Litchfield enquirer., 1874-11-12

We now numbered about eighty guests, and began to know one another pretty well; but somehow the count knew HIS all better than we knew one another. before he had been a week among us. He was a big, burly, fair man, so thoroughly Brit ish in appearance, and Tn his general char acteristics, as to render 1t difficult. but for his proficiency in other languages, to ! believe tLat he was not Briton born. He had knocked about the world good deal. he said. Of tue forty years he had pass ed in it, twenty had been spent in travel ling, half of which time had been passed in England, and good deal of the rest i'll America. Russia, too, he as acquainted with; and on the strength of that he intro duced himself to tine princess. and was evidently as much disposed to admire her as the baron himself.
 Indeed, before very long. the attentions paid by Count Sigismund von Borokopek to that lady began seriously to disturb the serenity of the Baron Monteggiana-Taver nelle; and in proportion as their rivalry progressed, so dId the interest and amuse- ment of the company progress with it.
 My dear Charles, said my wife, ''isn't she abominable noe? She's a regular fiirt; and at her age, too!-forty. if she's a day. And after entangling the baron, to go and egg on the count, and all in public too! It's bad enough to make love in public at all, but to do 1t to two men, one after the other-I say she's siE2is abo- minable!''
 '"WeIl, but, my dear," I expostulated, 'sthey are both making love to her at the same time. You see. the counts castles are much nearer to Russia than Sicily is, so perhaps she prefers to become Mrs. Count, etc., to the other thing" l Those of us who were not Tn love with the princess began to wish the absurd af. fair at an end. The lady was most unfair ly fair to each; for she gave each of them enough encouragement to make them say- agely jealous of one another, without go- ing far enough with either to give the oth- CT any grounds of complaint. But for her beautiful eyes. would compare her to tableau rirant of Justice holding the scales. I can, however, safely liken her l to Helen; for she was setting by the ears not only the two most interested individ- uals, but also the whole world about her; and it wanted but spark to commences confiagration, certainly an explosion. be- tween those two. -
 We had an American at the Hotel du Bon Vivant, qu1et, thoughtful man, too much of sn invalid to talk much, and very reserved Ill his manners. We little thought that the dreaded spark would be dropped by him; but so it was.
 The baron was describing to knot of us, including the count, as we were loung- ing in the entrance-han after luncheon, his Syracusan villa, with it's exquisite gardens. The American was listening with his usual air of abstraction, and quietly lnterposed a question. ''Did | understand you to say that the Villa d. Aosta in the Strada di Palermo belongs to you?''
 ''Si, signor; the Villa d'Aosta you speak of Is the one. It is mlne It has been in my family for several generations .
 "1ou got a tenant there now who's a friend of mine"-
 'No, signor, no; I do not let my villa, nor other Of my residences.
 "W1l. that's queer, l consider" said the American. II came direct from Sici. ly last month, and friend of mine was tenant of that villa for the winter, and Il stayed day or two with hffn in that very house. Guess there's some bunkum some wheres!" e .
 Part of these remarks were made in Ita- lian; some ejaculated in English.
 "Bagatellel" replied the baron, ''you dIC IuIotdhcu, hlkuOI. EluSl uaSc DG0u some other Villa d'Aosta.'
 sand for my part, l think you are no more baron than I'm Julius Cesar"
 He certainly looked offended, though happily the last sentence was in Eenglish: in fact, had been so unaccustomed to be contradicted, that it positively confused him. And could not help noticing that the count looked excessively tickled, as we'll as triumphant.
 That evening, when the baron advanced to attend the princess to the salon, she declined his offer to place the shawl on her shoulders, as he had always done; and in the most perfect manner, without snub- ping or putting him down, allowed hlm to discover for himself that she was utterly indifferent to him. It was just as if the moon were to take the place of the sun, Tn a quiet and undemonstrative way, with no explanation given.
 But, of course. all explanation was to be demanded; and as soon as the dinner was over, the baron sought, and obtained, tete-a-tete in the corner of the Sale des Danes. We all had the decency to read Galignaai, or play bezique, or otherwise to throw a veil over our curiosity, as we anxiously watched the development of the plot. and tried to hedge our bets before 1t was too late.
 Suddenly the baron started to his feet, and uttered loud execratlve exclamation, which decline to translate His soul now most clearly betrayed its passionate ness, but there was rather more light than sweetness in his eyes as he glared round the room in search of the. hapless Ameri- can.
 We all sprang to our feet too; the ladies near the door rapidly retreated, and the men looked at one another, half amused, half-angrily.
 elf I knew who had poisoned the mind of madame, I would 'dilaniate' him-tear him in pieces, shrieked the baron t'That viper of an Americanr'
 "It was not the American" answered the count, coming quietly out of recess; ''I told madame what he had discovered"
 The baron so far forgot the perfectness of his manners, and evident desire to please, as with his open palm to slap the he found himself in that physical check mate known as Chancery-he had got his head under his rivals left arm, who was holding it down to convenient level for the right hand to bob lis nose-and there. before the princess, in the Salle. des Danes, was being displayed a scene from the British ringi chairs and tables going everywhere, as the quardrupedal monster performed it's cratic revolutions, amid the screams of women, the shouts of men, the groans of maitre and the indescrib- l able cries of astonishment uttered by the whole staff of the hotel, which had been gathered together at the door by the first exclamatlonS of the baron. .-f - .
 The Anglo-Saxnn nationality having. 1 in spite of the principle of non-interyen. tion separated the Latin and the Teuton, the defeated combatant was assisted to his room and looked to by an English doctor who happened to be at the hotel, and who reported that, with the exception of a couple of broken teeth. nothing of consequence was to be apprehended be- yond further requisition of his services at rencontre of a different character, which. however, would not be possible for some little tine, oScinv; to a tfsfSnr,ltv