San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-06-02

yanity-She knew tnab was cOnSlCereu
desirable parti-and-she resolved to
win me. In this case | also resolved-to
be won! A grim courtship truly-be-
tween a dead man and his own widow!
Ferrari never suspected what was going
on: he had spoken of me as that poor
fool FabiO, he was too easily duped;" yet
never was there one more ''easily duDed'
than himself, or TO whom the cpl
tibet poor fool" more thoroughly
applied As / said before he was
sure-too sure of his own good for
tune. wished to excite his diStrust and
enmity sometimes, but this | found l
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 so.
During my frequent visits to the Villa
| saw much of my child Stella. She be-
came pasSionately attached to me-poor
little thing!-her love was a 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 a great treat to
her, and her delight reached its climax
when took her on my knee and told her
fairy story-her favourite one being
that of good little girl whose papa sud-
denly went away. and how the little girl
grieved for him till at last some kind
fairies helped her to find him
again, i was at first somewhat
afraid of old AsSunta, had been my
nurse,-was it possible that she
would not recognize me? The first time
| met her in my new character | almost
held my breath in a sort of suspense
but the good old woman was nearly
blind, and | think she could scarce make
out my lineamentS. She was of an en-
tirely different nature to GiacOmo the
butler, she thoroughly believed her mas
ter to be dead, as indeed she had every
reason to do, but, strange to say,
Giacomo did not The old man had a
fanatical notion that his ''young lord"
could not have died so suddenly, and he
grew so obstinate on the point that my
| wife declared he must be going crazy.
Assunta, on the other hand, would talk
| volubly of my death and tell me with as
| sured earneStnesS;-
''It was to be expected, Eccelenza-
| he was too good for us, and the Saints
| took him. OF course our Lady
| the best among us. The poor
| GiacOmo will not listen TO me, he grows
| weak and childish, and he loved the
master too well-better," and here her
voice would deepen into reproachful
solemnity, ''yes, better actually than st.
| Joseph himself And of course one is
punished for such thing. | always
knew my master would die yOung-he
., I,l,, 1t,
hearted as a man, to stay here long,"
And she would shake her gray head
and feel for the beads of her rosary, and
mutter many an Ave for the repose Of
my soul. Much as l wished it could
never get her to talk about her mistress
it was the one subject on which she
was invariably silent. On one occasion
when spoke with apparent enthusiasm
of the beauty and accomplishments of
| the young Countess, she glanced
at me with sadden and earn
| est scrunity-sighed-bu said nothing.
| was glad to see how thoroughly
devoted she was to Stella,
| and the child returned her affection with
interest-and though as the November
| days came on apace, my little one looked
| far from strong. She paled and grew
| thin, her eyes looked preternaturally
large and solemn, and she was very
easily wearied. / called Assunta's atten-
ton to these signs of ill health; she re-
piled that she had spoken to the Countess
but that madame" had taken no notice
of the child's weakly condition. After
wards l mentioned the matter myself to
Nina, who merely smiled gratefully in
my face and answered,
Really, my dear Conte, you are too
good! There is nothing the matter with
Stella, her health is excellent; she eats
too many bonbons perhaps, and is grow
ing rather fast, that is all. How kind
you are to think of her. But. l assure
you, she is quite well.
l did not feel so sure OF this-yet I
was obliged to conceal my anxiety, as
over-much concern about the child
would not have been in keeping with my
assumed character.
1t was a little past the middle of No
vember, when a circumstance occurred
that gave impetus to my plan, and hur-
ried them to full fruItion. The days were
growing chilly and sad even in Naples
yachting excursions were over, and l
was beginning to organize few dinners
and balls for the approaching winter
season, when one afternoon Ferrari en-
sered my room unannounced and threw
himself into the nearest chair with an
inpatient exclamation, and vexed ex-
preston of countenance.
what is the matter?" / asked care
essly, as 1 caught furtive glance OF
ais eyes Anything financial? Pray
iraw upon me! I will be a most accom-
nodating banker!''
He smiled uneasily though gratefully.
Thanks, Conte-buG it is nothing OF
that sort, it is-gran Dio! what an I'M
lucky wretch ami