Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1896-03-26

I was In Milan for the carnival, hav-
ing gone early in order to secure COM
Portable quarters at the Hotel Cavonr,
and the first day at table d'hote dinner
I was seated next to the prettiest girl I
ever saw. We all have our ideal OF
beauty, suppose, and she simply real
ized mine, that Is ALL The man sitting
by her on the other side was her
brother, I discovered from their talk,
and there was anyhow striking like
ness 30 It goes without saying that he
was too good to look at. At iirst, no
ticed nobody else, hardly ate any din
ner, In fact, so absorbed was in steal
Ing glances at these two beautiful young
creatures, but toward the close of the
meal / heard the girl say In a sweet
well-brej voice, which had a vibrant
ring to 1t, stirring some dormant emo
ton in me, making me yearn over her
with the instinct of motherhood, sup
pose heard her say to her brother,
DO you think the count will come this
evening, Jack?
Certainly" the young fellow an
severed, gayly. The stars have so or
dalned 1t and there is no resisting ones
destiny, sister mine
II don't know what caused me to look
up Just then, but glanced across the
table and saw, sitting directly opposite
the young girl, an old woman, so yell
low and withered and at the same time
30 Enthusiastically dressed that wondered
I had not noticed her before. She wore
q lavender gown, profusely trimmed
with ribbon and lace, and her black
hair, thickly streaked with gray, was
bound back from her forehead by a
broad velvet ribbon and twisted In a
loose knot low on her neck. Her gray
eyes, which had strange cat-like
CLEAN Of yellow in them, were riveted
upon the face Of the girl, and presently
I felt the latter stir little uneasily, as
though the basilisk glare disturbed her,
1.-THE next evening I found my seat
taken by good looking, bronzed in
dividual, whom the girl addressed as
Count Won Rosenberg, but who was
known to the brother as Ludwig. l
had in the meantime made certain in
quiries about my old lady Of the eyes
and had learned that she was an Amer
lean named Harding, very eccentric,
and very, very rich. She was in her
usual place and every time l looked al
her / saw her eyes fastened with the
same intense expression upon the beau
tiful face opposite her She Is fasci-
mated by the girls beauty and has no
foolish qualms about showing it,
thought, and gave my attention wholly
to my dinner, for had tramped about
good deal that day and was healthily
hungry. From stray scraps of CONVEX
sation which floated to me now and
then learned that the girl-by the
way, her name was Claire Elliston-
had never met the count before, but the
two young men had travelled together
In Russia and were close friends.
1--WE all sat for awhile after dinner in
the salon and l saw Mrs. Harding take
book, and with this as a screen, seat
herself in the darkest and most obscure
corner Of the room 60 watch the move
ments Of her prey. When they left the
room she, too, disappeared.
II came upon my young people at the
Brera next morning, and, would you
believe it, that old woman was again
in attendance, saying nothing, but star
ing?
II began to feel as If there were some