The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1878-04-11

dismal as a funeral. | started at tie
smallest sound. | was always fancyng
that the moment had come for nv ,r.
rest, ana that somebody was waitingat
the foot of the stairs to drag me to The
scafold. / have lost all the forum. |
had accumulated. Nothing remains OF
the property | once possessed but sne
thousand francs in assignats, 50 tha
had choice of evils before my eyes-the
guillotine or desIitution. Then | strlck
out an entirely new idea | said to ny
self, I'll die of love, In three moths
time, at all events, my turn will cone to
perish on the scaffold. Let ne see
whether before that time comes to uass /
can not shuttle off this mortal COLI as a
despairiDg lover. | was quite phased
with my own plan, and have put ii into
execution. As / said, lovers are SARGE
nowadays, and | have no rivals. Ten
windows open daily at my signal, for l
am punctual to a moment; and ten |
see, one after another, ten exquisite
terribly fatiguing. 1t takes me seven
hours and half day. No man could
stand that at picture gallery. Tie five
prettiest cost me an hour apiece, tie FIVE
others two and a half hours. The
strongest man could not stand slch
strain of admiration. What is more, |
must confess, am desperately il love
with five of them. The i've Others |
only admire; still their charms and
claims do trouble me. Notwithstanding
my appearance, citizen, | am wildly,
fondly, fatally beloved As soon as l
whistle hear the creaking of the blinds,
and a sweet head looks down upon the
deserted street-you know the streets are
empty! But it is time for my first ap-
pointment. | must leave you. | have
yet yet eight days of alteration before
me. Do not, | beseech you, snatch them
way"
"Well, l will grant them you. But,
remember, at the end of eight days, if
you are still living, you go to the guillo-
tine. Will that satisfy you"
eyes, citizen"
"All right. Now 90 and make the
round of your ten bellies"
Paul VANGUARD, leaning on his cane,
walked toward the Rue de la Fare. And
III ing lllt SIIOIl pdSS1SC Ills Wv II
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 overfOwed his
soul. There passed through his mind
NOW weakened by feeble health and a
prey to monomania) all sorts of pleasant
fancies. His ten fair women seemed
more fair than ever. His heart beat
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
ne had left he blew away. The lovely,
loving face, which hitherto had appear
ed at his first sound, did not come to the
window. Paul at last went on to the
Rue Lafont, greatly disappointed.
There, too, his whistling 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. He went 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 inquired 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 kill her. They
carried her off to prison this morning,
my pretty mistress, Madame Arnaud."
"What. cried Paul, Madame
Arnaud, who lives on the second story?'
Yes; my good sir. But bless us,
how pale you are. Sit down on this
step"
A mist foated before the eyes of Paul
He laid one hand on the old woman
arm to steady himself, and then dropped
on the seat she pointed out to him.
When Paul Vanguard had taken up
the absurd notion of dying of love, and
carrying on as many love affairs as
would Kill him, he had foreseen his way
would be made easy by the absence of
people in the streets, and thought him
self lucky that his proceedings were like
/ ly to escape those uncharitable remarks
which are sure to be made in ordinary
times on persons who take the public to
their confidence, and make love in the
open air.
But, though the arena had no rivals,
though Paul had his mania for love
making all to himself $50 absorbing were
the other interests of those times it be-
came extremely difficult to discover ten
women who were ready to respond to his
! mania.
For several days he had been much
afraid he would have to give it up for
this reason. lie did not yet know how
strong-strong as DEATHS the love of
admiration in pretty women.
i Paul, having picked out the best and
most quiet streets, began by looking up
at the closed blinds with eager, anxious
chances. The second day he saw one of
the blinds move in the Rue de la Fare
he ogled it more anxiously than ever.
/ The blind opened. He saw lovely face
appear. Paul wrote down in his memo
randum book the street and number. In
two weeks he had got down to ten names
and ten numbers Ten was his maxi
mum. AS to the ladies, overwhelmed as
they were by cares, anxieties and griefs,
his strange behavior and his evident ad-
miration became to them source of
great amusement and curiosity. His
appearance made daily break in the
tedious monotony of their existence. 1t
gave them new interest in their dress.
Their indoor life had new object. 1t
was something in those times to have
even the semblance of lover. At first
they nearly all thought Pauls proceed
ings rather queer, and, if it had not been
for their great curiosity and an equally
great wish for some amusing break in
their dull lives, they would have been
offended at such cavalier proceedings,
and at the idea of being summoned like
a dog by the whistle of any lover. At
any other period they would have kept
themselves close hidden behind their
blinds and have laughed at their street
admirers love-lorn looks and gestures !:
but il. 1893 everything in this life was
out of its usual course, and poor PauPs
notion, which five years later OF earlier