more agreeable topics on my mind ut
the moment, thought it better not to blast
your chateau despagne too suddenly by my
premature information"
:! A widow, you say p spoke Achille, with
a frightened countenance. "Well, as that
piece of information has neither demolished
my chateau nor dulled my curiosity, will
you, now that you have discharged your
duty to that last oyster, proceed with the
story you promised
"I little thought, when proposed this
supper and tete-a -tete, that all the talking
was to fall to my share" !" said Egmont; "du |
cOntraire, was anticipating long and i'm
teresting chapter from you on the many in
cidcnts of your life since VIC last parted,
now two years ago. Yon, always 30 volu
BILE q moral or u bon mot<equally at your
listeners service; and1, only entrapped
into long sentences, us i'll the present case,
on compulsion! But as you have furnished
the theme, will try my best to do it JUS
tice. This lady, then, who has so maglcaliy
taken possession of your heart, is, as l said,
a widow-a fair young widow of only
twenty one years. Her father was law
yer of fine talents, living, at the time of his
marriage and Aliccs birth, (for that is her
name,) in one of our large Northern cities
From her mother, who was the daughter of
one ofthc most distinguished French families
among the many in Louisiana, Alice inher-
its much of that pure French type of beauty !
which has played such havoc with your
heart. She was but five years old when her
mother died, leaving Mr.. Raymond almost
a broken-hearted man. His health from
that time rapidly failed, and the old scenes
of his former happiness seemed rather to in
crease than allay his bitter memories. By
the advice, them of his physicians and
friends, he was induced to leave the beloved