Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1909-09-18

The count almost came up to our cX-
pectations. It's true he waS rather
short and inclined to cmbonpoint
| Chats delightful word for fat"
which we learned from our trip
abroad, but he had beautiful dark
eyes and very lovely waXcd mus
tache and a little pointed beard and
| white hands, with two diamond rings
on them. He sat opposite to us. and
to our delight papa began Il convrrsa-
tion with him over handing the sauce.
| QIc had looked at Laura pretty often
during "Soup.'l Before dinner was
over we were all on very friendly
terms, and he spoke English very
well, so we hadn't to trouble about
French. must add that. though papa
had been 80 anxious to ''parIey-voo"
again while We were still at Paw
tuCket, yet he never let us hear any Of
1t. He always sent us on in front
when he had to speak to native.
Boulognc was quite a different place
to us from the day the count came
He was our constant companion, and
1t was delightful to so about with a
real live nobleman. We used to say
count" especially loud when we pass
ed English people. 1t made them ''sit
up" as Jim said. 1t was n pity the
count was SO poor-papa always had
to pay for him-but he used to apollo
gize in such charming way and bring
us punches OF flowers the flowers ar
ranged In rows, with a glorified dish
paper round them) and say: Il wish |
could lay the treasure Of the east at
your feet, madcmOiSellcS. HelaS, the
gift is poor but 1t is rich with thoughts
of esteem and regard" with more in
the same strain, which Laura thought
perfectly lovely. 1t was rather too
poetical for me. The count told us
that the reason he was so poor was
that his est? cS were confiscated owing
to the part his ancestors had played in
some revolution or war, but he had 4
lawsuit on to recover them. He show
ed us photos of them, and they GER
tainly looked beautiful.
never saw papa 80 generous before.
We were always driving or going for
excursions. However, | heard him say
to mamma after certain very heavy
lunch bill, After all, one doesn't meet
q count every day"
had noticed his attentions to Laura,
and l knew which way the wind blew.
But papa grew more and more en-
thusiastic as our friendship ripened.
He used to dilate on the counts
charming manners when we were
alone.
That's the advantage of associating
with the allstocracy," he would say.
"Pm n plain man myself, but | respect
blood. Nobility of birth produces no.
bility OF character and manners"
Which sounded beautiful and made
Laura blush.
Mamma also took a violent fancy to
him. lie spoke SO feclingly, she said,
of his mother. who was dead, and Of
marriage and mans duty to woman.
And Laura blushed still more.
We were very sorry when our stay
at BoulOgnc came to an end, for we
feared our friendship with the count
might end too. But he said he was
coming over To the States" on bust
ness (he looked at Laura as he said
IT.. and he hoped that he would be
permitted to visit one of Americas
merchant princes In his home. You
should have seen papa's face when he
heard himself described as n merchant
prince! or course we said we should
he delighted to see him, and we parted
with many expressions OF mutual re-
grct don't know what he said to
Laura as we walked to the station
the morning we left. but | do know
that he held her hand much longer
than was necessary. although | pre-
tended To look the other way. She
was very silent and penslve on the
home journey, and papa and mamma
exchanged knowing mods. knew
mamma was picturinG to herself the
sensation 1t would cause in the neigh
-borhood II her daughter were to be-
come n lady Of title. | also felt It
would be distinctly pleasant to speak
IN an offhaud way Of my sister the
Countess de Marabout." wasn't the
least bit jealous OF her triumph, be-
cause really prefer Americans to
foreigners, counts though they may
be. There's n young man In the Paw
tucket National bank-wcll. but that
has nothing to do with the count.
The return journey did not seem as
fiat" as usual since we had the counts