The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-11-30

ennven us or late. IL svcmeu ausuro
when we realized that we had only
known him u fortnight.
We had been in Paris q week, had
shopped at the Bon Marche, bought a
dress or two Of tho immortal Worth,
and had found somo American friends
who had rapidly seen tho sights Of the
French capital and wanted us to push
on into Switzerland and north Ger
many with them. Winter was tho
time for Paris" But we were awaiting
some one whose judgment was infalli-
BILE We woro to go the next day to say
got dby to them and were sitting In
on: parlor talking in q desuitory way
Of their plans, carefully leaving out
MIR. Valols' name when we spoke Of our
OWL, when there was q knock at the
door, and a servant came i'll with q
large salver-a brass sea, islanded by q
tiny white note. 1t Was addressed to
Mrs. Wallis, and we both recognized
the writing as that of Mr.. Valois. She
broke tho seal with almost trembling
hands, and after she had read it handed
1t over to me:
are now in Paris, where l can
refer you to almost any gentleman in tho city
" ahIOl IlallOh ub " Ill III a hhNcI o |
Trained from calling myself up to this time
because l wished you to know me we'll before J
l mado any pretcnsions. May l call at your
rooms in ono hour from this2 Your devoted
servant, HENRI VALoIs-
Mrs. Wallis went over to tho tlule
and wrote u hasty note, which she dis.
patched. Again was her face that burn
ing red.
81 will order the carriage and go
around to see the Prioes," l said, and
sho did not object. I went into my own
room and ''neurly died Of laughter"
as schoolgirls say, while I was putting
Oh my jacket and hat. 1 felt as sure as
l ever felt Of anything that Henri Va
lois, or the Marquis do Saint Lippe, or
whoever he might be-and we should
soon know-was going to propose to
Mrs. Wallis for my hand. TO him she
stood III tho place Of my mother. A
man never would write suoh q business
like opistle as that to the woman no
was going to ask to marry him. / felt q
little sorry for her and then l felt ex-
ultant. 1t was good enough for her. A
woman Of that age has no business
falling in love with young men.
And then l laughed again and i'm
agined her sensations when ane went
into that room, expecting tho embraces
Of a lover, to DO asked to play tho part
Of mother to me. Oh, II was too good
almost to keep to mysolfl If Mr.. Valois
had ever made downright love to mo,
as an Englishman or an American
would certainly have lone under the
circumstances, I would have told Della
Price all about it and lot her laugh
with me, but it would have been a tame
love story whose only Incident was the
joke with which 1t reached its climax.
But l was merciful in ono respeot-I
timed my return SO that tho embarrass-
ment should DO as short as possible for
Mrs. Wallis.
Aftor MIR. Valois Che was something
moro than that now had explained
himself | would come in. / looked at
my watch as | went up In tho elevator
(thoy call them lifts and assenseurs
over here) and calculated that Henri
had been with Mrs. Wallis about three
quarters Of an hour. won't through my
own room, took off my hat, 1uifed up
my bangs and softly opened the parlor
door.
1t was empty.
AS I stepped in, q little bewildered,
Mrs. Wallis door opened Oh the other
side, and she rushed rcross the room,
and throwing herself into my arms
broke into tho Widest poals Of laughter.
/ was frightened to .aath. Had the
woman gone stark mad over her disap-
pointment? She left me as suddenly as
she had clutchod my neck, and picking
up an engraved card from tho table
held 1t before my eyes.
"Oh, Jean, Jeanv' she fairly
screamed between her ha-has.
IF wo aren't groenl That man is a
courier. He wanted me to hire him to
travel with us, and because + wouldn't
he Is furious. He made me pay for tho
theater tickets and carriages and
everything we had In Liverpool and
London. And. oh. ves-ho snid tho tola-
gram from queenstown was IL shiI-
lings, and he wanted e10 for the time
he wasted taking us about after he
found that | wouldn't have him travel
with us over here"
There was the engraved card that no
sent to the prince-"Hcnri Valois,
courier, speaks French, Italian, Ger
man, Russian, Spanish, English"
We changed our minds and went to
Switzerland with the Prices.
Last winter, down on the lake Of
Como, wo wero sitting with a group of
tourists who were talking of the short
oomings Of couriors very much rs
American ladies talk Of their servants.
There Is one man." Sir George
Shelby said, "who has been simply
ruined by being allowed to look and act
like a gentleman. He was the best
courier in Europe ten years ago, but
there is no living with him now"
WHO is thatp" Mr.. Donaldson of
New York asked. "Valois?"
"That's the fellow"
"Well," Mr.. Donaldson said, IL re.
greet to say that Americans are RESPONSE
bio for it. An American family of
wealth and some position in ono Of our
large western cities employed Valois
here for a year, and then took him
homo with them for a visit, and actually
introduced him to their friends as q do
slrable acquaintance"
-Ihere were various ordinations Of
eSlSN EEAS