HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Signal, 1898-3-18, Page 2Tei BEST e when lf►ghteenelle Brands+ • tsaa land. Asa t. think Nat s. head
ATCHMAKEfW s..°..d h.r sithtsentk birthday. wtl go tka railway, cotton. take
• It Is tree. that at the epoch of M Male- • ticket, and jump lute • trail, tet bo
stet, senior's, ads, the 'shipper it Aurslie's side that very. even
s
had written to hfriend Bsa
Jaaduro. Whet • temptetloa 1 But. then ; would
explaining his altered position. end It be proper tor..seat himself in this
suggesting that it would perbapq only unexpected t* Loo I Would not stook
be right to modify the old engagement. • ootuse •is looked upon as evincing
But M. Bleeduresu nobly replied by e wast of tuts and confidence on his
return of pert f In business, exactitude does anti
"Whet is duo is done. My daughter ooneist in being ready • fortnight
wlfl have a dowry of fifteen hundred beforehand. but lu keeping one's sa-
th.,ttsand frame. 1 don't oars a fig for gegements ea the appointed day. H•,
mosey. Even if your son shouldn't thought of all this. and ■uoceeded by
have • sou. remember that toy word a great effort to otubing his lmpetl-
will always bold good." enc. and deciding to wait. But then.
On bis father's death. Heston bad
virtually ratified the .ryagemeat He
corresponded frequently wtth M. Diane
dureau• and twice • year—os New,
Year's eve and the day preceding the
feast of Et. Aurelia--be Invariably des-
Patoned a case Lull of presents to his
intended and her family. To bis mind
it was altogether • question of cone-
m.rclnl integrity ; his father had ratohing manhood, he had always r.-
giveatibis word and it' meet not be trained from journeying to the great
broken. It is true that he knew notb- sty. What be dreaded was dimm-
ing of Mademoiselle Blaedwreee. ex- chentment ea his return After all
tooting that her Cbristitn name was mootbm' lo ing about the Boulevard
Aurelio. that she was tall and dark. des Italiana, fie+► would he ever have
and bad been brought up at that re- reconoiled himself to the Fosses de
nown.1 educational establishment for 1'Intendauce at Bordeaux f Hie birth -
young ladies, the Convent of the Sac -'i place would have seemed small sad
red Heart, In the Faubourg St Ger- bumble. and constant thoughts of down after all! She—Yes. Father
main. Perhaps he considered this Paris would have embittered his said he would if I didn't, and Ire'r so
Met circumstance as • shffieient guar- rarser ; end besides, preferred
Mon- l terribly literal you know.
alga, I t•igne's example, b• preferred fading
i..
kasw' was that the marriage would an the lenient*" dreamed of the premia
CHAPTER I.
&ow twenty years ago Hector Male -
stria was the " lion" of Bordeaux so-
ciety. He was goo:l looking and a
trifle roacettel ; be had sufficient mon-
ey to satisfy its tastes. and • good tail-
or into the bargain ; and he was not
yet thirty years of age. The " gilded
youth" of the Guienne capital, admir-
ed ha house, his horses. and bis car-
riages. His seresats' liveries were ea-
viouely copied. and his chalet at Arca-
chon had almost driven an eccentric
Englishman mai with jealousy. In one
word. fortune had emptied bet, strong
ioz and presented him with the con-
ed bins at baccarat, opined. moreover.
that he was • terrible gambler. Those
whom he was In the h•Mt of inviting
to supper' underrated his cellar and
slandered his cook. And oertain fair
daughters of Eve, vi -ho bad failed to
him. tore bin reputation to plo
wes
ith all the strength of their false
teeth. But then. on the other hand,
be had in his favor the charming a sq sa-
dron of marriageahle young
for was be not said to be so dangerous
—and the estimable battalion of maul -
MIA with grown up daughters—for it
was reported lie didn't took for • dow-
ry. And in addition he could count
on those who were in the habit of bor-
rowing money from him—altogether
nary respectable !erre.. Liberally wi-
dowed with friends and enemies, flat-
terers and slanderers, he could thus
tents. Herter wan the only son of an toast of all the advantages and draw -
opulent shipowner whose honesty was hacks w -hick invariably attend admitted
w exceptional that his name had be- superiority.
of coo
Aan
, ome se it were. the synonym Litend myetany thofis hishappy teilnwsmhe was bored. was worth
tnerri&1 integrity.••feeard the close of more than his reputation. He bad done
M. ]takatreit. senior's career, and just • great many foolish things, Vint he
as hg..wes thinking of retiring from bad lever thrown his heart into these
exploits. $e baa originally beennat-
t,usisis *enjoy the fruits of his lab- teres mid amused. with the idea of be -
•r. hs_- •mistaken US unforeseen coming a man of feahion ; and when
taleforturse. IIsveral English and he had attained this position. be fane-
with which he was core- tad that honor required he should
Dutch tiers, maintain it. He would have liked to
bested. nnespe<t*d17 failed; three of baro had an object in life, but Dow
• and.
