The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1880-08-20

| Il OetlSfeS. n nice mess L nave maze Oh 1t
bringing the fatal thirteenth guest to din
! ner after taking much trouble to find
| him. dare not raise my eyes, for feel
/ the reproacIlfu look of my motlIer-iu-law
that Is to be scznt!ing my face; but. after
all, we cannot very well turn Saint-Phar
OUT Of doors, and the catastrophe Is attri-
| butable to Cousin Anastasia.
| However every one makes heroic at
tempts to overcome the glooul which has
| settled upon the company. and IS the
i dinner is admirably cooked and served,
AMI the wines are i'll great abundance and
variety, we finally become comparatively
social and agreeable.
! Except Nine. MIrauI, that is. She re-
/ fuses to look at Saint-Phar, who not only
/ is the fatal thirteenth. but also tro0 on poor
Bi;ou's foot. Not that that worthy seems
| greatly to care. | brought him merely to
dine, and he is faithfully carrying out his
contract he only speaks to the Colouel
to ask him to Till his glass, and then, salut-
| ing The deaf aunt, tos>es it off. The Saint-
I Phar is Cecie's future husband. and
| hear her say to tue she-notary. Il
| thought lie was younger. and they said he
was good-looking Tor my part | find him
homel y however, if Cecile Is satisfied
that is the main point
You are mistaken, ''says the she-notary;
''the iuture husband is the one sitting be-
side Cecile. Don't you think it almost in
decent Besides, the mother forgcts that
a projected marriage sometimes comes to
naught.''
You are right" said the deaf old
cousin, who would have it believed that
she is following the drift of the cuuversa-
lion and understands it thoroughly Il
prefer it minced, however, since l have
lost all my teeth
''DoD's you think 1t is shameful, too -
says the she notary to VI. Miraui's brother.
NO, madame, says the worthy gentle
man IF those young people are side by
side it is because Cousin Anastasia, who
Was 10 sit between them, has been unavoid-
ably detained, aud for my part see no
| harm in it, not even ii the marriage never
| takes place -
/ The sLe-notary glares at me. 1 have
! ItSt ii4tdS SOOu AtilItIcSSIUtA VII ncE-tlOI
! has Sl,c on me. Perhaps the old hag want
/ cd To capture Ceci!c for her lGkber OF Il
! sou
And now tle dessert is brought iii, 70
| my delight, tor III ii few minutes Saiut
/ Phar must take his departure. 1t is fright
/ fuI the quantity OF wine lie has absorbed
| into his system, aud lie has been eagerly
| discussing some subject with the old Col
! onel.
''But, - it all, sir, = cries the vencr-
| able soldier, Il tell you | haven't any
| that | had both feet carried away by a
cannon ball at Sebastopol.'
And /. s;r. assure you that you must
have. have found them i'll cases wle1e
people absolutely refused to believe i'll
their existence the surgeon talked of
amputatiug the foot, but came like an
angel of mercy and extirpated the delin-
! quents. aud when it was thus established
! that | was right and the others wrong, l
have displayed the corpus deficit to delight
! ed thousands, and they have instantly
| hailed ne as the great, the clever and the
| incompatible Saint-PIIar. Had / wished
| it, my breast to-day would he covered
with foreign orders, as through my hands
| have passed 10 end of feet belonging to
crowned heads but, as | always say,
| Keep your crosses aud your ribbons aud
leave me my utIepeudeuce-alI feet are
equal before me- | know, sir, that you
have them that the fair but deaf lady OH
my left has them that all the brave men
| and fair women surrounding me haye
them, and under these circumstances |
rise to propose toast. Allem Respect
able family that has been so hospitable
tor me, never shall | forget the two hours
la We spcut in your bosom. You have
conquered my devotion i; lienceforth, by
day or by night, call upon Sainl-Phar-he
will ever be ready to relieve you. Here is
my card, you will find my address ON it,
and now let Inc drink, destruction 70
your corhs - Adieu, new-found and dear
friends, bear you with me i'll my heart:
j lie empties his glass aud leaves the
room a moment later we bear the outer
| door siam behind him.
We lave remained awestruck and stupe-
| fled. Mime Miraul can hardly find strength
to say
I'VE are lost That mau is the devil
and no one else He has drunk to our
death! Thirteen at table -
Come. come, niccey,' says the old
Colonel, bursting iuto laughter, ''he WASN'T
the devil. Here is his card, Inscribed.
inF-Phar, Corn Doctor,
Place de Ia Bourse.
desire the ground to open and swallow
me up ; all eyes are fixed upon me.
.'A-ah, SO he is your friend, ELI 80 saws
the she-notary.
| can no longer stand it: my only way
ont is to tell things aS they nr and 1 hl,,rr