The Portland daily press., 1876-09-25
From the Galaxy.l
From the Galaxy.l
The Ring with Two Lions.
NCLUDED.

CONCLUDED.
Handyside Marbury had turned up in We
roma, and met him that evening.
"Could you-would you, my dear young
friend, go with me to the tombs of the Scal-
gers? am very anxious to identify Cas-
Grande with the Prince in Romeo and JUL
et,' who says: Put up this neighbor-stalned
steel tyou remember the quotation). And
could you lend me the ridiculously small sum
OF hundred francs? When my letters arrive
will also repay you the small sum you so
kindly lent me in Alexandria. I do nor for
get these little things, you see. l often say I
would rather pay five francs than five hun
dred So many people have a mean way CT
forgetting small debts never forget them,
l assure you. They impress me as much as
large ones dc.
And he looked at me hungrily. l think
that Handyside Marbury. friend of Leo x,
Charlemagne, and Joan of Arc, enemy and
contemner of Cyril, Bishop of Alexandra,
defender of Hypatia, and deep student of the
Merovingian Kings, was hungry and thirsty
too, He certainly was very seedy, so l sent
my hundred francs after my twenty pounds,
not knowing what waters would bring them
back to me.
Mary came next day to bid me hurried
good by. They were going over the Alps
and Mrs. Jessamine and Mr., Carter were to
be married in Paris.
at was very good of you TO make that
formal proposal for me to my aunt, Mr.. Charl-
ton," said she; it has inspired her with some
respect for me, and it has alleviated my suf-
ferings."
"Ah, Mary, when will it alleviate mine ?"
said !. She shook her head, and dfsap-
peared.
Reader, it was not fickleness to Mary
which induced me to accept the Hammer
al inv OF IN Of for
from Baden-Baden. Ainslie, too, was in
vited.;
The family had lived there since the days
of Charlemagne, or near that time. I am no
arch@ologist, and began to wonder in my
mind, as they went back through their gene
alogy. But the castle. 1t was feudal enough
to be romantic, wooden enough to be COM
Portable altogether, aud perfectly charming.
Here the young Baron presided over his
estates with something of princely rule. Ber-
tina, who had her own very pretty fortune,
was his dear delight, his pride and his sister
princess.
An old grandma, replete with titles, witty
and original, and eccentric, playing on the
violin for her amusement, gave at once
piquancy and dignity 10 the circle, and two
maiden aunts, dressing IN the habit of re-
ligious order flor the Hammersteins were
great Roman Catholics) gave point and back
ground to the picture.
We need costume in this country, and I
am not sorry to see it creeping in. These
elderly women were happy in their self
imposed duties, and dignifed in the dress OF
their order. A charming foil, too, to the
young and fashionabl niece. There was no
insensate rivalry here, as in the Jessamine
case. Bertha was mistress of her own for
tune, but it was evident that size would have
fortune, too, from these ladies'. Ainslie
pnt oil hof hoI
Schloss Eidersten half day.
The young Baron and 1 went of for the
wild boar, but Ainslie walked. drove and sen.
timentalized with Bertha. She was true
German girl and liked to play with her emo
tlops. The handsome American, with bis
black eyes and his knowledge of Goethe. be-
came great favorite, and suddenly took up
going to church with the maiden aunts and
Bertha; and for Protestant clergyman, en-
inces, showed great liberaty, both in love
and in religion.
SO was not astonished when the time
came for me to leave, that Ainslie could not
60 with me, There were still castles to see.
and excursions to make which he felt it his
duty to experience. Bertha's blue eyes
looked more brilliantly blue at this sugges.
ton. 1t was evident she had never heard of
the young lady in the British provinces.
She read me letter from Mary just before
/ left her. The marriage of Mr. Carter and
Mrs. Jessamine was unaccountably DELAYED
by matters of business. and they would re-
main in Paris all winter. And Mary went on
TO say that as there was month of good
weather left for Switzerland yet, they had de-
termined to retrace their staying in Paris, so
long as the marriage was not to come off i'm
mediately, was neither agreeable nor expedi-
ent.
Mary wrote in wretched spirits, and
could well believe that Mrs. Jessamine's mat
rimonial struggles had not improved her
temper.
So went to Geneva, that keynote of
Swiss travel, hoping to hear or see something
OF Mary. Three days careful consultation
OF the hotel books convinced me that they
were not in the city of Calvin. went saun-
tering down through the jewelers. shops one
idle afternoon, and in small one in an oh.
scure street found Handyside Marbury.
He was more shabby than had ever seen
the friend of Leo < and of Lorenzo da Me-
dici, the apologist of Hypatia, the maa of
grand ideas and slender resources was at the
end of his forlorn fortunes.
He was attempting to dispose of a piece of
jewelry when entered, to hagsling shop
man, who was attentively examininy the ar
ticle.
Handyside greeted me with enthusiasm,
and told me that he had been lying i'll at
Geneva for month, and that his letters hay
ing failed to arrive, etc., he was obliged to
sci! some few little ''objets" which he had
collected in his travels.
I looked carelessly at the "obiet" which
was TO help poor Handyside along a little
further, and saw the ring with two lions.
With some perturbation asked leave to
examine it. Yes, there was a winking lion
the same ring, could have sworn that had
given 10 Mary observation-disclosures with ruby
eyes and all. asked Mr.. Marbury where be
had picked up SO curious thing.
81 bought it in Venice" said he, ''in one
of those little shops on the Riato. Why do
you ask?"
because 1 too bought one there exactly
like this" said eying him closely.
"That is not improbable" said The jewel
Ter. "Such curious ring as this was proba.
bly, the badge of a society, and there were
many of them; but it was very interesting"
learning and useless research. "Some Vene-
tian league-some brothers, in their internal
councils probably had these rings for mid
night warning, subaqueous communings,
murderous messages. See what a cunning,
malignant expression the old lion has with
his diamond eyesW
How much is it worth to you?' said be
suuucuiy uIoPPiuS iTou Iue uIteenlu 10 Lne
nineteenth century.
"May become the purchaser" I asked.
~ would like to bring the two ring togeth.
err"
Certainly" said Marbury, magnifcently.
So the jeweller not having to pay for it him
self, put very good price on the ring, and I
became its owner, as / believed for the second
time, and the old lion winked at me confden-
TALLY.
And yet how was that possible? What con-
nection could there be between this disrepu-
table old man and my beautiful Mary? Was
he thief, and had he hung about the party
of which (by his interest in Mrs. Jessamine,i
be evidently knew something, until he could
despoil them of their watches and rings? Or
Yves the other supposition probable, that he,
like myself, had fallen on a repository OF
''rings with two lions," and had bought one,
as had done, enamored of the curiosityP
He was just the man to buy useless things
even with his funds very low.
concluded to ask him, when I saw him
again, some leading questions about Mrs.
Jessamine's party, but he had walked quickly
away when the money was paid over to him
for the ring, and I could not find him in all
Geneya He was the sort of man not tn he