Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-02-06

bier. where stood the bright red scaffold
surmounted by the guillotine.
| Movement and order were not, as in
our own day, going on in every part Of
the busy city. And the silence Of the
better class of streets WAS heightened
by it's contrast with the hoarse roar that
could be heard far off round the revolu-
tionary victims. Over all doors was
written a saying of that day "Liue free,
or die ~ alas, the latter was commonly
the sole alternative.
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
likely to escape those uncharitable re-
marks which are sure to be made in Or
binary times on persons who take the
public into 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 became extremely difficult to discover
ten women, who we're ready to respond
to his mania.
For several days he had been much
afraid he would have to give it up for
this reason He did not yet know how
strong-strong as death--is the love of
admiration in pretty women.
Paul, having picked out the best ard
most quiet streets, began by looking up
at the closed blinds with eager, anxious
Eglances. The second dayhe saw one ofthe
blinds move in the Rue de la Fare; he
og'ed it more anxiously than ever. The
blind opened. He saw a lovely face APP
pear. Paul wrote down in his memoir
andum book the street and number. In
two weeks he had got down ten names
and ten numbers. Ten was his max
imum. AS to the ladies, overwhelmed
as they were by cares, anxietles, and
griefs, his strange behavior, and his
evident admiration became to them a
source of great amusement and curl
osity. His appearance made daily
break in the tedious monOtony of their
existence. 1t gave them new inter
est in their dress. Their indoor life
had a new object 1t was something
in those times to have even the SEM
bance Of a lover At first they nearly
all thought Paui's proceedings 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 dog by
the whistle Of any lover. At any other
period they would have kept them
selves close hidden behind their blinds
and have laughed at their street adj
mirer's love-lorn looks and gestures; but
in 1893 everything in this life was out
of its usual course, and poor Pauls
notion, which five years later or earlier
would have made him the talk of Mar
settles, had a complete success.
The toll and exposure of such love
making became SO great that Paul lost
all his flesh and his vitality. His pur
pose was to die of love, and he was in
a fair way of accomplishing it. His
eyes were becoming hollow; his nose,
which by nature was very handsome,
was getting too large for his other fea-
lures: his cheeks were falling in; his
/ legs were getting shaky: his heart Tin
which there burned ten flames) was
like a brazier When ne began the
ladies saw in him a man of cheerful
countenancc, rather too stout, perhaps
but we'll proportloned, graceful and well
bred in his manners, we'll dressed and
we'll fed. Rut everything about him
dropped into ruin by degrees. His state
of mind appea, ed to have its influence
upon everything. Each Of the ten
ladies felt proud Of the ravages that
her charms had made upon her adorer.
Each thought herself of course his only
love. The idea that Paul repeated nine
times every day the part each saw him
act before her house, never entered
their imaginations. Vanguard had
chosen loves who lived at some dis
lance from each other. TO sum up all,
the state of solitude and general mis-
trust IN which everybody lived, favored
this tenfold lover. '''
At last some one denounced him to
the revolutionary tribunal. The man
who had sent in his name. to Brutus ac-
companied by a memorandum was a
sort Of club orator, who lived On the
first floor Of the house in which our
hero had room. Paul was SO preoc-
cupied with the disturbed state of his
affections that he had failed to perceive
that this formidable fellow-lodger had
logged his footsteps one day when he
was on his daily round. Before that hap
pened, however, nearly three months
Of hisslife had been spent in state of
enchantment. And he had not alto
gether limited himself to ten acts Of
tender pantomime; his feelings had also
been set down in words. Each night,
after dark. by the light of his solitary
lamp, Paul took ten sheets Of paper,
seized his pen and wrote ten letters,
folded them with care and skill, and in
the morning put them into his pocket.
Each letter was signed, Paul Vanguard,
merchant, the most dev ted ct men," AS
each note was without any address,
Paul pulled them out at random, and,
after having shown one to each lady at
the window for moment, laid it on the
doorstep at once disappeared.