Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-10-16

he began, in spite of himself, to occupy
his leisure hours at night by dreaming OF
her. This was too much of good thing,
and Van Twiller regarded it so. Besides,
the dream was always the same,--a har-
| rowing dream, dream singularly adapt
ed to shattering the nerves of man like
Van Twiller. He would imagine himself
seated at the theater with all the members
of Our Club in the parquette), watching
Mademoiselle Olympic as usual, when
suddenly that young lady would launch
herself desperately from the trapeze, and
come flying through the air like fire.
| brand hurled at his private box. Then
the unfortunate man would wake up with
| cold drops standing on his forehead.
| There is one redeeming feature in this
! nfatuation of Van Twiller's which the
sober moralist will love to look upon
| the serene Inconsistencies of the person
who caused it, She went through her
role with admirable aplomb, drew her
| salary, it may be assumed, punctually,
| and appears from first to last to have been
| ignorant that there was miserable slave
| wearing her chains nightly IN the left
| hand proscenum- box.
That Van Twiller, haunting the theatre
with the persistency of an ex-actor, con-
Quoted himself so discreetly as not to
draw the fire of Mademoiselle Olympe's
blue eyes, shows that Van Twiller, how.
! ever deeply under spell, was not in love-
say this, though think if Van Twiller
had not been Van Twller, if he had been
| man of no family and no position and
no money, if New York had been Paris,
and Thirtyfourth street a street in the
Latin Quarter,-but it is useless To- specu-
late on what might have happened. What
did happen is sufficient.
| 1t happened then, in the second week OF
Queen Olympe's second unconscious
reign, that an appalling Whisper 1oated up
the Hudson, effected a landing at Il point
between Spuyten Duyvel Creek and Cold
| Spring, and sought out stately mansion
| of Dutch architecture standing on the
bank Of the river The Whisper straight
way informed the lady dwelling in this
mansion that all was not we'll with the
last of the Van Twillers, that he was grad
ually estranging himself from his peers,
and wasting his nights in Il play house
watching a misguided young woman turn
| ing unmaidenly somersaults on piece OF
wood attached to two ropes,
Mrs Vanrensselaer Fanzandt Van Twill
| Ter came down 10 town by the next train
to look into this little matter.
! She found the flower Of the family
taking an carly breakfast ut II Il, m, in
his cOscy apartments ON Thirty fourth
street With the least possible cireumlo
cutiOp she confronted him with what ru-
NOR had reported of his pursuits, and was
| pleased, but not too much pleased, when
! he gave her M exact account Of his rela
| tons with Mademoiselle Iabriski, neither
! II, ia !. AZ
! confession, il was unique, and might
| have been a great deal less entertaining
| Two on three times, in the course OF the
narrative, The matrou had some difficulty
] in preserving the gravity of her countc-
| nance. After meditatlng few minutes, she
tapped Van Twil!er sOItly on the arm
| with the tip Of her parasOl, and invited
| him To return with her the next day up
| the Hudson and make n brief visit at the
| home OF his ancestors. He accepted the
| invitation with outward alacrity and in
| ward reluctance.
When this was settled, and the worthy
| lady had Withdrawn, Van Twillcr went
| directly to the establishment Of Mcssrs.
| Ball, Black IL Company, and selected,
with uncrrng taste, the finest diamond
bracelet procurable. For his mother
| Dear me, not She had the family jew
| els.
would not like TO state the enor-
| nous sum Van Twiller paid for this
bracelet. II WAS such clasp of dia-
monds AS would have hastencd the
pulsation Of patrician wrist. 1t was
such bracelet az Prince Camaralzaman
might have sent TO the Princess Badoura,
and the Princess Badoura--mig ht have
been very glad to get
| La the fragrant Levant morocco case,
where these happy jewels lived when they
| were at home, Van TSlller thoughtiuIly
placed his card, on the back of which he
had written line begging Mademoisclle
Olympic Zabriski TO accept the accompany
ing trifie from one who had witnessed her
graceful performances with interest and
pleasure This WAS not done iDconsider-
ately. "Of course must enclose my
card as would 10 any lady," Van Twill
Ter had said To himself; "a Van Twiller
can neither write an anonymous letter
nor make al ANONYMOUS present" Blood
entails its duties as well as its privileges.
The casket dispatched to its destina-
ton, Van Twiicr felt easier in his mind.
He was under obligations to the girl for
many an agreeable hour that might other
wise have passed heavily. He had paid
the debt, and he had paid II en- prince, as
became a Van Twiller. He spent the rest
of the day in looking at some pictures at
Goupil's, and at the club and in making
few purchases for hia "Trip up the Hud.
son. A consciousness that this trip up
the Hudson was a disorderly retreat came
over him unpleasantly At intervals.
When he returned 70 his rooms late at
night. he found note lying on the writ
ing-tabe "--- TIlcatre' stamped IN car
mine letters on one corner of the envelope.
Van Twilicr broke the seal with trcmb-
ling fingers.
Now, this note some time afterwards
fell into the hands Of Livingstone, who
showed il to Stuyvesant, who showed IT
to Delaney, who showed it to me, and /
copied il as literary curiosity. The note
ran ~ follows:
Mr.. VAN TwILLER, DEAR SR:--i am very
grealfu 10 you for that Bracelet 1t come just In
The mic Of time for me. The Mademoiseile Ia