A CAB ADVENTURE.

Evening Star, Issue 10510, 31 December 1897, Page 2 (Supplement)

A CAB ADVENTURE.

WILL, wager my chances for the: throne, of Prance. against avhqx Ipf cigara that there never was a marquis so diffiao timid, - so irrespon- * n Sr**®*! j*. the Marquis Boetone Amentqr De Longuerne. My hero possesses a heroine—that is to sty, a legitimate heroine, a twenty-four-year-old heroine, as beautiful as you might wish and as unmusical as you can imagine. Prom the risinu of the enu till, the. last, flicker of thenight lamp she was constain tlyat the piano. She strummed with such'untiring zeal thatVit was impossible to keep servants in the house. There were times when the marquis, surfeited .with Schumann, tortured by Mendelsshon and dead weary of Saint-Saens, even envied the good fortune of his servants, who could escape the instrument of torture. “ Will the marquis please 1 settle ny account?” “Are you going toleave ns?” “Ices, sir, on account of“The piano? I khdvv; yon have had enough of it.” . “If it were only enough I could stand it, but it's too much; Ifris driving me crazy.” “ I understand.” “ sfon are not angry, then ? ” "The deuce, no! Bub how can I replace yon ? ” ■ “I know a man who would suit the place. He is quite deaf.” “Lucky dog!” . Even the neighbors were driven to rebellion. Petitions * and -threatening' letters poured in daily, until at last the poor marquis determined to move to some isolated quarter near, the barracks where the cornetists aud drummera were sent to practice scales. ' ~ ■ It is scarcely to be credited, but the marquis deeply deplored the absence of a better rival in his wife’s affection than the piano. Be hated it with a deadly hatred, and it is not surprising that he seized the opportunity to escape when the misguided virtuoso said, to him “ Can I count upon your escort Monday evening, dear ? 1 have promised to play a fantasie from • Henry VIIL’ at Mdmm,la Marechale’s. Are you fond of ‘^Kfiry “ Yes —since I’ve learned to feel for him.” ■ The intended? sarcasm passed unnoticed, as his wife thought he alluded to the bold harmonies of the modenv school. The marchioness, however, was obliged to go unattended to Mdme. la Marechale’s. Monday evening,-at ten o’clock, she dropped her husband at his club, and extending the soft little hand that was so soon ~to torture poor ‘Henry V111.,’ she said to him; “ Will you call for me? I play at halfpast eleven. No applause would give ihe so much pleasure as yours.” The marquis bent his head over‘the extended hand and disappeared without a word.

He played at the club and lost —so heavily, in fact, that he soon found himself wishing he had gone to the reception, think* ing that even ‘ Henry YIIL ’ would be preferable to this. From ‘ Henry VIIL ’ to thinking of hia wife was but a short step, and he determined to go after her. For you will remember that Elizabeth Alida Marcelline De Longuerne, away from a piano, was a very charming' little woman. Hardly conscious of what he was doing, the marquis allowed himself to be driven to the house of Mdme. la Marechale. Not caring to enter at once,"he remained outside listening to the hideous fantasie being performed by his wife, “It is half-past eleven,”' he thought to himself. “It is she playing—those discords are unmistakeable. Anno Boleyn and Catherine Howard are at lash avenged. Henry VIIL, go thou to thino execution !”

