The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1877-11-09

Oelle1 lDat sne mas ndu HOHey, run lHTOuEH
nearly all of it, and that is her last throw
for station and husband"
'Laura, where in the world" cried her
displeased Aunt, "did you pick up SUCH
"French novels" said Belle, who had run
over. 81 must say, Laura, think you took
great deal on yourself Now she will re-
turn 'he call"
"She--she would like to be respectable,
stammered Laura. "And you know very
well that if you want Lucian to go and mar
ry such a woman out of hand, you have
only to persecute her"
"Persecute herl You do use select terms.
We let her alone-which you had better
have done"
T-I didn't want Lucian to be morti.
fed"
80 you mortify u.s."
And by the time Lucian came home
Laura was in food of tears, and sobbed
out, in reply to his amazed inquiry: ooh,
they are abusing me sol" And then every
one laughed at the idea of their abusing
little Laura, the darling of the house.
"Well, WE'LL Laura" said he. "Pll not
abuse you. invite you to our picnic to-
morrow to Great Falls, Mrs. DeBerrian
will chaperon you"
"Mrs. DeBerrian p rose the chorus.
"Madam Arroyo, the Spanish minister's
wife, invites her."
"Well, to be sure, ,"said Belle catching her
suspended breath, nobody knows anything
about her either an adventures, all the
legation say"
"The Count Zara escorts her. suppose
nobody knows anything about him."
The Austrian attache-yes, he hit Nell
hard then, he thought. "And the young
Russian duke that enchanted you so"
"Oh, men, all of them p
"Very fine men, and some of the finest
ladies at the capital. I'll take care of you,
Laura, if you'll 60"
"I'll go, Lucian."
Perhaps she'd best, said Belle to Helen
at the door 81 shouldn't let him out of my
sight, if | were She"
1t was a month later when Belle ran ovel
one evening, as usual, now the gayeties were
so few, and sat talking goomily with Hell
en-.
81 never would have believed it of ou
Lucian," said she. "All but engaged, as h,
was, Laura, and with her fortune, that woulC
have jus; doubled his own, and she so gent
and now perfectly lost and infatuated owe
this French doll"
~ can't imagine that it is the same broth
er who turned pale when we came down wit
P carmne on our cheeks the day after we frs
saw the French play, and who expostulate
\ with us So"
"Our turn now"
ale would have made Laura such goo
: husband" said one.
= "But now this demoralzing woman."-
And while they were bemoaning his de
cline aud fall, the subject of their complain
was whiring away in palace-ca car surround
ed by wraps and rugs and lunch basket an
periodicals and French candy and Mrs. d
Berrian, the wax lights shining softly dow
from above on the charming pictur
the lady made, as, having removed her ha
she leaned back among her cushions unde
the shelter of the rose-colored scarf passe
over her dark curls. Mrs. De Berrian ha
been summoned to New York on importar
business Colonel Lefebvre had suddenl
! F,und tbot ba boI hnS;paa, thara tno Mr.
De Berrian perhaps meant to give him som
business before he returned. Neither {
them was aware that behind the curtains
a neighboring section, swhose berths ha
> been made up and occupied just as the trai
started, reposed one of his aunts and h
cousin Laura
v If simply an ipfatuation over mere beaut
n were in case, no one could marvel at Colt
mel Lefebvre's intatuation. By candle-ligl
at night, behind a veil out doors, in the din
deep-curtained drawing-room, Mrs De Be
rian was worthy painters pencil-delica
features, scarlet lips deep pimples, pencilc
;, brows, the sparkle of teeth, the soft dai
+ glow of great eyes, the snowiness of Il
forehead under multitudinous waves
-hadowy hair-beauty could hardly be be
ter imaged forth, although possibly oil
! might tire of it, and of the set, unvaryil
;c smile, for all its sweetness. Lucian had n
- tired of it yet; once or twice there had cro
:, ed his mind suspicion that its owner "
e not altogether woman of high princip
| ha baI ha thnnobt
III as reasonable, or had felt with not unu;
~ al masculine vanity that he could chan
'u all that, or had not just then cared so mu
for high principle, it did not hinder his o
rs color from mounting when he looked
g. hers, or his pulse from quickening wi
WI this woman touched his hand. As for N
an De Berrian, she was beginning to feel
ei erable assurance that at last her pendul
position on "the verge of society" was to
?" changed for the fixed and solid station o
Ter member of the Lefebvre family, with all Il
yer wealth and rank, their respectablity, con
Grafton and friends. And when it sho
er- be-why then she meant to show the wor
in that family who she was
so 1t came near being settled fact that nj
ly as they rolled comfortably along, almost
the the rest of the car behind their curtains,
ew soft light, half gloom, half light, fal
softly on the lovely face, setting m
cen travelling with them and looking in at
as window at every turn. Colonel Lefel
her had changed his seat for one at the la
APP side, that the sleepers might not be trou
our by their voices-his voice, rather, for it
and he that talked she listened, with the 10
'ses smile, the musical word. His arm lay a
ing the back of the seat, his face was ben
he over hers her great eyes were cast u
uch him in the dim light her lips SCENE
him tremble. He was netting the gentle rise
ght fall of her breath, the charm of every
ned line of the beautiful head resting on
lie hand with its cleaning sapphire, aware
~