The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-10-09

asking:
''Have you not something else?"
Suddenly she discovered in a black
satin box, a magnificent chain of dia-
monds, 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 costa
cy. Then she asked, hesitating, full
of trouble:
''Can you lend me that, only that?"
"Why, yesi certainly
She rushed to her friend, embraced
her passionately, then bore her treas
ure away.
At the ball Mathilde was prettier
than all the others, elegant, smiling,
and Intoxicated with pleasure. All
the men looked at her, asking her
name, and begged to be presented to
her. She danced with abandon, in the
freshness of her beauty, in a sort of
cloud of happiness.
She left about 4 o'clock in the morn
ing. Her husband threw over her
shoulders the wraps he had brought,
modest garments of every. day life,
which assorted but poorly with the ell
egance 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 descending the stairs.
When they came into the street no
carriages were visible. They walked
shivering toward the Seine. At last
they found upon the wharf one of
those old coupes, seen only after
nightfall in Paris. 1t brought them to
their own door, and they entered
gloomily. For her it was all ended.
He was thinking that he must be at
his desk at 10 o'clock.
She took the wrappings from her
shoulders 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, every
where. They did not find it.
"You are sure you had i. when you
left the ball?" he asked.
"Yes; had my hand on it in the
vestibule"
.'If you had dropped it in the street
we would have heard it fall. 1t must
be in the cab.'
Yes, that is most likely. Did you
take the number?"
mo; didn't you notice it?"
"No."
They looked at each other in con-
sternation and Leoisel began to dress.
81 will go over the whole distance
we walked" said he, ''to see if can
find it,
He went out. She sank into a chair
and remained there in evening dress,
without fire, without strength to 60 to
bed.
Her husband returned about z
o clock. He had found nothing.
He went out again, and she waited
all day in the same state of terror be-
fore this fearful disaster.
Leoisel returned at night with a
pale and hollow face. He had found
nothing.
''You must write to your friend"
said he, "that you have broken the
clasp of the necklace and have sent it
to be repaired. That will give us
Clmo TO turn around.
At the end of week they had lost
all hope. Leolsel, looking five years
older, declared:
''We must contrive to replace the
necklace"
The next day they took the box
which had contained it, and went
from shop to shop, ill with chagr1n and
anxiety, looking for a necklace like
the lost one. They found, at length,
chaplet of diamonds which appear
ed to them exactly what they wanted,
1t was worth $4,000 francs. They
begged the jeweler not to sell it for
three days, and made the condition
that it should be taken back If the lost
one should have been found before the
end of February-LeoiseP father had
left HIM $4,000 francs. The rest he
would have to borrow. He obtained
1000 francs from one man and 500
from another, louis here and 3 louis
there, he incurred ruinous Obligations
with the whole race of usurers He
risked his signature without the least
idea whether he would be able to hon
or it; and oppressed by anguish in
view of the future, by the black power
ty he saw settling down upon them.
by the prospect OF physical privations
and mental tortures, he called for the
new necklace, counting out to the
merchant $4,000 francs.
When Nine. Leoisel took the neck
lace to Nine. Forester the latter said
with annoyance:
''You ought to have returned it
sooner; 1 might have wanted it.
But she did not open the casket.
Mathilde now became acquainted
with the life of the necessitous. She
took up her share of the burden hero
lcally. She was going to help pay this
frightful debt. She dismissed her SER
want and changed her lodgings for an
attic. She learned to perform the
coarse and odious tasks of the kitchen.
She washed the dishes, and wore her
rosy nails to the quick on the bottoms
of greasy kettles. She washed the
soiled linen and dried it on a cord at
the window. She carried the ashes
and sweep1ngs to the street every
morning, and carried up water, stop
ping at each landing of the stairs to
breathe. She went to the grocer and