The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-11-05
The Lady with tho Diamond.

the happiest-up to one o clock.
Then my whole world crumbled, or,
d at least, suffered an eclipse. Why and
how, I am about to relate s ~. WON -
my preference from the day of our first
meeting, but I had never allowed my
self the possibility Of his returning my
admiration. I was too small and much
too unbeautiful for expectations of that
nature. Indeed, love had never. entered
into my plan Of life, as was evinced by
the nurses diploma I had just gained
after three years of study and severe
training.
When, therefore, at an early hour Of
marked gifts and striking personality
drew me from the dance and, amid the
Intoxicating perfumes and opalescent
lights Of Mr.. Ramsdell's conservatory,
whispered ardent vows and begged me
to be his wife, my surprise was SO great
and the event so wonderful that | made
no attempt to express my Joy, but stood
! quite still, searching his PACE to see if
! this paradise whose gates was thus
passionately entreated to enter, was in
/ deed a verify or only dream born Of
! the excitement Of the. dance and the
4 dor and picturesque qualities even for SO
luxurious city.
But it was no mere dream. Truth
and earnestness were in his manner,
and his words were neither feverish
NOR forced. he honestly loved mo, and
/ ssid), and 7, in my Willingness to lis
ten and believe, soon found the plans
j and purposes Of years disappearing in
The glaInor Of this new hope which
Allied my whole woman g heart with the
scgtatae Joy Of living . r
1 glimpse caught Of myself in mir
\ TOR we CHANGED to pass as we sauntered
back into the hall startled mo into
thinking 90 for moment. For had 1t
not been for the odd color Of my gown
and the unique way in which my: hair
was dressed that night, should not
have RECOGNIZED tho beaming girl who
faced me 50 naively from the depths
Of that responsive glass. -.
Can one be too happys I do not
know. know that one can be too per-
picked, too burdened and too sad.
Thus far I have spoken only Of my
I self in connection with tho evenings
/ elaborate function. But tho entitled
by my old Dutch blood to certain
hour Of supreme satisfaction, attracted
little attention and awoke small COM
! ment. There was another woman pres
| emit better calculated to do this. A fair
| woman, large and Of a bountiful pres
ence, accustomed to conquest. and
| off with certain lazy grace irrisistibly
fascinating to the ordinary man; a gor-
/ geously appareled woman, with dia-
mond on her breast too vivid for most
women, almost too vivid for her.
Ing, and then I noticed her. She was
| not as fine as the diamond, but she was
very fine, and had I been ill., less
ecstatic frame Of mind, I might have
envied the homage she received from
all the male sex, not excepting him who
Walked with my hand on his arm.
Later, there was no one in the world
/ envied less.
The ball was private and very ele-
| giant one. There were some notable
| guests. One gentleman in particular
man Of great distinction and political
Importance. I thought him a very in
| teresting man for his years, but odd
and trifle self-centered. Tho greatly
courted, he seemed strangely. restless
/ under the fire Of eyes to which he was
/ when free to use his own in contempia-
! ton Of the scene about him. Had I
| been less absorbed in my own happi-
| ness / might have noted sooner than I
| did that this contemplation was con-
fined to such groups as gathered about
/ failed to observe at. the time, and
consequently was much surprised to
come upon him, at the end Of one Of
the dances, talking with this lady in
/ an animated and courtly manner totally
/ boredom, with which he had hitherto
met all advances.
/ Yet it was not admiration for her
person which he openly displayed. Dur
! ing the whole time he stood there his
4 aered mainly-and this was what
aroused my curiosity so that I con-
tinued to, watch him-on the great fan
i Of ostrich plumes which the beauty
held against her breast. Was he de-
sirous Of seeing tho great diamond she
sciously) shielded from his gazes It
/ to note him, he suddenly bent toward
her and as quickly raised himself again
with a look which was. quite inexplic-
able to me. The lady had shifted her
y on the gem.
The next thing I recall with any
defniteness was q tete-a-tete converse
tion which held with my lover on a
4 certain yellow divan at the end of one
TO tho right Of this divan rose a
romance. caiied H ffhe A aIs'''' As As
this aleove. figures prominently in my
s st1F5ys / | will pause right here to de-
1t was originally intended to contain
a large group of statuary which Mr..
A Ramsdell, the host, had ordered from
4 Italy to adorn his new house. He is
# a man of original ideas in regard to
such matters, and in this instance had
gone 50 far as to have this end Of the
Il house constructed with a special view
to an advantageous display of this
promised work Of art. Fearing tho
& ponderous effect of pedestal large
enough to hold such a considerable
4 group, he had planned to raise it to
The level of the eye by causing the
alcove floor to be built a few feet
higher than the main one. A flight
of low, wide steps connected the two,
which, following the curve of the wall,
added much to the beauty Of that por-
ton of the hall.
The group was failure and was
never shipped; but the alcove remained,
H. and, possessing as it did all the ad.
vantages Of a room in the way of heat
and light, had been turned into min
iature retreat of exceptional beauty.
The seclusion it offered extended, or
80 we were happy to think, to the
solitary divan at its base on which
MIR. Durand and myself were seated
and, taking advantage Of our position
we were discussing subject interest:
ing only to ourselves, when Mr.. Du.
i rand interrupted himself to declare:-
t.You are the woman I want, you and
1xy And NH I,