Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 217, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 September 1914 — Page 2

The PLACE of HONEYMOONS

by HAROLD MAC GRATH

, PicKres’ & A CD. jt RHODj®

SYNOPSIS. Eleanors de Toscana was singing In Paris, which, perhaps, accounted for Edward Oourtlandt’s appearance there. Multimillionaire, he wandered about where fancy dictated. He might be in Paris one day and Kamchatka the next. Following the opera he goes to a case and is acCHAPTER ll—Continued. There was a minute wrinkle above the unknown’s nose; the shadow of a frown. "She is very beautiful.** "Bah! Did she send you after me? Give me her address. I have come all the way' from Burma to see Flora Desimone.” “To see her?” She unguardedly clothed the question with contempt, but she instantly forced a smile to neutralize the effect. Concerned with her own defined conclusions, she lost tile fine ironic bitterness that was in the man's voice. \ ' “Aye, indeed, to bee her! Beautiful ns Venus, as alluring aS Phryne, I want nothing so much as to see her, to look into her eyes, to hear her voice!” ‘‘ls it jealousy? I hear the tragic note.” The certainty of her ground became as morass again. In his turn he was puzzling her. “Tragedy? lam an American. We do not kill opera singers. We turn them over to the critics. I wish to see the beautiful Flora, to ask her a few questions. If she has sent you after me, her address, my dear young lady, her address.” His eyes burned. “I am afraid.** And she was so. This wasn’t the tone of a man madly in love. It was wild anger. “Afraid of what?” “You.” “I will give you a hundred francs.” He produced a crisp note. “Do you want it?” She did not answer at once. Pres-, ently she opened her purse, found a stubby pencil and a elip of paper, and wrote. “There it is, monsieur.” She held out her hand for the banknote which, with a sense of bafflement, he gave her. She folded the note and stowed it away with the pencil. “Thank you,” said Courtlandt. "Odd paper, though.” He turned it over. "Ah, I understand. ’You copy music.” “Yes, monsieur.” This time the nervous flicker of her eyes did not escape him. “You are studying for the opera, perhaps?” “Yes, that is it” “Good night” He rose. "Monsieur is not gallant” “I was in my youth,” he replied, putting oh his hat. The bald rudeness of bis departure did not disturb her. She laughed softly and relievedly. Indeed, there was In the laughter an essence pf mischief. However, if he carried away a mystery. he left one behind. The young woman waited five or ten minutes, and, making sure that Courtlandt had been driven off, left the restaurant Round the corner she engaged a carriage. So that was Edward Courtlandt? She liked his face; there was not a weak line in it unless stubbornness could be called such. But to stay away for two years! To hide himself tn jungles, to be heard of only by his harebrained exploits! “Follow him; see where he goes,” had been the command. For a moment ehe had rebelled, but her curiosity was not to be denied. Besides, of what use was friendship if not to be tried? She knew nothing of the riddle, she had never asked a question openly. She had accidentally seen a photograph one day, in a trunk tray, with this man’s name scrawled across it, and upon this flimsy base she had butlded a dozen romances, each of which she had ruthlessly torn down to make room for another; but still the riddle lay unsolved. She had thrown the name into the conversation many a time, as one might throw a bomb into a crowd which had no chance to escape. Fizzles! The man had been calmly discussed and calmly dismissed. At odd times an article in the newspapers gave her an opportunity; still the frank discussion, still the calm dismissal. She had learned that the man was rich. Irresponsible, vacillating, a picturesque sort of fool. But two years? What had kept him away that long? A weak man, in love, would not have made so tame a surrender. Perhaps he bad not surrendered; perhaps neither of them had. < And yet, ho sought the Calabrian. Here was another blind alley out of which she had to retrace her steps. Bother! That Puck of Shakespeare was right: What fools these mortals be! She was very glad that she possessed a true sense of humor, spiced with harmless audacity. What a dreary worfd ft must be te those who did not know how and when to laugh! They

talked of the daring of the American woman; who but ji Frenchwoman would have dared what she had this night? The taxicab! She laughed. And this man was wax in the hands of any pretty woman who came along! So rumor had it But she knew that rumor was only the attenuated ghost of Ananias, doomed forever to remain on earth for the propagation of inaccurate whispers. Wax! Why, she would have trusted herself.in any situation with a man with those eyes and that angle of jaw. It was all very mystifying. “Follow h|m; see where he goes.” The frank discussion, then, and the calm dismissal were but a woman’s dssimulatlon. And he had gone to FJora Desimone’s. « ■ The carriage stopped before a handsome apartment house in the Avenue de Wagram. The unknown got out, gave the driver his fare, and rang the concierge’s bell. The sleepy guardian opened the door, touched his goldbraided cap in recognition, and led the way to the small electric lift. The young woman entered and familiarly pushed the button. The apartment in which she lived was on the second floor; and there was luxury everywhere, but luxury subdued and charmed by taste.

