The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-12-28
HIS LITTLE DINNER.

ssYonr nIsstress- s---hae she come In yetfss
be demanded eagerly, as the servant opened
the door.
"No SIR"
Thus reassured, he drew from behind
his back hand In which be held d big
bunch OF roses, which, II not very choice
or artistic, In their selection, still spoke
sloquently Of a great, loving heart. His
eyes sparkled, his fingers tfembled with
Joy, when, In the dining room moment
later, he arranged his flowers In hand
some vase, and with tender little pats and
touches set them carefully In the center Of
the little round table. Khen from his
pocket he drew a tiny jewel case and hid II
under one Of tho two napkins.
Now" he mumured, smiling gnyIy,
anow she may come inl'' :
Now that his preparations were finished,
he sat down to wait, idle, rostless fumbiing
at this and that with his big, awkward
hands How was 1t all going to bappenY
Should he run to meet her, take her In his
arms and call her my belovedf" No; at
first no would say nothing. He would
seem quite indifferent. unconeerned; then,
by accident, his arm would slip round her
waist and he would lead her---as 1t were
unconsciously--to the dining room door,
where he was going TO enjoy the delight of
her surprise and pleasure.
All, at last a step outsidei His Joy must
be disguised lest she suspect something,
and again he caught up the paper. "It is
wired from London "It is wired from
London"-but the words danced before his
eyes, red, blue, green-he could not dis
tinguish another letter--a hand, her hand,
was on the knob
She entered, blond, beautiful, but look
In n,,t frn,,. arft lrxvr tetto xxrur
OF her costly furs little weary, a little
disheyeled, after an afternoon spent In Wis
iting, shopping, swift riding in a coupe.
The "good day" she gave him seemed o
little weary, too, the gesture little petu-
liant with which she drew off her. gloves,
threw back her fura and dropped into
chair.
"I am very late" said she, "and we
must dino quickly. The Daubignys are
coming to take me with them to the op-
era"
He started, paincd and surprised.
"What, you are going out, dearestP
thought We were to spend the evening TO-
gether here in our little nest
She had thrown herself into low, easy
chair, with her tiny feet outstretched to
the fro. Really, my dear, you arc very
unreasonable, she answered indifferently.
sit was very good OF the Daubignys to in
vito me, and as / am not ut all spoiled,
you know, by visits to tho theater, 40
cepted with pleasure. Still, II you wish
to forbid my going, you can; you are my
master; the law is on your Side"
He dropped tho paper wearily, all the
brightness gone from his face. There Is
no need to be angry, dearest, he expostu-
lated. ~ had no thought or wish to de-
priye you Of a pleasure. You reproach
me, too, needlessly. You know that
am nearly always busy in the evenings.
Tonight, however, am free, and I was
promising myself
"All right, III not CO."
"No, no, dear one; not at ALL Come,
we'll dine quickly. You'll go and make
yourself beautiful, and when the Daubig.
nys arrive
II am not going, tell you'll Ino longer
wish to 60"
She flung off her furs, her dainty hat,
and tossed them angrily on couch.
He watched her sorrowfully, miserably,
all his Innocent joy gone, feeling himself
aged and enervated by this quarrel, that
was so useless, SO unforeseen, so incom-
prehenslble.
She was seated now at the other side Of
tho fire, her slender white hands olaspsd
oarelessly about her knees. He sought
and sought for something to say to her,
anything, no matter what, that would
break the horrible silence, but nothing
would come.
"By the way" said she suddenly-so
suddenly that he perceptibly jumped-"I
have invited Paul Bernard to dine with us
tomorrow. He is very agreeable"
"Ahr'
"why 'ahp What do you say 'ah' for?''
"For nothing-nothing at all, dear.
said 'ah' just as would say 'oh;' just as
1 would say
She had haughtily raised her pretty
head, with its crown of golden curls, the
naughty head Of little princess, but with
its beauty just then marred by the hard,
scornful curve of the red lips
perhaps you intend to be Jealous and
make sceness" she persisted.
He did not reply; his chin dropped on
his breast dejectedly. Still this quarrel
without reason or sensoi She was not
usually SO.
And suddenly great terror was born
within him, to clutch and tear ut the
strings of his heart This nervous excite
ment of his wife, this oversensitiveness to
unspoken words-oould 1t be tho outcome
of some hidden pain, some secret suffer-
ing, or--God In heaven, crush the thought
tho remorse of n first fault2
No, mol Impossiblel She was only tired,
fatigued by paying calls, by the chattering
of uncongenial acquaintances, by the soli-
tude of her silk cushioned brougham, with
gazing out upon wan, gray sky, with tho
rain boating tho windows.
Meanwhile she went on, exasperating
herself more and more. You might as
well know, too, now as any time, Lucien,
that when you begin that, when you take
it into your head to be jealous, suspicious
WELL / know but one remedy for it-di-
yorce!"
He paled at the horrible word, for she
had hurled it at him cruelty, brutally as "a
blow, looking him straight in the eyes,
her elbow resting on the mantelpiece and
apparently geite calm.
Eight o'clock began to chime. In tho
street the rain still fell, slow, mournfui
rain, sounding like dirge. They passed
into the dining room, she leading, he fol-
lowing like one in n troubled dream.
In the interval the cozy little nook
seemed, all at once, to have grown chill
and formal; discomfort, bitterness, sup
pressed irritation, lurked in the air.
Dinner, which had been served, had
grown cold on the pretty white table, the
crisp little solls had lost their tempting
look, and there, in the midst of 1t ALL the
poor, forgotten bunch of roses hung its
head with look Of woe, as II 1t felt itself
a stranger, an unlimited, an unwelcome
guest.
She glanced at the flowers with little
careless, absent air. "Ah, roses" said she.
Then he replied, the sadness of his heart
making his voice shake: Yes, dear, roses.
1t is the anniversary of our wedding day"
Translated From the French For San