The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1897-07-03

"Why not in the orchestra row, watch
ing the danseuses?"
THAT was clever enough to be pre-.
served as sample of repartee," she told
him; for she insisted upon seeing him
through very rosy spectaclss. and when
; she found the rosiness fading or wear
ing away In spots. she laboriously tinted
them up again. She talked diplomacy,
the world, life, ambition, to him con-
stantly. She lost sight of the fact that
an officer has very little use for that
sort OF thing. She brought him to cor
rect tastes in the matters of art, and
literature, and music, and, above all, per-
sonal appearance.
He absorbed how to cut his finger
nails, probably. for she never actually
told him. and he stopped chipping them
on the bias He tried ut saying things
with his eyes; pretty generally the
things had to be said over with his
tongue, but both of them laid that down
to Mrs. Torrey's stupidity. After all,
Gordon was improved. 1t took IS
months to get him into shape, and then
he said he was in love with Mrs. Torrey.
The way she had brought him up made
him hard to handle. He had all kinds OF
ideas that do in books and salons and
French, but are bad, in fact, in the army
and in England. 1t began with the eye
talk, and Mrs. .Torrey understood that.
But she pretended she did not; so he
thought her stupid again and put it in
words. He was very fiery about it--as
in the books. They we're on the porch to-
gether after dark. This was rare, for
she was careful of appearances, usually.
do you know that you have become
life itself to me?" he asked.
Il have tried to show you life"
Don't talk to me in that cold, in
structive way, as though you were years
older than land homely. You are only
half a year older, and what's that w'-
wherein the Balzac showed-"and you
are beautiful"
ooh! no, am not"
AT least you have the face of Ma
DONNA"
ITO you it should be the face of a
brother officers wife,"
Cant you see that I love you pas
sionately?"
Il can see that you think you love me
Economically, but You DON'T"
He did, however. He wus in earnest,
and he had had the decency to keep it
to himself for long while. Then it had |
burst out, and after that he made her
life a burden. She SOW that it was her
fault, she ought to have seen that the |
kindest thing to do in the long run
would be to drop him relentiessiy then
and there. Instead of that she tried to
reason with him and to comfort him,
which, of course, did not work.
He said that if she shook him
altogether, he would kill himself,
and. he might have done so, be-
cause his brain was romantic mud
die. Mrs. Torrey was in very bad pre-
dicament when Uncle Sam came to her
aid. He ordered Lieut.. Torrey to- Bal
timore on recruiting service.
Torrey lived in Washington, and went
over to Baltimore to the office every day.
In two months Gordon had sick leave
and was in Washington. Mrs. Torrey
was frightened. She flew into rage.
and told Gordon what she thought of
his actions. He retorted by calling her
heartless. 1t ended in parting with
tears and curses; and Gordon married
an heircss before he went back.
Mrs. Torrey felt sorry for him. She
knew she had broken his heart, wrecked
MS life. She would do what she could
Tor him. At least she would further his
ambitions. He should owe his worldly
success to her. She had learned good
leol by real experience now, and she !
vas young, brilliant, very pretty and :
attractive. She became
quite feature in Washington society,
! woman of the world who never lost r
Ter head whatever she might make I
'thers do. All this in less than two !
ears. She knew there was no use in !
rying to advance her husband, and she |
id not particularly care to. because i
he had found out now that she was un-
appy, horribly unhappy, and that her /
ife was fiat thing. She cared for the e
iorion she had made more than she c
uessed. The real interest of her life h
ny in him. Her influence was great \
ecausc of her social powers and her c
eauty and attractiveness. and by dint c
I trying in those thousands of untold | /
avs that there are of doing such &
Kings she got Gordon an attacheship p
the court of St. James. lie had q +
ich wife and he could accept it. "
1t was improbable that he did not p
now whom to thank, but however that IL
light have been, he gave no sign and n
either did She, except to turn horribly tt
ale when she met him on Connections u
venue one afternoon. She smiled way p
ringly and pitHully, and he only looked ci
epinto her soul with hurt eyes. He had
nstered that much of eye-language. II
p was m thor rla,sod - an ~I,.: II