New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-09-27
Za!li only went on weeping.

| ton winch characterlZe6 ignorance. s00 SOLO
the property and placed the proceeds in a
bank, which made haste to fail She put on
widows weeds, and wore them still when
'Tite Poulette had seventeen" as the
frantic lads would say.
How they did chatter over her. Quiet
kristian Koppig had never seen the like.
He wrote to her mother and told her So
A pretty fellow at the corner would sudden.
ly double himself up with beckoniDg to
knot of chums; these would hasten up;
recruits would come in from two or three
other directions; as they reached the corner
their countenances would quickly assume a
! genteei severity, and presently. with her
| mother, 'Tite POulette would pass-tall,
straight, 1.-THE, her great black eyes made
tender by their sweeping lashes, the taintest
tin: o; color in her Southern cheek, her form
all grace. her carriage wonder OF simple
! dignity.
! The instant she was gone every tongue
was let slip on the marvel OF her beauty;
| but. though theirs were only the loose New
Orleans morals of over fifty years ago. their
unleashed tongues never had attempted
any greater liberty than to take up the pet
name. lite POulerte. And yet, the mother
/ was soon to be, as we shall soon discover, a
paid dancer at the elegant Sale de Condo.
To Zalll, OF course, as to all ''quadrOOn
ladies'" the festivities of the Condo street
ballroom were familiar OF old. There. IN
the happy days when dear Monsieur John
| was your. g. and the eighteenth century old.
she had often repaired under guard Of her
Mo.her-dead now. alas.-and Monsieur
| John would slip away from the dull play
! and dry society of Theatre d'Orleans, and
| come around with his crowd of elegant
friends: and through the long sweet hours
Of the ball she had danced. and laughed,
| and coquetted under her satin mask. even
to the battling and tOrmenting of that prince
OF gentlemen, dear Mons ieur John himself.
No man Of questionable blood dare set his
foo: within the door. Many noble gentlemen
were pleased 70 dance with her. Colonel
| De - and General La -: city council.
men and officers from the Government
| House. There were no paid dancers then.
I Everything was decorousiy conducted in.
! deed: Every girls mother was there, and
| the more discreet always ief: before there
| was too much drinking. Yes. It was gay,
gay but sometimes dangerous. Ha more
| times than few had Monsieur John knock.
| ed down some long. haired and long knitted
] r0wdv, and kicked the breath on: Of him for
| looking saucily at her: but that was like
| him, he was SO brave and kind;-and he is
| gone:
There was no room for widows weeds
there. So when she put these on, her gilt.
tering eyes never again looked through her
pink and white mask. and she was glad Of
it: for never. never in her life had they go
looked for anybody but her dear Monsieur
priest said--and she was sick nurse.
Living was hard work; and as Madame
John had been brought up tenderiy. and had
done what she could to rear her daughter
in the same mistaken way, with, of course.
no more education than the ladies in society
got. they knew nothing beyond little
music and embroidery. They struggled as
they could, family; now giving a few pri.
vate dancing lessons, now dressing hair, but
ever bea: back by the steady detestation Of
their i;nperious patronesses: and. By and
by. tor want Of that priceless worldly grace
known among the fiippant as "money.
sense" these two poor children. born of
misfortune and the compiacen: badness OF
the times. began to be in want.
kr!stian Koppig noticed from. his dorme-
window one day man standing at the big
archway opposite, and clanking the brass
knOcker on the wicket that was in one Of
the doors. He was smooth man. with his
hair parted in the middle, and his cigarette
poised on tiny gold holder. He waited a
moment, politely cursed the dust. knocked
again. threw his slender swordcane under
his arm, and wiped the inside Of his hat
with his handkerchief
Madame John held a pariey with him az
the wicket. lite Poulette was nowhere
seen. He stood at the gate while Madame
John went up stairs. kristian Koppig
knew him. He knew him as one knows a
snake. He was the manager of the Sale .,e
Conde. Presently Madame John returned
with little bundle. and they hurried of
together.
And now what did thi. mean! Why, by
any one of ordinary acuteness the matter
was easily understood, but. to tel. the
truth, Kristian Koppg was a trihe dull,
anu got the idea at once that some damage
was being planned against lite POulette
1t made the gentle Dutchman miserable not
to be minding his own business, and yet
But the woman certainly will not at.
tempt'-said he to himself-''nO. no! she
can not" Not being able to guess what he
meant, can not say whether she could
or not. | know that next day Krisrian
koppig, glancing eagerly over the '.Ami
des Lois" read an advertisement which he
had always before skipped with a frown.
1t was headed ''Solle de Conde." and,
being interpreted, sgnified that new
dance was to be introduced. the Danse
de Chinois, and that q yoang lOdy would !
follow it with the famous 'sDa,tse du !Shosrl." |
1t was the Sabbath. The young man
watched the opposite window steadily and
painfully from early in the afternoon until |
the moon shone bright; and from the time !
the moon shone bright until Madame John |
joy Madame John and not 'Tite Poulette, |
stepped through the wicket, much dressed !
and we'll mutfied, and hurried off toward |
the rue Condo. Madame John was the !
young LADY," and the young mans mind,
glad to return to its own unimpassioned |
affairs. relapsed into Guietude.
Madame John danced beautifully. lthad
% be done. 1t brought some pay, and pay
With a touch here and there of paint and
powder, the mother danced the dance of !
he shawl, the daughter remaining at home
Ilone.
hristian Koppig, simple, slow thinking
-oung Dutchman. never noticing that he
taid at home with his window darkened |
or the very purpose, would see her come to |
Ter window and look out with little wild. I
Harmed look in her magnificent eyes, and
% and come again, and again, until the
mother, like q storm-driven bird, came
'anting home.
Two or three months went BY.
One night, on the mothers return, Kris
ian Koppig coming to his room nearly at
he same moment there was much earnest
which he could see. but not
ear.
"'Tite Poulette," said Madame John.
you are seventeen"
True, maman.'
''Ah my child, see not how you are 70
acct the future The voice trembled
laintively.
But how, maman?"
"Ah! you are not like others; no fortune,
o pleasure, no friend"
"Maman!'
mo. no; thank God for it; I am glad
on are not; but you will be lonely, lonely,
II your poor lite long. There is no place
, the world for US poor women. / wish |
hat we were either white or blackv'-and |
ne tears, two .'shining ones," stood in the
DOR 4uadroon's eyes.
The daughter stood up, her eyes flashing.