Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-05
Forty Ninth Chapter.

n TOT long after that we left Italy
" on our return to England. We
were to reach home by easy
stages so as to see some Of the great
capitals Of Europe, but ! had no in
terest in the Journey
our first stay was at Monte Carlo,
that sweet garden Of the Medlter-
ranean which God seems to smile
upon and man to curse.
If had been allowed to contem-
plate the beautiful spectacle of ma
ture, think | could have been con
tent, but Alma, with her honeyed and
insincere words, took me to the Ca
sino on the usual plea Of keeping her
In countenance.
| hated the place from the first,
with its stale air its Chink Of louis
dor its cry of the croupicrs. its
strained faces about the tables, ard
Its general atmosphere Of wasted
hopes and fears and needless misery
and despair
As often as | could | crept out to
look at the flower fetes in the streets,
or TO climb the hill Of La Turbie and
think ! was on my native rocks WIKI
Martin Conrad, or even to sit in my
room and watch the poor wounded
pigeons from the pigeon traps as they
tumblcd and duCked into the sea afte~
the shots fired, by cruel and unsports-
manlike sportsmen. from the rifle
| range below.
In Monte Carlo my husbands vices
| seemed to me to grow rank and fast
| The gambling fever took complete
possession of him, At first he won
and then he drank heavily, but after
ward he lost and then his nature be
came still more ugly and repusive
one evening toward O'Clock ! was
in my room trying TO comfort a
broken winged pigeon which had
| come laundering through the open
| window, when my husband entered
/ with wild eyes.
THE reds coming up at all the ia
! bles" he cried breathlessly Give
me some money qudck!"
| ] told him ! had no money except
the few gold pieces in my purse.
You've cheque book-give me a
| cheque, then
told him that even II l gave him
a cheque he could not cash II that
night the banks being closed
The jewelers. are open, though,
and you have jewels. haven't you
Stop fooling with that creature and
let me have some of them to pawn"
Pointed to Jewels.
The situation was too abject for
discussion so | pointed TO the drawer
In which my jewels were kept. and lie
tore it open, took what he wanted and
went out hurriedly without more
words.
Af,o, .l,.t = 49,. - ~ . IL.
| for Two days, when with black rings
about his eyes he came in to say he
must leave this acCursed place" i'm %
mediately or we should all be ruined.
our last stopping place was Paris
and in my ignorance Of the great
| French capital which has done so
much for the world ! thought il mast
| be the sink Of every kind of corrup-
! ton
We put up a. well known hotel
/ In the Champs ElySees. and there ,as
4 well as i'm the cafes i'm the Bos and
/ at the races at LongChamps on sun
1 daysl We met the same people again.
most Of them English and Americans
! ON their way home after the winter
/ 10 seemed to me strange that there
: should be SO many mon and women m
: the world with nothing TO do merely
I loaiing round II Hike tramps the rlch-
/ est being the idlest. and the idlest
I the most immoral
I My husband knew many Frenchmeu
/ OF the upper classes. and think nc
speut several hours every day at their
I clubs hut tperhapS az Alma's M
/ stigation) he made MS Wa)low through
the filth of Paris by night
at viii be lots Of fun" said Alma.
And then who is tu know us in