She threw aside her hat and wraps with that manner of inconsequence which distinguishes the artistic temperament from the thrifty one, and passed on into the cozy dining room. The maid had arranged some sandwiches and a bottle of light wine. She ate and drank, while intermittent smiles played across her merry face, Having satisfied her hunger/ she opened her purse and extracted the banknote. She smoothed it out and laughed aloud. “Oh, if only he had taken me for a ride in the taxicab!” She bubbled again with merriment. Suddenly she sprang up, as if inspired, and dashed into another room, a study. She came back with pen and ink, and with a celerity that came of long practice, drew five straight lines across the faint violet face of the banknote. Within these lines she made little dots at the top and bottom of stubby perpendicular strokes, and strange inteplineal hieroglyphics, and sweeping curves, ail of which would' have puzzled an Egyptologist if he were unused to the ways of musicians. Carefully she dried the composition, and then put the note away. Some day she would confound him by returning it. A little later her fingers were moving softly over the piano keys; melodies in minor, sad and haunting and elusive, melodies that had never been put on paper and would always be her own; in them she might leap from comedy to tragedy, from laughter to tears, and only she would know. The midnight adventure was forgotten, and the hero of _ it, too. With her eyes closed and her lithe body swaying gpntly, she let the old weary pain in her heart take hold again. CHAPTER 111. The Beautiful Tigress. Flora Desimone had been born in a Calabrian peasant’s hut, and kne had rolled in the dust outside, yelling vigorously at all times. Specialists declare that the reason for all great singers joining from lowly origin is found in this early development of the throat. Parents of means employ nurses or sedatives tp, suppress or at least to smother these* mfantile protests against being thrust inconsiderately into the turfiw)i|(-<of human beings. Flora yelled or slept, as the case might be; her parents were equally indifferent. > They were too busily concerned with the getting of bread and wine. Moreover, Flora was one among many. The gods are always playing with the Calabrian peninsula, heaving it up here or growing it down there; 11 terremoto, the earthquake, the terror. Here nature tinkers vicariously with souls; and she seldom has time to complete her work. Constant communion with death makes for callosity of feeling; and the Calabrians and the Sicilians are the cruelest among the civilized peoples. Flora was ruthless.

She lived amazingly well in the premier .of an apartment-hotel in the Champs-Elysees. In England and America she had amassed a fortune. Given the warm beauty of the southern Italian, the passion, the temperament, the love of mischief, the natural cruelty, the Inordinate craving for attention and flattery, she enlivened the nations with her affairs. And she never put a eingle beat of her heart into any of them. That is why her voice is still splendid and her beauty unchanging. She did not dissipate; calculation always barred her inclination; rather, she loitered about the Forbidden Tree and played that she had plucked the Apple. She had an example to follow; Eve had none.

Men scattered fortunes at her feet as foolish Greeks scattered floral offerings at the feet of their marble gode—without provoking the sense of reciprocity or generosity or mercy. She had worked; ah, no one would ever know how hard. She had been crushed, beaten, cursed, starved. That she had risen to the heights in spite of these bruising verbs in no manner enlarged her pity, but dulled and vitiated the little there was of it Her mental attitude toward humanity "Was. childish; as, when the parent strikes, the child blindly strikes back. She was determined to play, to enjoy life, to give back blow for blow, nor caring where she struck. She was going to press the juice from every grape. A thousand odd years gone, she would have led the cry in Rome—" Bread and the circus!" or “To the lions!*’ She would have disturbed Nero’s complacency. and he would have- played an obbligato Instead of a solo at the burning. And she was malice Incarnate. They came from all climes—her lov-

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER. IND.

ere— with roubles and lire and francs and shillings and dollars; and those who finally escaped her enchantment did so involuntarily, for lack of further funds. They called her villas Circe’s isles. She hated but two things in the world; the man she could have loved and the woman she could not surpass. Some one was at the speaking-tube. The singer crossed the room impatiently. “What is it?” she asked in French. . The voice below answered with a query in English. “Is this the Signorina Desimone?” ' “Yes. And now that my Identity is established, who are* you and what do you want at this time of night?” “I am Edward Courtlandt.” "Well, what is it you wish?” amiably. “You once did me an ill turn,” came up the tube. “I desire that you make some reparation?’ “Sainted Mother! But it has taken you a long time to find out that I have injured you,” she mocked. “Will \you give me her address, please? Your messenger gave me your address, inferring that you wished to see me.” "I?” There was no impeaching her astonishment.

