New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-11-24

4
dark in comparison with the brilliantly nghIeid d
entrance-hall outside AS | crossed the thrennoiu
the same strange sensation, IMPRESSION III ~
what you will-that i had experienced before
flashed through my mind together with the IN,
Simultaneous revelation that l was not. do N''O
thou yht, alone. J.. -
much larger APARTMENT, of which pOrlioh olly
was visible through heavy curtains looIeu ac,Uon
the opening: opposite TO me; against tilT ointed
wall stood carved cabinet with lnlhlu P"li..u
panels and above this was the PORTRAY OF glaIH :
haired man. in the uniform Of general .iie vans
Of the room were hung Win plue ant ~ was
brightly lighted but my whole attention was
riycted by two figures standing III the ceh.Ic'
or these one, young girl, was laeIhS III The
other, that of man, was seen PATTY III y ,,roiead
girls face-she looked about nlneteenIM"s
10 her companiOn's: il was StrlKlngH De'
bright chestnut hair set of the creamy 9eHca o
of the clear-cut features ana large uarH ~
which were diated now with an expression iiill o
fpar half of defiant scorn. She wore dress ~
some soft blue stuff; there was gleam OF Pcnilis
in her hair and a pearl necklace encircleu ~
slender throat. The man was talI, youns' I a..
dark hared-so much only could see al frst nlt
inst then he suddenly turned, ana cohiu us
tinquish the salow complexion clean-shaVeh laIe,
but for carefully trimmed muStache' gnu o o,,r
cruel hard expression Of the black eyes ser near
together on either side the stral ght, weli-sh"Po
nose / describe the scene minutely, put niy
readers will understand that the impression w"S an
instantaneous as entered the room ne ih a
turned, as | have said, and saw then una' ne
held his ri ght hand concealed in his breast; put
with a swift movement ne suduehl! ~
forth there CLEAN and a DOWNWARD u'S lei
of steel in the brilliant light. he bent over an!
toward the young girl, the blow aimed st'aIg"y
at her heart. With an exclamation OF horror, L
sprang forward-to what? There was no answer
ing cry-there was nothing. The whole scsne
vanished as if by .enchantment. And the man man
servant. who had been following me, hurredly
threw open the door, with a Pardon, monsieur
can | assist monsieur in any way =
The light from the grand staircase ana entrance
hall streamed in and fell, not upon an inner Ioo,i
but on large mirror. which occupied al on9
side of the apartment from ceiling 10 noor' anu
which now reflected only my horrlfed eXPresIo
and the look of ill-concealed wonder ON the foo,-
mans face behind me. / turned to MN III
amazement unable to believe the evidence Oh , ny
eyes, so impressed was l with the actual rean'y
of what had seen.
What room is there beyond this? "here Is
the doOr?7
In my excitement l spoke in English, ana tne
well-traned servant betrayed no surprise, pue
bowed deprecatingly though no doubt ne tho9gs .
had suddenly taken leave of my senses. WIC a
a strong effort l controlled myself, ana repe'h""
the question more quietly in French
As monsieur sees, there is no room Deyohu'
there is but this door by which one enters from
the hall Monsieur will permit me to reheVe mn
of his coat
Mechanically l allowed him TO take it, my
thoughts still intent upon the strange vision, II
such it were. Good heavens could sun see
that sinister look. that cruel fierce stroke almed
with such deadly force the faces OF both inc
details of the room in which they StoOd--all was
SO clear so distinct impossible that it could have
been a pure hallucinatiOn, and yet how els, u
explain mysterious an occurrence?
reioiped nv sister determined not 10 mention
the incident until | could think it over at hlsure,
and evidently my absence had not Deen Iohs
enough TO strike her as unusual.
Our hostess came forward to greet US as we
entered the large drawing-room where the sub
dued rose-tinted light was not sufficiently strong
to allow of my noticing our fel0W-guestS III me
brief interval before dinner was announced. FOR
the first few moments afier we were seated 40
table my attention was claimed by my falr com
paniOn. whose name familiar 10 me already
through the writings of her husband, we'll
known literary man: but when at length she
was addressed by the gentleman on her left mana
was at liberty TO look round. Many OF the
guests were known TO me by name or by report
Mr.. and Mrs. Vanecroft evidently knew how 10
gather in their salons the distinguished celebrlas
in the literary and artistic world. well as in the
quite as potent world Of fashion. TbeFe were
famou, men and lovely women jcwellcd orders
and flashing gems she'd radienCe around; but as
glanced over all my attention was suddenly ar
rested by young lady, seated somewhat lower
down on the opposite side who had been partially
concealed before by tall lowering plant upon the
table AS she now leant forward her features
were distinctly visible. and with a start | recog-
nizcd the face seen in the mirror. There could
he no mistake: the same pale. clear complexion,
the same chestnut hair and dark blue eyes: even
Could be dreaming? or what did this
singular coincidence signify? Again the hauntine
shadow of something unforeseen seemed 10 fall
upon me- | could not remove my eyes from the
link were touched between us. She turned and
looked full at me. with halfstertled, half
naughty expression IN her dark eyes.
ever: then the long osheS droo 1 and G tSe
graceful head was turned away: and to my whis-
pered query. Who was that lovely girl?" my fair
neighbor looked up with a smile.
g 1t is evident YOU are stranger in Partisan
SOclptV. MpPNXQ. would Mad.
emoscc Claire de Krrguel. at least by sight"
Modcmosec de Kcrguel' I repeated. " All.
I have heard my sister mention her. She is
shortly 10 be married, is she not ?"
Yes. 10 the Marquis d'Alevrac'
Something significant in Madame Raymond's
tone made me turn TO her
"You know the gentleman them and he is not
favoritc Of yours. madame@
She looked up with an expressive shrug Of her
white shoulders.
"Arc YOU always so quick in reading the
thoughts of your friends, monsieur? Really, in
this case it is too much to say the marquis is
no favoritc of mine. We are acquainted have met
though few people, ! fancy could boast Of real
intimacy with him Certainly. had | daughter
to marry, should not chose him for a son-in.law"
4 sudden thought strnck me as she spoke
What is the marquis like, madame Is he
among the guests this evening""
She replied to my second query first
No; he is not here. 1t is one of his peculiarites
that he never visits among English or Americans
L
with your sister and the Vanecrofts You ask
me to describe him." she added. Well. 7 sup
pose he would he considered handsome by most
people. lie is tan. with black hair and remark
ably piercing dark eyes: but these always strike
mo as being too near together: it gives curl
ously unpleasant expression TO the whole face"
Strange that, as Madame Raymond spoke. there
rose before my mental vision the two
figures | had so distinctly SEEN but the girl |
had already recognized in Mademoiscllc de Kerguel,
and this felt sure must be the man. And vet
they were betrothed, and on the eve Of marriage.
AT this thought asked suddenly:
d" Is il likely to be a happy union? Is MAIDEN
oiselle Claire attached to this man, whose tastes
seem 50 opposed to her OWN"
"Ah DR. Mervvn. as you know. in French So
cietv that is the last point to he considered We
may talk sentmcntallv of marriages de occur
but in real life more often arrange marriages
dc CONVEYANCE Claire de Kergucl has been more