Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1903-08-04
CHAPTER xv.-(Continued)

CHAPTER Xv.-(Continued.)
Within a few weeks of the close of tn
season very beautiful Frenchwomal
came to London, and was received a
once into the best society. Her story wa
strange one. and one that excited
great deal of interest. She had beer
married at fifteen to a Russian prince
many years older than herself, and O.
dissolute character. At first he had loved
her passiQnately;4 then, as he found il
impossible to overcome her coldness anG
Indifference, he had come to dislike ant
treat her with harshness. He had takeI
her away to Russia very young, very
friendiess, and intensely unhappy. There
he had neglected her. She had two chill
dren-boys; and all her love seemed
bound UP in them. Then they died; the
cold of Russia killed them, and she al
most died of the grief.
The physician at st. Petersburg insist.
ed that she should return at once to
Paris at is the only way to save her
life" he said to her husband. So after
three years weary absence, she return
ed to her birthplace, and there, after a
time, she recovered. At the French
court she"was greatly admired and sought
for. A young man of high rank con-
so handsome, so distinguished, no one be-
ieved she could resist the devotion he
constantly land so openly offered Der 1t
could scarcely be affirmed that she was
utterly unmoved by his passion, but all
the world said that she never gave him
any undue encouragement. Still, Prince
Zelikof became jealous. One evening the
princess dropped her bouquet; Monsieur
de Ligny picked it up, bowed over it, and
returned it to her. Prince Zelikoff chose
to imagine the accident was prearranged,
and that De Ligny had taken the oppor-
tunity of concealing note among the
flowers. He snatched the bouquet vio-
lently from his wife's hands. In her sur
prise she made some resistance; he grasp
ed her arm and pressed the sharp-pointedl
diamond bracelet unintentionally into the
Hesh. A little jet of blood spurted forth
The enraged De Ligny beheld it, and in
a moment Prince Zelikoff lay stunned and
bleeding on the ground. A crowd closed
round them at once; with some difficulty
the angry men were separated, but, of
course, only blood could wipe out such a
stain. A meeting was arranged; the sec
onds made the customary formal at
tempts at a reconciliation without sue
cess.
Valerie de Zelikoff knew well enough
what the end of such quarrel must nat
urally be. She knew her husbands fierce.
indomitable temper, and she guessed the
rage that had filled De Ligny's heart at
seeing her treated with violence and in
dignity. Her heart was torn-in very
truth she cared more for the handsome
accomplished man who loved her so des-
perately, than for her dissolute, gray
hnIr rod
ligion had taught her faithfully the duty |
of sacrificing everything to right.
The morning of the duel arrived, no one |
was on the ground but the seconds, a /
doctor and his assistant. The doctor |
stood near De Ligny. Prince Zeiikoff i
was known as a deadly shot One, two,
three, two flashes, two reports, a wild
shrek, and fall. And yet neither of
the duelists was harmed or scathed. At
the moment of firing the doctors assist
ant had flung himself in, front Of the
prince, had turned up the hand which
held his pistol, and received De Ligny's
shot through his shoulder. De Ligny,
the seconds. and the doctor rushed to-
ward him; the prince had already raised
his head, and recognized Valerie de Zeli-
kof, his wife. The doctor explained it.
He was an old friend of the family: she
had gone to him and besought him to al
low her to be present ait the duel, urg-
ing that she believed herself able to pre-
vent it, and after much hesitation he had
yielded. The wound was not a serious
one; many woman would have been
glad to purchase the reputation for hero
ism that came undesired to- Valerie de
Zelikoff at so small price of pain. a..
The action was thoroughly French, and {
as such intensely APPRECIATED by all ;
Paris. 1t was a crown of glory to her
husband, and fattered his vanity to a de-
gree that made him love her again as in (
the olden days. Great as the triumph 4
was to Zelikoff, was the defeat to De I
Ligny. His amour pfopre could not
recover from such a terrible blow: he
had been prepared to risk his life to a
deadly shot to avenge an in I
suit on the woman he loved, and she had 1
received his bullet in her own tender I
iesh to save the husband who had so '
grossly wronged her. He went. away un- {
IL the affair had blown over, and then re-
urned to Paris with a very young, fair t
wife, who had been taken from a convent: Il
% marry him. She adored him; he was s
'old and Indifferent to her; nay. he al 4
most hated her, when, six months later. il
IlHCe ZelihOA uleu OI I0FeF, ana Lle IL
beautiful Valerie was left a widow at 4
She passed year in seclu- b
ion, then she again went into society, a
md, as has been said, came to London v
few weeks before the close of the sea- d
on. She was staying in the house of t
lady Dora Amnesty, Mr.. Hastings cous-
n, and her greatest friend. b
Mr.. Hastings saw a great deal Of the 0
eautiful Frenchwoman, and admired e
er exceedingly. She was not like any s.
he had met before-she "
id not talk much or gesticulate, or seem le
o desire admiration. She was pale, large
yed, essentially spirituelle. The chief t.
ascination she possessed for him was the Z
wv, musical tone of her voice. al
Il wish you would come more often to D.
s, Errol," his cousin said; 1--WE see so
tile of you. I am so anxious that Ma ii
anne Zelikoff's visit to US should be
leasant one, and she always seems hap c
ier, brighter, when you are there" II
you do me too much honor" Mr. hi
[astings said, mockingly.
1T is no empty compliment, indeed, cl
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