The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-11

succeed, ana ms name was Joilu 1lag Cs.
 He was a mean-spirited fellow, who sell
 dom bought a drink himself, but never
 refused a free one. and who upon this oc-
 casion drank more and showed 1t less
 than even the well-seasoned corporal him.
 self.
 That fair victim, Mrs. Cat had many
 admirers in the village, and John
 Hayes was the most persistent of
 them. As he had foundl he could get
 no favors from Catherine except the
 favor of legal marriage, he had pro- posed that to her, though shuddering
 at the thought of the expense of talk ing a wife. As he had more "expecta-
 tions" than her oth CT suitors Cat held
 him off and on, alternately encourag-
 ing him and treating him with con- | tempt, until the miserly but amorous swain was in a state of mind bordor-
 ing upon nervous prostration and con- sumed with a raging Jealousy of every | one upon whom Catherine cast smile | He had been a witness to the gallant l tries between the Count and Cat in l the earlier part of the evening, and when the corporal ceased buying him drink he wandered home in most profound dejection. For however Jeal- ous he might be, Hayes was too much l of an abject coward to resent per sonally any little attentions which his rivals might pay to Cat
 His Excellency is minded to pick the wing of a chicken for breakfast" said the lady of the Bugle to her niece the next morning; Ego you over to Farmer Briggs and get one. Pluck it before you bring 1t back" Catherine had dreamed all night of many things! of being The Captains lady" His Excellency's lady" even of being the Countess of Galgenstein. while a vision of laced cloaks and hats with splendid fed thers in them had hovered about her bed. She was such simple, silly, little country maid you see. AS Cat passed the stables she saw the horse- boy saddling the two chargers, and learned from him that the Count and his corporal were to ride forth pres- ently without waiting for breakfast, the noble captain having awakened with a loathing for food and great thirst for small bear.' Pretty, innocent Cat said nothing, but ripped on her way. She had been sent to Farmer Briggs. Why was it, then, that mile or two from the village, in quite an- other direction from Farmer Brfgss the noble Count Max von Galgenstein, riding his coal-black warhorse. with its silver trimmed furniture and its scarlet rse-cloth. should come upon a country maid picking flowers by the wayside in the freshness of the morn- ing the while she warbled little rustic ballad? Did the pretty song stress hear the hoofs of the approach ing horse or see, out of the corners of her eyes, the horscman steaithity dismount and come up close behind ber9 Oh. no; not in the least. Cat was too much absorbed in her flowers and her singing. And when the Count
 taking off his gold-laceds hat, said; "Your humble servant my dear" she gave a little start and scream and palpitated: "Oh, how you scared me, to be sure, your lo1 dshiplt
 The two had long talk there in the howery fields, with the result that when old Brock came up with his recruits Mis- tress Cat, using the toe Of the counts polished boot for a stepping stone, was lifted by him upon the crupper behind him. and so rode away with the noble captain into that world of which such visions had haunted her dreams the night before
 "Egad," Count Max used to say in after years when he was on the subject of his conquests, 'I bore her off on my black horse like-like Aeneas did his wife from
 the siege of Rome"
 So Mistress Catherine was now the
 "captain's lady" and had all the fine
 clothes of which she had dreamed. But
 such connections. especially when one of
 the parties to it is a professional lady
 killer, are likely to be of short duration and sudden end. To do the captain jus tice, this one would have been so had he had his way, for in a week he was sn- different, in a month weary and in two
 months angry. In three months he pro- ceeded to blows and curses and bewailed i the fate that ever threw Cat in his way. 'Egad," said he one day when confiding | his griefs to Corporal Brock T wished my toe had been cut off before it had | served as ladder to this little vixen" About a year after the count had car- l ried off Catherine they were living in | Birmingham, where the count had placed l himself in funds by exercising his skill at cards against the fat-wtted Warwickshire | squire and. having bought four new laced
 coats, frequented the assembly rooms and | cast his eye about for a rich bride. He | dismissed his servants, made Catherine do | her own work well as wait upon him.
 and plainly intimated that he wished she
 would take herself off. Catherine replied
 to his intimatons by throwing plates, legs
 of mutton anything which came handy,
 at his head and one day chased the noble captain around the dining room with
 carving knife-and would have used it, 1 too, had not Corporal Brock interfered and disarmed the virago. Galgenstein de- | clared he could not stand such life any
 longer and his faithful corporal at once presented himself as a sacrifice, offer
 ing to marry Catherine at once and take her off the captains hands. The matter
 being preached to the fair Cat she heaped
 insult and eontumely upon the corporal
 and threw a water jug at the counts s | head.
 Her condition was now such that even
 Galgenstein hesitated to take decisive 1 measures with her just at present. In
 short. Catherine was about to become a