Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-10-28
Continued.


ing! You seemed to love me so much;
why are you not always so fond of
your faithful Nina?"
[ crumpled this note fiercely in my
hand and flung it into the leaping
flames of the newly-lighted fire. There
was a faint perfume about it that
s;ckened me-a subtle odOr like that
of a civet cat when it moves stealthily
after it's prey through a tangle of
tropical heritage I always detested
scented note-paper-I am not the only
nan who does SO. One is led to
fancy that the fingers of the woman
who writes upon it must have some
poisonous or offensive faint about
them, which she endeavors to cover by
the aid of a chemical concoction. [
would not permit myself to think of
this so faithful Nina" as she styled
herself | resumed my reading, and
continued it even at dinner, during
which meal VincenZO waited upon me
with his usual silent gravity and de-
corum, though I could feel that he
watched me with certain solicitude.
/ suppose [ looked weary certainly
'elt so, and retired to rest unusually
early. The time seemed to me so long
would the end never come? The next
day dawned and trailed its tiresOme
hours after it, as a prisoner might
trail his chain of iron letters, until
sunset. and then-then, when the gray
of the Wintry sky flashed for a brief
space into glowing red-then, while
the water looked like blood and the
Clouds like fame-then a few words
sped along the telegraph wires that
stilled my Impotence, reused my soul,
and braced every nerve and muscle in
my body to instant action. They were
plain, clear, and concise:
From Guido Ferrari, Rome, to II
Conte Ceasare Olive, Naples.-Shall be
with you on the oath inst. Train ar
rives at $50 p. m. Will come to you
as you desire without fail.
CHAPTER XXI.
Christmas-eve! The day had been
extra chilly, with frequent showers of
stiinging rain, but toward five o'clock
in the afternoon the weather cleared.
The clouds, which had been of a dull
gray began to break asunder and dis
close little shining riffs of pale blue
and bright gold; the sea looked like a
wide satin ribbon shaken out and
shimmering with Opaline tints. Flower
girls troOped forth making the air
musical with their mellow cries of
oh I01
up their tempting wares-nOt punches
of holly and mistletoe such as are
known in England, but roses, lilies,
jGnquilS, and sweet daffOdils. The
shops were brilliant with bouquets and
baskets of fruits and flowers; a gilt
tering show of 'etiennes, or gifts to
suit all ages and conditions, were set
forth in tempting array, from a box OF
bonbOns costing one franc to q jeweled
tiara worth million, while in many
OF the windows We're displayed models
of the Bethlehem" with babe Jesus
lying in His Manager, for the benefit
of the rOund-eyed children-whO,
after staring fondly at His waXen
image for some time, would run off
hand in hand to the nearest church
where the usual Christmas creche was
arranged, and there kneeling down,
would begin to implOre their dear
little Jesus" their ''own little brother"
not to forget them, with simplicity of
belief that was as touching as it was
unaffected.
| am told that in England the prin-
cipal sights on Christmas-eve are the
shops of the butchers and poulterers
hung with the dead carcases OF ami
mails newly slaughtered, in whose
mouths are thrust punches of prickly
holly, at which agreeable spectacle
the passers-by cape with gluttonous
approval. Surely there is nothing
graceful about such q commemoration
of the birth of Christ as this? nothing
picturesque, nothing poetic?-nothing
even orthodox, for Christ was born in
the East, and the Orientals are very
small eaters, and are particularly
sparing in the use of meat. One won
ders what such an unusual display of
vulgar victuals has to do with the
coming of the Savior, who arrived
among us in such poor estate that
even a decent roof was denied to Him.
Perhaps, though, the English people
read their gospels in way of their
own, and understood that the wise men
Of the East, who are supposed to have
brought the Divine Child symbolic
gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh,
really brought joints of beef, turkeys,
and plum pudding" that vile and in
digestible mixture at which an Ital-
ian shrugs his shoulders in visible dis
gust. There is something barbaric, l
suppose, in the British customs still
something that reminds one of their
ancient condition when the Romans
conquered them-when their supreme
idea of enjoyment was to have an OK
roasted whole before them while they
drank 'wassail," till they groveled
under their own tables in a worse cen
ditiOn than overfed swine. Coarse
and vulgar plenty is still the leading
characteristic at the dinners of English
or American parvenus; they have
scarcely any idea of the refnements
that can be impaired to the prosaic
necessity of eating-of the many lit
tie graces of the table that are under
stood in part by the French, but that
perhaps never reach such absolute per-
lection of taste and skill as at the
banquets Of a cultured and clever
Italian noble. Some of these are veri-