Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1883-04-05
MONSIEUR, MY HUSBAND.

And you mean to tell me my broth
er proposes to marry Marie to u Prus-
sianP" Mile Archaimbault, the sister
OF the well-known Strasburg banker,
was for once reused from her ordinary
well-bred calm. She spoke shrilly, and
her dark eyes sparkled with rage.
81 do" said the ugly little abbe, the
great friend Of the family, and confessor
to Marie Archaimbault and that believed
twin-brOther, Alphonsc, who was kill
ed in the late Franco-German war
The able and NJ lie ArChaimbault (whO
kept house for her widowed brother,
were seated in the magniIicentdrawin
room Of the Hotel Archaimbault in
Strasburg.
"lmpOssible-preposterous Marie
the best match in the town-whO might
marry vicomtc at the very least, !"
and the aunt glanced compacently
around at the tapestried walls, the
heavy amber satin draperies, the
massive gilt furniture and marqucturie
cabinets arrayed rs primly as the gar
den outside, where avenus, cut straight
ly as if by some sharp giant knife,
ended in sta'ue or Il fountain. Marie
to marry Prussianl My brother
must be mad, oryou'-turnmg sharply
to the abbe-''are jesting.'
II never telt less inclined TO do so,
mademoiseie. And, indeed, the
abbe's wrlnkled Leather face was twis-
ted into an expression of grave per-
pleXity as he leaned his elbows on his
knees, loosely clasping his thin hands,
and staring vaguely at the huge rose
bou lucts on The Aubusson carpet. He
understood the letter he had that morn
ing received from his friend, the
banker, well. 1t was dated Paris, and
commissioned the abbe to break the
news OF his consent to the pretcnsOns
for Marie's hand of Il young German Of
ticer, the son of Berlin millionaire.
This the abbe, who had been partial
in NJ. ArchaimbauIt's confidence, took
to mean that the recent alarming
failure of certain great Partisan bank
ers had so far imperilled the Strasburg
house that failure would only be
averted by this marriage. For Marie's
dol had been Il temporary stop-gap, and
the young German was more than
ready TO mary her without it; in fact;
to make any arrangements NJ. Archaim-
bault pleased.
But the abne did not understand the
bankers postscript, which assumed
Marie's consent, and announced the
arrival of ". ic prCtentlN rs immediate.
"He wishes to have his first interview
with Marie alone" wrote NJ. Archaim-
bault. "Request my sister that it may
be-"
1t was necessary for the able to
break the ice. The roses on the carpet
did not.help him. At last he blurted
out:
"This gentleman arrives to-day"
''Let him arrive" M lie Archaim-
bault leaned back in her chair, folded
her arms lightly across her bosom, and
looked-in the neat black dress she
was still wearing as mourning, not
only for the young nephew murdered
by the PruSsians," but for captured,
subdued, enslaved Strasburg-as grim
and forbidding as prison pOrtculis.
"Lei him arrive. He will not see me"
mo" said the abbe quantity. "Yom
brother desires that he shall see Marie
alone.
No shell thrown into the beautiful
city when beleagured by her victorious
foes could have produced sharper eff
feet. Mile Archalmbault gasped,
paled, choked, took up her fan, then
dropped it and burst into tears.
"That is all right" thought the able
cheerfully. "When once they begin to
cry they give in" Then he gave her
time to "have her cry out" and, walk
ing to the window, gazed out where the
town lay spread out around the proud
cathedral, whose lofty spire seemed
still stretching skyward-the beloved
city, now all patches and props like
some wounded human being. But
mademoiselle wept on, and he came
back to the stately room, thinking how
much more unpleasant this was than
his usual experiences of the hotel the
evenings spent playing picquet with M.
Archaimbault, and teaching the fair,
beautiful Marie English. Latterly
there had been more English and less
picquet; for the banker, after losing
game after game through inadvertance,
would get up and 90 to his own room,
and the abbe, after taking few
thoughtful pinches of snuff, would put
away the cards and join Marie where
she sat at work in the corner with her
aunt. They had nearly finished read
ing "Ivanhoe;" and to-day an unknown
knight would appear. How little had
they dreamed this!
"Do you not think 1t would be better
to think how we shall break the news
to Marie, instead of crying about itp"
asked the abbe gently. Then as
mademoiselle incoherently murmured
something about "the shock" and be-
ing "totally unnerved," he rang a small
silver hand-bell.