NICETTE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4573, 18 February 1893, Page 1

NICETTE.

iFromtho French of Saint-Juirs.) - '"You are a dead man!" said the doctor, looking at Anatolo. '' * ; ; •«.*' ' Anatole staggered. '„''■ * - '■)■■ -He had come gaily to pas,s the evening with his -old, friend. Br Bardais, .the illustripua .', savant V; works on, venomous-sub's'tanoes -are known all over the world, whose, nobility of heart and almost paternal goodness Anatole^had learned to ; know, better than any other living soul; and now, without the least hesitation or preparation, he ■ heard; this terrible prognostication issue from those authoritative lips.' •< ' ",' "Unhappy; child, what have you done ?'-' continued Iho doctor. . ''Nothing that I know of," stammered Anatole grefttly'agitdtiSd. ;' ' ' ; ! "Tdx your''memory, te^ me what you hayo eaten or drank—what vtfu have inhaled ?" The last word was a ray of light to Anatole. That vory morning he,had received- a letter from •ne of his friends whp,was travelling in India; in the letter was a flower, plupted on a bank of the Ganges by the travellerr-a strangely formed . red flower, the perfume of which —he now recalled the fact vividly—had appeared to him to be singularly penetrative.: fie hastily drew forth his pocket-book and produced the letter with its con- > tents and handed them'to ihe savant. ■ -"Nodoubt is possible!" cried the doctor; "it is tha Fyramenensig Indica ! the ddadly flower, the flower Qfblpod^,", , *"" , , - t . ".Then-you^really think——--?" , . "Alaßriant euiredftt." ' , "' . " B^it—it is impossible!—l am only: fiye-and-wenty yeata.of*age, and..feel.full,of life and health —tt"'[- ; ''.'"'' •'.■"': "At what hour did you) open that fatal better?" . .;• . , ./ „' : ..-' ■ "TJiis morning, at nine o'clock." > .' • ' " Well—to-morrow morning, at the same hour, ' at the same minute, in full health, as you say, you 'will feel a pain-in your heart —and all will be •ver." ;. , " And you know of no remedy —no means of " None.'" said the doqtor. .. And, covering his face with his, hands, he sank !,■■ a,chair overcomeiby grief. : > ,v . In iace of the profound emotion of. his old lriend,/Anatole, understood that he was really ■condemned;/ x. . .1 .-':■. He :humfed from the doctor's house like a madMan. His forehead bathed in cold perspiration, his ideas'all confused, going he knew not whither he sped on and on amid the darkness of the night, taking no heed of the' loneliness of the streets he was traversing. For a long time he pursued this blind course, until at length, finding a bench, he sank down upon it; , How many hours had he still to live ? . The, p6£Bi&tan£ and distressing sound of a racking co^PoSbrought him back to consciousness; he looked in the direction whence it came and 'saw, seated upon the same bench, a pale and weak little flower-girl —a child not more than eight years old, who as Francois Coppee says, ** Die's of the winter while offering us the spring," That verse of the poet's recurred to the mind of Anatole; he felt in his woistcoat-pooket and found there two sous, and two louis. He was going to give. the poor child the two sous: but recollecting that he had; only a few hours longer to live, he gave her the two louis. ■ ; ■■.-lii Tiiftincideiit.Qidh^^good. ■ ■"■<■,'>' •" • *■ Be had been like a man stunned by a blow da the head; his bewilderment was'overcome how,. and he began to reassemble his dislocated ideas; ■' "My situation," he said to himself, "is that of a. man condemned to death. A' man in that position may still, however, hope' for pardonmany of that sort are pardoned in our days. In past tunes even, some have been saved from the axe or the cord, to devote themselves to some difficult or dangerous piece of work—the launching •f a ship, for example, or, as in the time of liouis XI., to marry an old woman. If I were consulted in the matter, I should prefer to launch a ship. Unfortunately, I shall not be consulted during the short interval of time that remains to me! But, by the way, how ibng have. I got to live?" He looked at his watch. " Three o'clock in the morning! —it is time to go to bed. To bed! —waste in sleep my last six hours! Not if I know it. I have certainly something better than that to do. But what P Of course —to make my will." . Areafaurant —one of those which keep open all night—was not far- off.' Anatole) entered it. ' ■■-••■.. ■• - t " Garcon, a bottle of champagne— and ink and paper." ' ... - He drank a glass of Cliqupt and looked thqughtfiilly at tha; sheet of paper before ■'••- lriipav^ f^i'^-'t.