The Democratic advocate., 1908-08-07
Lusi's Lady
In White.
By LULU JOHNSON.
Copyrighted, 1908, by Associated
Literary Press.

or but be IL uhueISIoou 'no' lne AA"
tornity of street musicians, as well as
-, lower and middle classes, has its
sristocracy.
1upi was not one of those swarthy
CONS of Italy who laboriously drag a
.troet piano over the hot asphalt of the
citv's byways. Much less did he be-
,one TO the lesser lights who, with a
vbeezy melodeon, huddle in corners
ond mechanically grind out "In the
cuoot By and By" or the 'Miserere''
sror al Trovatore." The first Luigi
rcerned the latter he despised, for was
ba not the proprietor of horse out.
fit?
Ererv morning except Sunday he
arovo info the suburbs, his wagon gay
with red and gold, on which was
svunc one of the largest and best OF
tho mechanical pianos. There was a
lad 70 turn the wheel, and all Luigi had
70 do was to lead the white mule and
ooIIpct coins which showered upon the
ortft For Lugi's white teeth flashed
honeoth a mustache as black and flow
ING as any that ever graced the lips OF
bis hrieand ancestors, and Lugi's smile
made him many friends, even among
the householders.
As for the servants, many a rural
no,iceman glowered upon him and en-
We'd his conquests, for Luigi, in his
smart Neapolitan costume, was good
70 look upon. His red sash with its
oildpd stiletto, his ruff1ed shirt and
rakish hat were all in keeping with
tbe svarthy complexion and flashing
eyes.
To be sure the stiletto was but a
+ov hilt and scabbard without a
blade. In Difference to the absurd
nreiudice Of the police, who knew
nothing of a more businesslike weapon
sheathed in the collar of Lugi's velvet
coat and his clothing had been OBJ
tanned from a theatrical cOstumer, but
he cut a most romantic and pictur
esque figure.
SUNDAYS, when the law forbade his
plying his trade, Luigi sought the Ital
ian quarter in eminently correct Amer
lean dress. His top hat and yellow
cloves were the astonishment Of the
half naked "bambinos' playing on the
dirty sidewalks.
Their mothers turned mute in his
august presence as he picked his way
fastidiously toward the tenement
owned by Gaetano Camera. Presently
he would emerge, proudly escorting
Paulina of the house Of Camera, than
whom there was no prettier girl in all
Little Italy.
For more than a year Luigi had
wooed Paulina, but her father had in
sisted that his son-in-law should be a
property owner. A year must elapse,
figured the thrifty Camera, ere Luigi
might hope to wed.
And on his part Luigi did not tell
them Of the good luck that had be-
fallen him in the winter before, when
a servant in one Of the great houses
offered him tips on the stock market
that she had wheedled from the butler.
Great coups had been planned over
the dinner served by this particular
butler, as the rich forget that their
servants are human beings, and much
valuable information had been drop
ped Luigi profted by the tips, but he
had not told the Cameras. 1t was
pleasant to spend the Sunday after
moons with Paulina, but, then, too,
there was the Lady In White, and be-
cause Of her Luigi was silent.
He told no one Of the dreams that
burned in his busy brain. None guess
ed the high hopes that he nursed. But
since early spring he had hurried the
piano cart along his route until he had
come to the great house on the hill.
Sometimes he found only the gardener
spraying the lawn or clipping the
plants; then Luigi led away the mule,
silent and morose. Oftener there were
golden days with q flash of white
through the trees, and she came-his
Lady In White.
Tall and fair she was, with eyes
more sweetly blue than the summer
Skies Of his beloved Italy and hair
mat shOne like FURNISHED gold. She
leaned across the hedge and questioned
MIN as to his life, and Luigi told her
al-and more, for to hold her interest
LIE drew upon vivid imagination for
vendetta and an earlier career as a
brigand.
he loved to see her eyes grow round
WIN wonder at his adventures, and,
IKE modern Othello, he wooed her
WIN his tales. AS the summer pro-
steSsed he saw her more and more
Ol!eh, and sometimes there was a
"nole hour during which little Pietre
eOud rest his weary arms and the
"aeel OF the piano moved not
VI course it would not do to let
t"ullna know of the Lady In White,
IOr Camera had declared that when
Nusl mad made enough money they
"0aiu 90 into business together Ital-
,au fathers had their own ideas of
~, lvnor 100. Once married to Paulina,
NY piano sold, Luigi would no longer
a see The obliging serving maid. she of
the tips.
out II he could swell his fortune to
sn respectable proportions that he
rOa'a be no mean match even for the
auy In White, what might not hap
rsa' m,a, They would go to Italy. where
oha ,sn few hundred lire he could pur-
baa e patent Of nobility and live
nappy ever after.
NIL, ne spent his Sundays discreetly
with Paulina and hawo;ia5 tho bord