Year: 1873

alter night during the second engagement,
of Mademoiselle Olympic. 1t was SO easy
not to stay away!


In this second edition of Van Twill
ler's faulty, his case was even worse
than before He not only thought OF
Olympic quite number Of times be-
tween breakfast and dinner, he moi
only attended the interlude regularly, but
he began, in spite of himself, to occupy
his leisure hours at night by dreaming OF
her. This was too mach OF good thing
and Van Twiller regarded it SO. Besides
the dream was always the same,-a har-
rowing dream, dream singularly adapt
ed to shattering the nerves of man like
Van Twiller. He would imagine himseh
seated at the theater with all the members
of Our Club in the parquette), watching
Mademoiselle Olympic "a usual, when
suddenly that young lady would launch
herself desperately from the trapeZe, and
come flying through the air Ike fire
brand hurled at his private box. Then
the unfortunate man would wake up with
cold drops standing on his forehead.


There is one redeeming feature in this
infatuation of Van Twiller's which the
sober moralist will love to look upon
the serene Inconsistencies of the person
who caused it. She went through hel
role with admirable aplomb, drew her
salary, it may be assumed, punctually
and appears from first to last to have been
ignorant that there was a miserable slave
wearing her chains nightly IN the left
hand prOscenium-bOX.


That Van Twiller, haunting the theatre
with the persistency of an ex-actor, con.
Quoted himself so discreetly as not to
draw the fire Of Mademoiselle Olympe's
blue eyes, shows that Van Twiller, how
ever deeply under a spell, was not in love
/ say this, though think if Van Twiller
had not been Van Twiller, if he had been
a man of no family and no position and
no money, if New York had been Paris,
and Thirty-fourth street street in the
Latin Quarter,-but it is useless to specu-
late on what might have happened. What
did happen is sufficient.


1t happened, then, in the second week OF
Queen Olympe's second unconscious
reign, that an appalling Whisper hoated up
the Hudson, effected a landing at a point
between Spuyten Duyvel Creek and Cold
Spring, and sought out stately mansion
of Dutch architecture standing on the
bank of the river The Whisper straight
way informed the lady dwelling in this
mansion that all was not well with the
last of the Van Twillers, that he was grad
ually estranging himself from his peers,
and wasting his nights in a play house
watching a misguided young woman turn
ing unmaidenly somersaults on piece OF
wood attached to two ropes.


Mrs. Vanrensselaer Vanzandt Van Twill
Ter came down to town by the next train
to look into this little matter.


She found the flower of the family
taking an early breakfast, at II a. m, in
his cosey apartments on Thirty-fourth
street. With the least possible clrcumlo-
cution she confronted him with what ru-
NOR had reported of his pursuits, and was
pleased, but not too much pleased, when
he gave her an exact account OF his rela-
tons with Mademoiselle Zabriski, neither
concealing nor qualifying anything. AS
a confession, it was unique, and might
have been great deal less entertaining.
Two or three times, in the course OF the
narrative, the matron had some difficulty
in preserving the gravity of her counte-
nance. After meditatlng few minutes, she
tapped Van Twiller softly on the arm
with the tip of her parasol, and invited
him to return with her the next day up
the Hudson and make brief visit at the
home Of his ancestors He accepted the
invitation with outward alacrity and in
ward reluctance.


When this was settled, and the worthy
lady had Withdrawn, Van Twiller went
directly to the establishment of Messrs.
Ball, Black & Company, and selected,
with unerring taste, the finest diamond
bracelet procurable. For his mother
Dear me, no. She had the family jew
els


would not like to state the enor-
NOUS sum Van Twiller paid for this
bracelet 1t was such clasp of dia-
monds as would have hastened the
pulsation of patrician wrist 1t was
such a bracelet as Prince Camaralzaman
might have sent to the Princess Badoura,
and the Princess Badoura-might have
been very glad to get.


In the fragrant Levant morocco case,
where these happy jewels lived when they
were at home, Van Twiller thoughtfully
placed his card on the back of which he
had written line begging Mademoiselle
Olympic Zabriski to accept the accompany
ing trifie from one who had witnessed her
graceful performances with interest and
pleasure This was not done incOnsider-
ately. "Of course | must enclose my
card, as 1 would to any lady," Van Twill
Ter had said to himself; "a Van Twiller
can neither write an anonymous letter
nor make an anonymous present. Blood
entails its duties as well as its privileges.


The casket dispatched to its destlna-
ton, Van Twiller felt easier in his mind
He was under obligations to the girl for
many an agreeable hour that might other
wise have passed heavily. He had paid
the debt, and he had paid it en- prince, as
became a Van Twiller. He spent the rest
of the day in looking at some pictures at
Goupil's, and at the club, and in making
a few purchases for his trip up the Hud
SON. A consciousness that this trip up
the Hudson was a disorderly retreat came
over him unpleasantly at intervals.


When he returned to his rooms late al
night, he found a note lying on the writ
ing-table g. Theatre" stamped in car
mine letters on one corner OF the envelope
Van Twiller broke the seal with tremb
ling fingers.


Now, this note some time afterwards
fell into the hands of Livingstone, who
showed it to Stuvvesant, who showed i
to Delaney, who showed it to me, and
copied ii as literary curiosity. The note
ran as follows:


Mr. VAN TwILLER, DEAR SIR:-i am verr,
grestful to you for that Bracelet it come just il
bski dodg is about plaid out. My beard is getting
to mach for me. shall have TO grow mustasi
and take to some other line of busyness, don't NJ
what now but will let YOU no. You wont feel bat
If sell that Bracelet i have seen Abraham
Moss and he says he will do the square thing Plea
accep my thanks for you're Beautiful and Unex
pected present.


You're respectful servent,


CHARLES MoSTMORENCI WALTERS.