Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1895-12-05

relieved when its fragrance and color
had vanished. I, to receive as gift
the product Of my own garden. Half
vexed, half heart sore. I threw myself
into an easy chair; anon laughed
aloud. So! Madame commences the
game early, thought. Already pay
ing these marked attentionsA to q man
she knows nothing of beyond that he
is reported to be fabulously wealthy
Gold, gold forever! What will it DOT
do. 1t will bring the proud to their
knees, it will force the obstinate to
servile comuliance, it will conquer
aversion and prejudice. The world is
slave to its yellow glitter, and the
love Of woman, that perishable arti-
Gle of commerce, is ever at it's COM
mand. Would you obtain kiss from
a pair of ripe red lips that seem the
very abode of honeyed sweetness? Pay
for it then with lustrous diamond;
the larger the gem the longer the kiss!
The more diamonds you give the more
caresses you will get. The jeunesse
doree, who ruin themselves and their
ancestral homes for the sake of the
newest and prettiest female puppet on
the stage, know this well enough. I
smiled bitterly as thought of the Ian
guild witching look my wife had given
me when she said, "You do not seem
to be old" knew the meaning Of her
eyes; I had not studied their liquid
lights and shadows so long for moth
ing. My road to revenge was a
straight and perfect line-almost too
smooth. could have wished for some
difficulty, some obstruction; but there
was none-absolutely none. The trait
ors had walked deliberately into the
trap set for them. Over and over again
1 asked myself quietly and in cold
blood, was there any reason why
should have pity on them? Had they
shown one redeeming point in their
characters? Was there any nobleness,
any honesty, any real sterling good
quality in either of them to justify my
consideration? And always the an
swer came, No! Hollow to the hearts
core, hypocrites both, liars both; even
the guilty passion they cherished for
one another had no real earnestness in
it save the pursuit of present pleas
ure; for she, Nina, in that fatal inter
view in the avenue where had been
tortured listener, had limited at the
possibility Of firing of her lover, and
he had frankly declared to me that
very day that it was absurd to sup
pose man could be true to one wom-
an all his life. In brief, they deserved
their approaching fate. Such men as
Guido and such women as my wife
are, I know, common enough in all
classes of society, but they are not
the less perniciOus animals, mer-
iting determination as much, If not
more, than the less harmful beasts of
prey. The poor beasts at any rate tell
no lies, and after death their skins are.
of some value; but who shall measure
the mischief done by false tongue,
and of what use is the corpse of a
liar save to infect the air with pesti-
lence? I used to wonder at the super
iority of men over the rest of the ami
NAL creation. but / see now that 1t Is
chiefly gained by excess of selfish cum
ming. The bulky, goodnatured, ignor-
ant lion who has only one way of
defending himself, namely with tooth
and claw, is no match for the jump
ing, two-legged little rascal who hides
himself behind a bush and fires gun
aimed direct at the bigger brute's
heart. Yet the lions mode of battle
is the drawer of the two, and the can
mons, torpedoes, and other implements
of modern warfare are proofs of mans
cowardice and cruelty as much as
they are of his diabolical ingenuity.
Calmly comparing the ordinary lives
Of men and beasts-judging them by
their abstract virtues merely am In
clined to think the beasts the more
respectable of the two!