<;i;;-: -i-\- .v' „.,■: ..;.'. -.- ■ •■■■■■ ; wlibm shall I bequeath my ;six- thousand franci a year ? I have neither father nor mother— happily for'them! Amongst the persons.who interest me, I see only one—^Nicette." Nicette was a charming girl of eighteen, with blonde tresses and largo black eyes; an orphan like himself—a community in misfortune which had long established between them a secret and complete sympathy. His last will and testament was Bpeedily drawn up: universal legatee, Nicette. ... That done, he drank a second glass of champagne. • " Poor Nicette," he mused;" she was very sad ' when I last saw her. Her guardian, who knows nothing of the world outside his class of wind instruments at the Conservatoire de Musique, had taken upon himself to promise her hand to a brute of an amateur of fencing whom she detests —tho more because she has given her heart to someone else. Who is that happy mortal? —l haven't the least idea; but he is certainly worthy of her, or she would never have chosen him. Good, gentle, beautiful, loving Nicette deserves the ideal of husbands. Ah! she is the very wife that would have suited me, if —if— <% By Jove, it's an. infamy, to compel her to destroy her life—by confiding such a treasure to such a brute! I have never before so well understood the generous ardour which fired the breasts of tho wandering knights, and spurred them on to the deliverance of oppressed beauty I-^-And, now I come to* think of it, what hinders me from becoming the knighterrant of Nicette ? My fate is settled—at nine o'clock—after that it will be too late; now, therefore, is the time for action! The hour is a little unusual for visiting people; but when I reflect that, five hours hence, I shall be no more, I conclude that I have no time for standing on etiquette. Forward! my life for Nicette!" Anatole rose —and then, perceiving that he had no money, he gave his gold watch to the waiter in payment for the champagne—a watch worth five hundred francs. < The garoon took the chronometer, and examined it closely —weighed it in his hand, opened it —and finally put it in his pocket doubtfully and without thanking Anatole. It was four o'clock in the morning when he rang at the door of Monsieur Bouvard, the guardian of Nicette. He rang once, twice, and, at the third tug broke the bell-wire. .At length Monsieur Bouvard " himself, in hia nightdress and in great alarm, come and opened the door. " What is the matter—is the house on fire?"' . . "No, my dear. Monsieur Bouvard," said Anatole, "I have only paid you a little visit." "At this hour!" "It is pleasant to see you at any hour, my dear Monsieur Bouvard! But you axe so slightly dressed—pray get into bed again." , "I am,,going to do so. But, I suppose, Monsieur,.that it wa3 not simply to trouble mo .

in this way that you have come at such an hour ? You have something of importance to say to me?";'' * : '' >v *• "Very 'important, Monsieur Bouvard! It is to v tell you' that you must renounce the idea of marrying ■ my cousin 'Nicette to Monsieur 'Capdenac." • . .- ■ < "Whafdoyousay?" , " You must renounce that project." " Never Monsieur ! — never! " •. ... "Don't fly in the face of Providence ,by. using 'such language ! " "My .resolution is fixed, Monsieur ; this marriage will take place." "It 'will not, Monsieur!" " We. will see about that. And, now that you have had my answer, Monsieur, I'll not detain you. " "A Speech none too polite, Monsieur Bouvard ; but, as I am as good-natured as I a m tenacious, I will pass over it, and — remain." "Stay if it pleases you to do so ; but I shall consider you gone, and hold no further .conversation with you." Saying which Monsieur Bouvard turned his face to the wall, giumbling to himself— "Was ever such a thing seen .'