Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-08-15

dancing from midnight mp to the small
hours Of the morning. The cholera was
a thing Of the past,-the cleansing of
the city, the sanitary precautions.
which had been so much talked about
and recommended In order TO prevent
another outbreak In the coming year,
were all forgotten and neglected, and
the laughing poprlace tripped lightly
over the graves OF its dead, hundreds
as though they were odorous banks OF
flowers .'Cggi! oggi" is their cry-to-
day, today Never mind what happen
ed yesterday or what will happen to-
morr,w-leave that TO | signori Santi
and La Signora Madonna! And after
all there Is a grain of reason In their
folly, for many Of the bitterest miser-
les Of man grow out OF a fatal habit
of looking back or looking forward, and
Of never living actually In the full
fated present. Then, too, Carnival
was approaching; Carnival, which.
though denuded Of many OF Its best
and brightest features. still reels
through the streets Of Naples with
something Of the picturesque manner
that in old times used to accompany
its prototype, the Feast Of Bacchus. l
was reminded of this coming festivity
on the morning Of the 2ist OF Deem
Der, when / noted some unusual at
tempts on the part o. yincenzo to con-
troll his c~ountenance. that often, in
spite Of his efforts, broadened into a
sunny smile as though some humorous
thought had fitted across his mind.
He betrayed himself at last by asking
ME demurely whether / purposed tax
ing any part In the carnival. i smiled
and shook my head. yincenzo looked
dubious. but finally summoned up
courage to say
will the Eccelenza permit"-"You
to make a fool Of ~yourself?" I inter
rupted, by all meansi Take your own
time, enjoy the fun as much as you
please; l promise you i will ask no ac-
count Of your actions"
He was much gratified, and attended
to me with even more punctiliousness
than usual. AS he prepared my break
fast / asked him
by the way. when does Carnival
beginT'
"On the 26th," he answered with a
slight mir Of surprise. Surely the Ec-
celenza knows"
Eyes, yes" I said impatiently. Il
know, but / had forgotten. | am not
young enough 10 keep the dates OF
these follies in my memory. What let
tiers have you thereF'
He handed me q small tray full Of
different shaped missiyes, some from
fair ladies who desired the honor of
my company" others from tradesmen,
praying the honor of my CUSTOM" all
from male and female toadies as usual,
l thought contemptuously as | turned
than nrar u-hn, mr. GLANCE xr-a. z,,J
denly arrested by one special envelope
square in form and heavily bordered
with black, on which the postmark
Roma" stood out distinctly. AT
last" 1 thought, and breathed heavily.
l turned to my valet who was giving
the final polish to my breakfast cup
ard saucer
You may leave the room, vincen-
20" / said briefly. He bowed, the door
opened and shut noiselessly,-he was
gone. Slowly | broke the seal of that
fateful letter; a letter from Guido
Ferrari. a warrant self-signed, for his
own execution!
MY best Friend so 1t ran, "you
will guess by the black flag on my
envelope the good news l have to give
you. My uncle is dead at last, thank
God! and l am left his sole heir I'M
conditionaIly. 1 am free, and shall Of
course return to Naples Immediately.
that is, as soon rs some triiing law
business has been got through with
the executors. / believe / can arrange
my return for the 23rd or oath instant,
but will telegraph to you the exact
day and IL possible, the exact hour.
VIII you oblige me by not announcing
this to the countess? as | wish TO take
her by surprise. Poor girl. she viii
have often felt lonely, | am sure, aud
l want to see the first beautiful look of
rapture and astonishment in her eyes,
o a understand this can you not.
AMIGO, or does, it seem t. you a folly ?
At any rate, l should consider ii very
churlish were / to keep you in ignor-
ance Of my coming home, and I know
you will humor me in my desire that
the news should be withheld from
Nina. How delighted she will be. and
what a joyous carnival we will have
this winteri / do not think | ever felt
more light Of heart; perhaps ii Is be-
cause i am so much heavier in pock-
ct l am glad of the money. as it
places me on a mere equal footing
with her, and though all her letters TO
me have been full of the utmost ten
derness, still / feel she will think even
better of me, nov / am in a position
somwhat nearer to her own. As for
you, my good Conte, on my return I
shall make Ii my first duty to a back
with interest the rather large debt
owe to you:-thus my honor will be
satisfied, and you, I am sure, will have
a better opinion Of
Yours 10 command,
"Guido Ferrari."
This was the letter, and / read it
over and ove again. Some of the
words burnt themselves into my mem
DRY as though they were living flame.
YAH her letters TO me have been full
OF the utmost tenderness D miser-
able dupe! fooled, fooled to the acme
of folly even as / had beeni She. the
arch-traitress. to prevent his entertain
ing the slightest possible suspicion of
jealousy of her actions during his alb
sence, had written to him. no doubt,
epistles sweet as honey, brimming over
with endearing epithets and vows of
constancy, even while she knew she
had accepted me as her husband-me
good Godi Whatta devils dance OF