Wichita eagle., 1888-01-20
/ she made her appearance IN the mln.sJers

~
room. and was so beset with invitations to
dance, compliments and attention from al
the gentlemen present that she did not allow
her husband to take her home until o'clock
il the morning
They had great difficulty in finding cab
to convey them to their lodgings, and it was
| only after walking nearly quarter OF mile
in the cold, damp street that they met with
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
when they reached their quarters, she because
the fete was over, and he because be had
to be at his Office at o'clock. and conse-
guently had only three hours Of sleep before
him.
Renee, however, went to the glass to give
one more admirins look at all her finery,
when suddenly she uttered scream of horror.
The diamond necklace was gone!
Her husband and herself both as pale ss
death and trembling from head to foot,
searched the rooms, the staircase, their own
pockets, to no avail The jewel was nowhere
To be found. Unfortunately they did not
rerlen Der 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 theirs.
he returned at 7:30 o'clock, broken hearted
Gnd worn out.
He had made inquiries ct the police station,
and notices inserted in the daily papers,
promising a handsome reward if the dia-
monas were returned to him, but he acknowl-
edged that he had little hopes Of ever seeing
them again
"You 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 a few
days TO look round, and 10 sec 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 i'll, 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 to Mime. Forester. But how could
they do it! They went from jeweler to
jeweler, and found a necklace at length
which was exactly similar to the lost one. It
cost 40, 900 francs.
Their entire fortune amounted to only
half this sum. They borrowed the rest from
money lenders at enormous rates, giving
their signatures and engaging their whole
future, and at last, after fortnight of
agony, they bought the necklace, and Renee,
trembling at the idea of being detected, took
it 10 Nine. Forester, who, without even
opening the casket to look at her returned
property, told her very coldly that she might
have brought it back sooner!
Then began life of utter misery and alb
lection for the unfortunate pair. They gave
UP t.eir lodgings, sent away their only ser
want and went to live in two small rooms in
a 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
bling the floor, and was forced to do all her
little marketing herself.
They sold all that they had in order to try
TO pay the heavy interests on their enormous
debt. Work. work, work, and no pleasure
for Renee from one end Of tho year TO the
other
The husband, too, worked day and night,
posting up petty tradesmen's books and adj
dressing envelopes by the thousand for a
ridiculous pittance AL this was in addition
to his Office work.
y
old woman, prematurely aged, worn out,
hasga1d, 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 the
entire amount Of their Indebtedness, and
once more they were able to breathe freely.
One Sunday afternoon Renee had gone for
q little walk IL the Champs Elysees, when
she suddenly saw an elegantly dressed
woman walking in front of her, and after
a moments hesitation recognized Nine.
Forester.
She felt much moved on thinking Of all
that she haE. suffered for that woman, and
she determined. now that she had paid her
debt, to tell her all
Approaching her, she touched her on the
shoulder and said softly:
How are you, Jeanneg"
Nine. Forester turned round end stared
at her. She did not recognize her old friend
again in this elderly, common looking bour-
geoise, and Renee was forced to name her
self.
what, Reneci Is it possibleg' exclaimed
Nine. Forester "What has happened to
You? What has changed you soy
WELL" replied the poor woman, "these
last years have been hard ones for Us, and all
on your account"
'On my account
eyes. Do you remember your lending mo
your diamond necklace ten years ago! I
lost it.
Lost it, But. my dear Renee, you are
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 50 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 l bought was fully as fine
rs yours, was it nots Ard You lost nothing
by my stupidity. / am so glad!'
Poor croature! She was smiling with pride
and qualification.
Nine Forestier's ewes filed with tears as
she caught hold Of her friends hands.
My poor, dear girl, y said sne. sadly, my
diamonds were false and tho necklace had
cost only 500 francs. Translated for the
New York Evening World from the French
Of \. Silvestre