The Portland daily press., 1878-02-09

worthy instinct that makes me delight in
them. If l ordered them painted on the
floor, and trod on them, defaced them, put
them to base misuse, my instinct would be
coarse and contemplate. A cardinal must
walk, but he would be fool to walk on fres-
Goes. A princess must walk, and that grace
fully and freely, too, but she couldn't walk
he thrust his long finger right through the
frail web at the toe. "Your stockings are
not 1T for a princess. They are fine in text
ure, but coarse in taste. They are inappro-
PIRATE; they are vulgar they are not decent"
"Oh, uncler'
"Not decent, say. They are ssthetica lily
improper; they show the extravaganza of
theIplebeian, not of the noble" He grew more
excited with every word. His eyes flashed
fire. your training has not made princess
of you in heart and mind, and cerpo di Bac-
CO your marriage shall not make princess
of you in name, and you are none of mine"
With grasp he swept up the bundle of
stockings. "Your trumpery shall go back to
the fools who made it, and You shall go---I
don't care where, but out of my sight, Away!
I'll none of you."
The cardinal gathered up his skirts, and
crossing the room, passed out like whirl-
wind. The girl screamed aloud in her terror
OF the old mans fearful passion; for much
position, she had never been made the vic
tim of it before. But the scream never
checked the firm, relentless fall of his step as
it died away along the corridor; and there
lay little Beatrice, shaken with heart-broken
sobs, prone across the footstool, where she
had fallen when in bis violence he flung away
from her. She lay there long time, crying
and .wiping away her tears with the unlucky
stockings she had been displaying on her
hand, and in the spasm of her terror had
been crushing and rolling up until she for
got it was not her handkerchief.
So the prince found her, as he was ushered
in to pay his usual daily call upon the cardi-
nal. She naturally turned to her betrothed
for consolation. She told him all about her
uncles anger, all he said, all she was suffer-
ing, and expected the shield of his love be-
tween her and her wrong. But the prince
looked grave. He WINGED at the cardinals
words about disowning her, and finally vol
unteered to see the old man himself, and let
her know by letter how matters really stood
Beatrice went to her own apartment some
what quieted by the sight of her lover, but
still most unhappy. She waited, with what
patience she could, until evening, and then
note came from the prince. 1t was short
note, carefully and beautifully written 1t
ran something like this: sYo1r uncle, am
grieved to say, formally disowns you. 1t is
cruel edict, my dear friend, for me, loving
tenderly as do, but it seems the will Of
Heaven, and must submit. May we meet
again at some calmer and happier timep'
She swept her pale hands across her swollen
eyes, believing that her sight deceived her,
and read again and again those neat and for
| NAL lines-the specious, cowardly lines-and
| all the bitter meaning that lay between the
lines.
He had renounced her tool The storm of
iaff hat I,o1
healthy and consonant with her young ma
| ture, but the look she wore after reading her
lovers letter never should come to such
sweet and tender face. 1t spoke of the deep
est wrong woman can sustain-her affection
spurned and sighted; the worst insult that
can be offered her-a marriage from sordid
motives. La an hour the gentle, loving
Beatrice was changed to a resolved and fin
dignant woman. She had loved this man
and he had wronged her. The world-the
petty Roman world of gossip and SANDER
should not stare at her curiously, nor wound
her with Its thousand wicked tongues. Then
the uncle that she had loved had cast her off.
1t was a secondary thought now, but still
bitter one, and in the turbulence and keen
sense of injury of which only proud and
gentle character is capable, she took hasty
| resolve. Almost as she was, save with some
Jewels of her mothers her rich trousseau left
| apartments, she left the palace, left it in
silence and darkness, and went out into the
world alone with those richest OF possessions,
but poorest of defenses, her youth, innocence
and beauty.
Between the great rage the cardinal had
INDUCED and his stormy interview with the
prince, he was threatened next morning with
an old enemy Of his-apoplexy; and when he
heard that his niece had disappeared an at
70 on hot hold him hodriJdon md
senseless for weeks. On coming to himself
his first order was to make search for her, but
| no trace could be discovered.
The old man was haunted by vision of
| the bright, hnppy face so lost out of his life;
and as its tender, smiling outline came like a
dream before his fancy, he shuddered as it
seemed to weirdly change expression with the
possible wrong and misery his little Beatrice
might be suffering. But the world knew
appearances as proud, as magnificent, as die
tatorial aud as keen a judge and critic as
ever.
Some three years later a picture-dealer
ventured, cringing and respectfully on tip
toe, into the august presence.
Snow, Luigi, what trash have you to-
day2"
sob, no trash, your Eminence-a gem, a
gen."
"a false gem: eh another clever copy that
shall detect?"
mo, no, your Eminence; a true gem
modern and to be bought for song"
swell, well, be quick"
"There, your Eminence," and the dealer
placed before the Cardinal a small, fresh,
deicatey tinted picture-a lovely, smiling
crowd of Cupids-dainty, dimpled boys chas-
ing each other in the mazes OF a bower.
The Cardinal put on his glasses, looked,
broke out with "Corpo di BAG" and
changed it to ''Santa Maria It's more free
than Albani, more dainty than Correggio-
and modern too. How that flesh is m anaged |!
what a texturel Who's the painter?"
''That's a secret, your Eminence. know
paints them. I've had several, but none as
good as this"
"Luigi, you know you can't play tricks on
me. I'll use all the police in Rome but I'll
find this painter; SO tell me the fair price,
and bring the painter here tomorrow at this
time"
sBut, your Eminence-"
snake me no excuses; tell me no lies.
How much? and bring the painter.'
"Five thousand scudi would be trile for
it,"
"Hm! And how much of that does the
painter get?"
.'Oh, good price, your Eminence-a good
price,"
eyes; good for you. Basta! I know you.
Well, well, bring the painter tomorrow, and
you shall have your money! and the cardi-
nal coolly set the picture aside among his
latest acquired treasures.
"But if the painter won't come, your Emf
nence?"
'Not word! the painter must come or
your money won't come"
Tho discomforted dealer made his bow and
tiptoed out backward.
The next day at the appointed hour he
appeared, and with manner highly mysteri-
GUS announced that he had brought the
painter; but the painter was shy about being
known and had come veiled His Eminence
would not intrude upon the reserve OF a.
ga womanv' exclaimed the cardinal, as he
caught sight of slight yelled figure gliding
in behind Luigi-"a woman, and great
painter! Corpo dill mean, Santa Maria!
DO not wish, Signora," he said, respectfully,
ITO rudely break your incognita; but will you
tell me, as Pm connoisseur in art, how you
have arrived at the peculiar delicacy of these
canvass?'
She took up the picture aud frayed a cor