The Princeton union., 1905-03-16
CHAPTER Y.

drawing room III bTOOA street
a a was the Baron Claude de
Chauxville, baron Of Chauxville and
Chauxville le Due, in the province of
Seine -et-Marne France, attache to the
French embassy to the court Of st.
James; before men 4 rising diplomat
ist, before God scoundrel. This gen.
tleman remained when the other visit
ors had left, and Miss Maggie Della
field, seeing his intention of prolonging
a visit of which she had already had
sufficient made an inadequate excuse
and left the room.
Miss Delafield, being healthy mind
ed young English person of that SIM
plicity which is no simplicity at all,
but merely simple heartedness, had her
own ideas Of what man should be,
and NJ de Chauxville had the misfor
tune to fall short of those ideas. He
was too epigrammatic for her, and be-
meath the brilliancy of his epigram she
felt at times the presence of something
dark and nauseous. Her mental atti-
tude toward him was contemptuous
and perfectly polite. With the reputa
tion of possessing dangerous fascina-
tion-one Of those. regulations which
can only emanate from the man him.
self-AI de Chauxville neither fasci-
mated nor intimidated Miss Delafeld.
He therefore disliked her intensely.
His vanity was colossal, and when
Frenchman is vain he is childishly so.
Nj. de Chauxville watched the door
close behind Miss Delafield with a
10
ly on his heels and faced Mrs. Sydney
scarborough.
"Your cousin,'' he said, sis typical
English woman-she only conceals her
love-
"For you?" inquired Mrs. Sydney
scarborough.
The baron shrugged his shoulders.
POSSIBLY. One can never tell. She
conceals it very we'll if it exists. How
ever, I am Indifferent. The virtue of
the violet is it's own reward perhaps,
for the rose always wins.'
Eta smiled, almost relenting She
was never quite safe against her own
vanity. Happy the woman who is, and
rare.
II suspect that the violet is innocent
Of any desire to enter into competi-
tion,'' said Eta.
"Knowing" suggested De Chaux-
vile, "that, although the race is not
always to the swift, it is usually so.
Please do not stand It suggests that
you are waiting for me to go or for
some one else to Gomez
"Neither''
'"Ihen prove it by taking this chair.
Thus, near the fire, for it is quite an
English spring. A footstool Is it
permitted to admire your slippers
what there is Of them? Now you look
comfortable"
He attended to her wants, OWNED
them and perhaps created them, with
perfect grace and much too intimate
knowledge. AS carpet knight he
was faultless. And Eta thought of
Paul, who could do none of these
things OF would do none of them-Paul,
who never made her feel like a doll
"Will you not sit DOWN. she said.
Indicating q chair, which he did not
take. He selected one nearer to her.
II can think of nothing more desira-
ble."
ethan what" she asked Her van
ity was like a hungry fish. 1t rose to
everything"
"a chair in this room.''
"A modest desire,'' she said. els
that really all you want in this world ~
'No," he answered. looking at her.
She gave a little laugh and moved
rather hurriedly.
II was gong to suggest that you
could have both at certain fixed peri
ods-whencser-I am out"
Il am glad you did not suggest it,
"Why!' she asked sharply.
Because l should have had to 80
into explanations. l did not say all.'
Mrs. Marlborough was looking into
the fire, only half listening to him.
There was something in the nature of
duel between these two. Each
thought more of the next stroke than
of the present parry.
"Do you ever say all, NJ. de Chaux-
ville?' she asked.
The baron laughed. Perhaps he was
vain of the reputation that was his,
for this man was held to be finished
diplomatist. A finished diplomatist,
be it known, is one who is a danger
Gus foe and an unreliable friend.
"Perhaps, now that I reflect upon
It," continued the clever woman, dis
liking the clever mans silence, "the
person who said all would be intoler-
able'
"There are some things which go
without it, said De Chauxville.
He was cautious, for he was fighting
on field which women may rightly
:, claim for their own. He really loved
Eta. He was trying to gauge the
meaning of little change in her tone
toward him-a change so subtle that
few men could have detected it. But
Claude de Chauxville, accomplished
steersman through the shoals of hu-
man nature, especially through those
very pronounced shoals who call them
oF In