Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-11-21
Continued.

pOOL were LUuS uSFtlOpSu lILLlS c5 III
tie to the verge of adoradon-that
kind of alteration that maiden re-
Igiorsly cherishes and hides in the
deepest sanctuaries of her heart, and
OF which Pierrepont was not totally
unconscious, though disregarding the
children of her age as a man Of his
age would.
Beatrice was about sixteen years Of
agen when her parents discovered the
gulf into which the rest of their for
tune Yas about TO pour, and they
quietly retired from society, only pre-
serving familiarity with two or three
particular friends. The Marquis de
Pierrepont, after several Intellectual
efforts at forcing the consignes, took
f. upon himself as duty TO destst. he
lost sight of them from that time un-
til he learned of the definite disaster,
and Immediately after Of their death.
He did not see Beatrice until she was
installed in the house Of Nine. de
Moptauron In the position of poor re-
lation, lady companion and Cinderella
He was far from suspecting that 1t
had been for some occult motive,
even possible as a last resort, that
Mile. de Sardonna had chosen the
house Of Nine. de MOntauron In pref
erence to a convent; but he was OF
too generous a nature to not be
touched by her misfortune even mad II
heen presented under a less attractive
form. One could see that by his own
personal attentions he tried to aIleVl-
ate the humiliatiOns Of the position
held by Lus orphan; but at the saLne
time ne seemed TO strive to avoid all
intimacy WIN ner, and he bore hlHSeIA
toward ner Win sucn an habltuaI re-
serve that II was almost constralnt.
Such were the two correspondence
of these TWO people at the time when
pierrepOut arrived in the summer Oh
1875 at the chateau des Comets, pre-
ceding his Irlend Fabrice by se'erai
days. =
The Genets were an old patrimonial
possession OF the Pierreponts Whlch
had been sold and in part destroyed
during the Revolution. After more
than a half-century, the Baron de Mon
tauron. under the demands Of his wife,
OF whom he was the most humble
servant" had rebOught the land at
enormous expense and restored the
buildings. There remained nothing OF
h,Yt
tower which was strangely placed be-
tween two masses of modern arch1teC-
ture: AN old belfried chapel which
was a decoration to the entrance on
the Court of Honor, and the large
passes, of which they had made gar
dens. And the whole, Notwithstanding
the irreguLarity, was not imposing.
The long avenue of beech trees, park
and wood through which ran an attlu-
ent of the Orne, succeeded in giving
to that habitation that appearance
which, from usage, is called signioriaI.
Madame de Montauron, who had a
horror of solitude, entertained at
Genets, during the summer season,
great number of people. But having
resolved that the year 1875 would end
the hesitatiOns and the celibacy of her
nephew. she had with great care sent
out her invitations, and paid parttcu-
lar attention to the names included in
her list. She had invited an unusually
large proportion of wealthy young
ladies', more French than cosmopoli-
tan, counting upon the intimacies nat
urally occurring at the chateau bring
ing into life and ripening her projects.
And, on the contrary, she had as far
as possiDle excluded young married
women, and, above all, pretty married
women, in order that the attention OF
the neophyte might not be distracted
by mere secondary begatelles.
Pierrepont then found a half-dozen
frank, agreeable, pretty women to well
come him. and they, Notwithstanding
their ingenuity, seemed to explain the
situation exactly. They comforted
themselves, at least, as though they
were In the secret and in completely
with the Baroness, rivaling Among
themselves, each in her own slight
manner, to make her Candidature the
first in order Of value Nothing could
be more natural. The man whom they
were all trying to conquer was not
only a man of unusually seductive per
sonal attraction, but he was also the
heir presumptive of a great fortune,
and he had the disposition OF the
crown of a marQuise in his power.
That was enough to justify the display
OF toilettes, of graces, Of candor, OF
giddiness o. of affected Indifference.
which the young women studied in
themselves with emulation.
Consequently, they did not become
wearied at Comets. These ladies with
their parents, servants, some brothers,
Eome friends and neighbors composed
very brilliant and vivacious colony,
which occupied Itself with animation
with all the diversions afforded by
sojourn In the country, riding in car
riage, or on horseback, fishing parties,
going TO the river that ran through
the park and In awaiting the opening
OF the hunting season, lawn-tennis
unon the sward Of the court, innocent
pastimes music and hops In the even
ing. Nine de Montauron. to whom ST.
ience was odfous because It mada her
think of death. enIoved ali this l'vnli-
ness around her. though personally
she took hu+ SLIGHT part in it heins