The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-06-04


cooked fllet"
"Wel, I was wrong; I'll see to the
next" Louise answered, with manner a.
little prim.
Raoul laid down knife and fork re-
signedly.
ssMy dear child" said he, shave said
that you were wrong? You have very
singular mania for posing as an injured
person"
At heart he felt himself unjust, but
anger was stronger than he, and mount
ed to his brain.
eff only you would be calm, Raoul, :"
Louise began gently.
BE calm-be calm, you say? AS if
were the one who has lost his temper!
But, Louise, this is perfectly childish.
What else have you for dinner besides
this fllet?'
II really do not know"
The meal came to an end in the pro-
foundest silence. Immediately after
ward Raoul took his hat.
''You are going out, Raoul?" hazarded
Louise softly.
eff you will kindly permit me?'
And out he went, but not with an as
sured step. On the staircase he stopped
to listen.
''She did not ask me, even," thought
he wonderingly, "if I were going to be
late. How strange! But it proves what
I believed-that I have been too weak
with her in the first months of our mar
rage"
Once in the street he paused again
irresolutely, not knowing where to go;
but finally strolled on at random, but
toning his gloves and still uneasily re-
fecting. His wife was the best little
woman in the world, but-he had been
too weak with her, there was no doubt
of it.
At the tobacconist's on the corner he
stopped to light his cigar. On the boule-
wards all the cafes were open, crowd
filing the chairs. All, how good it was!
To stroll at ones ease in Paris one must
always stroll alone.
He passed before his old club, blazing
with light and astir with men, but he
dared not enter, though he had great
desire to do SO; he dreaded the smiles
that would greet his appearance and
and crossed to the opposite side.
Then, too, how irritating it was when
he gave his arm to his wife to have her
make those long stops before the jewel
ers' and miliners' that always made him
so furious. Yes, he was right-to stroll
agreeably in Paris one must be alone.
Nevertheless, two hours later, filled
with renaorse, he turned his steps home
ward to find his wife with red eyes.
"Crying!'' thought he; actually cry
ing, as if couldn't leave the house a
moment without her behaving as if I had
really deserted her!' And instead Of
embracing her, as he really wished to
do, he calmly mounted the stairs with
an icy little GOOD night, my dearp'
Louise, on her side, was far from
stupid; her husband was bored when
with her-she felt it; she felt, too, that
even the rustic of her skirts irritated
Raoul. What should she do? The best
she could, at all events; and by thou
sand and one little wifely efforts and
attentions she sought to re-establish the
tender little chats and jokes and joyous
laughter in the corner by the fire. But
the very restraint that she imposed upon
herself made the effort abortive. Time
and again she opened talk with him in
the old, light hearted fashion, only to
be thrown back upon herself by cold
or nonchalant Eyes" or ''no" from Raoul,
accorded without even raising his eyes.
More than all, too, she was wounded in
her self respect when trying on dress
or hat before him, on the effect of which
she had counted, to receive only an in
different, s'No, it isn't bad, that dress
or hat-but, had been you, I'd have
taken yellow in place of that blue"
Proud little Louise! Only woman
and a wife would know how she suffered!
This state of things had lasted perhaps
a month, when one evening, Raoul, who
was still at table, received a note, all
sealed and white and dainty perfumed.
HA1low me-" said he, addressing his
wife; and he tore open the note, which
ran:
MY DEAR RAouL-Who knows If it would
not be agreeable to you to find yourself again
in that little restaurant of the Bots de Vim
cennes, which is in the middle of the water.
It is room No. 8, is it not, whose windows
open upon the lake? have an idea that Tues
day p. m. tomorrow that room will be free,
What do you thinkf AT all events it will be
well to see.
Toward O'Clock the sun will have gone be-
hind the trees; it will be fresh and cool in that
little chalet and the fillets chateaubriand there
are simply delicious. Thine, AMANDA.
amanda, Amanda" said Raoul to
himself; t'where the devil have known
an Amandaf' and he remained mo-
ment bordering.
sis it bad newsw asked Louise quietly.
Then he remembered his wife's pres
ence, and answered like man interrupt
ed by an importunate chatterer, mo,
no-only from my tailor" And as he
hurriedly began to sugar his coffee to es-
cape looking his wife in the face it
seemed to him, from the corner of his
eye, that she was observing him fixedly.
Thrown off his balance, he did not tear
up the note, as one usually does with
tailor's effusions, but replaced it care
fullyin the envelope and slipped it into
his pocket Stranger still, and still
more difficult thing to explain, he was