—rousing a man at such an hour '. — breaking his sleep, only to pour into his ears such a pack, of nonsense !r——" . Suddenly Monsieur Bouvard sprang to a sitting posture in his bed. • ' v • Anatole had possessed himself of , the professor's trombone,' into whioh he was blowing like a deaf man, and sending from the tortured instrument sounds of indescribable detestableness. ,- ' ""My ? presentation trombone [—given me by my pupils! Let that instrument alone, Monsieur ! " ■'"Monsieur, you consider me gone; I shall consider you— absent, and shall amuse myself; until you, .-return. . Couac! couac! — fromn!i brout ! Eh P— that was a fine note ! " '• . " You will get me turned out of the house ; my landlord will not allow a trombone to be played after 'midnight." - ' ' ' "A'rfian'who" evidently hath not music in" his soul .' Frrout' ! frrout, prrr " ' " You will split my ears ! — you'll ' spoil my, instrument!— a. trombone badly <played on is a •trombone destroyed, Monsieur !" "Cduac! prouhn, pra — pra— prrrr — -" . ■ " For mercy's sake give over ! " ; "Willyouconsent?." .-"..: . «Towhat?% T .s r ";^ > :> ■„/; -..j "To renounce the idea off hat 'marriage?" ' "Monsieur, I cannot!" "Then— couac ! " - '' ' "Monsieur Capdenac——" *." v '' "Prrrroum!- — " ,' V' "' ! "Is a terrible man to deal with I"," 1 ■ "Frrroutt! " ' "If I were to offer him such an affront, he would kill me." "Is that the only reason which stops you P " , "That— and several others." , "In that case leave the matter to me ; only awear to me that if I obtain Monsieur Capdenac's renunciation, my cousin shall be free to choose a husband for herself." " Beally,' Monsieur, you abuse- — -" " Couac," frrroutt, ffuit, brrrout !— — " " Monsieur, Monsieur, — she shall be free." " Bravo \ I have your word. Will you now allow me to retire ? By the -way, where does your Capdenao live ?" - *- ■' ■.''•'• " If umber 100, Eve de 3 Deux-Ep&g. "I fly thither/!— Until we meet again!" 'VYou' are going to throw into the Upn'a,mo.u^andJ^.wiltJiM^^ v a ;}s«&' y°Ps -deserve," said' Monsieur Bouvard, -'%&( Anatole' hurried from the bedchamber and shut the door after him. Without a moment's hesitation Anatole betook himself to the address of the fire-eating fencer ; it was just six o'clock when he arrived there. Ho rang the door-bell. . "Who U there?" demanded a rough voice behind the door. " Open !— very important communication from Monsieur Bouvard." The sounds of a night-chain and the turning of a key in a heavy lock were heard. . "Here is a man who does not forget to protect himself against unwelcome visitors!" re* marked Anatole to himself. The door opened at length. Anatole found himself in the presence of a gentleman with a moustache fiercely upturned,whose nightdress approved to be the complete costume of the fencing aohooK "You see, always ready; it's my motto." The walls of the swordsman's ante-chamber were completely covered with panoplies of arms of all descriptions; yataghans, poisoned arrows, sabres,' rapiers, one and two • handed swords, pistols— a regular arsenal — enough to terrify any timid-minded observer., '.''" Bah ! ". thought Anatole, " what do I now risk'.-p-at moat two-hours-and-a-half ! '".... . > , f f MonseUTj", said Capdonac, ." may. I, be, allowed to know-— " ' ... '«■ Monsieur," replied Anatole, "you want to marry Mademoiselle Nicette? " ! " Yea, Monsieur." > ■ '■ ' ' • " Monsieur,"you will not marry her !" "Ah! thunder !— blood! who will prevent me?" .-.■'-■■■,■*■' " I shall, Monsieur !" ■ s ! . Capdenao stared at Anatole, who was not very big but appeared to be very decided. "Ah! — young man, you are very lucky to have found me in one of my placable moments. Take advantage of it — save yourself while you have time ; otherwise I will not answer for your days!" • "Nor l for yours." " A challenge ! — to me ! — Capdenac !— -Do you know that I have been a master of the art of fencing for ton years !" '^There's nothing of-fencive about me, Monsieur !" " I have fought twenty duels— and had the misfortune to kill five of my adversaries, besides wounding the fifteen others ! Come, 1 have taken pity on your youth !— once more, go away." . . " I see, by your preparations, that you are an adversary worthy of me and my long growing desire to confront a man so redoubtable. Let's see! what shall we fight with? Those two double-handed swords standing by the fireplace? Or those two boarding-axes? With cavalry sabres, or would you prefer a pair of curved' yataghans? You hesitate: can't you make up your mind?" " I am thinking of your mother and her coming distress." " I haven't a mother to be distressed. Would you rather fight with a carbine ?