The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-06-19

| Dement'S CertaIn 0eDtS OF MS c0ntractt
at play paid privately to surprise him.
his gratitude was extreme. l humore
him in many Of his small extravaganc,
Il played with his follies as an angle
, plays the fish at the end Of his line, an
! succeeded In winning his confidence
Not that i ever could surprise him int
confession of his guilty amour-but b
kept me well informed as to what b
was pleased to call ''the progress {
his attachment" and supplied m
with many small details which
while they fired my blood
and brain to wrath, steadied me NOR
surely in my plan of vengeance. Littl
did he dream in whom he was trusting
little did he know into whose hand h
was playing! Sometimes kind Of aw
full establishment would come over me a
listened to bis trivial talk, and hear,
him make plans for future that wa!
never to be. He seemed so certain Of
his happiness, so absolutely sure that
nothing could or would intervene to maj
it. Traitor as he was, be was unable to
foresee ment,-Materialist to the
hearts core, he had no knowledge OF the
divine law of compensation. Now and
then a dangerous impulse stirred me-
a desire to say to him point blank, -
"You are q condemned criminal
doomed man on the brink of the grave.
Leave this light converse and frivolous
jesting-and, while there is time, pre-
pare for deathin-~~ r.
But l bit nv lips and kept stern 81
lence. Often, too, l felt disposed to
seize him by the throat, and, de-
claring my identity, accuse him OF
his treachery to his face, but
always remembered and controlled my
self. One point in his character knew
WE'LL had known It of old-this was
his excessive love of good wine. L aided
and abetted him in this weakness, and
whenever he visited me took care that
he should have his choice of the finest
vintages. Often after convivial even
ing spent in my apartments with few
other young men of his class and cali
Der, he reeled out of my presence, his
deeply flushed face and thick voice bear
ing plain testimony as to his condition.
On these occasions l used to consider
with sort of fierce humor how Nina
would receive him-for though she saw
no offense in the one kind of vice she
herself practised, she had particular
horror of vulgarity in any form, and
drunkenness was one of those low fall
ings she specially abhorred.
go to your lady love, mon beau
Silenus!" / would think, as l watched
him leaving my hotel with a
couple of his boon companions,
staggering and laughing loudly as he
went, or singing the last questionable
street-song of the Neapolitan bas-peuple.
"You are in a would-be riotous and saw
age moOd-her finer animal INSTINCTS will
revolt from you, as 1.-the gaelic would
fly from the hideous gambols of a rhin-
oceros. She is already afraid of yOu,-
in little while she will look upon you
with loathing and disgust-tant pts pour
vous, tant mieux popr moi!'
/ had Of course attained the position
of ami intime at the Villa Romani. l
was welcome there at any hour,-1 could
examine and read my own books in my
own library at leisure (what privilege
was mineD, 1 could saunter freely
through the beautiful gardens accompa-
MED by Wyvis, who attended me as a
matter of course: in short, the house was
almost at my disposal, though l never
PelSSCu kub ibS lOO1s NdAC-
fully kept up my character as a prema-
turely elderly man, slightly invaded
by long and arduons career in far-off
foreign lands, and l was particularly
prudent in my behavior towards my
wife before Ferrari. Never did per-
NIT the least word or action on my part
that could arouse his jealousy or sus-
piCicn. / treated her with a sort of
parental kindness and reserve, but she
trust woman for intrigue!-She was
quick to perceive my reason for so doing.
Directly Ferrarfs back vas turned, she
would look at me with a glance of CO.
quettish intelligence and smile-a little
mocking, half-petulant smile-or she
would utter some disparaging remark
about him, combining it with a covert
compliment to me. 1t was not for me to
betray her secrets-I saw no occasion to
tell Ferrari that nearly every morning
she sent her maid to my hotel
with fruit and flowers and inquiries af
tar my health,-nor was my valet Vim
c6nz0 the man to say that he carried
gifts and similar messages from me to
her. But at the Smmfse6nesment Of No
vember things were so far adyenaed that
| was in the unusual position of being
secretly courted by my own wife!-I re-
her attentions with equal
secrecy! The fact Of my being often in
the company of other ladies piQued her
knew that l was considered
a desirable parti-and-she resolved to
win me- In this case also reSolVed-to |
be won! A grim courtship truly-be- |
tween dead man and bis own widow!
Ferrari never suspected what was going |
on; be had spoken Of me as THAT poor /
fool Fabfo, he was too easily duped;" yet !
never was there one more easily duped''
than himself, or to whom the cpl |
tibet poor fool" more thoroughly
applied As l said before he was
sure-too sure of his 6TF good for
tune. Wished 70 excite his distrust apd
enmity sometimes, but this ! found |
could not do. He trusted me--yes! as
much as in the old DAYS l had trusted
him. Therefore the catastrophe for him
must be sudden as well as fatal-per- |
haps, after all, It was better 50. -zs~
During my frequent Visits to the Villa
saw much of my child Stella. She be-
came passlonately attached to me-poor
little thingl-het love was mere nat
ural INSTINCT had she but known it. Of
ten, too her nurse, Assunta, would
bring her to my hotel to pass an hour or
So With me, This was great treat to
her, and her delight reached its climax
when took her 6n my knee and told her
q fairy stofy-her fayourite one being
that of a good little girl whose papa sud-
denly went away, and how the little cir!
grieved for him till at last some kind
fairies helped her to find him
again. l was at first somewhat
afraid Of old Assunta,-she had been nay
purse,-was it possible that she
would not recognize me? The first time
I met her in my new character almost