The Portland daily press., 1895-04-06
WANTED, A HUSBAND.

d sOGJ1lul
wanted.--A young lady residi ng in the
provinces, pretty and distinguish ed, with a
dot of 100000 francs, desires to IL AIRY a gen
tleman of about 35 years, one in THE legal or
military profession preferred who resides in
Paris. No agencies. Address Made line T. T.,
box 333 this Office.
Elodie Rabotteau, the party rel erred to,
was a young lady, to be sure, a nd is so
still, more's the pity. She also resides in
the country still, for her father is a Judge
at St. Colombian, an obscure town in the
canton of Beauce.
But, first, she was not pretty; second,
she was not at all distinguished; third, the
above mentioned 800, 900 francs are prin-
cipally expectations from her UNCLE
bachelor, it is true but scarcely 40 years
of age and solid as rock.
As to the mo agencies, " that was base
deception. Madeline L. T., box 1888,
was in reality Theodore Tardivel, whose
trade is to arrange matrimonial bargains
''Tardivel has written me long letter, -
said Judge Rabotteau to his wife one
morning of last autumn. Here is his
plan: The army maneuvers commence a
week from now, and st. Colombian has
been designated to provide quarters for a
half battery of artillery.
''Thls half battery of artillery is COM
mandcd by Captain Lecomte, and Captain
Lecomte wishes to marry young lady
who has been brought up in the country.
Now, don It think of anything but making
the house look it's best. We must have a
second girl, too, SO that the cook will not
have to wait on the table,"
Goodness, gasped Nine. Rabotteau
"what an expensen'
II do lot deny that it is quite consid-
erable OUTLAY. but do you or do you not
want Elodie married? She's 26 now, and
for the past eight years we have offered
her to every bachelor, green or ripe in the
country round, to say nothing of widow
ers. Now a chance offers itself, and we
must profit by it. I shall go and fix it
with the mayor SO that they quarter the
captain on u.s..
When Septem ber came, cannon sounded
all the morning long through the vast
plain that surrounds St. Colombian, and
toward o'clock in the afternoon the ap.
proach of the half battery was announced.
Presently the captain appeared at the
whitewashed gate that served as boundary
for Judge Rabotteau's terrestrial paradise.
Rabotteau, under the spreading acacia
trees, was reading The Revue des Deux
Mondes. His wife, not far away, was
cutting punches of grapes from the yell
lowing trellis, and behind the white mus
lin curtain of the parlor window Elodie,
warned by a preooncerted signal, burst
with the energy of despair into a love
song.
Madame" he began, with a bow,
"allow me to introduce myself am
You are known to US already, M. Le-
comte. We were expecting .,ou."
The officer bowed and smiled and shook
hands with Rabotteau. Then he was led
to the parlor, to the great confusina of
Elodie who suddeni' cut shcrt ner song,
blushing as if she had been 100 miles from
suspecting that an artille.y captain was
to set foot that day within the limits of
the canton in which her father admins
tered justice.
The captain discreetly suggested that he
would take his meals at the hotel, but
they soon gave him to understand that
that would be an objectionable insult
1t is unnecessary to say that the dinner
was feast. By dessert the four persons
assembled seemed to have known each
other for ten years, and the captain made
q aconqucst of them all.
AT 10 O'Clock he asked permission to re-
tire.
'Of course, dear NJ Lecomte," said
Nine. Rabottc, l. after such fatigu-
ing journey hope you will sleep well TN
der our modest rcJf
In the morning at o'clock, when tho
captain wen down to mount his horse
the judge was waiting for him to take
breakfast. That evening there was new
repetition of the follies of BeIshazzar.
Lecomte politely asked the fair Elodie
to play for him; then in his turn the
young man was invited to sing. He ac-
cepted without hesitation, and he had a
superb voice. Next he played one of Men
delssohn's ''Songs Without Words, - with
undeniable merit.
Elodie.s father and mothsr were in &C.
stasies. As to the girl herself, she could
feel wings gently sprouting on her shoul-
ders.
A couple of days l4tar Rabotseau dis
creetly brought up thu subject of officers
marrying and preterl'.i to docry it. Le-
comte smiled signif. 3satly and politely
opposed his ho,.'s theor ,ss He added that
during the war the married officers had
performed their duty better, if possible,
than the others.
That night not member of the family
slept wink, Elodie least of ALL
well, it ought to go through this time, !"
Nine. Rabotteau declared to her husband, !
for, according to my calculations, this
week has cost us at least 400 francs''
You can't make an omelet without
breaking eggs" the judge replied senten-
tiously.
He had secretly written to Tardivel.
"Lecomte is charming. He suits us to
L. Is it necessary to give him hint?''
And Tardiyel had replied
Pretend to know nothing about it,
When he comes back, will see him.
will manage the whole affair."
However, the last day of the maneuvers
had come. That evening the Rabotteau
kitchen was needed for a supreme effort
destined, to all appearances, to be crowned
with success.
But. alas, at the accustomed hour the
captain horse was brought back to the
stable by his orderly! Elode who was
watching for the return of her future hus-
band-they called him SO already among
themselves from behind the blinds, flew
to the garden and cried out in anguish:
"Merciful heavens, is he wounded?''