The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-07-18

AN INEXPLICABLE FANCY
From the Overland Monthly.l

Frenchmen and Frenchwomen are
| tragic, or nothing, unless they happen
/ to be comical. Nature has endowed
| the Gallo mind with an adroit aptness
| that seizes with equal facility upon the
| terrible or the grotesque, revolution
or a masquerade. This, by way of pre-
| face, and the story of can inexplicable
4 fancy" begins
Henri Cardone was young French
artist of distinguished promise. His
| neat little domicl and his pretty little
| wife were situated in subordan Paris.
| One early twilight in the month of No
vember of certain year, as he entered
his home. his wife ran unto him, twined
her plump arms about his neck, be-
slowing full-blown affection upon his
responsive lips, and Immediately ex-
claimed. go dear Henri l have had
| such a surprise, such an odd visitor,
this afternoon a man with such an ex-
| plicable fancy that I have been waiting
these two hours for your arrival, and
Cbestowing a playful cut there upon)
your ears.
"And now the ears have arrived,
Irene, my pet, 1 suppose your merry
tongue will rattle away as gllbll y as
newly wound up music box; and once
started, shall not have an opportunity
to put word in even edgewise until
you have run down completely. But
for this odd man, with the 'lnexpllca-
BILE fancy He could not have taken
fancy to you for that would have been
neither odd nor explicable. Did he;
utterly regardless of the divine set of
his trousers, go down upon his knees,
and beseech of you to fly with him to
some intensely rural retreat, there to
| subsist upon moonshine and his adora-
bile moustache? and it was his inexpli-
cable fancy that you should be accom-
panied by such little art Gle of available
value as this poor hovel might afford
Or. was he a wandering Gypsy lord,
who predicted that you we're to be queen
of ali proud France, instead of one
humble French heart and did he, Just
! as he was about to surround your au
gust brow with the imperial crown sud
denly suspend it and take an inexplica
BILE fancy to have his dirty palm frs
crossed with a crown of silver Or
"There, there do cease your bad1n
age" said the pouting little woman
stamping her small foot impatiently
. s"You will never become wise listening t.
your own wisdom.
:, "Not weary listening to yours, m
+ charming sage" laughed the volubl
$ Henri, caressing her soft, brown han
fondlv. Proceed from this on al
all ears"
= "WelI. let all ears listen. At aboU
three o'clock this afternoon, as 1 wa
sitting intent upon taking the finest pos
sibIe stitches around the border of you
finest cambria, there came'a sharp ra
ON the door. 1 hastened, opened i
and found myself face to face with
man of middle age, who bowed politel!
and inquired if he was on the Rue q
n Chalons. On being informed that h
\ was he thanked me very atfably, an
was turning to depart when his gian(
CHANGED to fall on this little cornelia
cross, which, then as now, was lyln
on nv bosom. He stopped short, g
zed fxedly at it as though it possesse
some terrible fascination, turned fir
deadly pale, then hvid purple, and IN
hoarse whisper articulated, Madam
YOU VIII pardon me; it is no ordlnal
curiosity that prompts the question
but might 1 venture to ask how tn
, trinE ct, pointing trembling finger
the cross, came into your possession, III
der what circumstances p
"Well," queried Henri, in low, l
tereStea tone, : WlldG WAS MY AAO0
wife's reply"
"Your little wife told him, sir, tn
!, it was q present from her husband, al
that it had been in her possession abo
j, four wears. How or where you came
it, she could not inform him"
"Then he departed satisfied p
"No indeed"
"Then he inquired your name, a
o,I -
Ibid he? ?" I do not know wheth
[ ought to feel complimented or inst
ted. Did you tell him."
81 hesitated and told him"
"I wish you had not hesitated a
then not told him. Something of N
ment may grow out of his curiosit
But it will not matter. Then he
parted?"
''No; he stood absorbed in troubl
thought a few minutes as thou
weighing a deep problem, and th
said he had taken a very strong and
centric fancy for the trinket, and ask
if I would for a consideration const
to part with 1t.
"What was your reply to that We
eed business-like proposition p
"That, being your gift, shoI
much dislike to let it go"
"Of course that must have termil
g ted the conversation"
- "Of course, but it did not, thoue
It became more pointed that ever"
"Well, well ! / am eager to LEI
the announcement, said Henri.
n am not at fault in my surmises, sol
| thing will shortly grow out of this
l fair that will interest very wide clrt
Give me the exact particulars. w
followed?"
"He said he was wealthy and did
value money and that he had C
= ceived so strong a desire to possess
- cross, that, wild as the offer mi
seem, he would notdemur at giving
hundred francs for il"
Give hundred, parbleu The tri
ct is not worth five francs" said He
excitedly. "The man is either IL
tic. or-what I more strongly susl
him of being"
"And what is it impossible for
iT is''- to more suspect him of being?" as
. Irene.
S of CA knave In spite of the TEN
the ton of five hundred francs, see
-, zt;lI haar vOur cross I wOuld