St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-28
Her GREAT PERIL.
Marvellous Rescue Of a Ballet
Queen From an Old French
Theater.
Escape From Her Cage Of a
Lioness, a Sleek, Vicious
Devil.
Mad Flight for Safety Of the
Eallet--Queen Mab Re-
mains.
Terrible Suspense of the Au-
dienee--A Lover to the
Rescue.
rrnnslated from the French.

translated from the French.
A the time speak OF they we're play
Ing at the Theater of the Porte Mont
martre a marvellous fairy spectacle,
where were defiled all those admirable
and charming creations of the Shakes
pearean epoch. Cymbeline and POrtia,
Desdemona and Cordelia, Ophelia,
Juliet and hundred others, blonde as
wheat or blacker than Erehus. 1t was
called, if remember correctly, "Le
Songe dune Mutt oliver"
In the last act, before the apotheosis,
and while band of Amazons, cuirassed
IN silver, bravely struggled against
q troop of warriors harnessed in trap
pings of cloth OF gold, they exhibited an
immense cage full of African lions and
savage panthers that were governed
with the prudence of hero and the
courage of a SOrcerer by a red-beaded
Englishman, dull and phlegmatic,
true beast-tamer by vocation, and rarely
INDUCING in foolish business.
But it was not assuredly in the amia-
bic hope of seeing the tanner deyoured
by his beasts that LOredan Montagnac
went every evening to the POrte-MOnt-
martre, though he might have found
certain pleasure from that meal without
cost of the royal capt. IS.
No; If he entered every evening three
minutes before the rising Of the cur
tain; if he took his place in chair No.
80, first row of the balcony; if he trained
his lorgnette on the scene as soon as
the three blows sounded, it was because
the little Lucie Mile. Lucie BeID played
in THE Dream of a Winters Night"
the role of Queen Nab.
"WelP If Mile. Lucie Bell had not
yet become the great cantatrice that
London, Vienna and Petersburg quar-
relied with Paris about, she was GER
tainly the most graceful, the prettiest
and most amiable child it was possible
to find in any European city. More
than that, the world declared, without
smile, that she was as good as wise,
and that which was most astonishing
was the world sincerely believed it.
A tiny little maiden, so tiny that one
might have clothed her with a lily leaf
and crowned her with cedar straw.
Iucie Bell had hair the color of sun
set cloud, which enveloped her entirely
as in luminous aureOle. A golden fog
you might have called it, light and
shining. its wonderful meShes twisting
and curling in thousand intricate and
coQuettiSh tendrilS.
Under the floating vail wide, white
brow, eyes the color Of myostois bios
som, but which became at times steel
gray or pale sea-green, shaded with
long brown lashes.
Then a hooking, laughing mouth.
scarlet lips and mole like mustard
seed coming and going in the creases of
charming dimple, when Mile. Lucie
Bell saw fit 10 display her pretty little
teeth in ravishing smile.
For the first time in his life, LOredan
Montagnac. cool, positive and correct
gentleman that he was, comprehended.
on seeing these strange and splendid
eyes Illuminating that radiant visage,
that poets were truly most impudent in
daring to compare eyes to stars.
Moreover, this darling little Lucie Bell
had waist like wasp, flexible stem
In corslet of lilac velvet, embroidered
with silver May lilies, and her petit
coats, made OF pearl-gray gauZe, were
beSprinkled and sparkling, seemingly
with whole armament Of Silvery creS-
cents and consultations.
Her slender fingers held an ivory
scepter, and on the diadem Of her gold
en- HAIR rested crown of white cycla-
men blossoms, mingled with cumming
birds plumes. The fairy of caprice. Of
fancy, of chimeras. of dreams had never
been more handsomely appareled.
To conceal nothing from you, our
friend Loredan, wearied as he was with
the vanitieS of this world. felt a lively
passion consuming his heart at sight of
this human fairy-a heart already so old
that he believed it completely dried up,
hardened, extinct, like volcano where
the fiery lava no longer boils.
But he was not at ease in his mind re-
garding this love of his, for he had no
illusions left, having sOwed somewhat
companions of early youth, which had
fed away one by one, never to return.
And really. to love young girl and to
make her love you, when one has
brow touched. or threatening to be
touched, with snOw-Was it not mad
ness?
He loved her, nevertheless, without
hope and without desire. Even as the
Did Alighieri, remounting from Hades.
adored Beatrice, SO did Loredan Mon
tagnac cherish Lucie Bell. though he
had never a thought of doing her
wrong. Never for an instant! She
was the joy of his heart, the fairy of his
dreams, the friend of his soul! He saw
her everywhere: he ceaselessly evoked
her adored image. and truly her beauti-
full azure eyes, with their velvety re-
gard, were the ineXtinguishable torches
of his life.
And Lucie Bell was better in a thou
sand and one ways than the other
daughters of Eve, her sisters. She
neither knew how to smilingly lie. to
make jest of the sufferings of others,
nor how to me- OK at delicacies of senti-
ment. She played the role of Celimene
neither in the city nor on the boards of
the theater.
She was not of those beautiful sirens,
frightfully coquettish and deliciOusly
per6dions, who calculate to ravish and
Tavage at one and the same time. never
TO be loser, and always a gamer in
that game of chance where even the
richest may ruin themselves-the game
of love.
Then Loredan had never even spoken
to her, lat contentedly enshrined him.
self in that fated armchair No. 80,
where every evening one saw him,
glasses in hand, diligently attentive to
the cOrteges, ballets. pantomimes and
other Accomplishments of the bewitch-
ing Nab.
At the end of fortnight he took so
much comfort in contemplating his idol