The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1871-01-06
"YOu look well, Eugene, 4,sl pret-

"You look well, Eugenie, E,1l pret
+ tier than ever"
"Unfortunate de Breteuil I" was tn.
, reply OF his wife. "Since you recall
} me, need not ask what has been hi,
, fate. He is dead -
The Marquis drew from his pocket 6
! tablet.
: Here" said he, recorded for YOU
special benefit, is memorandum of his
sayings and doings since your demise
On the day of your funeral, dined with
several niosquetaires, comrades of his,
, at the Trois Pommes.' They all drank
to the repose of your soul, and Breteuil
was in ecstacies at the magnifcence OF
: the coffin and hearse. He thought / had
displayed both taste and iberality in
: the arrangement of the obsequies. Two
: days after 1 wrote him an appeal, in
which / proved that it had become his
duty to commit suicide. / told him
that you had not precisely commanded
him to die, but 1 knew you would be
! disappointed if he did not. To this
letter L received no reply, for de Bre-
teuil had already gone to Paris to make
the acquaintance of dashing opera
girl, for whom he committed so many
follies, that between the cashmeres and
diamonds whichhe lavished on Madem-
oiselle and his losses at cards, he was
minus three thousand louis in less than
a fortnight.
"Now, de Bretuil, as you know, is
not rich; and as this damage to his
purse had to be repaired, he cast about
him to find young lady who would
exchange some of her superhuous cash
for his name and good-looking person.
/ You see that after all he is a sensible
fellow, amenable to reason He found
that sentiment was Improbable, SO he
abjured it, and has replaced it by a
marriage de CONVEYANCE with one of
your own kinswomen. 1 have recalled
you from youI tomb, my dear Eugene,
to sign his marriage contract. More
over, was dying to see you again, for
1 bore your loss with far less philoso-
ply than de Breteuil has DONE"
The Marchioness threw herself into
her husbands arms and thanked him
from her heart for his tender treatment
of her first folly. "And 1 may secure
ly promise that it shall be my last, for
your noble conduct has won from me a
warmer feeling than l had supposed
could possibly exist in my heart for a
man so much older than myself. NV
dear, excellent husband, fear nothing
ever more for me. 1 am too truly
yours to be caught in such a snare
again"
"My dearest" replied de Charnay,
"when q woman is as truly loved as
you are, and is gifted by nature with a
soul like yours, she, need never fear for
her honor, provided she gives her con-
fidence to her husband. Had you acted
otherwise than you have done, your
reputation would have been injured,
your life blasted, and de Breteuil would
have been talking lightly of his fancy
for that poor Eugene de Charnay. As
it is, nobody has suffered have you
back again, and my happiness is to-day
without flaw
GAN very well, SIR" said TIE Mar
chioness, gayly; "but you forget that
am dead and buried. How in the
name of all that is spectral, am to be
born again to the world of Versailles
and the Court of Francel"
"Ah, well, / have a friend at court,
who, after blaming me for marrying
youthful beauty, was mag,animous
enough to forego the pleasure of saying
4 told you sol and to uphold me in
the hour OF need. The King, with
whom years ago 1 have gotten into
many a scrape, knows all about your
pretended death and burial"
"The King knows all about it!''
echoed Eugene.
"0f course he does, my dearest.
How otherwise could / have carried out
the stratagem9 Do you suppose that
any man in France is bold enough to
make way with one of his Maiesty's
subjects as 1 did, without being open
to suspicion2 1 was obliged to have
royalty for my confidant, that 1 might
kill and bury my wife with impunity.
You know that In my youth was one
of those Uduriens called pages to the
King. Many are the tricks / have
played with Louis for an accomplice
this one, / presume, will be the last
but 1 think may fatter myself that it
is the best"
Eugene laughed heartily, and at the
petit souper that was shortly afterward
served up to herself and her husband
she was as merry as a lark. She was
resolved, however, to be revenged on
De BreteuiL
The next day was to witness the
signing of the marriage contract. De
Breteuil was In the act of rising with
his fGncee to approach the table, when
the folding doors of the state drawing
room were flung wide open, and lack
ey announced:
"The Marquis and Marchioness De
Charnayln
At the sound of her name De Bre-
till gave start, dropped the hand Of
his betrothed, and gazed in speechless
terror at the vision of his lost love.
But no spectral figure robed in white
met his eye. The lady that leaned on
De Charnay's arm was corporal, tan
gible and elegantly dressed in the pre-
vailing fashion of the living. More
beautiful than ever for country air
always improves city belle), Eugene
came forward, smiling, and to all the
"ohs I" and "ahs ~ of her friends, and
to the ordinations of the company in \
general as to her sudden death and
burial, she raised her pretty shoulders
and pointed to her husband.
"It was agreed upon between the
Marcnioness and myself"
But why, why the compact" was
the cry.
"Ah, ladies and gentlemen, that is
a family secret, and cannot be di-
vulged."
There was a great rejoicing over
Eugenie's resurrection, and people
were, of course, curious to hear the
news from Hades. In the midst of the
hilarity to which her adventure had
given rise, she found an opportunity to
speak to de Breteuil
She handed him his three notes, and
said:
"Would you, too, like to hear from
beyond the tombl Those contain all
the news L gathered there, and when
you have seen their contents you will
acknowledge they were not worth the
trouble they have given me-"
OF course, the Ma,chioness de Char
nay had to be presented again at court.
Nobody being in the secret of her dis
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