The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-02-02

presence of the Eternal Father.
Every WE'LL" answered the Eternal
Father, ito the one of You who IA not
chosen 1 will give one of the women
who have not been reclaimed, and who.
are encumbering Paradise.
make haste, madame, don't let us
lose any time. Make your choice"
Silent and motionless Jeanne stood
between her two husbands, and both
CASTOR and Raoul tried to think of
sentiment which would go most surely
to her heart.
Remember" said CASTOR, shat
when | married you you had only
800, 900 francs for dot"
"And you had not a cent when i, in
my turn, married you; your dot had
gone for frippery, and Monsieur had
idiotically eaten up his fortune in bac-
carat and the races.
"You had only 100000 francs, and /
could have married little Blanche do
Timiane, who had / 900, 900. know very
we'll that your father said to mo: I
give new dot of 800, 900 francs to my
daughter; but he paid me in the stock
of his Bolivian mines, which stock, at
the end of three months, was worth
II, 900 francs, instead 300, 000."
81 did not think about the question
of money. / always said to myself: If
l marry; 1 want the prettiest and most
stylish woman in Paris That is the
reast n / married you, Jeannette.
Fourteen thousand francs / had
but IA, 600 francs! And yet did over
dispute one of your dressmaker's bills?
And they were outrageously dear, those
bills. l still remember certain memo
randa of II, 900 Fl ancs."
"And 1 have had one of $4,000!
And, too, l did not have, like
Monsieur, million francs of rentes;
but l was so proud of your beauty,
Jeanne, and the uproar which this
beauty created in the world. Your
luxury was my great pride. What
laces and diamonds! What carriages
What horses What Everiesl And
your chamber, Jeanette, your cham
Der of rubysatinl And then the boxes
in all the first tiersl Three
hundred francs did pay for the first
box to La Famille Benoiton?"
Boxes? He speaks of boxes Why,
even before / was married, it was who
always paid for the boxes. The first
one at Petit Faust cost me 400 francs,
and in 1868 gave 500 francs for one at
PATHS benefit"
1.-The date he remembers the datel
Why, you dined with me five times
week, Monsieur, and you were always
crammed in our box at the Italiens and
the Opera; you who make so much fuss
about two or three miserable boxes of
fered to my wife"
~Two or three? But, in truth, such
particulars are Infamous"
s. It is my advice" said the Eternal
Father, who was beginning to get i'm
patient in his cloud, "cut it short,
gentlemen. Cut it short, and l entreat
You, madame, make choice"
Jeanne remained impressive, and the
two husbands talk, talk, talk.
Remember" said CASTOR, " for you
1 ruined my career / resigned my
commission of Captain of the Hussars,
because you did not want to come to
the garrison at Sarregueminis.
"And attached myself to the En-
pire on account of my love for you.
Monsieur, You have gone to the Minis
terial assemblies and TO the official
balls. That kind of thing amused you.
You were not willing to renounce them,
while, to the great horror of all my
friends, ] consented to show myself at
the Tuieries. / at the Tuileries, at the
house of Napoleonl"
"No politics." cried the Eternal
Father, and, above all, nothing de-
rogatory to the Emperor Napoleon Ill.
He has but to withdraw his troops from
Rome. What would become of the
council ?"
$50 be it; no politics. Beside, 1
have few conclusive words to say"
said CASTOR. "Jeane, my dear Jean
ne, remember our love our long
walks in the evening in the woods to
your fathers, at Roches- Crises We
walked slowly, very slowly, through
the little lanes, your head on my shout
der. And then, on the day of our mar
riage, we went all alone, at six o'clock,
by the post. We arrived ut my house
at midnight, in the most horrible cold.
The country was all white, don't you
remember? And what an Immense fire
we found in the chateau, and in what
trouble we both werep
Really, sir" brusquely interrupted
Raoul, "such "reminiscences are out of
place"
cit rs possible, Monsieur, but I am
allowed to do ito speak of my love
and also of my confidence. My con-
fidence was splendid thing! What a
number of people said to me, Take
care of Raoul.' Raoul. that was Mon
sieur THAT he is very fond of You is
understood; but there is one person
that he is still fonder of, and that per-
son is your wife l disdained all this
gose;r"
81 have word to say, too, on the
subject of confidence. Later, sir, after
you, when /, in my turn, was the hus-
band, the little slanderers still went
their way. They spoke to me about
Monsieur de Lericourt--to mel What
an absurdity! He was my best friendi u
noticed that Jeanne could not help
giving little start when she heard the
name of Monsieur de Lerieourt.
noticed it, but Raoul saw nothing, and
continued And then Lericourt was
killed in Mexico, and when you hoard