The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-03-12

with many others. to attcmp: the dem.
onStration Of that theorem.
Well, this time the imDeccable psy.
Geological diagnosis of Eico Molise had
been found to fail Not only. after
some months, the beautiful Signora
Marchis had no lover, but it appeared
also that she never was to have one.
Always dressed with an adorable ele-
gance, with q luxury full Of good taste.
the beautiful Comma loved to amuse
herself, moving freely in that society
new for her, finding herself IN her right
place as q marvellous plant in vase of
valuable porcelain, developing itself in
all it's splendor. She went to dances. to
the theater. enjoying the plebiscite of
admiration provided by her beauty, CO.
quoting little with her adorers, hut-
tering about the fire in order to make
them sparkle, her wings Of a golden
butterfly. but never letting herself be
burned.
In the very moment Of declaration,
in the midst Of one Of those waltzes
whose notes seem made On purpose to
stihe expiring virtue in their serpentine
spirals, she cut short her adorer by
turning her angelic head and saying
serenely:
81 don't see my husband. Look q
little where my husband is if you will
be so kind"
And it was known that her greatest
delight was to relate precisely to her
husband the declarations which she
had received. When she came home
with him from ball, all wrapped in
the white silken folds Of her sortie du
bal, with her pure throat, her snowy
shoulders that blossomed still more
fair from her swansdown boa; when
in the evening she met him in the din
ing room, still in visiting costume, with
her slim waist tightly compressed by
an exquisitely elegant gown, with her
face animated by the slight excitement
which elegant conversation always pro-
duces in a young woman. she amused
herself immensely in addressing to her
husband some Of these provoking and
roguish phrases:
"You know was at Countess Fo-
schis'. Molise was there, you know
always faithful and always in despair
And also Comelli, he that has such
lugubrious gallantry-he has promised
to kill himself for my sake within a
month. We shall see. All, ah!"
And, sitting opposite to him in a
rustic Of satin and jet, making shine
like two stars the brilliants, large as
hazelnuts, which adorned her small
ears, she continued to laugh, with her
elastic laughter, full Of mischief and
full Of tenderness.
Ah, indeed old Marchis could call
himself a fortunate man!
Fortunate? Yes, he ought to have
considered himself so. When he set
himself to reason about 1t, to describe
mentally his conjugal situation, he had
to conclude that be would have done
wrong to complain Of his destiny. And
yet
What Of the terribly unexpected had
he now discovered in the depths Of the
pure sapphire Of Gemma's eyes? Was
there arisen in his soul the doubt that
that faithfulness against every trial,
that coldness toward her admirers,
! was nothing but the wish to preserve
intact q position acquired with diff
Guilty and that precisely to that posi-
ton was directed all the tenderness
shown toward himself? do not know,
but the vivid and impetuous Joy Of the
wedding was no longer in him, al
though his love remained the same, and
| a painful doubt thrilled in his voice
when he replied to the playful conf
dence Of Gemma, forcing himself to
laugh too:
"Take care, now, take care-the ven
geance Of the tyrant hangs over you
All, the poor tyrant! How be loved
her! How she had known how to bind
him with her little hands, white and
perfumed as two lilies! For nothing in
the world would he have discovered the
truth, changed into certainty his TO-
menting doubt. So she had only to ask
! in order to obtain, for now for him
| that love Of which he doubted had be-
come his life, and he felt painful
structure at his heart at the mere
thought that a day might come when
he would be obliged to refuse her some
thing. Yet that day came. Suddenly,
by one of those mysterious complica-
tons Of business, his bank, which until
| then had gone from triumph to tri-
| umph, underwent violent shock. Not
q noisy downfall, one Of those open.
public ruins which produce great fail
| ures, but one Of those deep, intimate,
secret crises that must be borne with
out word, a lament, under penalty OF
death; that can be overcome only b.
force of small privations, little hidden
savings. 1t is then that strict econom,
in the family becomes necessary. The
luxury of Gemma in those moments be-
came absolutely ruinous for her hus-
band; he ought to have warned her,
| sought to check her. He dared not and
continued to content her, but very soon
came the time when he could do so no
| more.
It was on the occasion Of great ball
to which she was to go. She had order
ed from Paris q marvellous gown that
became her to perfection. Still She was
not satisfied. Some days before, in tue
showcase Of the most fashionable jew
eler Of the city, diadem had set in
revolution all the feminine imagina-
tions; q superb jewel Of antique style,
set IN silver gilt, Of starry pallor,
| where the brilliants seemed drops Of
fame. Gemma wished to have it. and
indeed it would be difficult to find a
face adapted to the almost religious
richness Of that jewel more than her
Snowy profile Of an angel in ecstasy.
Ten thousand francs was the price Of
| that jewel, and Marchis did not have