The Iola register., 1891-05-08
CHAPTER XI.-CoNTINUED.

81 see you smoke" he said gaily.
''Can / offer you one of my cigars?
They are unusually choice. Permit me,
and he preferred me richly embossed
and emblaZoned silver cigar-case, with
the Romani arms and coronet and
my own initials engraved thereon. 1t
was mine, of course,-I took it with a
sensation Of grim amusement-lh had not
seen it since the day diedr'
"a fine antique" i remarked care
iessly, turning It over in my hand, ''cu-
fious and valuable. A gift or an heir
loom?'
"It belonged to my late friend, Count
Fabio," he answered, putting light
cloud of smoke in the air as he drew his
cigar from his lips to speak. 'It was
found in his pocket by the priest who
saw him die. That and other trif1es
which he wore on his person were deliv-
cred to his wife, and :"
''She naturally gave you the cigar
case as memento of your friend, 81
said, interrupting him.
t'Just so. You have guessed it exact
IL. Thanks" and he took the case from
me as l returned it to him, with frank
smile.
as the Countess Romani young?" l
forced myself to inquire.
"Young and beautiful as a midsum-
mer morning. replied Ferrari with en-
thusiasm. 81 doubt if sunlight ever fell
on a more enchanting womanl If you
you were young man, Conte, / should
be silent regarding her charms
but your white hairs inspire one with
confidence. l assure you solemnly,
though Fabio was my friend, and an ex-
cellent fellow in his way, he was never
worthy Of the woman he married.
Indeed" l said coldly, as this dagger
thrust struck home TO my heart 81
only knew him when he was quite boy.
He seemed to me then of warm and
loving temperament, generous to q
fault, perhaps over-credulous, yet he
promised well. His father thought
so; confess thought so, too. Reports
have reached me from time TO
time Of the care with which he manag-
ed the immense fortune left to him. He
gave large sums away in charity, did he
not? and was he not lover of books and
simple pleasures?'
lOh. ! H s11Ht you all thatr' retlrned
Ferrari with some impatience. He was
the most moral man in immoral Naples,
if you care for that sort of thing. Stu
dious, philoSophic, - parfait gentil-
homme,-proud as the devil, virtuouS,
unsuspecting, and withal,
fooli''
My temper rose dangerously-tut 1
controlled it, and remembering my
part in the drama l had constructed, 1
broke into violent harsh laughter.
SGprayoi's I aNpla inad SEnDa aan
can easily see what frst-rate young
fellow you arel You have no liking
for moral men, ha! ha! excellent! 1
agree with you. A virtuous man and a
fool are synonyms nowadays Yes-I
have lived long enough to know thati
And here is our coffee-behOld also the
slorias! drink your health with pleas
pre, Signor Ferrari-you and ! must be
friends!''
For one moment he seemed startled by
my sudden outbreak of mirth, the next,
he laughed heartily himself, and as the
waiter appeared with the coffee and cog
nae, inspired by the occasion, he made
an equivocal, slightly indelicate joke con-
cerning the personal charms of a certain
Antonietta whom the garcon was sup
posed to favour with an eye to matri-
offended, and pocketing fresh gratuities
from both Ferrari and myself, departed
on new errandS for other customers, ap-
parantly in high good humor with him.
self, Antonietta and the world in gener-
al. Resuming the interrupted converse
tion / said:
"And this poor week-minded Romani
was his death sudden?-"
Remarkably so," answered Ferrari,
leaning back in his chair, and turning
his handsome flushed face up to the sky
where the stars were beginning to
twinkle out one by one; :" it appears
from all accounts that he rose early and
went out for a walk on one of those in
sufferably hot August mornings, and at
the furthest limit of the villa grounds
he came upon fruit seller dying of
cholera. OF course with his quiXotic
ideas, he must needs stay and talk to the
boy, and then run like a madman
through the heat into Naples, to find a
doctor for him. Instead of physician
he met a priest, and he was taking this
priest to the assistance of the fruit-sell-
er (who by the way died in the mean
time and was past all caring fOr), when
he himself was struck down by the
plague. He was carried then and there
to common inn where in about
FIVE hours he died-all the time
shrieking curses on any one who should
dare to take him alive or dead inside of
his own house. He showed good sense in
that at least-naturally he was anxious
not to bring the contagion to his wife
and child"
"Is the child boy or a girl?" asked
carelessly.
"a girl. A mere baby, an uninterest-
ing-old-fashioned little thing, very like
her father"
Ny poor Stella!