The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-05-06

In the face of fate,
For green grass under the snow.
-SDrinqffeld Republican.
THE RING WITH TWO LIONS.
/ bought il in Venice, on the Rialto. 1t
was a very curious old piece of jewelry, with
two lions heads in bold relief. They were
in profile like those of royal pcrsonages, and
were evidently intended as a Roman satire
On some Emperor and Empress-a satire! a
great improvement upon some of them, no
doubt.
The old king lion, bold and imperial, had
diamond eyes, those of the lioness were ru-
bies. So cunningly had the artisan buried
the diamonds that the old lion seemed to
wink and flash on the gaZer; sometimes in
contempt, sometimes in sympathy. | gave
it next day to Mary Jessaminc my friend Of
platonic intentions. | do not say what my
intentions were-hers, she had said, would
ever remain platonic. That last evening on
the canal by moonlight had seemed to me to
modify her views. But did not know. She
did not look displeased as | put the ring on
her finger if perhaps held her white hand a
triile longer than was legally necessary TO
see the effect. Her hand did not go back to
her till | had kissed it. II the old lion
winked at me as l did SO l winkcd back. l
was in a courageous mood, and not at that
moment afraid of lions; but | was afraid
of Mrs. Jessamine, Mary's grim and
terrible aunt, an old woman eaten up
with ayarice, wise in her own conceit
and in nothing else. Mary was an enchant-
ing and most accomplished girl, winning
everyone by her beauty and wit, bringing
her aunt all the nice people and good soci-
ETY., speaking several languages, playing the
part of courier and purchascmaker, while
her aunt stood behind bullying and abusing
her. 1t was sight to make ones blood run
4 ~.
a miser.
Mary had had repeated opportunities to
change her service for a better, but she
seemed to hug her chain. There was pa
tence under her unnecessary yoke which
was sublime.
me-" said the Rev. Mr.. Ainslie, as we came
home from an expedition with the ladies.
" l shall push Mrs. Jessamne into one of
the dark corners under the Bridge of Signs.
Did you see her refuse to pay for the little
lace handkerchief Mary had bought:"
"Alas, yes!n
"And Mary bears it SO patiently. | sup
pose she has no alternativc?"
She has me" | answered plaintively.
"Oh, yes, she has you, Charleton, and
could have me were | not as good mar
ried to dear girl in the British provinces y
. She has Baron Hammerstein too. He is
ready to put five centuries of German nobil-
ity at her feet -
"By the way, here comes MI. Handyside
Marbury. Do you know him, Ainslie?"
THAT seedy old fellow with such a gor-
geous name? No, do not. One of our
countrymen ="
"Ycs, one of our few impecunious ones.
Americans are so yulgarly rich generally. i
met Mr.. Handyside Marbury at Alexandria
and had the pleasure of lending him 4 few
pounds pending the arrival of his letters.
imagine they never have arrived, as he has
not mentioned it,"
"And does he not show some awkward
ness and desire to avoid you?n
"Oh, no. In the words of the popular
song, i Thought He Would Shun Me- but
he does not. | suspect he belongs to the
noble army of borrowers who are described
by Charles Lamb. A more amusing old
fellow | never meta scholar, poet and Il
raarien. Come and be introduced
1t was a great pleasure to hear Mr.. Marbu-
ry and Ainslie talk. History, and poetry
and romance were all at their finger ends,
and as they rambled on Ttould not bat OBJ
serve a sort of resemblance between the
shabby old ruin and the dappcr young clcr-
gyman, who was as correct as his own
church clock, so far as | knew. Yet | did
not know Ainslic well, nor did | quite be
lieve in him. He and | had met, travelling,
and as he was most brilliant and agreeable,
we soon became friends. Sometimes il oc-
Cured to me that his opinions were some
what fluctuating and shallow, and his prn-
ciples not those of John Knox, but these
were scarcely impressions; they were fleet
ing clouds. | knew all about his Family, So
cial position, and SO on-thcsc are things
easily found out-and he had told me that
he was engaged to be married Rather a
singular engagement, he said. But the man
as vet remained a mystery. 1t was one of
those characters not read in minute, per
haps not in years.
beautiful and sympathetic woman like
Mary Jessamine is not SO easily found a
travelling companion, nor is she to be readily
dropped, even if she has a dreadful aunt:
SO Ainslie and for two months had doggcd
the footsteps of the two ladies. A certain
intimacy had grown up between Mary and
Ainslie at Rome, where she had shown, As
most imaginative and not altogether happy
| women do show, a great leaning toward
what Ainslie called Romanism. And his
clerical as well as his natural turn of argu-
ment had led him to take an immediate in
terest in her continuing in the faith of her
| fathers. 1t sometimes seemed to me that
gagged young lady whom he told me lived in
the British provinces. But, after all, proyin.
| cias have very few rights.
Our travelling party had been augmented al
Florence by Mr.. and Miss Hammerstein, very
nice German people, who spoke English bet
| ter than we did, and allowed us to drop thciI
| title in addressing them Bertha Ham .ner
stein was very beautiful Marguerite
| sort of girl, and her brother the handsom
est Teuton | ever saw. They knew every
| thing, were amiable, well read, and ate with
| their knives.
We had made their acquaintance at the
house of our Ambassador at Florence. Sc
Mary said it was all right-high-born Ger
| mans do eat with their knives. 1t looks lit
| tie odd at first but you soon get to feel that
| the fork is mere prejudice. Both brother
| and sister played and sang delightfully."-, and
| were great cards on the canal by moonlight
| for that very reason. We could all join il
| the chorus if Berthas high clear, exquisite
voice would fly out on the strong winds and
show us the way.
Hammerstein Immediately fell in love with
Mary in the most violent fashion. His Ger
| man blood started off with the fury of &
mountain torrent, and he made no attempt tC
| disguise his emotion, as an Anglo-Saxor
would have done.
| Perhaps Ainslie, and certainly /, loved heI
quite as much, but we scorned to show it.
We went wandering along together
| through the Italian cities, with nothing tc
chain us to earth but Mrs. Jessamne She
| was the plague to our Deeameron, and q
| most terrible bore. She was foolishly fond
of attention, and had unnatural and i'm
| aginary rivalry with her neiee, which was
most ludicrous. We young men treated heI
with ciyility because she was woman, and
with something more because she was the
/ aunt of the sweetest and most refined
| woman on earth; but she would have been
| glad To believe that her charms alone
| brought her our unwilling homage.
| 1t was at Ferrara that we met Carter, the
| angel of our deliycrance. Great and excel
| lent and polite Carter, how much didst thou
| absorb and carry off.
Carter was an elderly beau-called the gay
| deeeiver by his friends. He was introduced
| to Mrs. Jessamine, and feb in love at one,
with . les beaux ys,Gx de sa cassette," for oul
| dear friend was very rich, and still, o:
| Carter observed to me, "a fine figure of {
woman"
| She was desperately fond of admiration
and now saw that half of her sternness tx
her niece had been the result of jealousy
1 The gay deeeiyer was an angel. He took of
| Mrs Jessamine, and Mary bloomed like :
| swect-brier.
use the simile adyisediy, for there was
certain prickly self-defense about Mar,
/ which always reminded me of that delicious
and odorous shrub. She was impenetrabl,
4 and mysterious At once the most trans
parent and truthful Of human beings, sh,