— pistol?— or revolver?" " Young man— don't play with firearms." " Are you afraid ? You are trembling !" "Trembling!. I? It's with cold." " Then fight, or at once renounce the hand of Nicette." '•' Benounce the hand of Mademoiselle Nicette ! By Jove, I admire your bravery ! and brave men are made to understand one another. Shall I make a confession to you ? " "Speak!" " For some time past I have myself had thoughts of breaking off this marriage, but I did not know how to do it. I consent, therefore, with pleasure to do what you wish , but, at the same time you must see that I'cannot appear to give way to threats, and you have threatened me." " I retract them." " In that caee, all is understood." • " You will give me, in writing, your renunciation ? " ■ ** Young man, you have so completely won my sympathy that I can refuse you nothing." - Furcished with the previous document, Anatolo fie*- back to the dwelling-place of Monsieur Bgurard : he had a considerable distance to

walk, and by the time he reached the professor's door it was nearly eight o'clock in the morning. "Who is there?" "Anatole,"' : . . , "Go home, and go to bed !" cried the professor savagely. "I have got Capdenac's renunciation of Nicette's hand ! ' Open the door, or Twill break it down." " '" ' Monsieur Bouvard admitted him, and Anatole placed in his hand the momentous paper. That done, he rushed to the door of Nicette's room and eried — ' :" . V... . •■'•'-.-! ■•■■•'•' '.v ~ • j " " Cousin, get up— dress yourself quickly and .comehere!"^ * > ''" " ■- C • - ." It 'i'a'ppeaM,.* Monsieur, that I ,am .no longer master in my own' home 1" exclaimed Monsieur Bouvard ; "you go and come, and order as you please! To make y«.u understand that I will have nothing more to say to you, I— l will go back to my morning news paper, in the reading of which you have interrupted me!" , . A few minutes later, Nicette, looking fresh as dawn, arrived in the < drawing-room. "What 18 the matter P" ( " The'tnatter," Baid^Monsieur Bouvard, "is that your cousin is. mad !" - ■ "Mad? So be it F^eplied Anatole. "Las^ night, my dear little cousin, I obtained two thingß: the renun6iation'bf^your hand by Monsieur Capdenac, and the promise of your worthy guardian to bestow it on the man of your choice — the jnanjou love." .- .>■.'• "Do you really wish me to marry Anatole, guardian?" . ' < "Eh?" cried Anatole, his breath' nearly taken away. ' ' . . .."Since.lloveyou^cousin!^ , .. „,_.! 'At that' moment Anatole felt his heart beat violently. Was it from pleasure at the un-;: expected 1 avowal made by Nicettej or was'it the! agony^ tJJeydeiith symptom . predicted by the] doctor ? , . .. < .'■-. •> . ; f 'OlnVortunate' that I am ! " he cried. " She loves me— J^am within reach of happiness, and am ■to die without, attaining it !" ' ? Then, taking the hands of Nicette feverishly within his own, he told her all about the. letter, the venomous flb'wer hehad scented, the prognbs--. tication of his old friend, the will he had written, v and the steps he had successfully taken to release' her from the claim of Capdenac. | "And now," he said in conclusion, " I have? only .to go home and die !" ' i ■\:" But it is impoEsible! " cried Nicette. I'ThiaJ doctor must have been mistaken; /who is he?" "A man who "is never in error, Nioette—Dr Bardais." : : ■"; / " ■''■■ ■ ■ ' :> • ] " Bardais ! Bardais ! " cried Bouvard, burst-' ing into laughter. "Listen to what my newspaper here says i l 'The learned Dr Bardais has; been suddenly seized with mental alienation. ' The madness with winch he has been stricken is of a scientific character., It is well known that he was absorbingly engaged in an inquiry into the nature of venomous substances, and latterly he had fallen into the delusion that everybody he met was under the 'influence of. poison,, and endeavoured to persuade them that such was their condition. He was last night transported to the Maisonde Santo* of Dr Blank.'" "Nicette!" "Anatole!" The two young persons fell into each other's arms. • ; > ■ • - . '