Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-02-06
"Why do YOU come to see me?"

per diem?"
''That IL SO. Your spies have told
the truth. / have good many love
affairs on hand. Lovers are becoming
scarcer every day in this city
"You might employ yourself in some
way more useful to the Republic
Every true, citizen. But | made a
calculation. I SAID man grows lean
who has a love affair. He must grow
twice as lean with two. was a stout
man three months since; you see what
q skeleton I am now. Said | to myself
since two love affairs are safe to wear a
man in three months down to skin and
bone, ten love affairs in that time will
bring me to the last stage of consump-
ton. / have been trying it for three
months, and now I think have hardly
a week to live. You might spare me
the guillotine."
The eyes of Brutus gave a sudden
CLEAN. do you know you are an un-
commonly clever fellow!'
"Ah, citizen, / knew | could not es-
cape death under your administration,
and | must own that the idea Of dying,
young as | am, in public to the strains
of ca ira, made me very melancholy.
| am naturally q merry man, but grew
as dismal as funeral. started at the
smallest sound. / was always fancying
| that the moment had come for my AZ
rest. and that somebody was waiting at
the foot of the stairs to drag me to the
scafold. / have lost all the fortune [
had accumulated. Nothing remains OF
the property once possessed but one
! thousand francs in ossiQa0ts, SO that
had a choice of evils before my eyes
the guilotine or restitution. Then [
struck out an entirely new idea. l said
to myself, "I'll die of love! In three
months time, at all events, my turn
viii come to perish on the scaffold.
| Let me see whether before that time
comes to pass | cannot Shuttle off this
mortal coll as despairing lover.
was quite pleased with my own plan,
and have put it into execution. AS
| | have no rivals Ten windows open
daily at my signal, for [ am punctual
to moment; and then l see, one after
another, ten exquisite female heads on
exhibition. But it is terribly fatiguing
1t takes me seven hours and-a-half a
day. No man could stand that at a
picture gallery The five prettiest cost
me an hour apiece, the five others two
and half hours. The strongest man
could not stand such strain of admira-
ton. What is more, [ must confess,
am desperately in love with five of
them. The five others l only admire;
still their charms and claims do trouble
me. Notwithstanding my appearance,
citizen, l am wildly, fondly, fatally be-
loved! AS soon as whistle | hear the
creaking of the blinds, and a sweet head
looks down on the deserted street-you
know the streets are empty! But it is
time for my first appointment. | must
leave you / have yet eight days Of
alteration before me. Do not, | beseech
you, snatch them away"
"Well, [ will grant them you. But,
remember, at the end of eight days, if
you are still living, you go to the gull
lotine. Will that satisfy your
Eyes, citizen
"All right. Now 60 and make the
round of your ten bellies"
Paul VANGUARD, leaning on his cane:
walked towards the Rue de la Fare.
And during the short passage between
his own house and that of his first
sweetheart, he threw off the sickening
feeling inspired by his interview with
the master of the human slaughter
house at Marseilles, and gave himself
up to the full tide of that wild tenfold
passion that overlooked his soul. There
passed through his mind {now weaken
ed by feeble health, and a prey to mo
nomania) all kinds of pleasant fancies.
His ten fair women seemed more fair
than ever His heartbeat quick as he
recalled each face, brunette or blonde,
with curls, or lace, or floating ribbons.
He reached the Rue de la Fare. He
whistled; nobody came, he whistled
again, all was quiet. He blew into
his doorkey. All the little breath he
the had left he blew away. The lovely
loving face which hitherto had appeared
at his first sound, did dot come to the
window. Paul at last went on to the Rue
Lafont, greatly disappointed. There,
too, his whiting and his waiting met
with no success. He stood alone in the
long vacant street and nobody looked
forth at him.
He began to perceive that something
had gone wrong. sHezwent round to
the other eight houses in their turns
and nobody answered him. At the last
house, however, he saw an old servant
crying. He'went up to. her and asked,
with an air Of profound sympathy, the
reason of her tears.
"Ah, Monsieur" said the old woman,
'they killed her poor dear husband,
and now they are going to k;llher.
They took her off to prison this morn
ing, my pretty mistress, Madame Ar
maud"
"What.r' cried Paul, MADAME Ar
maud, who lives on the second story?'
eyes; my good SIR But bless us,
how pale you are! Sit down on this
step" r- l.tsg gn4#
A mist floated before the eyes Of
Paul. He laid one hand on the old
woman's arm to steady himself, and
then dropped on the seat she point
ed out to him.