The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-08-24
The Little Ma demoiseIIe.

4
had never seen after we left the college.
| 1t was in 1871. Our regiment was then
at the village OF F., a few miles from
the provisional frontier. The town lay
in the midst Of a forest, and had been
partly destroyed during the war. We
! lived in wooden barracks that had been
built by the Germans. Not far away
was the line Of black and white posts
! that marked the provisional frontier. and
il was one OF our pastimes TO ride out
to them. The young officers dreamed
OF nothing but the chance Of provoking
q frontier conflict Some made targets
/ of the pointed helmets found and
! brought in by the peasants, arranging
matters so as to be seen by the German
sentinels. Others galloped wildly across
the line and back again.
! One of them, however, Yves de Pelyen
! de Kerdec, took no share in these pleas
antries- When he was asked to join in
he would shrug his shoulders softly and
/ nurmur, "Childishnessr' He was left
to do as he pleased. No one cared. On
4 ly, after a while, we discovered that he
was accustomed to take long solitary
rides at highland in a direction that
/ did not lead to France! We began TO
watch him. more from curiosity than
| from suspicion. I myself, 1 confess, was
drawn toward him by this original and
/ mysterious ulOG6 Oh SAlSlHHCS
He was then slight blonde, pale
youth feminine of feature, all nerve and
muscle, tireless, fearless, silent. He was
liked by the men, although they were
| tri1e Jealous of that indefnable superb
| ority which marked his breeding. Some
of the old veterans of swarthy skin and
voice loved him in spite of his refine
ment. They called him ''AIademoiselle
| de Pelvin," or "the little mademoiselle."
With five years of service TO his ere dit,
ne had still the air OF a young con-
script; his voice was gentle; I never
heard him yell or curse the men or
horses. At IS he had received a deco
ration for distinguished bravery at Re-
zonville.
He had his lodgings, outside of town,
| in a solitary cottage surrounded by rose
bushes and cedars-he and his dogs'
"Ffnaud" and 'tTfgresse"-a great Dane
and a little striped bulldog. His horses
were two long. slender Anglo-Arabs.
There were always fresh flowers in his
room. And one day when some inquisi-
tive spirit explored the pockets Of his
"doiman," which he had cast off during
a fencing bout, they discovered a golden
locket on which sparkled a strane s>A
tie diamond wing. They did not sue
coed in opening it.
He is a sentimentalist," Commandant
st. Perle would say, land the proof Is
that, when one passes his cottage IN the
evening, one hears him playing the
adagio of Beethoven's sonata In A fiat.
the sonata of monks and priests"
One morning my husband, the captain,
come in very much worried. I question
ed him. No answer. He drove away in
his phaeton as soon as breakfast was
over with several other officers. He re-
turned at s o'clock, alone, having left
the others at the club. After dinner he
held a conference with the fencing mas
ter and the chief armorer, then ST.
Perle, his friend came and called him
below his window: 1 heard him order
the landau with the big van-horses for
o'clock in the morning. "Ah," said
1 to myself "a duel, and I suppose that
they will fight at Dele" This spot lay
on the other side Of the frontier, and
experience had taught me that such af-
fairs usually took place there. 4
Toward 10 o'clock the party returned;
another conference took place in my hus-
bands study; I heard the brusque voice
Of st. Perle, the gentle voice of De
Pelven; a bell rang; l heard my husband
call for grog, port wine, ice. Then the
hours passed and silence reigned
I remained awake, very curious. At
Roger came into my room IN full uni
for 1 knew that he would not answer
When it was he that was about to fight
he would always tell me brusquely; this
had happened three times in our ten
months of married life. Like a curious
child / peered from behind the blinds and
saw them start off. There were Saint
Perle, Roger, Pelven and the surgeon.
Who is to fght?' 1 thought 1t must
be Pelven. for Saint Jerle would not
AaT- s,-r 49, l.
Finally I went to bed, nervous and
worried Morning broke I rose late,
feeling bereft of all my friends. I wan
dered through the house. 1 entered the
study, hung with skins, oriental rugs.
panOplied with weapons; on the black
board l saw some half-erased sentences.
l wandered about all day, oppressed
feveTish.
You know. yourself, that Pelven was
killed. Roger came back that night
alone and grieved.
Who was the adversary of De Pelyen?
An officer? Yes. Who? I will not tell
you. Only a few knew, and the secret
has been well kept. The reason of the
duel Nothing, they said, a trif1e, but 1
have always suspected that somebody
had accused him of passing too easily
across the frontier, alone, at night
The next day Pelven's aged father
came and took away the body. It seems
that all the affairs of the lieutenant
were in perfect order. And that was the
end of the poor little mademoiselle."
Two months passed. Spring came. One
day we all started on drag party in
the woods on the road to Dele. A little /
before luncheon I went stroIling in the !
forest with two or three friends sud
denly we saw a landau. drawn by two
beautiful horses, coming toward Us along ]
a deserted road. In the landau was an I
old, pale woman and a young girl-pTetty /
clad in black We were turning Cu- !
for them, when a dog jumped from the |
carriage. We recognized IL at once 1t /
was Tigresse, the little bulldog-De Pei /
ven's dog. While he was springing a. 1
US, licking our hands for JOY, the Ian /
daU stopped and great, gold braided |
valet stepped out and solemnly picked I
Up the dog. The little beast struggled. /
but in spite Of yelps, howis and tugs
the man proved the stronger, ard the /
landau passed on.
Naturally, We talked Of The incident
WHAT q singular thlngi Tigresse with 4
those strangersi Strangers from over
the frontier toe: the Iiveries are blue
and black rUssian nobility
Talking t1us. We came hack 20 the
There we found Louis de-
Rolk- che OF my friends whose este
in France. yet touches The
frontier. We questioned him about The
landau
WHAT. don't you know h answer
Cd. THAT s the Princess OF Burxfel6.
with her dame &c coGnagu4e' Sne ig
doing 0enance II her 'scnozs' inste6 o.
dancing in Paris as she generally does ia
the spring. l. IS said tcst curing tas
81 r.-fE
nance. with a French Il utenau.. wEose
rarre cn,1-H -nre- laarr H. -