Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1890-10-16
THE OLD CHIFFONIER.

My Louis XIV chltfOnler Is a very hand
come and graceful piece of furniture. 1t
is inlaid and polished, with locks of bur-
nished copper, and always seems to be
smiling, as if its red and white mosaics
were merry rosy lips.
1t WAS given to me by my grandmoth-
er, who inherited it from her GRANDPA
ther, and | verify believe that it once
stood in boudoir of the palace of Marty
Never was an innocent little piece Of
furniture abused and rated SO merciless-
ly as my chiffonier was when chanced
to think of it one day during my sojourn
at the Perseus in Greece. You will no
doubt ask why thrust my trembling
hand through my hair and cried ont,
Miserable IDIOT" without stating
whether the epithet was applied to my
self or to my chiffonier Good heavens,
the only wonder was that / left single
hair on my headl Judge for yourself.
had been so fortunate some time
before as to be loved by the most charm
ing of women. | shall not attempt to
describe her, not even by the color of her
hair; it is sufficient to say that for two
years / called her 'smy angel'' and
"bright image Of my Dreams" At the
end of that period / allowed one of my
friends to say to me in speaking of her,
"How could you be such foolf' She
sent me back my letters, and neglected
to return hers, but put the whole lot
into a drawer of my old chiffonier,
without thinking to turn the key.
That chiffonier was in my room; my
room was in my mothers chateau; my
mothers chateau was eight hundred
leagues away, in the middle of Pro
vence. In setting off unexpectedly on
diplomatic mission | had completely
forgotten to destroy those remains of an
attachment which had been delightful
as long as it lasted
When | accidentally called out the
memory OF those letters from some OBJ
scure corner of my brain, | started up
in surprise and shame, for knew that
my thoughtlessnessm might seriously COM
promise a woman who had done moth
ing to deserve such treatment at my
hands. felt that my conduct had been
unworthy of gentleman, and in a fine
frenzy | rushed out of the house, in
quired for the first steamship bound for
Marseilles, took passage, and listening
to nothing but the voice of my con-
science returned to France.
A week later arrived at the maternal
abode, and svill spare you recital Of
the CALCULATIONS, the "Whatl You?
George! Why! So soon?" which greeted
me as soon as | appeared. My mother
nearly stified me with her embrace, and
was sure that something dreadful had
happened to me, and had great diff
Guilty to reassure her. When she had
grown calm l said in as indifferent a
tone as possible:
"Will you have my yalise sent to my
room, mother dear?'
Certainly, my son; you must be tired
out" she answered. Then summoning
a servant, she said, s'Take my sons bag
gage to the blue room. Pierre"
you mean the green room," l added.
No, the blue room," persisted my
mother.
"But the green room is my ROOM"
1T was yours once, George" she said
smilingly.
"And whose is it nowg' l asked in sur
prise, and my mother pointed to the
door, saying merrily:
Here comes the present occupant"
"Gabriellel' ! cried, going to meet my
cousin, the loveliest and most charming
of girls, with abundant blonde hair, eyes
as blue as heaven, a smile of childish
innocence and teeth like pearls. 1t was
she, Of all persons, who was occupying
the green room, and who no doubt had
the drawers and cupboards.
Unfortunate, thrice unfortunate man
that wasl
Gabrielle, gay, artless and confding,
though trifle shy, gave me her hand,
looking delicious as she said:
'How do you do, Cousin George
Ny face must have betrayed my con-
fusion as took her hand, and looked
searchingly for some sign of dissimula-
ton in her soft eyes. Had she found the
letters; had she read them? To tell the
truth Mrs. - had loved me ardently,
and had been SO imprudent as to express
her sentiments in writing, running the
galnut Of obs and abs with plentiful ex-
clamation points attached thereto. And
suppose little Gabrielle had read them?
blushed at the thought.
But quite calmly she said, How do
you do, Cousin GEORGE" That was all,
and in my great palm lay a soft. cool.
little hand.
All, but what abyss is deeper than
woman's heart? as the ps-'rsist says;
suppose she had read the letters! The
only way to make sure was to 60 into
the room and look for them. Gabrielle's
rooml What sweet melody in the words,
yet ! felt that dared not enter that
sanctuary, although / had known my
cousin since she was a child.
"Come, George, and see how prettily
have arranged your room," she said
suddenly.
joy, bliss, ecstasy filed me as she
spoke; | was saved. Innocence had come
to the rescue of depravityl
Lightly and gracefully she ran up the
staircase; what pretty figure she hadl
followed her like culprit, feeling al
most afraid to go, but yet must at all
hazards get my letters.
My former room was perfectly charm
ing, decked out in blue and white. and
with no odor Of cigars anywhere The
little bed was modestly draped with
snowy curtains which looked ike the
wings of guardian angels. / looked
round anxiously for the old chiffonier;
there it stood as usual
May ] have some water, Cousin Ga
brielles am dying Of thirst" said.
She took up the caraffe, but I, artful
demon, had already observed that it was
empty.
Wait a minute. will get you some
rrnfnr-v sho said and left the room