The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-30
COODBY, SWEETHEART
The End Of a Summer Romance.
lRv Gnr De MannassantN

Inc TWO friends had nnlSneu inet Qln-
ncr. From the windows of the cafe they
overlooked the boulevard, which at this
hour was crowded with people. The soft
breezes that sweep through streets OF
Paris on warm summer nights famed
their cheeks, inviting them to go down
among the trees, somewhere anywhere,
to dream of moonlit streams, inspired po-
ems and chanting nightingales.
One of them, Henri Simon, said to his
companion, with a profound sigh:
81 feel that l am growing old, my friend.
On such a night as this in days gone by
was keenly alive to the pleasures of exist
ence. Tonight l have nothing but re-
grets. Life is short at best"
He was a man about 45 years old, lit
tie stout and quite bald.
The other, Pierre GARNER, not his senior
in appearance by any means, but more
slender and vivacious, replied:
Il, my friend, have grown old without
noticing it. | was always gay and Jolly,
vigorous and all that. For, when one
looks at himself in the glass every day in
the year, the ravages of age are not appa-
rent; they are slow and regular, and work
such gradual changes that the transition
is not noticeable. We can hardly perceive
it. To see it plainly one should not look
into a mirror for six months at least; and
then-ah, what a shock.
"And the women, old fellOw-how |
pity them! All their happiness, their
power, their life is in their beauty, and
that lasts but ten years at best
''As for myself, grew old without sus-
pecting it thought myself still youth
when / was near 80 years of age. Free
from infirmities of any kind l was going
my way, happy and content But the
revelation of my decline came upon me in
such a simple yet startling manner that I
felt the effects of the shock six months
afterward Then l accepted my fate
gracefully.
81 have often been in love, like all men :;
but once in my life | was quite hard hit.
II met her at the seashOre-Etretat-
about twelve years ago not long after the
war. There is nothing more delightful
than that beach in early morning at the
bathing hour. 1t is not very extensive, is
curved like a horse shoe and enCirCled by
tall white cliffs, pierced with singular
holes called The Gates One of these
cliffs is enormous and stretches its gigan-
tic length to the waters edge. The other
is round and fiat. The women swarm
over this narrow strip, with its pebbled
walks and transform it into a brilliant
garden of summer toilets within walls of
rock. The sun shines full upon the coast
over parasols of every imaginable color,
and over the sea of topaz blue. 1t is a
Jolly picture, enchanting to the eye.
Close by the waters edge the people
lounge in the sand watching the bathers
as they come tripping down in their fan
mel bath robes, which they discard with a
pretty movement as soon as the white
fringed waves play around their feet.
Then they run in with swift little steps,
while the water sends thrills of a delicious
chill through their veins.
Few women are made to endure the
crucial test of the bath. Their figure
stands revealed from ankle to throat AS
they emerge from the embrace
of the briny waters either their
short comings are made plain to the eye
of the rounded contours of form and limb
are enhanced by the clinging, dripping
garments.
THE first time I saw the young woman
of whom | have spoken l was carried
away by her charms. Few women pos
sess the beauty of form that is startling
and overpowering at the first glance
that seems to man as if he had sud
denly met the creature he was born to
love. l experienced that sensation and
that shock
Il was introduced to her, and was more
deeply smitten than ever in my life She
made me her slave, and it was both terri
BILE and delicious to submit thus to the
reign of woman 1t is torture and indie
scribable felicity at once. Her look, her
smile, the little tendrils of hair around
her neck, ruffied by the breeze; every
line of her face, her slightest movement,
Captivated my senses and ensnared and
drove me to distraction. She took com
plete possession of me. tt grieved me to
see her veil lying on a chair or her gloves
thrown carelessly on the sofa. Her toilets
seemed matchless in my eyes and no other
woman had ever worn hats more becoming
than hers.
"She was married. Her husband came
every Saturday and departed again on
Monday. l was not in the least concerned
about him or jealous of his relation to her.
No living creature ever seemed of less
consequence to me than this man.
"Ah how / loved her-she, who was SO
gay so pretty and so graceful She was
youth, elegance and freshness personified.
I never felt more keenly than l did then
that woman is sweet lovely and deli
cate being, made of charms and graces.
Never before had | discovered the beauty
that lay in the rounded contour of a
cheek, the movement of a lip, the curves
and creases of a little ear, the shape even
of that stupid feature, the nose.
This lasted three months, when l was
1
a crushed and broken heart Even away
from her l was her slave still Years
went by. l could not forget her Her
charms were constantly before my eyes
and in my heart. Icherished her mem
DRY with a tenderness that had grown
calm, and l loved her as one loves a
dream of a most beautiful and enchant-
ing thing.
Twelve years do not mean much in
the life of a man, They pass almost I'M
noticed. One follows upon the other,
slowly yet swiftly. Each is long, vet
soon at an end. Although they multiply
rapidly, they leave few traces behind
and vanish so completely that when one
looks back upon them there is nothing
left to remind US of their fight, and age
creeps on without warning.
1T seemed to me that only a few years
separated me from that delightful season
on the beach at Etretat.
cone day last spring l went to dine
with friends at Maissons-Lafitte. just as
the train was about to start portly
matrOn entered the coach l occupied, ac-
companied by four little girls l could
not help looking curiously at this large,