Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-05-23

vnI SSyI TEeSe southern r&fes are 50
xcEiG. AL are Less tired
thzn yDu deem And do not Englisb-
men t5rss Hare they 10 secret enuut az
times wbao sitting in the chimney
nook Of bone. sweet home. with
th~Er fat wives and ererSpreadlnx
farrIlseSt Truly, yes. But they are TOO
cautious to say . q.
I need not relate the story Of my
c0rruhsp-it was brief snS sweet as o
sor sing perfectly. Thee were DO
obstacles The girl ! sought was the
Only daughter Of . ruined Fbore1rine
noble Of 6lsSoluTs character, ~ho
gained q bare subsistence by frequent
ir- tire gaming tables His child had
fsa~n brought ~ in q convent re-
nowDes5 for strict diScipline-hs knew
nothing Of the word She was, as he
assured ne with Dsudlin tears In his
eyes las innocent as q Iower on the
altar Of the Madonna" believed
hiu-for what could this lovely, youth
full kw-voiced maiden know Of even
the shadow Of evil; I was eager 70
gather 80 fair a lily for my owu proud
wariag-aud her father gladly gave
Der 10 me. DO dOub. inwardly cOnErst-
ulating himself on the wealthy match
that had fallen 20 the Eot OF his dover
less daughter.
We were married At the end q June,
ard Guido Ferran graeed our bridal
with his handsome and gallant pres
ence.
BY the body OF Bacchus-- he ex-
claimed p me when the nuPtiai eere-
nony wat over. thou hast profted by
ny .ezching. Fsbio. A quiet rogue Is
often most eunnIngI Thou hast rffsd
the casket Of Venus. and stolen her
falrest jewei-tnou hast secured the
brsliest maiden in the two siciIes-
/ pressed his hand and s touch of
reu1orSe stole over me, for be was no
longer first In my affection I almost
regretted it-yes, On my very wedding
morn I looked back to the old days
old now though - r~ecent-and sighed
To think they were ended I glanced
at Nina, my wife. IL was enough,
Her beauty dazzled and overeame ne.
The melting langu0r Of he large linpid
eyes stole into my veins-I forgot all
but her. / was in that high delirium
of passion In which love. and love
only, seems the keynote OF creation
/ touched the topmost peak Of the
height Of joy-the days were feasts Of
fairyLand, the nights dreams Of rap.
ture, No, / tired. My wife's
beauty never palled upon me-; she
grew fairer with each day Of posses
sion. never saw her otherwise titan
attractive, ard within a few months
she had probed all the depths Of my
nature. She discovered how certain
sweet looks Of hers could draw me 10
her side, a willing and devoted slave;
she measured my weakness with
own power; she knew-what did
not know? / torture myself S..-.
these foolish memories. All men past
the & OF twenty have learned some
what OF the tricks Of women-the
pretty, playful nothings that weaken
the will and sap the force Of the
strongest hero. She loved meT oh,
yes, I suppose so! Looking back on
those days I can frankly say / believe
she loved meas nine hundred wives
out Of a thousand love their husbands,
namely-for what they car get. And
/ grudged her nothing. II / chose to
idealize her and raise her TO the stat
ure Of an angel when she was on the
low level of mere womanhood, that
was my folly, not her fault.
We kept open house. Our villa was
p place Of rendezvous for the leading
members of the best society in and
around Naples. My wife vas univer-
sally admired; her lovely face and
graceful manners were themes Of con
~yersation throughout the whole neigh
borhood. Guido Ferrari, my friend,
was ono of those who were loudest in
he displayed towards her doubly en-
deared him to me. i trusted him as a
brother; he came and went as pleased
him; he brought Nina gifts Of flowers
and fanciful trifies adapted TO her
taste, and treated her with fraternal
and delicate kindness. j deemed my
happiness perfect-with love, wealth
and friendship, what more could a
desire?
Yet another drop Of honey was add
ed to my cup of sweetness. On the
first morning Of May, 1882, our child
was born-a girl babe, fair as one of
the white which at that
season grew thickly In the woods sur
rounding our home. They brought the
little one to me In the shaded veran-
dab where I sat at breakfast with
Guido-a tiny, almost shapeless bun
die, wrapped In soft cashmere and old
lace. I took the fragile thing in my
arms with a tender reverence; IL
opened its eyes; they were large and
dark like Nina's, and the light Of a re-
cent heaven seemed still to linger in
their pure depths. / kissed the little
face; Guido did the same; and those
clear, quiet eyes regarded us both
with a strange, half-inquiring sOlem-
nifty. A bird perched on a bough of
jessamine broke into a low, sweet
song. the soft wind blew and scat
tered the petals Of a white rose at our
feet. 1 gave the infant back to the
nurse, who waited to receive it, and
said with a smile: Tell my wife we
have welcomed her May blossom"
Guido laid his hand on my shoulder
rs the servant retired; his face was
unusually pale.
Thou art a good fellow, Fabior' he
said abruptly.
Indeed! How so?" I asked, half
laughingly Il am nc better than other
men,"
You are less suspicious than the