Gilpin observer., 1915-03-11

had lever thought of 1t in connection
with Rose. whose nature had only be-
gun to unfold. thought occurred
to him
Rose! believe ! can get you
position to play at the cabaret" he
said You play quite well enough
Next month Mademoiselle Vincent is
leaving. Now you must practice sn-d
during these two weeks, and then
who knows? We shall go together
and leave at the same time, and life
will never be dull for you again
Rose was enchanted. She practiced
assiduously. so much so that when
she did not perceive him until he
stood in the doorway. Then she
looked up. She felt uncomfortably
conscious that she was blushing. the
man had always had an unaccount-
able influence over her. When she
had listened to his stories Of the gay
life of the theater she had felt some
how that she was wronging Ellis. VI
course the idea was preposterous. she
could not analyze herself, however
and she did not know that all the in
stincts of the coquette lurked beneath
the placid veneering of the convent
education. She should never have
married Ellis, the genius, awkward,
plodafng, self-absorbed. Perhaps 1t
was the intuition of this that made
her heart beat SO fast when Caspar
began to talk about the theater.
1t was built over an old mission.
which had been a dungeon in medic
val times. 1t was section of ancient
Paris, over which the modern street
had been erected, with it's houses and
courts, and the theater, with its play
ers and dancers and the musicians,
jolly family of boys and girls. Caspar
went on telling her what fun they
had when, at the beckoning of some
admirer, the girls would spring down
from the stage in the midst Of bal
let, to snatch glass of wine, or hear
toast, afterward dancing the more
merrily. 1t was such a theater as
exists nowhere but in the Latin quar-
ter. And the idea had got into the
girls heart and brain.
|
time every evening" said Rosa.
"Ellis?" replied Caspar, laughing.
why. nobody takes any notice of
him. He is an old slowcoach."
HE is going to get me Mademoi-
selle Vincent's position when she
leaves" said Rosa.
| III.
Yes, 1t was in her blood, and the
lure had awakened impulses which
Rosa had never suspected. The sense
of admiration, the tumultuous ap-
plause that greeted her violin playing,
the toasts and mirth-all this was a
new world to her.
At first she had sat drearily apart,
between her turns, watching Ellis
leading the orchestra. But Caspar
had demonstrated with her in her
husbands presence, and Ellis had cor
daily agreed that Rosa must share
the life of the place. Then-well, FL
lis was. as Caspar had said. slow
coach.
The dreariest time now was not
the evening. but the morning. when
Ellis and she sat in their rooms to-
gether, he practicing upon the violin
and she staring at him. wondering
why she had linked her life with him.
Forever! that was the stunning hor-
ror of 1t. She felt resentful. and yet
helpless. as though he had taken ad-
vantage OF her inexperience to trap
her. She had known nothing at all
of life. And now she was bound to
this slow. plodding genius. who
couldn't even dance and be merry
with her and-and Caspar.
She lived only for those evenings.
Her beauty. her magnetism made her
a favorite among all the theater folk.
Her appearance upon the stage was
the signal for violent applause among
the patrons of the cabaret She played
for them. for everyone but Ellis. And
he never suspected how small a part
he had in her interior life. She be.
gan to despise him.
A spirit Of Internal mockery pos
sessed her one night. Ellis had ceased
to conduct the orchestra had become
the spectators 1t was the interval
when Rosa played. She played "The
Phantom of the Violin"
But she played 1t as she had never
played 1t before. Like most things OF
SURPRISING beauty, shade more OF
less and 1t became grotesque. maca
ber. Rosa burlesqued it. A devil
seemed to guide her fingers. She saw
astonishment. then mirth upon the
faces of the spectators When she
ended the whole audience was in a
furore.
BIS! Bis!" they shouted.
But Rosa was not In the mood for
an encore. She ran into her dressing
room. She seemed no longer mis-.
tress OF herself. 1t was as II her per
sonality was rent in two. One part
looked sorrowfully back on Ellis and
those first days OF love. The other