Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1879-05-22

| lllt 4Iuot VI 1 btllN Htlotll was ilbNtllHE
over us and protecting us with her spot
less wings. Who would have dared ia
think of evil under the shield of Poetry:
Is she not immaculate2 Does she not pu-
rity all that grows under her wings?
Count Alexis said all this to me, and |
listened cnraptured-cnraptued above all
at not being obliged to answer, for
should not have known what to say.
Changing the subject abruptly, he began
speaking Of the Caucasus. Nowadays the
shopkceperS in the Prospcctf Newsky sell
materials, knick-knacks, an authentic col.
lection Of weapons from that country, and
by means OF money one can create for one $
self an Emir's paradise. But then the
Caucasus was in the full bloom of novelty;
Il few officers had brought wonders thence
and it was the dream Of all bellies to pos
sess some stuff, some trinket coming from
this Eden, so full Of the smoke Of firearms
and the essence of roses
at was i'll the Caucasus, said Alexis,
that have wished to live with you-you
so beautiful, so noble, 50 courageous" Il
was not at all courageous but then he did
not know thatl "ln the midst of those
mountains, in the reccsscs of some valley
shaded by great oaks we would have lived
happy, forgetting and forgotten! would
have spread the sottest of carpets beneath
your feet he tramplcd with disdain on
Il superb velvety Aubusson that had cost
me sixty francs the yard, but thought
much more OF Persian carpets, naturally!
81 would have rniurlcd the embroidered
silks Of the East before you; your quccnly
hands would have toyed with necklaces OF
amber and pearls. AprOpOs, he said, in
tcnupting himSclfanl turning towards me
edo you know that what ! have brought
from the Caucasus would furnish pal
ace?"
had heard of Count Alexis Circassian
boudoir, but the owner of the boudoir in
tercsted me sufficiently to have prevented
my curiosity from attaching itself to
what belonged to him.
81 have heard Of it, " | said, abScntly.
He then began to enumeratc his riches
to me, to dazzle my imagination by de-
Scripton of the strange and charming OBJ
lcCtS that filled his apartment; and when
he saw how fascinated was 10y his account
he said with sigh: "What is the use Of
speaking of it, it ought to be seen"
| sighed lnstlnctlyCy, as IN echo to him
doubtless
"But, Princess, " cried my hero, sudden.
ly, as if awakening from a dream, why
should you not 20 to see t?'
Count" replied |, Indignantly, witha
secret pleasure however, at being invited.
81 meant no harm!" he answered with
the most jcsutical air. 81 am away from
home all day. If you will lonormy trlIIcs
by deIgning to look at them, you may he
quite sure that the mastrrott the house will
not offend your eyes by his presence" ="
But, answered |, dcyoured by the
demon of curiosity, and also, it must he
said, consumed with I'm ardent desire to
see the place inhabited by so fascinating Il
mortal, such Il step would compromise
me-"
"You need not come by daylight" said
my tcmptcr "At night, toward eight |
o'clock, when it Is dark, Il staircase lead |
ing into the portecochcrc, will take you
directly into my cabinet without passing |
under the eyes Of the Suisse who guards |
the staircase. My servants, even, will
hear nothing aboutit; this little key opens
the door"
lie handed me a kcy-such a key! The
size of Il watch-kcy, IN chased gold and
ornamcntcd withrubrs. That key would
have been the pcrdition Of IL saint, such
wonders did it promise. He placed it be-
fore me; kept silence.
"What day?" said he, in IL low voice.
pushed away the key.
"No, Count, | shall not 60"
al ask You what day, so as not to run
the risk Of meeting you-as have prom
ised you that you should not see me"
In short, what is positive, is that FIVE
minutes atterward was alone, the key in
my hand, and having promised to 90 the
next evening.
pass over in silence the history of my
rcmOrSc. of my agitation, of the resOlu-
tions taken and then tOrsaken. Thirty
two times sworc to myself that would |
not 90, but thirty-thrcc times represent
ed to myself that ran no risk, that the
word off gentleman ought to suffice me,
and curiosity carried the day by a majority
of one voice, For that matter, think it
would have carried the day under any
circumstances.
The next evening, having found Nn cx-
ccllcnt prcteXt-cXcelent, because it had
taken me fourteen hours to find it-I left
my home furt:yely, on foot. Count Alexis
lived in the nelghbOring street and ! soon
arrived under the pOrte-cOcherc of his
house. This portccocherc seemed to me
extraordinary. Since that time ! have
been able to convince myself that it diff
fcrcd in nothing from Others but only
think, during my whole life had never
been under portc.cochcrc on foot. only
knew it as Il place through which the car
riagc and horses passed when coming to
take me up at the street door. This par
hcuar will give you an idea of what sort
OF woman | was then: widow and a
mother. but more ignorant Of life than
child of three.
! perceived the door in question; | rs.
cendcd three steps-no one saw mc-thc
courtyard was deserted, by order, doubt
less, have since thought. | pushed the
key into the keyhole, not without trem-
bling little, and entered.
A tiny ante-chambcr lit by lantern of
colored glass and filed with mirrors in
sOmber frames, offered me warm hospi.
tality; there were flowers everywhere, but
little light, not breath of air. listen.
ed-not sound. The stiffness reassurcd
me. threw off my cloak and opened the
door Count Alexis had said truly; his
cabinet was a marvel. The first glance
gave me an impression of entire satisfac
tion, such as we feel when our sense of
the beautiful has nothing more to desire.
The sweet and subtle perfume that the
very hangings gave forth charmed with
out Intoxicating, the lamps were so clever
ly placed as to leave nothing in shadow,
and at the same time not to hurt the eyes;
light and shade were here in irreproach-
able contrast from the aesthetic point of
view; and what beautiful things! De-
cidedly, Count Alexis was a great ma
gician!
When | had touched every box, opened
every drawer, tried on every jewel, |
looked at door with superb hangings
which led apparently into the inner rooms
examined the keyhole-it was locked on
the outside. put my ear to it without
shame or confusion, and | heard these
words, spoken by servant, probably;
"Do come down; the Count will be here
before ten minutes.
Some one passed by on tip toe and ST.
lence was re-established. retired safely |
to q low divan, placed at the other end Of
the room, and sat down to reflect. As the
Count Is coming, why don't you go away? |
demanded the reasonable part of my in
telligence.
xNI AZ