Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-12-05
DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND.
L Grandfather's StOrl.


for the first time in my life. Bonaparte
still fingered at ST. Helena; and the adj
ventures, good bad, and Indifferent in
character, who had served in his armies
had not vet lost all hope Of the return
Of their idol, and consequently had not
vet thought it worth while to settle
down into thorough peace and quiet
ness
Young Paul Ferrand, whom | fire.
quently met at the cafe, and who had
served as captain at Waterloo, was
sure that the little corporal would come
back again soon. q You have not yet
beaten him." he would tell me laughing.
You sent him to Eliza, but he return
ed; you have sent him TO St. Helena,
and he will return again. We shall
see"
Ferrand was an exceedingly nice fel-
low; and although he professed to
cherish an unquenchable hatred for
England and everything English, he
had, by some means or other, become
attached to Alice Rae, a young English
lady of my acquaintance, and who had
been living with her brother since the
conclusion of peace at Paris, not far
from the abode of the ex-captain. And
he was always very friendly with ME,
too. He would, it is true, abuse my
countrymen numerically; but he was
always particularly good-natured, and
whenever he found himself saying a
little too much, he would arrest himself
and apologize SO heartily that never
could be angry with him. was alone
in the French capital, and had few
friends there, except Mrs. Rae, her
daughter Alice, and Paul. and SO it hap
pened that [ passed a good deal Of my
time in the society of these three. The
mother, a woman still in the prime OF
life, and the widow of a kings messen-
ger, was connection Of mine by mar
riage, and that fact gave me a good
excuse for offering my services as es-
cort whenever she and her pretty
daughter thought fit to 90 out to the
theatre or the opera. At such times
Paul always had a seat IN the stalls.
and between the acts he would come up
70 my box, to the delight of Alice, who
was in love with him, and to the no
small satisfaction of Mrs. Rae. who
herself had quite maternal affection
for the young Frenchman, and did not
in the least discourage his attentions to
her daughter. If there were no formal
engagement between the two, it was at
least perfectly understood by all parties
that as soon as Paul should get an APP
pointment for which at the time he was
q candidate, he was to marry Alice, and
|, though only few years her senior,
was to give her away.
One night the opera-house was crowd
ed more than usual. A great singer
was to appear, and a new work by a re-
nowned composer was to be performed.
But Paul Ferrand, sitting in the stalls
seemed scarcely to listen to the music
or to notice the acting; and much more
often were his eyes turned in the direc-
ton of my box than In that of the
stage. Alice and her mother We're with
me; and as the curtain fell at the con-
clusion Of the first act, Paul came up
to Us. He was in high spirits, for he
had heard that the minister had decid-
ed to give him the coveted post, and he
expected to hear in few days that his
appointment had been signed by the
king. We congratulated him: and as
he left us to return to his seat, [ whis-
pered to him: You will be a happy
man IN a month or two now, Paul
He smiled, and shut the door.
We watched him as he threaded his
way TO his place. 1t was in the centre
of the second row from the orchestra
and he had left his opera-glass on the
chair In order to preserve his right to
it; but during his absence a tall,
military-looking man had appropriated
it and had coolly put the glasses on one
side. Paul approached the stranger
with the utmost politeness, and l sup
pose-for naturally [ could not hear
requested him to move. The interloper
did not deign to answer. but sneeIingly
looked up at Ferrand, as though to ask
him what he meant by his intrusion
Paul pointed to the opera-glasses; but
the stranger neither replied nor moved,
but continued to appear as though he
did not hear. | saw that matters were
assuming dangerous complexion, for
IN the new conner | recognized Victor
BarOqulere, an eX-Bonapartist officer
like Paul, notorious bully, and one of
the most celebrated duelists in France.
But what could do? l could only sit
still, much against my will, and witness
the inevitable consequences. I thought
Alice would faint when Laroquiere in
the calmest way rose before the crowd
ed assemblage and struck Paul in the
face with his glove; but she recovered
herself, and like a statue watched her
lover pick up his opera-glasses, bow to
to his insulter, and, without word
leave the building There was some
EXPLANATIONS from the audience
but the duclist again rose, and with a
threatening air gazed round, mockingly
initiated Paul's parting bow, and re
sumed his seat. This was too much
for poor Alice. She could not remain
longer; she must go home; and SO, with
some difficulty, | got her and her
mother to my carriage, told the coach