Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1892-11-10
NINE. DERLINE.

NINE. DERLINE.
Prince Agenor was literally beside
himself on Friday, April 10, 1889, at the
opera during the second act Of ssSigurd.y
The prince hurried from box to box, and
his enthusiasm kept growing.
''That blondl All That blond! Shes
an ideal, that blondl Look at that blond!
Do You know that blondFn
AT last he found Palmer, the banker.
'Ihe name, the name of that blond
in the Sainte-Mesmes boxs"
"Mrne. Derline."
as there a NJ. Derineg7
''Assuredly-a notary-ny notary
the Sainte- BIesmes' notary. And if YOU
you want to see Mime. Derline closer
come to my house to the ball next Thurs
day. She will be there"
After the opera, when people were CO.
ing out, the prince took a position at the
foot Of the grand staircase. He had en-
trapped two Of his friends.
Como" be said to them, II want to
show you the most beautiful woman i'll
Paris.
just as he said that there was stand
ing within two PAGES of the prince an
alert young man attached to one of the
morning newspapers a newspaper widely
read. This young man had sharp ear.
He caught as it flew the expression Of
Prince Agenor, whose high position i'll
society he knew. He managed to avoid
meeting the prince, but when Mime. Der
line was about to pass the young re-
porter was clever enough to overhear,
without losing q single word, the con-
versation Of the three brilliant noble
men.
Nine. Derline arose the next morning
at o'clock. Her maid came in, placed
d salver on little table, lit big fire in
the open CRATE and withdrew. There
were ON the salvor cup of chocolate
and newspaper-the same thing every
morning.
Mime. Derline touched the rim Of the
cup to her lips and burned herself. So
she had to wait awhile She Put down
the cup, took the paper, unfolded it, and
IapidlB. with look, ran through the
six cgfanlns on the first pages a tho
bottom, at the very bottom of the sixth
column, she found these lines:
Last night there was very brilliant
representation Of '5igurd' at the opera.
Many Of the most distinguished women
Of fashion were thcre-the handsome
Duchesso de Montaiglon, the pretty
Comtesse Verdiniere de Lardac, the ad-
nirable Marquise dc Muriel and the ri
quaint Baroness de Myrvoix.
''We have to announce a new star
that has suddenly come to shine in the
Partisan constellation. The house was
IN ecstasies over blond with sad eyes.
with eyes like steel, and whose shoul-
ders-ahl what shouldelsl Those shoul-
ders were the event Of the evening. On
all sides people were asking: Who is
sheT Who is she:' To whom belong
those divine shoulders9
TO whomg We know, and our read
ers viii thank lis for telling them the
name Of this marvellous bcauty-it IS
Nine. Derline."
Her namel She had read her name!
She grew dizzy. Her eyes crossed each
other. All the letters Of the alphabet
seemed to dance like mad in the news
paper. After awhile they grew quieter,
stopped and got back into their places.
She managed to ind it again-her name
and took up her reading:
1T is Nine. Derline, the wife Of one Of
the most esteemed and richest notaries
Of Paris. The Prince do Nerins, whose
word carries authority in these matters,
said last night to every one he met,
That is the most beautiful woman in
Paris We are entirely Of that opinion. 7
She finished reading, and a sudden
anxiety seized her
Edward What viii Edward says7
Edward was her husband. She had
never III her life called any other man
than her husband by his first name. He
was loved, this notary, and almost at
tho moment she asked herself what Ed
ward would say Edward hul1iedly
opened the door.
''Why % these newspaper men med
die ia what doesn't concern thenY This
IS an outrage! Your namei Look at it
there; your name I'll this papcrIi
Mime. Derline very sweetly and gently
set about bringing This rebel to reason.
s-Why this rage, Tins great vexation:
They accuse you Of being tho husband
Of the most beautiful woman in Paris.
Is that, then, 50 horrible, a misfortune 50
frightful?"
Reduced to obedience, NJ. Derline
went down stairs to Lis Office to make
money for the most beautiful woman in
Paris.
"a very wise and very timely occu-
patton. because scarcely had Nine. Der
line been left alone when a thought
came into her head that would I'D .ha
notary's strong box Of very pretty
bundle Of bank notes.
1t seemed to her that her new position
imposed new duties upon her. She
could not present herself at the Palmers'
ball without a new dress and one from
a celebrated hand. So sine ordered her
carriage in the afternoon and resolutely
gave her coachman the address of M.
Arthur, one of the most illnstrions
dressmakers in Paris.
s'Oh, madame. BAH dress-a splcn-
did gown for Thursday" said that au-
gust dignitary; ~ don't dare make such
a promise, because could not fulfill it.
There arc responsibilities to which ]
never expose myself
Two tears, two little tears, glistened
on the edge Of her lashes. III. Arthur
felt himself moved. a woman, a pretty
woman, weeping there before him.
Never had such homage been paid to
his genius.
"Mon Dieu. madame, am anxious to
make the effort "a very simple dress
"Oh, no, not simple; on the contrary,
very striking brilliant in the highest
degree. Two OF my friends are your
customers {she told him their nanaesl
sand I, am Mime. Derline"
Mime. Derlincl You are Nine. Der
liner
1t was theatrical, absolutely theat-
rical.
N.na narIina returned the next dav