The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-12-12

don't know that she had any other
name."
"Do you, perhaps, remember the
name of the artist who painted your
picture?"
"I don't think l do. 1t was-like--
Penn" -
"Pembroke, perhaps ?"
"Yesl yes | Pembroke Signor
Pembroke !"
NV street-waif then was none other
that Blanca di Casabiancal 1 caught
the little girl to my heart and kissed
her, saying "I am Signor Pembroke.
Do you know me ?"
eel think have heard your voice
long ago; but your whiskers are 30
great"
I asked her few more questions. and
her answers more clearly proved her to
be the Blanca of my first artist days.
But I could extract nothing from her to
verify my suspicious of her Uncle
Luigi. Although overjoyed to be the
means of rescuing her from the cruelest
of lives, I was now seriously troubled by
the thought that Bianca's mother had,
perhaps, died in the seven years that had
elapsed since the beginning of my
story. At any rate, determined to
write to her address in Lombardy and
take the steps necessary to have Blanca
returned to her family. I bade nv
model play to her hearts content, and
rummagipg in my desk for the confess
sa's address, I found it, and before
nighfall I had dispatched a long letter
to Italy.
1 did not explain matters fully to
Blanca, preferring to await the results
of my letter to her mother. Weeks
passed quickly by and my picture was
on the verge of being completed. Bian-
cas- face was losing more and more of
its tan and Jiacomo had become quite
fashionable young gentleman and was
showing marvellous taste for drawing.
One morning, few days before Christ
mas, there was great commotion on
my stairway. Iopened the door, and,
as live, there was Blanca in her moth
er's arms, and the pair hugging and
kissing each other and crying as though
they would never stop 1 retreated very
quickly, my Amy and your Uncle Gov
entry was actually weeping too. Just
think of it Coventry Pembroke, artist,
in tears And 1 believe there wasn't a
dry eye in the whole building when all
the artists knew what had transpired.
In little while the contessa came
into my studio. I kissed ner hand and
bore myself like a hero. Never was
three people SO happy.
Many explanations followed. I in
quired after the health of Count Luigi
out of pure friendliness, you know.
Luigi is in prison" said the con.
tessa.
"Indeed |" burst out. "I thought
he would arrive there some time"
He was convicted of being concern
ed in q conspiracy against the govern
ment. At the time of his trial three
Roman desperadoes, who were being
tried for heavy crimes in the same court,
testified to previous crime which he
had bired thena to perform. And you
would not think what this crime was. "
had my idea, but remained silent.
"He had contracted with them" con-
tinued the contesse, "to steal Blanca
from me and hide her forever from the
world. My husbands will declared
that, if 1 died childless and without
marrying again, my brother-in-Iaw,
Luigi, would come into my whole for
tune. Blanca being my sole hoir, the
count calculated upon acquiring my
wealth when he should have removed
her from his path"
Here was the mystery solved at last
fstraightway confessed my early opin-
ions of the Count Luigi to the contessa.
and likewise the story of the incident at
the bridge of SAINT Angelo. From
thoughts of the perfdy of this man, we
turned to thank heaven for having thus
marvelously outwitted his schemes. Had
| it not been for this ancient coin, whose
seeming uselessness had preserved il
from the greediness of Bianca's captors,
mother and daughter had died un-
happy and far from each others arms.
So ends the story of the second Christ.
mas, which hrings us up to the present.
And what became of Blanca and Jia-
como? Well, have letter in my
desk from Blanca, who returned with
her mother to Venice, informing me
that the contessa had blessed her mar
riage engagement with Jiacomo. She
inclosed the coin, saying that, as il
was the cause of all her happiness, il
was the dearest SOUVENIR she could give
me. Jiacomo went to Rome some years
ago, and is rapidly turning out to be q
great artist-greater even than your
Uncle Coventry. I believe the contes.
sa betrayed the expense of his prepare.
tory education, and she is doubtless
even now helping him on, And he de,
serves it for he is real genius, and
has noble blood in his veins.
Now, don't ask me to detail the pri.
vate history of the padrone and the des
peradoes. You are positively drowsy
and want to smoke. 1 think you had
better go 10 bed, as Santa Claus has in.
surmountbl pie objections to filing young
peoples bookings while they are yel