The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-01-12
THE DAILY STAR
TIL PROFESSORS DECLARATION.
CHAPTER III-(CoNTTNUEp.)

OI1AI EAIe 1lI-tSONIiNOE OEOst
Nelly's face had been study through.
out Marcottis performance. Expecta-
tion, disappointment, biushing surprise,
pleasure, annoyance, fitted over it in
rapid succession, like shadows over a
mountain side. At the beginning of the
discourse she exchanged amused glances
with her mother, towards the middle
she was apparently absorbed in the Jap
anese figures on her fan. But at the
conclusion she echoed the general laugh,
and her merry blue eyes, after travelling
around the room, frankly met her moth
er's puzzled gaze. At the same time she
whispered:
''Poor Professor! He is feeble cham
pion to the cause. How dreadfully he
has wandered from the question! Imust
tease him about it presently"
"You had better hold your tongue"
replied Mrs. Peel, with sharpness total
ly foreign to her usual placidity, and
a look that made her daughter return to
the contemplation of her Japanese ladies.
Spazzagalera's voice had been grating
in her ears for some moments before she
reused herself to listen to him.
A gallery ran across one end OF the
hall, and there, in its front row, stood
the advocate, his evil face turned towards
the platform, pouring forth torrent of
cynicism in the easy style acquired by
long practice in criminal courts. OF
course he disagreed in toto with the OBJ
ject of the lecture, but he spared the
lecturer and rushed into scathing COM
mentary on our poor Professors speech.
He then went on to advocate female ig-
norance in his usual fashion, declaring
that no woman of literary tastes was fit
to have charge of household, and that
he had invariably noticed that the chill
dren of such women had unwashed hands
and faces. How the could possession of
a wife conversant with Fetrarch's sonnets
compensate man for ill-cooked dinners
and buttonless shirts? No! let woman
keep her proper sphere, let her write
washing-lists, ponder over tradesmen's
bills, and content herself with giving
birth to children. Her husbands brains
would make up for her lack of any; man
had enough mental companionship out in
the world; at home he only needed some
one to look after his house, mend his
clothes, and look after the children. As
for the ideal woman so eloquently de-
scribed in the. foregoing speech, it had
been quite unnecessary for the speaker
to proclaim his celibacy. If the learned
Professor had had a wife of the pattern
he had dwelt upon with so much gusto,
he would speedily have repented having
ever married her.
This ingenious discourse was loudly
applauded by the majority of the
audience, and the Marchesa beamed with
exMtation.
The lecturer, with a comical look of
distress, waited few moments, in the
hope that the Professor would retort;
but as our crushed hero gave no sign, he
himself attempted to bring back tie dis
cussion to the real point at issue. But
it was impossible. Public opinion, with
customary indiscrimination, had gone
over to Spazzagalera; and though lady
rose and momentarily turned the laugh
against him by her witty refutations of
her calumnies on her sex; though one or
two sensible speeches were delivered,
Spazzagalera was ever on his feet to re-
ply, and the meeting broke up without
any definite conclusion being arrived at.
The Professor hardly heardh word that
was said; he was still overwhelmed by
the flight of his own audacity. =
"Why didn't you speak again?" asked
Nelly mischievously, as he timidly assist
ed her to put on her cloak.
Heranswered nothing, only shook his
head aud looked At her mournfully.
It;had been arranged that the ladies
were to return home on foot escorted by
the Professor. The moonlight walk
down the silent street by the river would
have been delightful under other circum-
stances. Now, it was with positive re-
lief that our hero received Mrs. Peel's
stiffly made announcement that she pre-
ferred to drive. But he noticed that her
hurried goodnight was unaccompanied
by her usual "a rivederci presto" (come
and see us again soon.) Nelly, too, was
mute, and he walked slowly homewards
with countenance as long as on the
November day when he had first heard
of the strangers arrival.
Did they understand what he had done?
Did he himself understand the force of
his revelation? For scientific man.
the Professors mind was in chaotic
condition! He could not comprehend
what had induced him to stand up in
public and make that foolish speech !!
Certainly Miss Nelly had begged him to
second the lecturer, but why had he not
refused? Why had he damaged his rep
utation by suffering and stammering
about a subject that was foreign to his
studies? Why, indeed?
But even while he asked himself the
question as he paced up and down his
library during the small hours, secret
voice told him that it would not be easy
for him to refuse any request uttered by
a certain sweet girl voice, seconded by
the glance Of certain bright blue eyes.
So, all the more he tried to persuade
himself that he was only savage at his
own bungling as an orator, not at having
drawn portrait instead Of clenching an