Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1889-05-01

getting inc queen, No would take up
with Constance, and wear her like "A
ribbon he set store by becssse the
Queen had had Ii on once. l got SO in
terested, and had such dark present.
ment that they would get into an awful
mess, whom the poor fellow went OF,
saying 1t wasn't his way, and he had
moro hope in truth than in such man.
agemcnt, that II was as much as could
do to keep from slipping after him out
the side door, and advising him to do
1t his own way; but didn't You can
imagine how stuck up l was when the
Queen came in pretty soon, perfectly
carried away with tho idea that Nor
bert was in love with her, and wanting
Constance TO help her believe il, as you
might say. l wondered that Constance
didn't faint fright away, but she stood
up under 1t pretty we'll at first; and /
was glad she did, for it gave me a
chance to watch the Queen without
having her too much on my
mind. Norbert must have overdone
it, you see; for the Queen had been
rather suspecting that ne was paying
attention to Constance. and she had
about made up her mind to give her
consent, but the minute she took IL
that he loved her she went crazy. All
that tremendous longing for life, that
she'd been hiding and smothering for
so many years, came out with a ven-
geance. and it was enough to make
your hair stand on end! didn't know
as any author ever had the grit 10
tackle such subject. 1t was splendid,
but IL was awful. She made clean
breast OF it in her delirium, for that's
what it was, as much as If she'd had
spell of brain fever; she just turned
her lonesome heart inside out, the way
you turn a glove, and not leave sim
gle finger end tucked in. There was
lesson for young chit like Constance!
No good in life but love-don't miss
OF it, Every now and then she would
have misgiving, and it would melt
stone to hear her trying TO get
Constance to encourage her in
the notion that she could carry off
her age by the freshness OF her
love. She was going to hide herself in
love like battered statue in a fount-
ain with the water spouting all over it.
She was going to get Constance to
teach her how to please Norbert, and
how to keep him in order. How we
are all made for happinessn says she.
She'd just found that out, poor thing.
| must say it gave mo dreadful turn
when Constance asked her what she |
was going TO do about her live hus-
band. Ii was the first knew she had |
one. That proves she was crazy, sure
enough! for she brushed it away like q
cobweb, and she gave Constance to
understand it was light love that |
couldn't manage trine like that.
She drove Constance crazy, too, for by |
the time Norbert came back she had |
made up her mind to give him TO tho |
Queen, whether or no.
well, was glad to see him, | can
tell you, for it was about time the |
snarl was Strengthened out. You SEQ,
the Queen went back into the palace TO
it seemed TO be engaged, and then
Norbert came out. Constance began
telling him that she was his, in the
most confusing kind OF way-all his,
all ut once, and not a piece At time
and giving him good many hints that
he didn't understand any better than !
did, till all Of u sudden back came the
Queen and caught him kissing Con-
stance. | was glad of il. But what
did that girl do but give the Queen to
understand that he was only giving
her kind of Thank you, ma'am,' for
helping him make up TO Her Majesty.
could have shaken Jenny if / could
have got at her behind that mess of
vines and hower-pots.
well, those two mad women would
have had another maniac In the party
pretty soon II Norbert hadn't becn the
master hand he was for keeping his
head. And as for his heart, it was set
on that good-for-nothing girl that
threw her happiness and his TO the
winds. They couldn't make him un
derstand what was wanted of him for
quite awhile, and when they did, he
gave Constance setting down that
brought her to her senses at last. He
said the Queen might experiment with
him, as a person would ask a beggar
how much he would take for his baby,
just to see how he would scout such
bargain; but he didn't expect that Of
Constance. Speak, Constancei To
the begGar
by that time they all knew how
they stood, but il was too late Con-
stance and the Queen glared at each
other a minute, and then the Queen
went in without a word. Her face was
enough! They knew something awful
was to pay. Norbert never laid
feathers weight of blame on that mis-
guided girl, but just held her fast and
gloricd in his happiness, with death
marching up inside. The creeps run
down my spine now when l remember
how, all of u sudden. the music stopped
and the tramp, tramp, tramp of the
guard came along inside to the balcony.
1t was nothing in the world but Maria's
hired man and Charley and Harry and
the Dickerman boys out on the piazza;
but il made my blood curdle, can tell
you.
"The club had cake and sherbet
after that, and talked it all over
Some OF them thought Constance was
II shallow thing, and never loved Nor
bert any 70 speak Of; and some thought
she was carried away with the idea OF
"a grand self-sacriticc. One or two said
she had an abnormal faculty for schem-
ing, and Maria pretended that she
probably thought the Queen wouldn't
live very long, anyhow, at that high
pressure and then she would have il
all hpr own wav aftor ,nakino Nor