Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-03-23
are all for France then. Mademoi.


are all for France then, Mademoi-
selIe 2'
81 love France" she said, simply;
but ] saw and regretted the impress
sion my words had made.
The declaration OF war was made
a few days before the miniature was
finished, and / was sorry to see how
evidently anxious and unhappy my
early visitor was. She had grown
paler and thinner, and there was a
shade in her eyes which / had never
seen before.
81 have taken a sketch of you,u /
said, on the morning when her
i likeness was finished Elf you will
allow me to keep it and use itsome-
times, it will repay me most libe-
rally for my work. =
ssIt does not seem right, Mr.. Gra-
ham, she said, earnestly. "Of
course you can use it; but in three
4 months | shall be of age, and then
you will LET me pay you, will you
not? / cannot feel happy else"
/ / smiled at her and gave her the
miniature. She looked at it a mo-
ment, and two large tears welled
| up and rolled heavily down her
4 cheeks.
i ssIt is very like" she said. she
| will like it.' Then she looked up,
bravely smiling through her tears.
"Some one else will thank you, Mr..
Graham. Your work is going to
Strasburg."
~ hope he is worthy of the treas
| ure he has won, said, gently.
i, 81 - ii,
"Abundantly worthy of all, and
a thousand times more, she said,
! passionately.
She gave me both hands, then,
and as she babe me s'Good-bye,"
thanking me again and again; and
watched her as she walked quickly
away, wondering when and where
it would be if we ever met again. l
saw her once about month after,
seated in handsome carriage, be-
side stern-faced old lady, looking
! pale and s0rrowful, regardless of the
carriages, hands, promenaders, and
all other attractions of the Parade
and Kings Road but a few days
after left Brighton for good, and
| though / often wondered what had
become of my interesting unknown,
| / saw the sweet face no more.
Four years slipped away; / had
won fame and money in that time.
/ could write those magical initials
r.. A. after my name, and my pic
| lures sold as soon as exhibited.
Sometimes 1 was asked whose was
the lovely face which appeared 50
often in them, but though owned
| frankly that it was not a fancy
sketch, / was obliged also to own
that it was out of my power to graf
| ify curiosity further.
! In the autumn of 1874 / found
myself at Munich, spending few
days there, visiting the galleries of
art treasures with which it abounds,
| in company with a young friend,
| also an artist. During our stay,
ball was given at the Conservatori-.
um, public but select affair, and
tickets were sent to us by pretty
German Baroness, the wife of a dis
tinguished diplomatist.
Being curious to see the upper ten
of Munich in its evening toilet, we
put ourselves into our swallOw-tails
drove through Munich by gas-light |
across the Residenz Platz into the
Odeon Platz, and were set down at
| the COnservatOrium at fashionably
! late hour.
When we entered the decorated
| ball room it was already well filled,
while from thegallery abovea crowd
of admiring spectators looked down
at the more privileged below. 1t
was pretty sight-the starry lamps,
the flowers and evergreens, the
bright ball-dresses and uniforms
mingling with the heavier robes of
the chaperones, and the black coats
of the few men who were in "civil
eaStume.n Clouds of yariegated
| gauZe and tarlatane, flashing jewels
vieing with bright eyes, golden
curls, raven braids, or auburn
tresses, tiny, swift feet, fiuttering
fans, and little white-gloved hands,
dimpled arms, cleaning shoulders,
and silvery laughter heard between
the deeper voices of the gentlemen
these were the characteristics of the |
ball at the Odeon as they are every
where.
Not being a dancing man, l
amused myself by looking on, while
my friend went off to enjoy him
self, whirling around like a tecto-
tum; but after time he returned
to me raving about the beauty of a
lady in the room, which hedeclared
was dazzling.
81 have seen her BEFORE" he de-
clared; "but when or where /
cannot remember. You must see
her, Graham. Come this way. Look,
that is her in black"
looked in the direction he indi-
Gated, and saw a face whose famili-
arity struck me as much as its Won
derous beauty. The lady was
dressed in cloudy black net, with
diamonds in her hair, on her white
throat and arms, and in her little
ears. / knew the face at once; it
was changed little; it looked older,
more womanly, but as beautiful,
nay, more so, than of yore. 1t was
the face of my unknown. / watch
ed her as she whirled away, dancing
with a peculiar grace and elegance,
moving with the poetry of motion,
and / was still watching her when
was addressed by a tall, distin-
guished looking man, wearing two
or three ribbons in his button-hole,
having one coat-sleeve, the left,
empty, and pinned to his breast.
"Have / the honor of addressing
Monsieur Graham ?'' he said in
English, but with a strong foreign
accent. / bowed, and he continued:
"My wife, Madam de Beausy, has
sent me her ambassador to you, and
these are my credentials
So saying, he opened large gold
locket, worn on his watch chain,
and disclosed the face had painted
four years ago, the Iustrous eyes
smiling from out the wealth of
waving hair.
$" L owe you much gratitude, Mon
sieur," he went on. '"This was an
inestimable treasure during months
of suffering and captivity"
Then he took me to his wife, and
she greeted me with all her old
sweetness and grace. After while
she told me how she had known
and loved Henri COmte de Beausy,
in her girl-hood, but that her guar
dians, with whom she lived in
Brighton, had forbidden the engage
ment, and, in order to prevent any
communication, had denied her any