The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-10-28
teopyR,dAr. 1887 BY n HAWKINS. J


brought him to his sad state, and i'm.
ploring him to summon his resolution
and conquer his sickness for his friends
sake at home In France and for the
sake of her brother, who loved him.
"There is nobody who loves me-"
said the marquis petulantly, and when
Osra cried out at this he went on, "For
the love Of those whom I do not love is
nothing to me, and the only soul alive
/ love- There he stopped, but his
eyes, fixed on Osra's face, ended the
sentence for him. And she blushed and
looked away. Then, thinking the mo-
ment had come, he burst suddenly into
q food of protestations and self reproach,
cursing himself for a fool and o pre-
sumptuous man, pitifully craving her
pardon and declaring that he did not
deserve her kindness, and yet that he
could not live without it, and that any
how he would be dead soon and thus
cease to trouble her. But she, being
thus passionately assailed, showed such
sweet tenderness and compassion and
pity that M. de Merosailles came very
near to forgetting that he was playing
a comedy and threw himself into his
part with eagerness, redoubling his ve-
hemence and feeling now full half Of
what he said. For the princess was to
his eyes far more beautiful in her softer
mood. Yet he remembered his wager,
and OF last, when she was nearly in
tears and ready, as it seemed, to do
anything to give him comfort, he cried
desperately:
. "Ah, leave me, leave mel Leave me
to die alone, For PHYS sake, before you
go, and before I die, give me your for
giveness and let your lips touch my
forehead In token Of it, and then I
shall die in peace"
At that the princess blushed still
more and her eyes were dim and shone,
for she was very deeply touched at his
misery and at tho sad prospect Of the
death Of SO gallant gentleman for love.
Thus she could scarcely speak for emo
ton, and the marquis, seeing her emo
tion, was himself much affected, and she
rose from her chair and bent over him
and whispered comfort to him. Then
she leaned down and very lightly
touched his forehead with her lips and
he felt her oyelashY, that were wet
with her tears, brush the skin Of his
forehead, and then she sobbed and COW
cred her face with her hands. Indeed
his state seemed to her most pitiful.
Thus M. de Merosailles had won one
Of his three kisses, yet, strange to tell,
there was no triumph in him, but he
now perceived the baseness Of his de-
vice, and the sweet kindness of the
princess, working together with the
great beauty of her softened manner, SO
affected him that he thought no more
of his wager and could not endure to
carry on his deception, and nothing
would servo his turn but to confess to
the princess what he had done and
humble himself in the dust before her
and entreat her to pardon him and let
him find forgiveness. Therefore, i'm
pelled by these feelings, after he had
lain still few moments listening to
the princess weeping he leaped sudden
ly out of the bed, showing himself fully
clothed under the bedgown which he
now eagerly tore off, and he rubbed all
the white he could from his cheeks. and
then he fell on his knees before the prin.
cess, crying to her that he had played
the neanest trick on her and he was q
'scoundrel and no gentleman and yet
that unless she forgave him he should
in very truth die. Nay, he would not
consent to live unless he could win
from her pardon for his deceit. And in
all this he was now most absolutely in
earnest wondering only how he had
not been as passionately enamored Of
her from the first as he had feigned
himself to be. for man in love can
never conceive himself out of it nor he
that is out of it in it, for if he can he
Is half way to the one or the other,
however little he may know it.
At first the princess sat as though she
were turned to stone, but when he had
finished his confession and she under
stood the trick that had been played up
Oh her sad how not only her kiss, but
also her tears, had been won from her
by fraud, and when she thought, as she
did, that the marquis was playing an
other trick upon her and that there was
no more truth or honesty in his pres
ent protestations than in those which
went before, she fell into great shame
and into great rage and her eyes fash
ed like the eyes of her father himself
rs she rose to her feet and looked down
on M. de Merosailles as he knelt implor-
ing her. Now her face turned pale from
red, and she set her lips and she drew
her gown close round her, lest his touch
should defile it ESQ the unhappy gentle.
man understood tho gesture), and she
daintily picked her steps round him lest
by chance she should happen to come
in contact with so foul a thing. Thus
she walked toward the door, and, hav-
ing reached it. she turned and said to
him, "Your death may blot out the in
sult-nothing less!" And with her head
held high and her whole air full Of
scorn she swept out Of the room, leaving
the marquis on his knees. Then he
started up to follow her, but dared not,
and he flung himself Oh the bed in
paroxysm of shame and vexation, and
now of love, and he cried out loud: