Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1899-05-27
SHE DECEIVED HIM.
"RingY whyYo
sllrance


"Afraid Of you? o, dear, mol" And she
looked at him laughingly.
VERY well, then; please don't send for
the lamp. l think this twilight suits the
situation so admirably. came to say good
by to you. And as the sun outside has gone
down, and the night is beginning to envelop
us 80. the sun of your eyes viii disappear
from my life =. the twilight"
'For goodness sake, do stop Don't try to
overexert yourself trying to find SMILES.
OF course, I know how witty and ready
tongued you are; you are so miserly with
your wit that you must possessa great deal
Of it,"
Springing up, she ran to the piano and
struck a wailing chord He was perplexed,
for he had never known her to act like that
before. She was usually cool, self-posses-
sion personihed.
"But Frau Hortense, what is the matter
with youY
She was herself again. 20, nothing. By
the way, do you like Beethoven
Beethoven? 0, yes, pretty we'll. like
the Sonata Pathetique particularly"
"And you like the adagio movement best
Of all don't you?"
She did not wait for an answer Herhands
wandered over the keys, and long, soft tones
crcpt from under her fingers. He was more
puzzled than ever What could possess her
to act so strangely? He simply could not
understand her. Two minutes earlier she
was the woman whom he knew as she had
always been, merry and full of fun, but alto
gether free from whims, whereas, now
lie dad not dare to interrupt the music,
and his bewonderment went on steadily in
creasing Offenbach, Lecoeque and Strauss
was the music he had heard her play before,
and he had thought that such was the re-
Election of her own self, and that she knew
no other He had never dreamed of her
playing Beethoven, least of al that mag
nihcent, soulful adagio movement. And
how perfectly she was rendering it, She
put her heart and soul into it. But then to
think of heart and soul in connection with
her was foolishl Like everything she did,
her rendering of Beethoven was, he tried to
persuade himself, trickery. She was a clever
octress-that was all-in music as in every
thing else. She had already enslaved him
with her beauty her vivacity, and now she
was urging music merely for the purpose of
enchanting him more thoroughly, if that
were possible, and it was all done to crafty
her love of power 1t was cool calculation
and nothing more, for she had no heart.
! The idea was ridiculous. She was only a
? dangerous siren.
/ Still he listened with bated, breath, and as
, the twilight deepened into darkness the
spell grew more and more powerful. Would
he ever see her again? Not likely, but even
il it should happen he would never allow any
declaration Of love to pass his lips, not il
S his heart should burst; for if he should SO
p far lose control over himself she would be
/ a. l.. ]. sla 1,rtrtnI ot
! everything and everybody serious. He had
some to bid her good-by and he had to con
% fess to himself that he had softened almost
to the point Of declaring his love- But just
at that moment she had laughed at him, and
had looked mocldngly at him with her beau
i tiful gray eyes.
Really, arc you going to leave meF Are
o you sure that is no mere speech for effect
] How nice it will be for you, won it?"
t At which he had gained mastery over him
self-and then they had laughed together, as
- they always did when he called. They had
q never exchanged a serious word; She
|, joked and he joked, and by the time
that he was strolling along the boule
> Yards in Paris she would have forgotten
e him, while to him she would be only ,
r remembrance beautiful remembrance, as
= Otto Bismarck excellently says-but still
= only a remembrance.
s And still the room was filled with soft
q sweet tones which welled from the piano
q 1t had grown dark. Nothing could be seer
). except the white keys with her hands float
. ing over them, and the head Of the Juno il
. the corner.
lie listened bewitched TO the music ant
" wondered why he was so moved Was i
o really she. How motionless she sat there
y What music her fingers msdel No, it wa
n not the woman he had known; transforma
u ton had taken place.
Suddenly it occurred to him that he ha,
perhaps been misiudging her. IL was a
least possible, even il difficult to imagine
Surprising that her light, fippant gayetl
Il was only a mask, under which the real won
an was disguised He himself had worn
mask. Like her he seemed to be what h
was not. lie had pretended to be a scoiieI
for modern society demands that all rea
: feeling and emotion be concealed. II one
= real self is seen it is in danger of being rid
l. culed. It might be that she had only nil
y rored him 1t might be that she, too, hai
e serious thoughts which she feared TO expos
s- to ridicule Why should she treat him,
j, scoffer earnestly? And still his heart wa
A chilled and his lips were closed by the fea
N Of her scornful laugh. Her laugh Ho'
Z maddeningly hooking it wasl
% The last sounds Of the adagio melted ava
! into silence, and the room was st. !. Sudden
= " she left the piano and stood before hin
> "Surely you haven't been asleepl Now
~ contest 1 really believe you were DOING.
q Her voice sounded just as usual, and tina
d brought him to himself once mere. lie W.
e quite disilusioned now. What had he bee
D. foolishly dseaming? No, she had not a
D. tered at all; she was just the same as evei
D. Her seriousness was only one Of her man
~ moods, and was entirely superficial.
u "Sleepngl I wish could have slept ny
= self away into nothingness"
~ Wouldn't you rather have dreamed?"
mo / would rather sleep the dreamlei
% sleep. shall never see you again. 70
e know we shall not meet after tonight, an
d what viii my life be without your laughg'
Il. She did not reply, nor did she laugh.
ot The edge of the thick dark cloud was b.
NJ ginning to take a silver tinge. The moon ha
st risen lie had taken his hat, and as }
grasped her hand he said;
"And now good-by."
4