The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-03-23
A STRANGE PERFUME.

translated from the trencn.
"Well, Monsieur, he has arrived in Brussels"
''To whom do you refer'"
''To the modern Don Juan, of course"
'You still speak In riddles, or else the wine
has befuddled my brain"
"Then let me chase the cobwebs away. The
hero of the last great Partisan scandal is among
u.s."
"He!n exclaimed the man who had listened
with great curiosity. "Now you have made it
clear. 1t is q confession of ignorance, even
here in Brussels, not to have heard Of the Due
de Morny''
''Certainly, Monsieur, 1 pardon you, and, be-
side, I'll keep the secret from the club. Yes,
the hero of the hour is here"
''Well what OF it ?N
''We must wait and see. There are pretty
women in Brussels"
'Scores of them"
''The prettiest is Nine. Volin."
'Thanks" The compliment shall reach my
wife's ears. She will appreciate it, Monsieur"
The two men, who were seated at a table in
an elegant cafe on the Rue du Midi, Brussels,
touched glasses and drank of their contents.
They were as unlike as two men could be. One
was not yet thirty, tall, handsome, with mill
tary carriage, and beau among women, mar
ried and single his companion had passed his
fiftieth milestone. He was humpbacked and
homely, and had squeaky voice which was
unpleasant to hear.
Despite his looks, Monsieur Volin had the
most beautiful wife in Brussels, a vvacious
woman, twenty-five years his junior, with a
complexion that rivaled that of Belgium rose
and eyes lustrous enough to set a cynic wild.
Thousands had speculated on this manifestly
strange union, but the fact remained that the
two were man and wife, and that Nine. Violin
seemed devoted to her lord.
There were whispers In certain quarters that
Nine Violin sometimes smiled on men of hand
somer faces and younger blood than her hus-
band, but no one thought that they ever reached
his ears. He appeared blindly in love with his
wife, and when we'll charged with wine would
make remarks that confirmed the infatuation.
1t was true as the younger party at the wine
table informed his companion, that the Partisan
Lothario had reached Brussels on the heels of
his last intrigue at the French capital. The
Due, who was young and extremely handsome,
as great duelist as lady-killer, had supple
mented his last liaison with duel in the Bois
de Boulogne, and, with the blood of young
member of the Chamber ON his steel, had fled
from Paris to remain in so-called retirement
until the affair should blow over
When Monsieur Violin went home that night
from the cafe with the wine and Due de Morny
in his head, he sought his wife's chamber, but
found it empty Nine. Violin sometimes went
to the theatre without her husband, who con-
trasted too strongly with her in the box, and
the flushed husband, confident that the wife
had INDUCED her penchant for good play, re-
solved to 90 TO bed, and let her come in when
ever she desired.
In passing to his own chamber, which was
separated from madame's by a suite of rooms,
his wandering eye caught sight of bit of paper
on the floor, He picked it up and continued
his journey. Under his own lamp he unfolded
the note, which was highly perfumed, and read
as follows;
''You know, my dearest Volante, that l can
not exist without you. Your last kiss still
burns on my brow and turns my blood to fire.
Tonight in the Regents Park, / await the
loadstone OF my happiness Do not fail to
meet your devoted CLAUDE"
Mons Violin broke out in a half-drunken
laugh when he reached the end of the worn
missive
Volante was madame's maid, a young crea-
ture, quite pretty enough to turn the heads of
all the amorous Claudes in the kingdom. She
had probably more young men on her string
than any other lady's maid in the capital
SIN have a laugh at the girls expense to-
morrow % exclaimed NJ Yolin. "No doubt
she is now pouring sweet nonsense into the ears
of her last catch under the trees of Regents
Park. Success to her She has knack of ex
changing kisses, and so forth, for diamond
rings and other female vanities, and | shall be
the last TO meddle with her folly"
Nine. Volin's husband, who had transferred
the perfumed note to his pocket, concluded to
take a turn about the house before retiring
Several daring burglaries Of family jewels had
taken place of late, and his wife's diamonds
were the envy of all Brussels.
"Hello Yolante's door Aiar /" exclaimed