Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-08-29

SesaEe olifh.
annie! To the health Of our host, Com
te Cesare OLIVIA"
He waved his glass in the air three
t~imes-every N followed his exam
pie and drank the toast with enthusi-
asm. l bowed my thanks and ac-
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES the superstitiOus
dread which al first had undoubtedly
seized h company passed away
quickly-the talking, merrlment and
laughter were resumed, and o 10
seemed as though the untoward cir
cumstance was entirely forgotten.
Only Guido Ferrari seemed still some
what disturbed In his mind-but even
his uneasiness dissipated itself by de-
grees, and, heated by the quantity OF
wine he bad taken, he began to talk
with boastful ~braggartism Of his many
successful gallantries and related his
most questionable anecdotes In such a
ann as TO cause some naughty as
constituent in the mind of the Duke
di Marina, who eyed him from time to
time with i~ll-concealed impotence that
bordered on contempt. /, on the con-
trary, listened to everything he said
with urbane curiosity-I humored him
ana drew him out as much as possible
= III NNAAlRiGlltlltlN III VIZ kltfE
jokes and vulgar witticisms-and
when he said something that was
more than usually outrageous, I con-
tented myself with a benevolent shake
of my head, and the mild remark
All! young blood! young blood!' ut.
tered in a bland sotto-voce.
The dessert was now served. and
with 1t came the costly wines With [
had ordered to be kept back till tnen.
Priceless Chateau d'Yquem:' Clos
Vougeot," of the rarest vintages:
choice "Valpulcello," and an exceed
ingly superb "Lacrima Cristi." one
after the other, these were tasted,
criticised and heartily appreciated.
There was also a very unique brand OF
champagne, costing nearly forty
francs a bottle, which was sparkling
and mellow to the palate, but fiery in
quality. This particular beverage was
so seductive in flavor that every one
pdTtook Of it freely, with the result
that he most discreet among the par
" now became the most
Nntonto Biscardi, the quiet. unobtrus-
lie painter, together with his fellow
student, Crispiony Dulci, usually the
shyest OF young men, suddenly grew
excited and uttered blatant nOthingS
concernin gtheir art. Captain Freccia
argued the nicetieS of swordplay with
the Marquis D~'Avencourt, both speak
ers illustrating their various points by
thrusting their dessert knives skillful-
ly into h pulpy bodies of the peaches
they had on their plates. Luciano Sa-
luStri lay back at ease in his chair. his
classic head reclining on the velvet
cushions, and fecited, in low and mea-
sured tones, M Of his own poems,
caring little or nothing whether HIS
neighbors attended to him or not.
The glib tongue of the Marchese Quail
dro ran on, smoothly and necessarily,
though he frequently lost the thread Of
his anecdote and became involved i'm a
maze OF contradictory assertions. The
rather large nose Of the Cheyalier
Mancini Redeemed visibly as he
laughed joyously TO himself at nothing
In particular-in short, the table had
become q glittering whirlpool of ex-
element and feverish folly, which, at
a mere touch or a word out of season,
might rise TO a raging storri of fro,hy
dissension. The luke di Marina and
myself alone, of all the company, were
composed as usual-he had resisted
the champagne, and as for me, / had
let all the splendid wines so past me,
n had not taken more than two
glasses Of mild Chianti.
L glanced keenly around the riotous
board, | noticed the flushed faces and
rapid gesticulations of my guests. and
listed to the Babel of conflicting
tongues. / drew a long breath as I
locked calculated that in two or
three minutes, Mt the very least, I
might throw down the trump caro- I
held so patiently in hand all the even
ing. 4,
Ito be Continued)