The Portland daily press., 1892-01-06
A MARRIAGE FAILURE.

Gontran shook his head and raised his
arms with the gesture of one that has
escaped great danger.
sit is /, yes; look at me well, for you
have not seen me lately. have been
cloistered, padlocked, con6scated, sup
pressed, as good as married. An acct
dent that is past, yes, but which makes
me cold TO think of it. Not that my
fiancce was ugly, silly or disagreeable--
no, she was charming. Eighteen years
of age, blond as corn tassel, great shin
ing eyes that sparkled drolly and looked
you full in the face with a gaze a little
questioning, little wondering, as of
one that had taken her experience lit
tie from everywhere, the world and the
coulisses.
slow did find her? Very simply, as
such things are always done when one
wishes to marry. VOLTA! l got up one
day in devilish temper, stomach irrita-
BILE from the last nights supper, heavy
of head, empty Of heart. With all this.
bad weather, cold, gray, sad, vague
enuui in the morning; at noon, black
ennui Nothing to do, nothing to read,
nothing to love!
"'Zounds!' told myself, its time to
marry. If found family it will GER
tainly occupy me-
81 threw myself into coupe and
made for the house of my notary, an old
friend of my father, and laid the case
before him.
"'Do you desire blond or brunette
wife? said he, turning his papers.
"'A blond should prefer said I.
"sWhy?
.Because-Toupinette was brunette
contrast
"The preference appeared to him just.
He proposed to me Mile. Bertha Brivard.
"'Pretty?
"'very prettyr
"FWhom does she resembleY
"'No one-only herselfr
"'But see you, think WE'LL said I, is
there not in the corps de ballet some face
that recalls her owr?'
SIN the corps de ballet! What q
question:
"'But only ask an approximate af-
frmative'
"My notary reflected.
"'In the corps dc ballet! The corps
de ballet! No, no one; but at the Bouffes
-ah, yes, the little ANGLER
"'Angele! .Argele! Ravishing! She
resembles Angelo, does she, your little
blond? said !. '.Ah, WE'LL I'll marry
her instanter. When will you present
mer
"Well, to skip preliminary details, we
were to see each ether first at the Hotel
Continental. A charity ball for the
benefit of the shopgirls who desired to
become water color painters. A quad
rifle, a waltz, two fingers of Irritation
and we should know each other sufi-
GENTLY well to enter upon the official
parleying. An Americanism? Yes, but
one goes rapidly in such affairs.
SAT the last moment, behold the ball
countermanded.
They replaced it by the opera
comique. A classic presentation. The
notary preceded me to the box. Bow to
the mother, bow to the father, flash of
the eye to the young girl! All! delicious,
hat young girl! A genuine pastel! A
laucy little nose, rosy lips, great shining
eyes, and the darlingest little ears, be-
hind which curled and clustered ten
drills of hair that shone in the gasEght
like golden mist. Much prettier than
Angelo!
sit was settled the wedding should
be!
"The wedding? Yes, but before that
realism would come the romance, the
poetry of the engagement! To marry
thus was enchantment, and M. Brivard,
the father, a very agreeable old man,
with no other occupation than that of
detaching his coupons, had set the day
for my coming to his house, the evening
Of our first meeting.
81 see still that family picture in the
Boulevard Malesherbes, the great white
and gilt salon, the usual furnishings Of
the dealer la mode, sofas from Beau
vais, richly atrocious, bronzes too gold
en-, screens too gaudy, plush too glaring,
pictures too new. A luxury born of yes
terday and stamped upon the invoice!
"But fawlessly exquisite, pretty
enough to eat, SO to speak, her blond
head bent under the rays of the lamp,
Nile Bertha cutting with Japanese
paper knife the leaves of the last number
of The Revue DIES Deux Mondes- a
Greuze reading Feuillet!
ga trife arranged, a trifle too studied,
perhaps, this playing the family note;
little too sentimental, but very genteel.
Genteel enough to damn saint, and /
was not saint.
but, after all, what is so delicious as
the passing of the betrothal hours? 1t is
the preface, the prologue, the preamble
to marriagel A preface full of beauti-
full promises! that makes one believe
reading it--a beautiful book to come!
What romance! What poetry! What
happiness and delight!
"Yes, but unfortunately one must turn