“Yes, madame.” “My dear Mr. Courtlandt, you are the last man in all the wide world I wish to see. And I do not quite like the way you are making your request" *‘Do you not think, madame, that yoii owe me something?” “No. What I owe I pay. Think, Mr. Courtlandt; think well." “I do not understand,” impatieinly. "Ebbene, I owe you nothing. Once I heard you eay—T do not like to see you with the Calabrian; she is—well, you know.* I stood behind you at another time when you said that I was a fool.”

“Madame, I do not forget that, that is pure invention. You are mistaken.” "No. You were? lam no fpol.” A light laugh drifted down the tube. “Madame, I begin to see.” “Ah!" “You belleye what you wish to believe.” “I think not." “I never even noticed you," carelessly. “It is easy to forget,” cried the diva, furiously. “It is easy for you to forget, but not for me."

“Madame, I do not forget that you entered my room that night. . . ." “I shall give you her address,” interrupted the diva, hastily. The play had gone far enough, much as she would have liked to continue it This was going deeper than she cared to go. She gave the address and added; “Tonight she sings at the Austrian ambassador’s. I give you this information gladly because I know that It will be of no use to you." “Then I shall dispense with the formality of thanking you. I add that I wish you two-fold the misery you have carelessly and gratuitously cost me. Good night!” Click! went the little covering of the tube.

With the same inward bitterness that attends-the mental processes of a performing tiger on being eent back to its cage, Courtlandt returned to his taxicab. He wanted to roar and lash and devour something. Instead, he could only twist the ends of his mustache savagely. It did not seem possible that any woman could be so full of malice. He simply could not understand. It was essentially the Italian spirit; doubtless, till she heard his voice, she had forgotten all about the episode that had foundered his ship of happiness.

Her statement as to the primal cause was purely inventive. There was not a grain of truth in it. He could not possibly have been so rude. He had been too indifferent. Too indifferent! The repetition of the phrase made him sit straighter. Pshaw! It could not be that. He possessed a little vanity; if he had not, his history would not have been worth a scrawl. But he denied the possession vehemently, as men are wont to do.

Too indifferent! Was it possible that he had roused her enmity simply because he had made it evident that her charms did not interest him? Beyond lifting hia hat to her, perhaps exchanging a comment on the weather, his courtesies had not been extended. Courtlandt was peculiar in some respects. A woman attracted him, or she did not In the one ease he was affable, winning, pleasant, full of those agreeable little surprises that in turn attract a woman. In the other case, he passed on, for his Impressions were instant and did not require the usual skirmishing. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

Preaching That Uplifts.

The world seems a pretty bad place to most of us at times. There are so many things which take the heart out of our optimism, that seem to make it a meaningless hope rather than any solid reassurance. But the kind of preaching that comes from somebody who is better than we are, some life that lifts up the standard of human worth and reveals what it may be made to stand for—such preaching is likely to answer the cry within us for something that is true and genuine and dependable.—Haverhill Gazette.

Failure of Artificial Food.

That it is possible to live on artificial food, or at least on the concen trated extracts of certain staples, is a comqion belief, and it has even been predicted that some day our diet will consist of tabloid food. One might live for a short time in that unsociable way, but recent investigation of diseases like beri-beri, scurvy and pellagra, which are almost certainly caused by a deficiency in the diet, prove that such a life would be one of disease and could not last long.

Graceful and Durable Party Gown

IN SPITE of the changing styles there are gowns which are designed along lines that remain and are acceptable for several seasons. In designing a party gown it is a matter of good judgment to select conservative models in order that a dress which receives no hard service mky outlast a single season or.be easily remodeled. *fhls is more especially true , when high-priced fabrics are chosen. A very pretty gown, designed for a dinner dress or for parties, is shown in the picture, and has an advantage In that it is suitable to both youthful and older wearers. A glance at the model convinces one that it might have been worn at any season for several years without clashing with the prevailing fashions. The model pictured is a brilliant design made up of rose-colored satin in the skirt and underbodice and draped with silk mousseline in the same color.

