Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1874-01-09
The Leisure Hour.
THE CORNELI1N CROSS

Henry Cardouc was a Young French ar
tiSt Of distinguished promise. His neat lit
tie domicilc and his pretty little wife were
situated in suburban Paris. One early twi-
light in the month of November of a Ger.
tain year. as he entered his home. his wife
ran to him, twined her plump arms around
his neck, bc>,owing fnll-blown Kiss upon
his responsive lips, and Immediately cN-
claimed "Ob, dear Henri had such a
surprise, such an odd visitor, this afer-
noon--a man with such an ineXplicable
| fancy that have been waiting these two
! hours for your arrival, and lbcslowug n
playful cut thcreupon) your ears"
"And now the ears have arrived, Ircuc,
my pet, | suppose your merry tongue will
rattle away as ncrrily as a newly wound
| up music-box and once started shall not
| have an opportunity to put a word in edge
| wise until YOU have run down completely.
But this odd man, with the 'nexplirable
! fancy. Did he, utterly regardless of the
! divine set of his trousers, 90 down upon
! his knees and heseech of you 10 fy with
/ him TO some intensely rural retreat, there
! to subsist upol moonshine and his adora-
bic moustachc? and was it his ineNpica-
Bile fancy that you should be accompanied
by such llltle articles of available value as
this poor hove might afford? Or, was he
a wandering gypsy lord, who predicted that
you were to be queen of all proud France,
instead OF one humble French heat? And
did lac, just as he was about to surround
your august brow with the imperial crown,
suddenly suspend ii and take an inexplica-
| ii i
cd with crown OF silver? Or"
"There, there do cease your badlnage,"
said the pouting little woman, stamping
her small foot impatiently. "You will
never become wise listening to your :own
wisdom"
"Nor weary listeningt to yours, my charm
ing sage" laughed the voluble Henri, ca
rcssing her soft, brown hair iondly; "pro-
ceed-from this on lam all ears"
"Wcll let all cars listen. AT about three
o'clock this afternoon, as l was sitting in
tent upon taking the finest possible stitch
es in the border Of your finest cambric,
there came sharp rap at the door. has
tened, opened it, and found myself face to
fac1 with man Of middle age, who bowed
politely and inquired if he were on the Rne
de Chalons. On being informed that he
WIS, he thanked me very aflably, and was
turning to depart, whom his glance chanced
to ia on this little cornclln cross, which
then, as now, was lying on my bosom. lie
stopped short, ga2ed tixe1ly at it, As though
it possessed some terrible fascination, turn
ed AT first deadly pale, then livld purple,
and in a hoarse whisper artcu!ated, Mad
anne, you will pardon me, for IL is no or
dinary curiosity that prompts the question,
but might venture to ask how that trink-
et,' pointing tremblin. linger at the cross,
'came into your possession-under what
circumstances?
"Well," queried Henri, in a low, inter-
ested tone, "what was little wiie's reply p
"Your little wiro told him, sir, that ii was
a present from her husband, and that ii had
been in her possession about four years,
How or where you came By ii, she could
not inform him"
"Thon he departed satishel?"
"No, indeed"
Then he inquired your name, age and
profession"
ibid he? do not know whether ought
TO feel complmented or insul,ed. Did you
tell him ?"
IL hestalod and told him."
81 wish you had not hesitated, and then
not told him. Someting of moment may
grow out of this curiosity. But 1t will moi
matter. Then he departed?
"No; he stood absorbed in troubled
thought few minutes, as though weighing
a deep problem, and then he said he had
, taken very strong and eccentric fsncy fol
the trlnket, and asked If I would for a con-
sideraion part with IT,"