Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1897-09-02
Continued.

summoned my valet. VINO sent
rbis?" | demanded.
Madame the Contessa Romani," re.
nred V~incenzo, with discreet gravity.
.There is a card attached, If the
accaIlenza will be pleased to look"
did look. 1t was my wife's visit
irg-card, and on it was written IN her
own delicate penmanship-
..To remind the conte of his prom
ised visit tomorrow"
A sudden anger possessed me. |
crumpled up the dainty glossy bit of
dashboard and flung it aside. The
mingled odors OF the fruit end flowers
offended my senses
II care nothing for these t%ritlles, .
| said, addressing V%incenzo, almost
impatiently. Take them to the little
daughter of the hotel-keeper; she is
a child. she will appreciate them. Take
them away at once"
Obediently Vincenzo lifted the bas-
Ike, and bore it out of the room. |
huE ltlltNtu nv = Ia oSl UNIV "iAo
color had vanished. |, to receive as a
gift the product of my own garden
Half veXed, half % at heart, | threw
myself into IN easy-chair-anon |
laughed aloud! So! Madame com
mences the game early, | thought. Al
ready paying these marked attentions
to a man she knows nothing of beyond
that he is reported to be fabulously
wealthy. Gold, gold forever! What
will it not do! 1t will bring the proud
TO their knees, it will force the OBJ
stinate to servile compliance, it will
conquer aversion and prejudice. The
world is a slave to its yellow glitter,
and the love of woman, that perish
able article of commerce, is Eel at its
command. Would you obtain a kiss
from a pair of ripe-red lips that seen
the very abode of honeyed sweetness?
Pay for it then with a luStrous dia-
mOrd: the larger the gem the longer
the kiss! The more diamonds you
give, the more caresses you will get.
| smiled bitterly as | thought of the
languid, witching look my wife had
given me when she said, You do not
seem to be old" / knew the meaning
Of her eyes; l had not studied their
liquid lights and shadows so long for
nothing. My road to revenge was a
straight and perfectly smooth one,
most too smooth. | could have wished
for some difficulty, some obstruction;
but there was none-absolutely none.
The traitors walked deliberately into
the trap set for them. Over and oyer
again | 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 noble
ness, any honesty, any real sterling
good quality, in either of them to
justify my consideration? And always
the answer came, No! Hollow to the
hearts core, hypocrites both, liars
even the guilty passion they cherished
for one another had no real earnest
ness in it save the pursuit of present
pleasure; for she, Nina, in that fatal
interview in the venue where ! had
been a 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
suppose a nan could be true to one
woman all his life. In brief, they de-
served their approaching fate. Such
men as Guido and such as NY
wife are, ! know, common enough in
all classes of society, but they are not
the less pernicious animals, nerittng
determination as much, If not more,
tn tn less harmful beasts IF &.
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 a false tongue
and of what use is the corpse of a liar
save to infect the air with pestilence?
used to wonder at the superiority Of
men over the rest Of the animal crea-
ZION, but | see now that ii Is chiefly
-"'HHA ny 'ANNSS VI 6tlloh CUNNING
THE bulky, good-natured, ignorant lion
who has only one honest way Of de-
tending himself, namely, with tooth
and claw. is no match for the jumping
iwo-legged little rascal who hides him
self behind a bush and fires a 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, torpedCes, and other implements
.. modern warfare are proofs Of mans
"oWardice and cruelty as much as they
ara Of his diabolical ingenuity. Calm
.E comparing the ordinary lives Of men
a1. heasts-judging them by their alb
s.rant virtues merely am inclined to
.a.nk The beasts the more respectable
of the two,
Welcome to Villa Romanii"
The words fell strangely on my
ears Was ! dreaming, or was I act
Ia..y standing on the smooth green
lawn Of my own garden, mechanically
.a.a-ing my own wife, who, smiling
"aarly uttered this cordial greeting