Connecticut western news., 1892-01-07
PARLOR COMEDIANS.

The Countess Flavia Andorni wa. charming, twenty eight years of age 10000 lire of income as her dowry and she did not take husband. Every now and then she refused one. Countess Flavia read a great deal, she invented the fashions which the elegant women initiated, she did not attend first repre- sentations at the theater, but preferred second performances; she did not care for poetry, did not use paint or powder never was i'll, journeyed very often, al lowed herself to be courted up to cer tain limit, never talked politics, liked the conversation of men better than that of women, had gray eyes, dark com plexion and brown hair.
 Therefore she was called-rightly ol wrongly-I have nothing to say about that-a woman of esprit.
 The Marquis Ernesto Carafa, thirty two years old, had handsome head, with a tawny blond mane, short, aris- tocratic, tawny beard, 60, ,000 lire of in- come and not sign of wife. He paid court to all the ladies with certain graceful nonchalance, danced while others were playing cards, did not culti- vate the acquaintance of the corps de ballet, drove his horses himself, did not wear a flower in his buttonhole, did not patronize the fine arts, did not care for music, lent money to his intimate friends, did not aspire to be elected deputy to Rome, loved the mountains like a platonic member of the Alpine club, had no literary proclivities, never wrote love letters, was always in love and never in love. Rightly or wrongly, Ernesto Carafa was called man of esprit.
 These two exceptional beings began, naturally, like others, their acquaint- ance. Some friend of Flavia said to her, That Carafa is really brilliant man; why don't you have him presented to you?' And Ernesto's friends: Do you know the Countess Andorni2 A brilliant woman, my dear fellow" And this thrice four times, twenty times, so that Flavia was bored and Ernesto annoyed by it. They saw each other on a prone made and looked at each other with ill concealed curiosity like two rare beasts, but the countess discovered nothing ex- traordinary and the marquis shrugged his shoulders for the same reason.
 One evening at the San Carlo, the marquis was presented to the countess. in her box, by friend. Few words were exchanged, and those of the sim plest. of the kind that are not in the vo- cabulary of people of esprit Ernesto went away soon, smiling ironically upon manufactured flames, and Flavia asked herself if she must add another name 70 the category Of foolish and useless beings already so large among her ac- 4uaintances. So when they met-at the ineater, in society, at festivals, on the promenade-they exchanged rather disdainful bow, without seeking to ap proach each other or to become better acquainted.
 But chance-that, far from being a person of esprit, has obstinacies which are quite stupid-made them meet and remain near each other, perforoe, at the marriage of a cousin of Flavia with a friend of Ernesto. They resigned them selves to endure each other mutually. Each one thought how to sustain the character attributed to her and to him, in order not to make a poor figure; and there ensued a conversation of para doxes, retorts, bizarre questions, odd an swers, stupendous absurdities, display of fireworks that ended by bewilderin6 the two pyrotechnicians and putting them into state of nervousness foreign 1,s, 1n10s %a EA4 disagreeable man! but I kept up with him." said Flavia when she was alone. "A witty and disagreeable woman; but 1 was not left behind her." murmured the marquis
 Yet the marquis went with some fire quency to the house of the countess, and the countess received him with polit, cordiality. Both perceived that the peo. pie around them enjoyed the relations that united the most witty man and wo- man in the city; they perceived the slight smiles, the curious attention. with which others sought to take part in their colloquies; the care with which was reported witticism said by Flavia to Ernesto, or vice versa; in short, they perceived that they were treated by the public as star actors. Were they con- scious of playing part or of speaking the truth? That is the dark point which I shall not illuminate, but it is certain that the little comedy continued, recited with liveliness and much interest. Be longing to the far from numerous class of brilliant people, the two sought to dc precisely the opposite of whatever all the others did.
 Ernesto had at the very first declared that he would never, never pay court to the countess, and the countess had added that she forbade him to fall in love with her, which is quite the reverse of paying court. Ernesto never sent flowers to Flavia, and she never asked him for con 6dences, as is customary between friends The marquis never felt himself obliged to praise the arrangement of the hair the eyes or the arms of the countess, and the countess avoided speaking of him with her friends. On the subject of love they were in accord; they spoke equally | ill and we'll of it, skimming the topic lightly, of course making witticisms Upon matrimony it was the same. They never became tender, never were melan choly or pensive. They always feared 1 to talk sentiment after the manner oi the crowd. They never hazarded artis tic discussions, never discoursed oi poetry.
 All ready made phrases were ban ished - all conventionalisms, axioms sentences, classic quotations, lines o poetry, newspaper diction, things tha everybody repeats because everybody
 has begun by saying them. l do no speak of proverbs; they were vigorously | prohibited. At first for awhile they