The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-03-27

miration; and Block stood, glass in
hand, narrowly watching his would be
benefactors while he spoke, and in his
heart he crowed over them, and slipped
his triumph like II precious wine, with
keen relish, in small delicious sips.
There could be no doubt of it; it was
an enormous success. But all things
must have an end, and so also a banquet.
1t was long after midnight. when the
guests departed; and when at last Anton
and Apollonia stood alone in the desert.
ed salon. he suddenly clasped her in his
arms and kissed her. He had to give
vent to his ecstacy in some way. If she
had not happened to be near he might
have embraced the waiter.
''Glory, glory, hallelujahl !" he shout
ed, and waltzed round the room with her
like a mailman.
"NIr. Block! Mr.. Blockr' she cried,
in faint remonstrance, ''let me GO"
"Glory halleluiah !" cried Block, and
whirled about with more maddening
speed.
II shall die, Mr.. Block" she whisper
ed, sinking into his arms exhausted.
''Do die" exclaimed Block, with wild
boyish abandon; "let us both die. We
may never have another chance of dying
so gloriously."
Then flinging his arms about Apol-
lonia's waist he lifted her up on the
table. struck an attitude before her, and
declaimed:
ooh happy he whom Death the bloody
In victory's radiance winds about his crest,
Or whom in rapture of swift maddening
dances
He finds reposing on his maiden's breast;
Oh, would that !, before thu Spirits power,
Had fallen stark and dead in victory's
hour!'
1t was a pity, perhaps, that Mr.. Blocks
prayer was not fulfilled. He would then
have left a glorious name behind him,
and Mr.. Breitkopf would perhaps have
bought in his whole collection at auc-
ton, and founded the Block museum in
his native city. Moreover, if Death had
taken him at his word, he would have
been absolved from the unpleasant neces-
sity of paying the bill for the banquet,
which, / regret to say, amounted to
$2,521.30 Block came near fainting
when it was presented to him; but
quickly collecting himself, he seated him
self easily, and without a murmur of
protest made out a check for the amount.
1t WAS done with such royal sang-frold
that the caterer, who had come prepared
to hagglc, and perhaps to take off thirty
or forty per cent, was completely dumb
founded. lie was about to apologize or
justify his charges; but Block waved
him off grandly, and seized his palette.
But no sooner had the rascal gone than
he hastily wrapped one of his pictures in
a pillow-case, ran to a pawnSroker, and
obtained the fifty francs which were
needed to square his account with the
bank.
Thereupon Anton Block resumed his
gentcel and well-disguised tight with his
ancient enemy poverty. He represented
to Apollonia that, all things considered,
it would be rather an unwise proceeding
10 marry just now, and Apollonia, good
old soul that she was, was tearfully and
reluctantly persuaded that Mr.. Block was
right, as always. What particularly i'm
pressed her was the necessity of produc-
ing as many masterpieces as possible for
the post-mortem museum, and it was
evident that if Mr.. Block was married,
he could not devote his undivided zeal
and ambition to this sublime cause. To be
sure, there was a proposition which
trcmbled on the very tip of her tongue,
and that was that Mr.. Block might oc-
cupy the position in her house which
the Italian prince had vainly coveted;
e. g., become a free matrimonial boarder
in return for the dignity which his illus
trious name conferred on the proprietrcss
of the establishment. But the unmaiden-
ly boldness of such a proposal presently
rose before her in all its enormity, and
she became so fustcred that there was
nothing left for her but meekly acquicsce
in Mr.. Blocks arrangements. The last
agreement, | believe, is that as soon as
Breitkopf establishes the Block Museum
in Berne their wedding day is to be fixed.
But up to date Mr.. Brcitkopf has kept
remarkably quiet. Nevertheless, Apol-
lonia never takes up a Rerne newspaper
without a feverish little blush and "a
strange and unaccountable agitation
Ualaar II. Boyesen, in Jumpers Weekly.