, 1884-09-18


And she shook his hand like a man.
He fell in love with her, the good honest
sailor. and TO love her all the moro that, be-
fore long, he came TO understand and pity
her. For he vas not mistaken. Olga was
strange and badly brought up; but she had
no coquetry, and her soul was proud and
true. Who knowsi Perhaps she felt the
vanity Of her life OF pleasure and agitation
What is certain Is that she judged. and judged
severely, all those young fellows who danced
attendance on her In the hunting field, and
wrote their names on her programme every
evening They were all in love with her
but none OF them really respected her. for
there was not one among them who had as
yet made up his mind to ask her 70 marry
him. And she treated them pretty roughly, I
and called them TO order-with q good stroke
OF her riding whip, like the handsome horse
woman she wns-when they ventured
10 whisper too close In her ear
in the whirl OF a waltz, or to squeeze
the hand she held out to them In
good fellowship. Julien, whose refinement Of
heart stood him instead Of quicknoss Of per
ception 1T is often the simple-minded whosoe
the most clearly-had discovered the hidden
treasures Of loyalty in the soul OF his patrf-
clan, who was In reality 50 unhappy. He
loved her for her beauty certainly, and his
senses reeled when he felt her lean upon his
arm in the pauses of the d~Rnce-tiIis grand
fair woman, with her dark eyes, and her
skin that seemed 50 like the rose after n
storm, when. In her nonchalant way, she
talked T. him. Intoxicating him with the
violet fragrance Of her breath md the glitter
OF her starry eyes. But he loved her as well,
he loved her above all for the pain she hid 50
proudly, and his heart burned as he watched
the sad, sorrowful glance that Olga bent ON
her mother when Madame Barbarino, at her
four-to-six ten-sitting with her back to the
light to hide the black spots on her nose,
against which even the anti-bolbos was
powerlesx-hinted almost openly at her royal
~conquests in the northern courts
He would marry her. Yes, he would take
her away from these perilous surroundings
would take her to his own mother, who was
a good woman She should breathe the puri-
flying and strengthening atmosphere OF q
home that was worthy OF the name. In .
word, he would save heri
He often thought of It; he thought Of moth
ing else now. He even fancied sometimes
that Olga had guessed his intention, and at
Madame Barbarine's four-to-six, wheru Olga
treated all her admirers in that frank, boy1I
ish way Of hers, when she handed the sailor
his tea In a glass, after the Russian fashion, '
be thought be saw in the depth OF the young
girls eyes a sweet, far-away light that
rtiltl u Tt0pou1 70 u ktntTOua pity anu
infinite tenderness.
E
yes, ~mademoiselle, my sick leave is up
in a week. / shall leave Pau tomorrow. l
shall spend a few days in Touraine with my
sister, and from there 1 shall go back to
Brest as aide-de-camp to the naval project
In n year or eighteen months | shall 60 70
sea again.
They were alone in the ~readin--room OF
the hotel, standing near an open window,
with thousands OF stars twinkling and glim-
mering above them In the dark heavens.
Goodbye, then, and IA pleasant journey"
answered Olga with her fresh firm voice.
Il want 10 ask you for something, Monsieur
de Rhe. Yes, that lions claw mounted on a
little gold ring that you wear at your watch
chain. haven fancy for it. 1t came from
a lion that you once killed out hunting in
Africa, didn'ti III l am n sort of wild animal
myself. That trinket pleases me. Give it to
me: | win keep 1t in remembrance OF your
Julien unfastened the little charm and put
1t into the girls hand; then suddenly he
caught her hand In both his own and whis-
pered, passionately;
II love youl VIII you be my wifef"
Olga loosened her hand gently, still hold
ing the lions claw; then, crossing her arms
upon her breast, she looked Julien in the face
for a moment with no sign Of emotion on her
own.
mo" she said, at last, mol And yet you
are the first man who has loved me, and told
me 80 in that Straightforward way. 1t Is Tor
that reason that l refuse"
"Olgai' cried Julien in a changed voice.
Listen to me, she went on, ~interrupting
him by a gesture, "and understand thoroughly
why | answer no. 1 feel that l am not
xxftrfhrf ~ Nrou aud I ehOtld not rnaka Won
happy. You remember that letter OF your
sisters that you complained Of having lostf
Well, you dropped IL here, and L picked It up
and read It. Your sister answered the con-
fessions you Ind made OF your feelings for
me-feelings that I had guessed long ago.
She rejoiced at them, like the simple, limo
cent child size is, but in terms that have
shown me what a wide, what a terrible DIFF
ference there Is between me and a real
maiden. When 1 read that letter Il
saw what your family was like.
Yours is mn old and honorable house
Is it noti-into which you should bring
none but an honorable wife. You
should thank God, Monsieur de Rhe, that
you have n g~ray-haired mother Of whom
you can mover think without feeling n proud
Tenderness melting your heart l have a
mother. too, but l have been forced TO judge
her. You have only seen the ridiculous side,
monsieur. but / know her better. II you
were TO ask her for my hand, she would no
fuse you, because you are Of the minor no
bility, and your fortune is moderate. My
mother has made up her mind | am 10 make
a grand marriage; or, II motif not, she will
find me something else. HEINZ You sec I am
pretty experienced for a girl of 19l 1t is
horrible-is II mott But so It Is. And that is
why we were at Nice last winter, at Skew
eningue last summer and why we
are now at Pau. That is why we knock
about from one end Of Europe to another
like 80 much baggage; why We never sleep
but in hotel beds, and only eat at the table
d'hote. My mother was almost a royal
princes. you know, and ever since / was
10 she has given me to understand that l am
destined to be at least IN archduchez, II
only a l~eft-handed one. Marry u gentleman
hardly more than a mere b~ourgeoisi Why,
In her eyes, ! should be lowering myself.
An, you must be disguised with me; and !
am ashamed Of myself No, don't deny it
No, you could never taxi me TO your mother
i, whose heart has been SO dehled-as your
wife. Besides, / am only an expensive and
useless luxury that you have no need Of,
and that could never make you happy. And,
for that matter, 1 don't love you'll don't
love any one. Love is among the things that
have been forbidden me. Farewell, Mon
sieur de Rhe. Go away, and say no more,
for Gods sake. Only-you ein cave ne
your Lions claw, won't youl 1t will remind
me OF a true-hearted man, to whom / have
acted like a true-hearted woman No; say
no more. We must part forever. Fare
WE'LL
Three years after the steam transport, Du
couedic. returning from Senegal. touched al
the Canaries to take in letters. After she had
started on her journey through the rough
night again, the boatswain came into the Of
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