The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1898-09-30


present. She looked up rather im-
patiently.
'.What shall wcar?''
He had not thought of that.
"The gown You wear at the theatre
seems to he very good: =
Tears were falling now. and he
st ,ppcd, dismayed
"What is the matter with voug'
"Nothing: only have nothing suit
able. and ,nS"Ir"n'lv cannot attend
the ball: give the invitation to some
colleague whose wife is sufficiently
we'll equipped t" 90"
| D,'Sparin LlN. he answered:
Let us see, Mathiidr; how much
will a gown cost, such rs you require2"
| She thou Int Of the largest sum she
could ask for without receiving an i'm
mediate refusal. and replied. with some
| hcsitation:
II do not know exactly. but will
try to manage with four hundred
francs.
lie palrd little rs she spoke, for he
was rcserviny just that sum to buy a
gun, i'll order that he might join a
hunting party the next summer.
so be it. will give You four hun
drcd francs: but try to have 4 heauti-
full gown
As the day OF the ball approached,
Madame Loiscl seemed dissatisfied.
though the gown was quite to her mind.
Her husband, observing this, said:
What troubles you? You have
been sad for three days"
II have no jewels; | would rather
not 90, almost, than to appear without
any"
''lo OH can wear howers, and roses
are very chic at this season, and for
ten francs you can have abundance
NO there is nothing more humiI-
ating than to have the air Of poverty
in the presence of opulcnce, and flow
crs will not suffice
You are hard to suit Go find your
friend. Madame Forester, and ask
her to loan you something from her
collection for that occasion; you are on
terms of sufficient intimacy"
THAT is true she cried, in glee; IL
had not thought of that The follow
ing day she went to her friend and re-
lated her difficulty. Madame Forres-
tier brought her jewel casket and said:
Choose, my dear" There were
bracelets, a collar of pearls, a Venetian
cross of stones, and gold of admirable
workmanship. She tried on the jewels
before the glass, unable to make de-
cision. Suddenly she discovered, in 4
satin case, a superb necklace of dia-
monds With childish eagerncss she
fastened it about her really sbapely
throat, and stood mute in the presence
of her own beauty. She looked at her
friend with anxious eyes:
"Could you loan me this"
"Yes, certainly" She embraced
Madame FORESTER with appreciative
warmth, and went away with the treas
ure.
The cventful evening arrived, and
Nine. Loiscl was great success; she
was the acknowledged belle, gracious,
smiling, and full Ct joy. The gentle
men whispered their admiration to
each other, and sought to be presented;
the attahes of the cabinet danced with
her, and even the minister himself gave
her Il share of his attention.
AS for Madame, she thought of moth
ing but the Intoxicating pleasure of the
dance, the lights, the admiration, the |
triumphant success attained 10y her |
beauty and grace.
Her husband, after midnight. fell |
asleep i'll a small ante-room. as did Il
few other men whose wives ere Occ,l- |
pied with the amus,,ln mt Of the hour.
1t was nearly morning when the gay |
functions began to drag. and the weary |
guests departed. Fearing that his wife
would catch cold. NJ Loiscl wished t,
call carriage, but she followed him
into the street. as her outside wrap did |
not harmonize with the surroundings,
and she wished to leave unobscrved.
They were driven home, and >he en-
tered the house sadly; she was reflect
ING that Ler pleasure was at an end.
As she removed her garments, she
glanced into the mirror, and suddenly
gave Il loud cry; the necklace was gone.
They searched the folds of her gown,
tie mantlc,-indeed, everything and
g.-but could find no trace of
it. They had not noticed the number
OF their carriage. They exchanged
terrified gllnccs, after which VI. Loiscl |
went out into the night to rctrace their
course as ilr As possible. He returned
at seven O'Clock, having found nothing;
he went to the chief of police to report
the matter, and to the daily papers to
offer a reward. All proved fruitless.
She wrote to her friend that a trih-
inc accident prevented the return of
the jewels, but promised them within
4 few days. At the end of week
they were hope G ; and they knew they
WpuiI h1Nt n rrblut., h,I mack l,.,