The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-27

me. He was much brighter afterwards,
and he and Jean carried on an exchange
of jest and nonsense as we rolled
| along towards the theater. AS for me,
/ seemed to have acquired the melan-
| choly that he had shed. Even as Jean
was wrapping me in my outer gar
mentS, with that solicitous care with
which she always serves me, 1 felt
a sudden gloom and apprehension steal
| over me. She, Watchful of my every
mood, detected the change and turned
quickly to Allan.
GO into the dining room, there's a
good lad" she said, land tell Stone to
open pint of champagne-quick,
there's no time to lose, we're getting
late. Now, what is it, dear?" she in
| quired, looking anxiously at me as
Allan disappeared, wondering but ODE
| dent
'Nothing-oh, I don't know. What
| is it, Jeannie?"
A hysterical feeling of fright had
laid hold of me. 1t was quite unreason-
able and inexplicable, but it's influence
was none the less potent. 1 placed two
| trembling hands on Jeans shoulders,
and gazed appealingly at her. Small
| thing that she was compared with me,
! she seemed so strong, so stolid, so
rational, that 1 chung to her with con-
| fidence in her power to dispel this vague
| shadow that threatened me. She was
| accustomed to my Variableness, and
had often COPIED with my groundless
| Impressions; so now she laughed out
right, with so hearty and scornful G
| laugh that its very commOnplacenesS
| treasured me for a moment.
'Oh, bosh!' she said, giving me lit
| tie shake Of eXpostulation. Reaction,
| that's all. Oh, what unnecessary hOr-
rors you do conjure upi I wonder what
shane this one has taken ?'
II don't know. But, JEANNE, 1t is
| something dreadful. l know that some
thing terrible is going to happen to me
I know it."
"Nonsensew she exclaimed. Where
| is that boy? Are they making that
| wine, I Wonder?"
why nonsense?" I asked, looking at
her with timid eyes; you yourself
| only this morning predicted some dan
ger to me from my father. Perhaps
you and Isidore are right after all, and
he has the evil eye for me. Who knows
but tonight
ooh, what folly! - what sensational
folly!' she cried. 'T was an idiot to
have said such a thing even in a joke.
1 might have known you would dwell
upon it. Here And she turned
quickly upon Allan, who appeared at
that moment with the wine, almost
snatching the glass from the tray he
carried, and forcing it into my reluct-
ant fingers. She was unusually exuber-
ant in her scoffing, and she has since
confessed to me that her scorn OF my
sudden weakness was wholly and with
some difficulty assumed, as she her
self was laboring under a strong pre-
sentiment of coming evil. She was
ever, like many Of her nation, full of
superstition and omens, which, on ord
mary occasions, she made no attempt
to conceal; but should chance to show
disposition towards similar mental
infirmity, it was her custom to rally
me without mercy. a.s.. .s......
The champagne somewhat dispersed
the low mood into which I had fallen.
and the sight of the Bridge roses when
l unpacled them from their box OH
! reaching my dressing room, cheered me
for awhile with their tender suggestive
ness.
But, while my maid was dressing me
III my pages suit of gray and silver,
the black dog again perched upon my
shoulder, and / found it impossible,
as did JEANNE also, in spite of every
effort, to dislodge the dreary monster
from his position.
1t was years since I had studied my
appearance as I did that night. My
poor maid was at her wits ends to
satisfy my eXactions. In vain she and
Jean insisted that I had never looked
ly to my figure, set off it's outlines to
the greatest possible advantage; that
its delicate tints harmonised perfectly
with my colouring; that no manner Of
garb would more eXQuisitely become
shape that they were pleased to pro-
nOunce unusually comedy. Alas! their
aSseverationS sounded but duly and
unconvincingly in my ears, attuned as
they were to other criticisms Of a more
fastidious taste. I gazed at myself,
not through the medium Of professional
eyes focused at a catch-penny level,
but with the discriminating percep-
ton Of private individual, who holds
feminine delicacy a pearl of great price
And, beneath this sensitive glance, my
vanity shrivelled into discontinue
Almost everyone knows how distort-
ing a prolonged inspection Of ones own
reflection is. AS l stood before my
long cheval-glass, awaiting my call
with nervous dread, and staring myself
out Of countenance with that narrowing
judicial scrutiny, my own face and
form grew absolutely hateful to me-
All those points which had seemed for
merly most worthy of admiration ap-
peared now to be pointing the finger