The noise of a passing cab momentarily drowned the sound of the piano, and the marquis forgot his wife’s musical shortcomings in mental contemplation of her shoulders, her arms, her eyes, her luxuriant hair, and her other perfections. This vision appealed to his msthctic side. He felt that he had been too exacting in the face of so many alluring charms. “By Apollo ! If a piece of ill-luok should come my way, I’d get no more than I richly deserve. What if her heart is wrapped up in those little black hieroglyphics with the long necks ? She loves mo with a constancy that is really touching. I ban put up with a little music. At any rate, I shall not care the less for her on account of it. Poor woman, -how abominably she plays 1 Bub they applaud her. And I—l have played the coward. I will wait outside here for her if it takes an hour to make up for it.” But his ardor was doomed to be dampened by a fine, cold rain that now began to fall. Suetone Amentor grew impatient and was conscious that he was getting tired. He had waited a full half hour. Just then he noticed a coupe come out of the courtyard and draw up near the kerb behind a lino of carriages. “ This rain will not last long,” ho said to himself. “In all probability the last guest to arrive will be the last to go. I shall wait in her coupe and rest.” Taking advantage of the absence of the coachman, who had songht shelter in a neighboring doorway, he entered the conpe. It was a bijou little conveyance, upholstered in blue silk, and exhaling an aroma of youth and elegance. The marquis settled back in the corner, which was still warm, and availed himself of a wrap that bad been left behind, and in that blissful state of comfort he soon fell asleep. How long he slumbered I cannot say, but he suddenly awoke as the coups, drew up in Mdme. la Mareohale’s courtyard. The door was thrown open, and a young woman of extraordinary beauty approached. When she saw that the coupe was not empty she suppressed an exclamation, and, hastily divesting herself of her wrap, threw it in upon the astonished occupant. •“Are yoh mad to throw off your cloak here in the court?” exclaimed the young man who had escorted her to the carriage. “ The air is freezing.” “I am suffocating,” she replied. And stepping hastily into the coupe she closed the door with a bang, “If you care to drop in at mother’s I will go with you.” “No, no. I have changed my mind. lam tired. Good night. I am going directly home. ’ The coupe relied rapidly away. The marquis did not stir. Not a word was spoken until they reached a dark street, when the lady withdrew her mantle. “Gaston,” she exclaimed, “what recklessness 1 You'might have been my min i» As the marquis was about to reply she laid a little hand on his lips. “No, not a word. I know what foolish excuses you will make. I will not, I dare not, listen. My mind is made up. He » freaking my heart, hot what .is the difference T First take back this ring. I have no right to keep it.” , 6 The marquis was conscious that a ring was being slipped on his finger. “And now kiss mo,-sweetheart. Yon deserve that much for yonr silence and devotion.”

The marquis spent five ecstatic minutes, which, however, neither you nor I need dwell upon. r u n , ow Ifluve mo. In another moment i shall be home. Make haste—make haste.’* She let down the right-hand window and addressed a few words to the coachman to divert his attention from the supposed Gaston, who alighted on the other side and disappeared, filled with regrets that he had non been able to follow up to the end this unexpected and delightful'adventnn. The coupe drove off straight ahead, and was soon lost in the darkness. A clock was striking two as our hero reached home. The marchioness Was just alighting at the door. The marquis passed her without seeing her. “ Why, my dear, have you been asleep in tV e vestibule ? You must help me upstairs whether you want to or not. Theyimprovised a cotillon, and I’m simply exhausted.’* ; As he offered her his arm ehe noticed the ring he had forgotten to ■ remove from his finger. “ What a beautiful ring!” she cried. “Is it for me ? , I’m sure" it was meant for a surprise.” The confusion of the marquis was only equalled by his wife’s delight. “Yes, it is a—a surprise. I shall tell yon about it in the morning.” For the next three days the young wife was in the most affable of moods in expectation of the diamond ting. She didn’t open the piano once.

While the jeweller was making a fao simileof the ring the marquis endeavored to find his charming unknown. “ I’m a thief-,” ho said to himself, “il’m'a thief, and here’s the ring to prove it. What will Gaston—the real Gaston—soy to her ? Poor thing, what a beautiful trinket the lost. Poor fellow, what kisses he lost. The recollection of them makes my head swim.” This little adventure oost my friend just B,ooofr, and to help him out of his embarrassment I am sending the following notice to the newspapers : “Lost, Monday, Bth, in a coupe with blue livery, a diamond ring worth B,ooofr. A liberal reward offered to the owner.”— Translated for 1 Argonaut.’