The Press., 1888-02-02


 cnly after walking nearly a quarter of mile in the cold damp street that they met Wltn' R one of these horrible night cabs which patrol the streets of Paris in, quest of adventures.
 They were both very tired and out of sorts r when theyreaehed their quarters, she because the fete was over and he because he had to be at his office at 9 o'clock, and conse- quently had only three hours of sleep before him.
 Renee. however, went to the glass to givo oEe more admiring look at all her hnery, when suddenly she uttered scream of horror
 The diamond necklace was gonel
 Her husband and herself, both as pale as death and trembling from head to tooV' searched the rooms, the staircase, thelr own pockets. to no avail. The jewel was nowhere to be found. Unfortunately they did not remember the number of the cab which they had taken
 In despair the poor husband dressed him self again and went back to the ministry to see if the necklace had been dropped there He returned at 7:30 o'clock, broken hearted and worn out. -t r
 He had made inquiries at the police station, and notices inserted in the daily papers, promising handsome reward II tho dla- monds were returned to him, but he acknowl- edged that he had little hopes of ever seeing them again. E
 'sYou must write to your friend, |" said he to his weeping wife, ''that you have broken the clasp of her necklace. and that you are having it mended. This will give us few days to look round, and to see what IS to be done."
 A week elapsed, and the poor young couple lost all hope of ever recovering the missing necklace. Renee was thoroughly ill, and her husband looked at least ten years older than before their misfortune. The only thing to be done. was to buy another necklace and send it t8 Mime. Forestier. But how could they do itl They went from jeweler to | jeweler, aud found necklace at length which Eactly similar to the lost one. It cost 40, ,0O0 Flames - -.s.. ....Is-.- ~- | Their entire fortune amounted to only half this sum- They borrowed the rest from | money. lenders at enormous rates, giving l their signatures and engaging their whole future, and at last, after a fortnight of agony, they bought the necklace, and Renee, trembling at the idea of being detected, took | it to Mime. Forestier, who, without even opening the casket to look at her returned property, told her very coldly that she might have brought it back sooneri | Then began a life of utter misery and ab- | lection for the unfortunate pair They gavo up their lodgings, sent away their only ser want and went to live in two small rooms in @ tenement house. Poor, pretty Renee was obliged to cook her | husbands scanty meals and to wash his linen. She wore out her pink nails in scrub ping the floor, and was forced to do all her | little marketing herself.
 They sold all that they had in order to try l to pay the heavy interests on their enormous debt. Work, work, work, and no pleasure | for Renee from one end of the year to the other.
 The husband, too, worked day and night, posting up petty tradesmen's books and ad- dressing envelopes by the thousand for 8 ridiculous pittance. All this was in addition to his office work. Ten years elapsed. Rea,ee had become an | old woman, prematureIy aged, worn out, 1 haggard, vulgar and coarse through drudgery and hard work. Her husbands hair had turned quite gray, and he was bent almost | double like cripple. At length they succeeded in paying up tho entire amount of their indebtedness and | once more they were able to breathe freely One Sunday afternoon Renee had gone for 1 little walk in the Champs Elysees, when she suddenly saw an elegantly dressed woman walking in front of her, and after a moments hesitation recognized Mime. l Forestier.
 | She felt much moved on thinking of all l that she had suffered for that woman, and she determined, now that she had paid her debt, to tell her all
 Approaching h9r, she touched her on the shoulder and said softly:
 "How are you, Jeanne?' 1 Mime. Forestier turned round and stared at her. She did not recognize her old friend again in this elderly, common looking bour- | peOiSe and Renee waS forced to mama her. | self. ..E
 What, Renee! Is it possibleg" exclaimed Mime. Forestier. "What has happened to 1 you2 What has changed you so?' "Well," replied the poor woman, "these last years have been hard ones for us, and all on your account" Ion my accountm
 1 "Yes. Do you remember your lending Ele your diamond necklace ten years ngoa 1 lost it."
 "Lost itl But, my dear Renee, you arc crazy. How could that be-! You brought it back to me-"
 "No, not that one. lost it and had to buy another for you. am so glad you did not notice the difference. But it has taken us ten years to pay for it, notwithstanding the sacrifice of all the ready money we pos sessed. Tho one I bought was fully as fine as yours, was it not? And you lost nothing by my stupidity. am so glad!" 7 Poor creature! She was smiling with pride and qualification.
 I Mme Forestier's eyes filled with tears as | she caught hold of her friends hands. | My poor, dear girl j" said sine. sadly, "my diamonds were false and the necklace had cost only 800 francs. s."-Translated for the of A. Silvestre. e--