Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-10-12
The San Marco RubieS
By M. E. ". S.
(Copyrght.l


 Such were the signals of distress which reached my ears as mingled in the crowd at Florence, who at the railway station quar- rcled and struggled over luggage and tickets and ell tho machinery of departure.
 Tho voice and accent were unmistakably English. saw slight and ladylil1e figure with decidedly pretty face and O profusion of light hair Comprehending the situation and a little Italian, followed the servant who had taken the wrong bag Ghey all look exactly alille), and presented it With low bow to the agitated lady.
 1 received a profusion of thanks and Q bow from an elderly, ponoous man, rather of the Turveydrop order. and au invitation to take the unoccupied seat il the railway car riage with them, whic! was soon to tunnel the Apennines toward Bologna. Tho little service lad rendered led to a conversation, en interchange of cards, Q very pleasant days ride.
 l found that my first acquaintance was Miss Sinclair, elderly, hirtatious and nado up. The light hair was a wig, the pink cheek was judic:ous touch of tho hares foot, the slender figure was (ohy scraggy. It was fifty aping fifteen, with the usual disastrous con sequences The pompous gentleman was her brother, Col. Sinclair, O man who had half pay' written all over him, and I fear a little something worse, but Q very agreeable and talky person, nevertheless
 - There @ fourth person c'tais toi, non coeur') whom have not mentioned. If had been deceived in the case of the aunt with faux air of juventlity and beauty, her niece, Miss Emily Sinclair, made up for my tenn porary blight. Here was a profusion of light hair, very real, very beautiful, brown and gold, and ripple, and curl, and all sorts of things, and all her own. Then there was a profile pure as that of Pauline Bonaparte, by Canova q always believed that Canova improved on the original. He was in love with herr; then two gray eyes, with lashes and eyebrows of deep black, very splendid and flashing; then a mouth with a dash of carmine, sweet and very firm little mouth; and then pale complexion-too pale-the young English girl missed her bath of seq air. Most of these expatriated English girls grow up pale on the continent, and soon learned that my fair friend had not seen her native island since she was five years old; 8 period which 1 judged from her looks to have been fourteen years ago.
 Well, now to account for my own future behavior (although l hate the first person., l must tell you that was at that time a trav- cling artist, and that most of my acquaint- ances in Europe had been made in railway carriages. had no letters to princes, dukes or ambassadors, but went around, kit in hand, pitching my tent wherever it pleased me, and knowing whom heaven pleased. It is the high road to adventure, and if it occasionally gets a man into an unpleas- ant predicament, it often brings him great good fortune. Things are too cut and dried in the ordinary story of every day respect able life. No peoples faces are so marked with ennui as those of the very respectable.
 Col. Sinclairs face was not, however, heav- fly freighted with that particular expression. suspected then-and afterward verified my suspicion-the colonel eked out the ''half pay" at the roulette and other tables devoted to the blind goddess. His sister had with that fatal misadventure which follows some very pretty women, escaped the matrimony which would have been her only shield against her own stiffness, and now was while nominally the chaperon of her niece, very much in need of a chaperon herself, for the facility for falling in love had not deserted her. She saw pos siblo lover in every masculine figure, and sentimentalized ill prose and verse for ever my benefit.
 To such guardians was intrusted one of the i most beautiful girls in all tho world. In my days journey l found out that the very ne cessities of the case had developed good sense and caution ill tho poor girl. She shielded her aunt, watched her papa, was so digni1ied gentle and modest that I could only think oI Shakespeare's
 ] A thousand Gvered angels iackey her. She needed them, heaven knows! I ''So you are an American?o began the col onel in large English manner. "Weu, have known some of your country people with much pleasure. Some of them very eccentric, vulgar, uneducated, rich, over
 
 continent has obliterated many of my preju dices am now prepared to find virtues ever under the most barbarous exterior, and Ofte1 among your people,"
 : "Thank you," said I. ''Iwish I could mee i that particular countrywoman of mine whC says Wal and 'Britisher,' and talks abou making tracks and uses such words as wal lop,' etc.-in fact the American young lady as pictured by English novelists. I hav never seen her, nor have I met the human being who ever did"
 Miss Emily laughed and said, "Does sh not belong to that same ideal school whicl the French picture us as belonging to-th English lord and the English mees of tn French stage?
 "Oh, no, my dear," said the colonel; "tha is gross caricature."
  people," said I. ''No doubt yer queer Americans come to Europe spend a great deal of money, and ar disposed to make themselves ridiculous, bu are there not vulgar people in all nationa
 itiesT'
 s"I am sure, papa, we have our 'Kicklt
 burys on the Rhine,'" said Miss Emily. '
 have had many charming school friend
 among the American girls in Paris an
 Florence. I thought them very refined, an
 perfectly obedient to their mammas. 1 di
 not see that they were unlike others girls" "And am sure" said Miss Sinclair, ''ths the American gentleman whom we met { the table d'hote at Innspruch, and who WI
 so very devoted to me, was quite the gentl
 man."
 did not want Miss Sinclairs endorsement but that of her niece had been very swee
 After we had exhausted the American que tion we began to talk of art, and found tn;
 Miss Emily was student herself. In fac one of the many red Russia leather bags col
 tained what she was pleased to call h. things" by which I understood water colt } boxes and all the paraphernalia of art, wit