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

stranger, and that she must give him
our most cordial thanks.
We found our steamer chairs again
in place just whero tho evening sun
would strike past them, but leave our
faces in shadow, and lounging near
$hem was Mr.. Henri Valois."
THAT is a very interesting and aris-
tocratio name" Mrs. Wallis had said,
holding the card in ono hand and her
%lorgnetto i'll tho other. AS she critically
examined it, ACKNOWLEDGMENT
there a king or something with u name
like that?"
l suggested that this might be a
branch Of tho family with tho bar sinis-
ter, and then Mrs. Wallis said positive
ly: "Thon that settles it. He is aduko,
or a duo, at the very least. Those kings
always gave titles and estates right and
left to hat sort of connections. I'll
find outl'
To do her justice, she mado valiant
efforts to keep her word.
AS we took possession Of our chairs IL
was tho most natural thing in tho
world that Mrs. Wallis should smile
sweetly and bow invitingly to u gentle
man who had bceu of such service to
US.
Mr.. Valojs (wo longod to say mon
sieur, but wcro conscious that the pro-
nunciation Of French by wcsterners
would hardly sound Partisan to native
ears) responded with open delight.
And then began Il most delightful
friendship. He was not only extremely
distinguished looking, so that it was
with u calm joy and hearts FREQ from
carking jealousy that we looked upon
the other parties in tho ship as wo
three sat or walked or dincd together,
but Mr.. Valois had been everywhere,
knew everything that came up in tho
world, sroke several languages, and
could ~ adventure equal to Rider
Haggard. ! remember ono night--it
was tho evening before we reached Cork
harbor-we sat on tho deck until tho
moon came up ouI of the dark sea Mr..
Valois was telling US of an adventure
that q party Of gentlemen had oncoun-
tered in southern Italy. They were 60
ing by private carriage from ono point
70 another when they were set upon by
brigands. From the minute description
that no gavo Of everything he must
havo been there, but he did not speak
Of himself once. There was a certain
Marquis do st. Lippo who had put his
pistol to tho chief bandits head and
vowed he would shoot him dead if my
Of the band lifted a finger and had made
the villain order off his men, who fig
ured as the hero. l can see him low as
he sat on the camp stool, leaning OK
citedly forward, tho words clipping
after each other on his tongue, tho
white moonlight and the excitement of
his story making his eyes all aglitter.
After we went into our statoroom Mrs.
Wallis turned to mo with suppressed
excitement:
Don't you SEQ il? He is the Marquis
de st. Lippo himself. No man evor took
that much interest in his friends ad-
ventures"
Aftor that Mrs. Wallis tried with all
tho smartness Of tho traditional Yankee
to bring u some detail Of Mr.. Valois'
private history, but that was tho only
subject upon which no was silent. Ono
day when she had been unusually press
ing he turned suddenly, and, smiling
in her face, said in his peculiar, rather
short sentences: SIS it my profession
you would know, madame? France is
not like America. All men do not cast
accounts nor keep a shop. 1t is differ
ent. l am Il traveller from one beautiful
city to another"
After that madame retired from her
researches, abashed, but ever since the
night of the story Of the bandit adven-
ture Mrs. Wallis had addressed mo as
"tho marquise."
1t did no good for me to try to laugh
her fancies away and tell her that Mr..
Valois had never limited IA word Of love-
making to mo. She always said, "Just
as though, Jean Medlicott, / had not
lived in this world long enough to
know the difference between firtatious
attentions and that deferential service
n man gives to IL woman he means to
winl"
Notwithstanding my disclaimers 1
felt rather like a marquise already. l
fully realized that to marry a French
nobleman was decidedly different from
the brilliant destiny attained by some
of our American women in marrying
English dukes and lords, but even a
French count, if he is genuine, is not
to DO despised in q land where the only
man with any sort Of title that you
hayo any chance Of marrying is an
army lieutenant. I hayo hardly enough
money to buy a title in the regular
market, but a bargain sometimes falls
in my way. Mrs. Wallis and I both felt
that this encounter was an unusual riece
Of luck.
For tho last year or two people who
were interested in my affairs had begun
to make illusions to that typical maid
who went through and through the
thicket and picked up q crooked stick
at last and to suggest that q crooked
stick was a better support over the rug
ged roads that lie over the end Of life
than no staff at all. I didn't mind their
advice, but I had long ago made up my
mind that 1T was going to DO the most
beautiful wand to be found or no staff
at all, and as luck would have it here
1T lay across my path.
And still nothing was settled, but
Mrs. Wallis declared she knew what
she knew, and certainly no queen and
princess royal were ever served as pnl-
lantly as mr. Yaiors ATTENDED upon
Mrs. Wallis and me.
There was a little boat came off Mt
queenstown, and several Of the passen-
gers left us. We wero Watching them
embark, when I saw Mr.. Valois give q
note with some English money to II
or the departing ones. Mrs. Wallis
looked a little anxious. I hardly know