The state herald., 1889-07-19
sobls ..d ssllaas searlae, va 81 .

lon9 mustache wAxed and yWl1ted In
70 point ~ each end. and finally with
the SUPERB tuft ol rsd feathers which
he wore 10 bis hat AZ. 70 his person,
he was tall and thin. with long ears
and red nose freely sprlnl<lsd with
freckles 1t the end.
But why did not the bs5gadisrs, II he
really felt % much sympathy for her,'
(and those slsnces were certainly q
proof Of it), Why did he not ask her
father for her hand Ia marriaoep
whst happiness that would be to mar
ry brtgodierci . man 20 highly no
spected and used to all kinds Of hon.
or; friend Of the mayor. TO whose
house he was often invited to dine,
and 10 whom was granted the honor
enjoyed BY but few, OF sitting on the
right hand Of the mayors wife, and
would not all tho girls In town burst
with envy At seeing her upon his armP
The day on which she learned that
1t was forbidden TO soldiers to marry
until after they had served their time.
and that not before four years would
he b free, Cencia was very sad and
shed some bitter tsarA
What . pityl She could not then
marry the brigadiere. and little BY lit
tie shs drove from her mind the men,
ory Of the tuft Of red feathers that had
made her hear. pslpiilts SO wildly.
|
Ono day she went lSvn to the shore
Of the river. the Pictrone. which takes
ih name from the little town. 70 do her
washing 1t the spring, and after hav-
Ing spread the clothes 70 dry upon the
branches Of some willow trees, she,
feeling very tired, threw herself upon
the ground to rest Laying her head
upon an overturned olive tree, with
her hands clasped behind her neck,
and her eyes closed as II asleep, she
said:
"The first one that going by comes TO
kiss me, even though It we're dog, /
will marry him, and II l do not keep
my word may there be no salvation for
my SOUL"
And many Of the fine young fellows
OF the town passed by on their way
from the fields to their midday meal;
but no one paid any attention to CencIa,
who with her eyes partly closed saw
them file by. with their spades ON their
shoulders, and their faces shining with
perspir alton. One OF them, noticing
her, said. turning to his companion:
"Oh, see! there is Cencia, she sleeps
like dormouse."
''She Is dreaming Of . hush and,"
replied the other one.
'-Oh.' broke In maliciously . third,
''of the rcd feathers Of tho brigadierc."
And so they went on. gossiping and
amusing themselves at her expense.
who hearing them. fairly foamed at
the mouth with rage. Until this time
she had boon only pretending to sleep.
but . half-hour later. overcome by
fatigue. she was asleep In fact; whilst
tho July sun darted his rays Of light
upon the ripe harvest fields, aud tho
crickets chirped in chorus in the null
berry trees. At this moment, . young
man. tall and Of fine figure. but who's Q
black face indicated but little intimacy
with water, appeared at the top OF
the winding path leading down 70 the
river. He approached softly TO the
plnce where Cencia lay, and whom he
was but = step away from her he
leaned over. and without any core
mony gave her rousing smack upon
the lips. She awoke with q sudden
movement Of fright and cast around
her hasty glance. but tho man with
tho black face had disappeared be-
hind the bushes. Then. instinctively
she looked at the llmpid waters Of the
spring. and whom she saw her image
reflected there she quickly covered
her face with her hands and gave a
piercing Shrek, she had q black
mark upon her mouth!
"Who had dared to make that mark
upon her? II WAS joke. OF course,
but she would not allow such jokes,
aud II she only knew who II was he
would pay dearly for it,
Suddenly she bethought herself
1.-The carbonate! yes. It was he, the
impertinent, the impnient felloww
I "ies, II was l." exclaimed the
Young man. coming forward and plant
ing himself before her. erect and with
his arms crossed.
Cencia looked at him with an un-
conquerable feeling OF disgust, and
made . very insignificant grimace.
which vas but slightly encouraging.
"Will you have me. yes or nor 1
will say II three times. and n the nrst,
the second and the third time you say
no. will 20 far. far away. where the
wind will not oven bring you news OF
me. Win you have mcG"
"Now
THAT is once. will you have mop"
mo. no, get nwnyr'
THAT is twice said he sighing.
Think we'll. Ceneia. before answer
Ing the third time. for H. you repent OF
II some day. II will then be too lntc,
bella mia I shall have married the
daughter OF Pepse, the farmer. u girl
that will not say Will you have
mcP"
Cencis did not reply, but few hours
later. Giuseppe. the earbonoio. helped
her TO gather up her clothes already
nice and dry. and 10 put thcm In the
basket whilst the July sun dartcd his
rays upon the ripe h rvcst fields. and
tho crickets chlrpcd In chorus In the
mulberry trees a-Translatcd by An
nette y. Crocker. from the Italian Of
Pasqnnlc Mnrtirc. for Chicago Herald.