McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1883-11-08
MRS. FRERE's DIAMONDS.

MRS. FRERE's DIAMONDS.
Mr.. Frere was very rich old gentle
man of somewhat parsimonious habits.
His one extravaganza was love for
young women. He was an excellent
example of the elderly lover; he was not
satisfied unless he had pretty young
wife, and then he made love to the sex
at large, bargaining only for youth and
beauty.
The first Mrs. Frere was lovely girl
with blue blood in her veins. She was
poor, and Mr.. Frere's wealth tempted
her. She brought with her as her sole
dowry splendid diamond. necklace,
which had been preserved as an heir
loom in her family. Mr.. Frere was
almost as proud of this as he was of his
wife, and he, from time to time, added
diamond ornaments, until finally she
possessed one of the finest sets to be
seen in any London drawing-room. She
altered strangely after her marriage,
became devoted to dress, amusement
and excitement. But she was quiet and
amiable with her husband, except that
at first she frequently complained be-
cause he would not give her all she
wished. But after awhile she left off
reproaching him. He would not give
her an allowance; he liked to play the
generous and uxorious husband, and
give her dress when it took his fancy
to do so. There was dangerous light
in her eyes sometimes when she submit
ted to him. But she did submit.
Eventually, however, she lost pa
tience, and dealt him the hardest blow
that lies within a woman's power. She
ran away with wild young cousin of
her own whom she had loved before
her marriage. He was spendthrift,
and had made away with his slender
fortune; so Mr.. Frere had one comfort
in his uneasy situation-he felt sure
that his foolish wife would discover
now what poverty meant. She had
gone to Paris, and those who met her
thought her looking wretchedly i'll;
but she always appeared very gay and
dressed magnifcenlty.
In six months she died, and left Mr..
Frere free of all but her memory. The
cousin went to America and dio not re-
appear in England for many years. 1t
seems he was doing well abroad.
Mr.. Frere had disliked the idea of
getting divorce, perhaps fearing that
his bald crown and scant fringe of
white hairs might raise langh in court.
But now that he was so agreeably set at
liberty he immediately began to pay
assiduous attention to one pretty young
lady after another. The number of
Young ladies with whom his name was
associated did not arise from his own
changeableness, but from their unani-
NOUS rejection of his addresses. For
poor Mrs. Frere's career was not for
gotten. She had been a favorite in her
time, and most sof her acquaintance
regarded him the light of an old ogre,
who had driven her to ruin and death.
This was very trying to Mr.. Frere, for
he really dotted upon youthful beauty,
and he much wished to appear again in
the society which he feared had been
sneering at him, with another young
and lovely bride upon his arm.
But his case really seemed desperate.
Most ladies gave him the cold shoulder
as soon as they guessed at his inten-
tions; if any allowed him to propose, it
was only for the pleasure of refusing
him. The poor old gentleman got
quite depressed and knew not what to
do. He began to think of travelling and
enticing some innocent young creature
into wedlock who had never heard of
the late Mrs. Frere and her sad end.
1t was September, and he was at a
large country home where there were a
number of delicious morsels in the
shape of young women; he could not
tear himself away from their captiva-
tons, yet he dared not propose to any
one of them, for his recent experiences
had made him nervous. 1t was humili-
ating to be rejected by some girlish
creature fresh from the schoolroom,
and then meet her every day; and he
did not want to go away from the
house, for the girls were not unkind to
him. The teased and pleased and flat
tered him. Only he noticed that he
could never be with one of them alone.
They always went about, with him in
little companies of three or four. In
fact, they had determined that the old
would-be lady-killer should never get
the chance to make love to any one of
them. A new addition to the circle,
lady who had been the beauty of the
season Just over, seemed much amused
at this little arrangement. For her
part, she SAID, she had no fear of Mr..
Frere; he was rich enough to be an eli
gible parti; but he seemed afraid to
speak to her. So he was; for she was