Girdles That Are Popular Just Now

THE management of the waist line in the matter of belts and girdles, is left vesy much to the fancy of the individual this season. These range from narrow belts, of which there are few, to the widest of girdles, of which there are many. Of the latter the majority fasten at the back. But fastenings at the side or at the middle front are used wherever the effect is more desirable than a fastening at the back. As to the sash ends, some girdles are finished with one or two falling from a knot

The favorite adjustment of the wide girdle is in a position in which it extends from an inch or so above the normal waist line to six or eight inches below. It is adjusted rather loosely, or has that appearance, although the girdle is bone or fastened to a support to hold it in the proper place. It is closed with hooks and eyes. Some of the long sashes of very wide soft ribbon are wound about the figure and pinned into position' Three girdles are shown here which are typical of those fityored at present. in the Hist a wide taffeta ribbon

The skirt is slightly draped, its grace* ful folds hanging from the waist line with some fullness arranged in the seam at the center front. It Is full enough for dancing. There is a short underbodice of the satin with a rich design embroidered in self color with silk floss. The overdrapery of silk moussellhe could hard* ly be simpler. It is gathered into some fullness over the shoulder and top of the sleeves, which are cut in one. The mousseline is caught up in two places at the back and falls to a long point at the left side in front, where it is weighted with a fancy tassel In deep fose color. The sleeva amounts cfrily drapery at the top of the arm, supported by a short undersleeve of satin and finished with a medallion of embroidery. A girdle of wide moire silk matching the tassel In shade completes the gown.

of white with cross-bars of rose-col-ored satin and dresden roses woven in is designed for wear with white summer gowns. It is finished with a large flat bow and fastened at the back. The ends of this girdle are stayed with bones to which the hooks t and eyes are sewed. Tfie bow is adjusted near the top of the girdle and pinned loosely to the dress with the aim always in view of avoiding a stiff effect. ■ * The second girdle is in wide white taffeta ribbon with f a broad stripe of black satln jiear each edge. This is finished and fastened at tfiw ends with bones and hooks and eyes. The fastening is concealed under two short hanging loops of the ribbon. These black-and-white girdles of wide ribbon, or made of silk, are worn with allwhite gowns. The third belt is designed for wear with tailored dresses or skirts and blouses, and is made of white suede leather bound with black. It fastens with a buckle covered with leather and is finished with a single bias end.

JULIA BOTTOMLEY.

HAMMER TAPS

We all expect a ton of gratitude for an ounce of charity. The trouble with a good loser Is that he usually gives a continuous performance. The difference between opportunity and the rest of us Is that old op only knocks once. You never hear a married man goIng around bragging that he never made a mistake. Some men like to get out with a painted woman. But they’d hate to come home to one. Love Isn't what makes a man and woman live together for years and raise a family. It is common sensd. The reason a man has to be such a good listener after marriage is ©ecause he talked too much when he was courting. Anyway, if Eve hadn’t fallen for the apple, the snake would have handed her a mirror and obtained the same result. Two women can love one man and not spend anything. But when one man loves two women he usually goes broke. | After a man has been up against the gaff long enough he quits looking for boosts and spends more time dodging knocks. There ‘are not nearly as many athletes In this country as the union suit and clothing advertisements would lead you to imagine. Another good feature about a cornfedglr\is that she doesn't have to pull her hips back into shape after she has chased a street car. —Cincinnati Enquirer.

CYNICISMS

Lots of blue blood is impoverished. Life is a menu in which some people never get beyond the soup. The hand of fate demonstrates that fate seldom extends the glad hand. z Many a fellow is so small, as to be really only a bird’s-eye view of a man. The man who is his own worst enemy is always willing to forgive and forget. Some fellows could run through a fortune without even getting out of breath. A man never fully appreciates his club till he gets married and has a home of his own. A girl generally goes through a marriage ceremony as though she had been doing it all her life. Of course, marriages may be made th heaven, but if they are, the celestial powers must be mightly careless at times. If you.are going to leave any footprints in the sands of time, don’t let them show that you have been going backward. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the poet has some difficulty in making a living with his strong write arm.

CONDENSED FACTS

The United States supplied nearly 89 per cent of the copper imported by Germany last year. «■ Along the line of sectional furniture is a new sectional cabinet for drugs, designed for stores. A motor-driven reciprocating saw has been patented by a California invdntor for slicing meats evenly. New Zealand has established wireless stations at Auckland and Wellington with a radius of .800 miles. —a Corsets that can be loosened by moving a single lever on the steels have been Invented by a Paris woman.

SOME POSTSCRIPTS

An Illinois inventor's automobile jack is designed to distribute the strain evenly the entire length of an axle. The Panama canal lock 'gates are receiving a coating of. marine paint that will average one-sixteenth of an inch thick. A motordriven machine, operated by one man, has been Invented to harvest sugar cane and deliver it ready for the mill. A new solder for aluminum is made in the form of tubes which Contain a flux, which melts with the solder as a tube is heated, An English artist sketches submarine landscapes by descending with a diver's helmet and using waterproof paper and crayons. The bark of the Australian mangrove tree, of which there is a limitless supply, has been found valuable tor tanning leather.