St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-01-05

say he told the count about myself and
dear Clara, and l am quite certain he
told him about the money in the funds,
from what subsequently took place.
Instead of paying Uncle Nathaniel, the
count introduced him to his sister,
Mademoiselle Bella de MontmOrenci,
whom we afterward used to call Bella
donna, because her name was poison to
us. She was twenty-fOur and a beauty,
though not perhaps altogether without
paint" / don't know whether it was
on that first occasion, or on the second
visit that my uncle informed her that
he was under a solemn vow to marry
within the year but she was very soon
possessed of the fact; and in the end
she consented to be the victim. No
doubt she got her quid pro quo; but l
am bound to say that she did not snap
at him like pike on the contrary, she
temporized like trimmer.
1t was only through her brothers
persuasion, to whom she was devoted
and who wanted money, no matter
how it came-that she promised to be-
come Mrs. Nokes and this did not take
place till Clara and had been married
for eleven months, and had been blessed,
for one of them, with Chickabiddy.
The arrival of that admirable infant
was duly notified to my uncle, but re-
ceived from him very little attention !;
indeed, he sent back my note with the
letters N. A. neatly written upon the
envelope, which was his business GUS
tom with communications that were
not considered worth a reply. Ii was
the only specimen of his handwriting
with which l had been favored-with
one exception already mentioned-since
our disagreement, and | felt too surely
that it would be the last.
1t was late in April that the infatuat-
ed old gentleman departed for Paris,
and installed himself quite alone in the
Hotel of the Four Seasons for few days
previous to his nuptials. He deserved
to suffer, of course, but his tribulations
during that period were very severe.
If the gay young Count Albert de
Observation-Disclosures experience of life
had been mainly confined, l believe, to
gambling room and casinos been
shipwrecked in his evening clothes upon
a desolate island, he could not have
been more thoroughly out of his ele-
ment than was Mr.. Nathaniel Nokes at
his Paris hotel. His only friend, the
only person who (very literally under
stood him, was Susan, the English
chambermaid, without whom he would
perhaps have perished of inanition, fol
the house was not at all anglicized save
by her presence, but was an Old-fash-
i0ned, thoroughly French inn, patron
lied by the friends of the old legitimate
) nobility, and recommended by the count
, himself as being quiet and exclusive
He was doubtless anxious to keep hi!
, new brOther-in law "darkn as long as i
was possible.
: To Susan my poor uncle had been a
: frank as to the rest of the world sh'
, knew all about his past-including hi
2 quarrel with myself and Clara-withil
the first twenty-four hours and a
f much about his future as he did him
self; which, indeed, was solely this
} that he was going to marry MademOisell,
e. MontmOrenci on the ensuing Friday
t He had been introduced to none of he
relations (nOr even knew if she hat
any except her brother; and had no
;, exchanged half dozen words with he
/ in any known language. His Frencl
i was so very English, and her Englsl
t so very French, that they had tn
t greatest difficulty in making themselve
d Ineligible to one another. The mai
/: point, however, so far as the count wa
Il concerned, namely, my uncle's fortune,
was quite settled, and settled on hi
y sister; while on the other hand tn
e ancient lineage of the MontmOrenci
y was unquestionable. 1t pleased m
e poor uncle to hear that some five hun
l dred years ago there had been a Con
e stable il the family; it sounded some
t thing like English, and was so far prefer
o able to gendarme,
e His Bella and he, as he confessed t
= himself (and Susan,) would probabl
l. have nothing in common for some tim
a to come-except his prosperity /; bu
though he had great misgivings abOr
= everything, he was resolved to keep h
l word, not so much to "the Mon
e mOrenci," (as he called her,) but
h himself and Indirectly to me and Clar;
N though we would have veIy gladly el
r, cused him. Susan, with well-meaniIl
If if somewhat familiar frankness, used [
= venture to hint that he might be to
'e much in hurry about the matter, an
lie even be altogether making mistak
t. "You are so fond of old England, 81
lie that l doubt whether you ought not
y y
in land. 1t seems so strange to come
ly Paris of all places to choose one ~
lie Then he would sharply ask her VIII
D. she meant by that, and what she cOu,
te possibly know about it :; to which 81
lg would quietly reply that she had live
lg in Paris for some years. Then agai
le from sheer good nature, rather ths
to from want of tact, of which indeed Il
I cri,l ha1 nj Sho yunn1H no alW1
IN putting in a word in favor of poor di
l inherited me, which, coupled with b
own private remorse upon my accOur
t. almost drove him distracted but
I'd could not afford to quarrel with Susa
a for, as l have said, in the Hotel of Il
er Four Seasons there was no Engli
3 /; spoken, and he could hardly have liv'
~ without her.
e. On his wedding morning he gave b
sh a ten-pOund note, and parted from b
ch to go to the Embassy (where he was
n he married) as from the only friend
had in France.
ell In less than an hour he was ba
mt again at the hotel, ringing his sittin
IL room bell like mad man, and deman
ng ing Susan, who was, as usual at th
le, hour, sweeping the corridor.
p 'Well, sir" said she, presenting ht
"A self, broom in hand, "what has ha
d. pened ?"
he "Everything g-that is. nothing. T
MS jade has Tilted me, and am not to
all married to her after ALL" was the U
by expected reply. Susan had the go
sy, sense not to congratulate him, but
to him proceed to state his grievance.
ed seemed that at the last moment I
IN Montmorenci had found herself una