Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-11-30

ties ana antiques and ran my eye over the
different articles displayed in the window,
of which the majority were old acquaint-
ances and some of which had passed
through my own hands.
As | was about to pass on the door of
the shop opened, and who should como
cut but my friend Octave Ducroael, whom
had not seen for several months. Tho
1uomcnt he saw me be came forward, and
! noticed that he seemed annoyed, and that
the hand lac gave me trCmblcd in Il way !
had never known before.
'What has happoncd?' l inquired Of
him. on look worried"
"Oh, thcsc women, these womcn" lie
Frowlcd in a voice Chat seemed addressed
to his own reflections rather than to me-
DO not trust their promises; do not place
any confidence i'm their vows. It's enough
to make Is man blow his brains out"
IN see that you don { do that, l said
quietly, passing my arm through his 4
shall stick to You like your own shadow.
If you emily knew continued the poor
fellow. And it is only five years ago,
was in love, head over cars in love. l
loved with all the passion and intensity
Of "a first love. 1t was with a beautiful
young girl ut Batgnollcs. She was stay
ing with her mother, and in order to re-
main by her side rs long as she lived she
had refused many offers of marriage.
Louise Audry was rs lovely as she was no.
Bile in her devotion to her mother.
'You know how the heart loves to
adorn the object of its affections with all
the grace5 and charms Imaginable. / was
fortunate enough, too, to prove not dis
pleasing to Louise, and before long we
had formed the delightful plan Of uniting
our dcstinos and getting married. We
decided 10 wait two or three months be-
fore taking the final step.
"UncXpCctCd events, however, caused
different disposal of our plans. Compelled
to undertake. Il long journey, Of which the
termination seemed doubtful found my
self Obliged to postpone the woddiSg until
my return. When we said gOodby, Louise
gave Inc "a faithful promise to wait for me
as long as events might make necessary.
As token Of my tender affection !
begged her acceptance Of an extremely
beautiful porcelain goblet that had been
left to me by my grundmothcr and which
l cherished as the apple of my eye
Louise was delighted to possess an article
that WnUld constantly remind her of me
and promised me that whatever might
happen ,lc would not suffer it to leave
her possession.
"Thosc were her last words Shortly
dllNl ing lAIl liblil IiiG llttutlIul iNtl lliS
started an iny journey.
-Four Year. passed, as you know, be-
fore l rotuIucd to France During that
time was IN the center of Africa CON
Quoting explorations and practically cX-
lied from The WORLD receiving no news
and able to send none
As s1un is | arrived in Paris l hurried
to see Louise to whom ! had tclegraPhcd
from Ma settles Alas, what a cruel dc
ccption was i'm store for nc!
"Thc house She used to live in had been
torn down and removed Ivy the con,truc-
tiou of rcW street No one knew where
Nine Audry and her daughter had gone
10 live, and all my efforts to trace them
were iuciicrtual and vain.
several months have gone by since
then without hinging amy news TO change
the unhappy state Of affairs.
"This morning, while looking through
the shops to find u birthday present for
my sister, I went 10y chance into the shop
where y1u have just met me
Il examined first the numbcrcss trim.
kets Displayed in the showcases the an
cicnt jcWclry, the cuamcls worries, china
sets, miniatures and masterpieces of the
arts of the gold and silvorsmiths. Then
the salesman placed in my hands Some
dainty figures IN saxon china and called
my attention to several graceful vase,
Japanese brOnZos and dainty articles of
crockcry ware.
''W!ilc searching thus for something
that would make a present IL little out OF
the ordinary run l walked up and down
the shop in front of the showcases and let
no corner escape my attention In this
way found myself at length in front Of
tall case with closed glass windows be
IN ifl, ;tl
some embroidery work in her hands.
And in this glass Casc just about the
height cf my eyes, what should / see
standing on shelf behind the shining
glass pane but the old porcelain goblet
had given to Louise! Yes, the very same
1t was, the exquisite piece of Sovres that
had such deep significance for me and
with which so many tender memories and
associations were linked.
At first l was inclined to doubt my
eyes, but on looking closer it was no lCp-
ger possible, for l knew every detail OF it
by heart, and | recognized them all be
yond the possibility of being mistaken.
'Thcrc was Il wreath of flowers s. fine
~ and dclicutcly worked i'm with threads
of GOLD and silver, forming "A crown work
I'm which alternated tremendously
superb rose cluster, with leaves md buds
and blue l could not mistake H. There,
too was the artistic mounting that knew
80 well, with the three bronze supports
representing the heads of animals peering
forth out of dense foliage and chiseled by
she hand Of IA master.
My surprise speedily gave place to in
di9nation, rs you may well understand.
This treasure Of my heart in a shopl This
gem, linked with so many family tradi-
tions and representing the faithfulness of
my first love- exposed to the public eye of
the chance and ordinary buyerl
"ln spite of her solemn oath she had
sold the goblet and forgotten me, who
gave it TO her. Oh woman, woman, wom-
an, all and always the same, you are the
personlilcntion of Inconsistency and the lie
Naturally, you will understand, had
only one thought IN my mind-to buy the
goblet back again asked the price
"'Ah, monsieur. answered the clerk.