Year: 1873

: 81 never saw but one literal gu,lch
! criI in my Iife,r said Frank Della


mere, as we leaned over the bulwark


and watched the quaint old house


of Panama melting into the receding


background of forest, "and this wa
how it happened. Or my first visi
to New Orleans / fell in with an Eng


liShman of the name of MOntfOrt.


had got IOst-and was asking my way


Of niger, who seemed 10 know


rather less about it than did myself


when, luckily for me, this fellow


Montfort happened to pass 10y. The


moment he saw that / was at loss he


stepped forward, and very politely Of
fered to pilot me, which he did, going
considerably out of his way to do it.


When we got to my hotel, of course ]
couldn't well do less than ask him in.
We got to talking, and his talking
amused me somehow, so that when he
got up To 90 begged him to lock me uu
again when he Lad nothing better to
do. He did SO, and in little while
we became pretty intimate-as inti-


mate, at least, as any one could get to
be with him. Not that he was what
you would call reserved. He would


talk freely enough about the things
he had seen aud done, and the strange
places he had visited, and the strange
people he had met; but when you
came TO think it all over afterWard
you would begin to notice that he had
not said word about who he was, or
where he came from, or what he did,
and, although we We're constantly to-
getheT, | knew no more of him tie
last day than on the first.


"AnOther of his queer ways was do
ing things that nobody else did, and
not doing things that everybody else
did, and that, too, not all like an affec-
tatiOn, but as if it came quite natural
to him. He used to walk the most
unheard-Of distances in the heat of the
day, when all the rest of the town
was having siesta ; and to go to bed
early in the evening, just when every
one else was going out ; and to get up
early in the morning, just when eve
ry one else was going to bed. Then,
on the other hand, he neither smoked
nor drank, never played cards, and
! which was even more astounding 80
the New Orleaners) never made love!
At New Orleans, you know, you
| make love to every woman you meet,
as matter of course but this fellow
though, TO do him justice, he was al
ways perfectly polite to them seemed
! hardly to know whether they were
women or men


"GOu mustn't suppose from all this,
though, that he was unpopular. Let
a fellow once get character for that
| sort of thing, and it's ten to one the
women like him all the better for it.
Then, too, his feats in the athletic
line, and the reports that were afloat
of his wonderful adventures, and,
above all, the kind of mystery that
envelOped him, were great points in
his favor. He wasn't ornamental,
certainly-a square, heavy built per-
son, with big, lumpy forehead, and
a long hooked nose, and a hard
mouth, half covered with thick mus
tache and beard but he had a strange
out-of. the-way, picturesque style of
talking that was rather attractive
and with all he had seen and all he
| had read, he was worth listening to.
But it will save you great inflictiOn
if, instead of describing him any fur
ther, just quote you part of con-
versatiOn We had one day.


90 L suppose you'll he here some
time yet - said /.


Not likely he answered. Tve
been here six weeks already, and
that's too long for any man to stay in
one place without some special object.
New scenery renews individuals, Just
as new blood renews races and, be-
aides, Pve been far too comfortable
here az it is


What the deuce do you mean ~
asked /, fairly puzzled.


Il mean.' answered he, that too
much ease relaXes the muscles of the
mind as well as those of the body; you
need hard work and danger and ad-
lsversity to come and fling cold water
on you, and rub you down with rough
| towels and stir your blood into action
once more. When anything goes
wrong with me it's just like shower
bath after the first shock | feel ten
times fresher and stronger than ever
but prolonged enjoyment, with moth
ing To rutlle it, is not good for any one.
Just think what q burden life would
be if there was nothing to fight
| against y


" WELL said I Il really couldn't
help it,, there's no fear but you'll
| have enough to fight against if you
! always go slap in the teeth of estab-
! lished usages as you've done here .
every true he answered, as cool
n If | had paid him a compliment. Il
| can't expect every one to think as |
do, and very likely it would be bad
thing if they did. But when a thing
| has got to be done, done it must be y
"I can't give you an idea of the way
lac brought out that last sentence; ev-
cry word sounded like 4 nail knocked
into 4 wall. l didn't say any more to
him that time.


"Now must tell you that at this
time the belle of New Orleans was q
| certain Miss Georgiana De Courcy,
the handsOmest girl and the greatest
heiress in Louisiana, and-what
counts for 4 good deal in the Southern
States-Of one of the oldest families
in the South. She was certainly a
splendid woman-without an atom of
heart or conscience, beautiful as a
leopard, vain as peacock, and greedy
of admiration as-Well, as WO-
man one of the finest creatures alto
gether that l ever saw in my life
| w cllt dS Ou 1ucil ALlaoInGf DClOIc Slc
had been in town month all the
young swells of the place were at her
feet and the most ardent of all was q
young Frenchman, Henri LIE Valiant
by name, a man of good family, and
originally of good fortune (; but he had
cOntrived to run through such lot of
it before he came of age that, a. Pad
dy says in the song:


| when he came to mans estate,
II was all the estate he had"


This being the case, it was only nat
ural that he should think it a good
| idea to recoup himself by winning the
favor and fOrtune) of Miss De COurcy;
and, to give the devil his due, he was
just the man to make any girl like
him if he had mind that way. To
begin with, he was very handsome
man-slim and graceful as any statue
in Rome, and with that Jeuute dU djG-
bIc which you see so often among
high-caste Frenchmen; then, he could
sing tirst-rate songs, and dance like
any TagliOni, and to crown all, he
. was the best rider, and. what was
more to the purpose, the best fencer
in the town. Indeed, he had pinked
so many men in various quarrels that
his chums, in kind of chaffupon his
double capacity of lady-killer and
duelist, nicknamed him 'Percecoeur.'
So when it was known that the
Pierce-heart' had got his eye upon
Miss De Courcy, you may think that
her other wOrshipers began TO feel
rather put about.


NOW it so happened that brought
an introduction to the girls father,
Colonel De COurcy, whom she ruled
as completely as she ruled every one
else, and he had invited me to a
grand ball that they gave little af-
ter my arrival. 1t was at this ball
that ] got my first sight of lie Valiant
"a slight, delicate-featGred man,
with black mustache, but supple as
i greyhound and active as a tiger.
OF course he was horribly conceited.
as these fellows always are; but bar
ring that, he struck me a. rather
! pleasant company, and l couldn't
help thinking that if he really meant
business as regarded the De COurcy,
he stood well to make his game.
"Wen, the ball was like every other
Ill Il