The Iola register., 1891-07-24
CHAPTER XXX.
BY MARIE CORELLL

<S> had been full of the
~ mild chill and va
porous murkiness, which, not cold
enough to be bracing, ,sensibly lowered tbs
system and depressed the spirits. The
careless and jovial temperament OF the
people, however, was never much al
fected by the change of seasons-they
drank more hot coffee than usual,
and kept their feet warm by dancing
from midnight up to the small hours oi
the morning. The cholera was thing
of the past,-the cleansing of the city, the
sanitary precautions, which had been SC
much talked about and recommended I'D
order to prevent another outbreak In the
coming year, were all forgotten and neg
lected, and the laughing populace trip
ped lightly over the graves OF its dead,
hundreds as though they were odorous
banks OF flowers "Oggi! oggiF' Is their
cry,-to-day, to-day! Never mind what
happened yesterday or what will happen
to-morrow,-leave that to signorl Santl
and la Signora Madonnal And after all
there is grain of reason in their lolly,
for mauy of the bitterest miseries OF man
grow out of fatal habit of looking back
or looking forward, and Of never living
actually in the full-fated present
Then, too, Carnival was approach
ing; Carnival, which, though denuded
of many of its best and brightest fea-
lures, still reels through the streets OF
Naples with something of the picturesque
manners that in old times used to ac-
company its prototype, the Feast OF
Bacchus. was reminded Of this coming
festivity on the morning Of the 21st OF
December, when l noted some unusual
attempts on the part of Vincenzo to con-
troll his countenance, that often, in spite
of his efforts, broadened into sunny
smi lie as though some humorous thought
had fitted across his mind. He betrayed
himself at last by asking me demurely
whether l purposed taking any part In
the Carnival. / smiled and shook my
head. VincenZo looked dubious, but
finally summoned up courage 20 say
''NNill the Eccelenza permit"-''Iou
to make a fool of yourself?" l inter-
rupted, ''by all meansl Take your own
time, enjoy the fun as much as you please;
| promise you will ask no account Of
your actions
He was much gratified, and attended
to me with even more punctiliousness
than usual. As he prepared my break
fast / asked him
"Gy the way, when does Carnival be-
gin?"
''On the 26th, he answered with a
slight air of surprise. Surely the
Eccelenza knows"
"Yes, yes" ] said impatiently. 81
know, but had forgotten. ] am not
young enough to keep the dates of these
follies in my memory. What letters have
you there?'
He handed me small tray full of diff
ferent shaped missives, some from fair
ladies who desired the honor of my
company" others from tradesmen,
"praying the honor of my CUSTOM" all
from male and female toadies as usual, l
thought contemptuously as l turned
them over, when my glance was suddenly
arrested by one special envelope square in
form and heavily bordered with black,
on which the postmark Roma" stood
out distinctly. AT lastl'' / thought,
and breathed heavily. l turned to my
valet who was giving the final polish TO
my breakfast cup and saucer
- Oh may leave the room, Vincenzo,"
said briefly. He bowed, the door opened
and Shut noiselessly, he was gone.
Slowly l broke the seal of that fateful
letter; letter from Guido FerraTi, war
rant self-signed, for his own execution!
'MY BEST FRIEND" so it ran, ''you
viii guess by the black flag on my
envelope the goods news l have to give
you. My uncle is dead at last, thank
Godl and am left his sole heir uncon-
ditionally. l am free, and shall of
course return to Naples Immediately,
that is, as soon as some trif1ing law busi-
ness has been got through with the
executors. l believe can arrange my
return for the 23rd or cath instant, but
will telegraph to you the exact day and,
If possible, the exact hour. viii you
oblige me by not not announcing this to
the Countess? as l wish to take her by
surprise. Poor girl! she will have often
felt lonely, am sure, and want to see
the first beautiful look of rapture and
astonishment in her eyes! You can
understand this, can you not, AMIGO, or
does 1t seem to YOU folly? At any rate,
! should consider it very churlish were l
to keep you in ignorance Of my coming
home, and l know you will humour me
In my desire that the news should be
withheld from Nina. How delighted
she will be, and what joyous Carnival
we will have this winter! do not think
ever felt more light Of heart; perhaps
it is because l am so much heavier in
pocket. 1 am glad of the money, as it
places me on more equal footing with
her, and though all her letters to me have
been full of the utmost tenderness, still /
feel she will think even better of me,
now / am in position somewhat nearer
TO her own. As for you, my good Conte,
on my return 1 shall make It my first
duty to pay back with interest the rather
large debt owe to you;-thus my honor
will be satisfied, and you, am sure, will
have a better opinion Of
Yours to command,
GUIDO FERRARL"
This was the letter, and I read it over
and over again. Some of the words
burnt themselves into my memory as
though they were living fame. "All her
letters to me have been full of the utmost
teDdernessi" o miserable dupel fooled, |
fooled 70 the acme OF folly even as had |
been! She, the arch-traitress, to pre- |
vent his entertaining the slightest pos
sible suspicion or jealousy of her actions |
during his absence, had written to him, |
no doubt, epistleS sweet as honey, brim- |
ming over with endearing epithets and |
vows OF constancy, even while she knew |
she had accepted me as her husband-me
good God! What a DEVILS dance OF
death il was.
.'On my return shall make il my first
duty 10 pay back with interest the rather
large debt owe to you" (rather large
indeed, Guido, so large that you have no
idea Of its extent9. ''thus my honor will |
be satisfied" land so will mine, in part) |
land yon, am sure, will have a better
opinion o. yours TO command" Perhaps |
i shall, Guido mine to command as
you are,-perhaps when all my COM
inands are fulfilled to the bitter end, / /
may think more kindly of you. But not
till then, In the meantime thought
earnestly for q few minutes and than