St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-26
THE DIAMOND NECKLACE.
How Small "a Thing Can Make O.
Mara Destiny.

How Small "a Thing Can Make or
Mar n Destiny.
She was one of those beautiful girls, born
as if by mistake of destiny, into family OF
laborers. She had no dowry, no prospects,
no way of becoming known, loved and
married by rich and distinguished man;
and she gave her hand to petty clerk of
the bureau of public instruction.
She was as wretched as a diSinherited
princess. A woman's beauty and grace
take the place of birth or family. Her ma
tive refinement, her instinct for elegance,
her facile wit, are the seal of royalty, and
make daughter of the people equal with
the greatest lady.
She suffered constantly from the wretched-
ness of her abode. the baroness of its walls,
the age and uglinesS of its furnishings.
She dreamed of silent ante-chambers, hung
with Oriental stutfS and lighted with lofty
bronze lamps; of great drawingsrooms
draped with ancient silks, and of coquettish
perfumed little parlors for long and init
mate talks with close friends.
When she sat before the round table. COW
cred with thrice-used cloth, opposite her
husband. who uncovered the SOup-tureen
with the delighted exclamation, ''Ah, good
soup. there is nothing betterl' she thought
of delicate dinners, of cleaning plate, Of
tapestries to people the walls with ancient
personages and strange birds in the depths
of enchanted forests: she thought of whis
pered gallantries received with a mysterious
smile. while the fair listener partoOk of the
rosy flesh of trout or WOOd-henS wing.
She bad no dress. no jewels, nothing;
and that was all she cared fOr-all she was
made for. She had an irresistible longing
to charm, to be envied, admired and
courted. She spent days in weeping with
regret and despair
One evening her husband came home with
A proud look bearing a card of invitation to
ball at The residence of the minister of
public instruction.
Instead of being delighted, as he had
hoped, she threw the invitation spitefully to
the floor murmuring:
''What do you expect TO do with ito"
''Why, my dear, 1 thought you would be
pleased. You never 90 out. and this will
be fine opportunity. have been at in
finite pains to get it."
She looked at him with irritation, and
demanded impatiently:
''What do you expect me to put on my
back?"
He had not thought of that. lie stam-
mered:
why, the dress you wore to the theater.
1t looks very well to me-
lie stopped stupefed, overwhelmed, at
seeing his wife in tears. Two great drops
rolled slowly from the corners of her ewes
to the corners of her mouth.
''What is the matter, dear?" he began.
But by desperate effort she overcame her
distress, and answered calmly, as she
wiped her wet cheeks:
Nothing. Only L have no dress, and,
consequently, l cannot go to this ball. Give
the card to some friend whose wife is better
fitted out than l."
He was in despair. He tried once more:
Let us see, Mathilde. How much would
a suitable dress cost; something simple
which would be useful on other OccasiOnS?'
She reflected few seconds, counting I'D
the sum, taking also into the question the
amount which she could ask for without
calling forth an immediate refusal from her
economical husband.
At last she replied, heStatingly:
81 cannot tell exactly. but it seems to
me that | could get along with 400 francs"
He turned quite pale. for he had Just that
sum. intending to buy gun and join some
hunting parties the following summer. He
replied, however:
Very well. l will give you 400 francs
But you must get a handsome dress"
The day of the ball drew near and Ma
thilde seemed sad and anxious. She had not
been like herself for three days. o., her
husbands inquiry as to what troubled her
she replied:
- have no jewels, not a single stone to
wear. l shall make very mean appear
ance. L had almost rather not go at all"
But he exclaimed:
GLOW foolish you are! Go to your friend.
Nine. Forester, and ask her to lend you
some jewels. You are quite intimate
enough with her to do that"
The next day, accordingly, she told her
perpleXity to her friend.
Nine. Forester brought a large case from
her cabinet, and told Mathilde TO take her
choice.
She looked at bracelets. at pearl neck
lace, and Venetian cross. She tried on
the jewels before the mirror, and could not
make up her mind to give them up. She
kept asking:
Have you not something else?"
Suddenly she discovered in a black satin
box, magnificent chain OF diamonds. and
her heart began to beat with immoderate
desire. She seized it with trembling hands.
She clasped it around her throat, over her
high dress, and looked at herself in ecstasy.
Then she asked, hesitating, full of trouble:
Can you lend me that, only that?"
''Why, yes; certainly"
She rushed to her friend. embraced her
passionately, then bore her treasury away.
At the ball Mathlde was prettier than all
the others, elegant, graceful, smiling and
intoxicated with pleasure All the men
looked at her, asked her name, and begged
10 be presented to her. She danced with
abandon, i'll the triumph of her beauty, in a
sort of cloud of happiness.
She left about o'clock in the morning.
Her husband threw over her shoulders the
wraps he had brought modest garments of
everyday life. which assorted but poorly
with the elegance of her ball toilet. She
felt this. and wished to escape without be-
ing noticed by the other ladies, who were
wrapping themselves in rich furs. Her
husband tried to restrain her. but she was
already rapidly descending the stairs. When
they came into the street no carriages were
visible. They walked Shivering toward the
Seine. AT last they found on the wharf
one of those old coupeS. seen only after
nightfall III Paris. 1t brought them to their
own door, and they entered glOomily. He
was thinking that he must be at his desk at
10 o'clock.
She took the wrappings from her shout
derS before her mirror, that she might see
herself once more in her glory. Suddenly
she gave cry and turned to her husband in
distraction. There was no necklace about
her neck.
They looked in the folds of her dress and
cloak, in her pockets, everywhere. They
did not find it.