The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-06-22

and mods. Before have finished, / think
her the most delightful, motherly, charming
lady that | have ever encountered-were it
not for her nose; but / endeavor to avoid
looking at that, and strive to rivet my atten-
ton solely on her bright eyes and pleasant
smile.
Nine la Comtesse in return confides to
me her card,-a fac-simile of that so neatly
tackled to her satchel, and tells me that lie
Comte is long since deceased, leaving her the
mistress of a small independence; that she
resides in London, $50 she loves the dear
English;" and just now is en- route for Baden
TO drink the famous waters.
We get on famously, the Comtesse and l,
and l think joyously of how glad Algy would
be to know of my being under the wing OF SO
charming and educated person. In TACT, at
the end of our fourth day together, | feel as
If had known the Comtesse all my life, and
Expresses me frequently, but / contract
habit of talking and listening to her without
looking, and this somewhat ameliorates the
situation.
On Friday evening at o'clock we arrive at
Baden, and, as the southern train does not
start for two hours yet, accept my new
friends offer Of spending the time with her at
her hotel quite gratefully.
am installed in the little parlor of the
Conatoooo Prctey dpdItuenI-ch IoiSiomo, ~
Is true, but affording delightful view of
everything and everybody that shall pass. I
am seated alone, for my friend has gone down
| to see to the arrangement of her baggage.
| She returns, her face full of alarm, and a
coarse, reddish envelope in her hand.
"Be not alarmed, my child, tits telegram
for you, think. Mime. A. S. Westmore-
land,'" reads the elderly lady from the
wretched thing in her hand.
''Monsieur Won Linden just gave it to me
now as / passed by the Office"
take it, and with trembling fingers tear
open the envelope and unfold the bit of pa
per. A smile breaks over my face and the
hood resumes its place in my heeks,-noth-
ing more terrible than this:
swat over day at Baden. Twill join you
on Saturday evening.
read it aloud to the Comtesse, who shares
my joy in charming fashion and instantly
offers to ring the bell, summon the hostess,
| and secure me room at once for my stay.
| I accede gracefully, and ere long am comfort
| ably ensconced in bright elegantly furnished
room adjoining the suite of the Gsmtsssa--,
Ia Eac6 communicating Wild IL ny door
which beg may stand open as am consid-
erably more than timid.
After sumptuous supper, served in my
| new friends apartment with great neatness
| by pretty blue-eyed German girl, make
my excuses and retire. am, in truth, worn
| out with sleepless nights in railway coaches,
and am very thankful when find myself
| once more in vertable bed. / dream-a
| queer, confused mass of nonsense-and amid
| the vagaries of my night in the hotel of Mon
sieur Won Linden, dream that I am suffocat-
ing, smothering with some strange-smelling
stuff held tightly over my mouth; then it is
removed, and that can see distinctly though
l can move no more than if l were a stone.
see that the communicating door between
my room and the Comtesse's little parlor
stands open, letting in food of bright, warm
candle light; see woman in a rose-colored
wrapper gliding stealthily about my apart
mems. She is young, and pretty woman with
short, very blonde, hair curling all over her
head, and she keeps walking carefully about
| my room, peering into this corner and that,
under my clothing, under the lounge cushions
and into the chest of drawers, and finally she
creeps up to the bed, feel her hands crawl
ing over the blankets, and at last searching
under the piled-up pillows beside me-foI
what? My dot, my precious diamonds, which
have placed there for safety. I try to
| scream, but cannot; l am as silent as the dead
| and watch her, helplessly, recross the room
1 glide through the door, close it and then no
more.
When awake in the morning the bright
| Baden sunshine is streaming in my windows,
and I feel strangely unrested; my eyes ache
and my temples throb. 1 rise and close the
creaking shutters. As I do so hear low
wall from the apartment of the Comtesse. and
like flash of lightning my dream occurs to
me. l make one plunge to the bed again,
pull out the pillows-my dot is gone. A
knock comes at the communicating door, ac-
companed by another louder wall.
"Come in " cry as l sit staring distracted
| ly about me.
| "Ah. Nine. Westmoreland! What have /
here? All! ah! my few jewels gone! The
thieves, the burglars All! will have salts.
faction from Mons. Won Linden! All what
| will become of me?'
| The comtesse had then been robbsd also,
poor lady She was well nigh beside herself
as she recounted to me almost my own ex-
| perience; the sensation OF suffocation, and
/ hearing some one walking stealthily about the
| her room. As my new friend said nothing
about having seen the robber, 1 held nay
peace, being rather ashamed of telling what
knew must have been dream, mixed up
| oddly enough with truth.
| doled with me in the most tender and heart