Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-10-04
An aHALFI GnOST.

We had left Salerno far behind, but id
villages Jagged all along the road, ant
black-eyed children made perilous vent
ures between the carriage wheels in search
of soldi or even centesimi. They were The
sleekest, rosy-cheeked rascals imaginable
and cried, 81 am dying with hunger" will
conscious irony that was irresistible, ant
they trotted beside our landau as a guart
of honor, until fresh hordes displaced
them at the next hamlet. After the frs
relay had been succeeded by four success
i've detachments, we grew weary OF oul
triumphal progress, and sighed for an I'M
ostentatious simplicity more in keeping
with American institutions, and Count
Guido being appealed to, tourished his
whip with fine effect among bare legs, and
sent our little beggars bowling homeward
at takes an Italian to outwit an 1tal-
ian.n said with heartless laugh at the
presto! change! in the expression of the
charming vagabonds.
"Si. they are always open to the drgu-
mentam ad corpus, if diligently applied, y
the Count answered, and giving the three
horses harnessed abreast light touch of
the whip, we went rapidly along the pic
turesque route between gray cliffs and
deep sea which leads to Amalf. Gnarled
old olive trees, hoary with the dust of
ages and subdued to an ashen dimness by
sorrowful memories of vanished youth,
mingled their faint-hued foliage with the
lusty splendor of golden oranges gleam-
ing through green leaves, and poisoning
almonds in lazy-lile winter snow against
the loving lemon trees; and violets reflect
ing the glory of sea and sky gave sheen
of lowly beauty to the roadside and yield
ed delicious fragrance to the still air.
Janet held the reins with the superb
courage only attainable by people who
have the vaguest acquaintance with horse
flesh and a sublime faith in the moral
rectitude of equines Count Guido sat be-
side her, and was far too much preoccupied
to notice any discrepancies in her manage
ment of the ribbons so between the two l
preferred to trust to Providence and look
out for soft place in the road in case of
an emergency.
Mamma sat placidly gazing at the
lovely landscape and at the graceful curve
of Janet's figure. My young sister was
the hope of the family. She was sweet
girl, with brown eyes and red lips and
cheeks like the leaves Of la France rose,
and hair-well, her hair mad once been
brown, but now it was the rich autumn
hue of an American forest aflame after the
first frost, with here and there CLEANS of
gold like the light of naples athwart the
dusky gloom of oaks, and stray sunbeams
seemed to be tangled in the coil that had
been loosely gathered up in the morning,
and which now nestled with the careless
loyeliness of curling locks against her
neck. / sighed inwardly at the sudden
glory which had come over the brown
head, but Janet was an autocrat, and |
would have been just as prone to discuss
the change as an exile would be to ask
the Cars opinion of dynamite. Janet had
Impressed mamma and me in that strange
way which is neither hypnotism nor mes
merism, but which is equally effective and
which seems to be the special power of
some girls over all the other females in
the family.
was not aggressive, and submitted very
meekly to Janets DEGREES except on one
point, and that was my engagement to
Harry Thornton in our native town,
which l preferred to the brilliant dream
of foreign alliance, and Janet with great
contempt for my plebeian taste gave up
the fight.
We three were wealthy; mamma had
one-third of an ample estate which had in
creased rapidly in value during her widow
hood, and Janet and | were sole mis-
tresses of the remaining two-thirds, so
that when we came abroad there was quite
a fiutter among the impecunious noblesse
residing in the Faubourg and other less
expensive quarters of Paris. The mar
ket had not been unduly excited then by
American purchasers, and we were con-
sidered occasions" in the language Of the
Bon Marche, so, as | was the elder, and
faint ideas of prlmogeniture enhanced my
charms, was the first of our two to be in
teryiewed matrimonially, and | had the
option of becoming a princess (ltallan),
marauise, a comtesse and German baron
ess; but lingering fondness for America
and decided preference for Harry led me
to decline them all, gently but firmly, and
in less than month Janet had the honor
of doing the same.
Mamma subsequently was addressed by
the prince who was in needy circum-
stances; and the marquise who was hard
pressed for food and shelter offered his
heart in exchange for either or both; but
she, dear soul, was only ambitious for her
children, and refused both suitors. After
that we went to Como for rest, and there
we met Count Guido MalateSta, hand
some young fellow who looked as if he
might have stepped out Of one of Unto
retto's pictures. | foresaw a conquest for
Janet, and wondered grimly if her kismet
had come Count Guido was thirty years
younger than the prince, was as superior
to the marquise as an eagle is to dilapi-
dated game chicken.
His title was FIVE hundred years older
than the Counts, and his estates were
mortgaged. Mamma considered that an
important point in his favor; it showed he
was a landed proprietor. By dint of dis
Greet inquiry | ascertained that he was a
very gentlemanly fellow for a nobleman)
and mentally realized that if Janet had
set her heart upon a coronet Count Guido
was the least Objectionable appanage 10
one she would find He had Joined us at
naples, ana there we hdu hlESo d laiiua"'
and with the Count as protector and Janet as
coachman, we had followed one ofthe most
picturesque routes in Italy. he and Janet
had trick of monopolizing all the good
points de rue, and also of appropriating all
the information vouchsafed by local guides
at churches and castles, leaving mamma
and me to CLEAN afar off some meagre hints
from the aftermath of the guide book, and
in consequence we were Systematically put
TO open shame at table dhote by Janet's
superior wisdom; but we bore it silently;
it seemed meet and right that possible
countess should take precedence of simple
Americans
At night the order of the day was
changed; Janet was timid and had NOR
bid fear of the mysterious alcoves where
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