SM. taw ships were lost •t sea.
there wee en astonishing full ID the
i tf to&rhet value of claret. Another man
-.vow* have blown hie brains out. but
�i. Yshstrst faced tbe storm, and
thee& le ----Itis personal resources and
sir immense credit, succeeded in coping
lfat all emergencies. Nevertheless. bib
magas were greatly diminished. and
there remained to him barely one hun-
dred thousand -franca • year. in lieu
of four times that sum as formerly.
hr fali bitterly afflicted him. the
more so as he bad hitherto only known
surmise, and. in addition, the death, of
kin wife. who bad been his partner and
.tier lia.+*d feared Seers,
r reared him u iepeek•ble sorrow. He
1 owed his heed under this last blow, lin-
g ered for a year. and then died, regret-
' t:f1t that be bed not been able to re-
rme-wbet -sailed iia di*Yet*t and
iv ing•ii5. sea's.
imprudently reduced him to "compar
ative poverty."
Thus at twenty-three years of age
Hector found himself an orphan. with
anfor
is provincial beau r His fatertmagnitude
a
asked bins to tarry on the firm. but
after a little reflection he decided
do as his
bs was rich enough, e
tastes were, after all, not of an inor-
dinately expensive character. So be li-
quidated the business. sold the "clip-
pers" Mint up the office, and express-
ed hie intention of amusing himself.
It must be admitted that be amused
.tiiroselt methodically. He allowed him-
aelf dirty thousand francs a year for
his pleasure, and never .Since expended
o n additional -ten napoleons. At Bor-
deaux such a sum was ample to ensure
him a prominent position. and indeed
he was skilful enough to win first hon-
e». A daring love adventure in the
highest .ping stoneof .and city
his beginniserved as ng
first stepping-stone.
as followed by many other ex1Ilblts in
w•birh he firmly established his claim
r.--- — M L.-ooasd.red Luaaistihle amoug.the
fair ser. At the Grand Theatre he vir-
tually laid down the law. He gave his
opinion on each successive prima donna
or premiere danseuse. and this opin-
on became that of the entire audi-
nee. Woe to the actress eh i resist -
,•:1 his advances! She wan hissed and
fertttecnted matt she surrendered or
took herself oft; while such as proved
less rebellious were rewarded with re-
peated calls before the curtain, with
plaudits. and crowns and bouquets be-
yond number. To complete Hector's
reputation. be fought two or tbree
duels which resulted happily for him-
self. and not too much to the detriment
of bio adversaries. His b y became
notorious, and thus be found himself
in some measure shielded against the
ordinary slanders and backbiting of
provincial life. Besides. folkn feared his
somewhat brutal wit. for, like all men
of bis character, be not merely did ev-
erything be chose, but said whatever he
thought into the bargain. Te vary the
occupations, saw have mentioned. he el -
so turned his attention to sport. He
was • crack shot in the cover, and he
bad a great partiality for yachting. in
• yacht of his own. Moreover. he was
a good horseman. and had elan broken
hiss own robe to harness. When he pass-
ed along one of the streets. fol kg would
torn and look after him; and the lit-
tle grisettee. so enticing in their co-
quettish cape, adorned with ruches of
ribbons. almost damaged their eyes in
straining them to contemplate this
i9nrdeau: Don Juan. A murmur of ad-
miration deemed to follow him. " There
goes our M. DTaleatrat," the gossips
world say, with am air of self-dx,ngret-
ulwt;cm; and provincial life, be it not-
ed. coo give no greeter satkdactioo to
pstsos•1 vanity. The most eminent
Wise in France page unnoticed among
lbw ereerd ma the Parse boulevards.
Those who even know the Baron d.
Rothschild by sight are few and for be -
.wren.
lieetor would no doubt. have started
s raring slahle. if he had not been
warned by the eaam4de of a friend of
bid who spent a miliinn in trying to
win a "plate" worth Iewe than a thou-
sand francs. Thin circumetanee virtu-
ally saved him As it was, gambling
renowned a very large portion of the
messy be devoted to " pleasure."
Gambling. indeed. enjoys high favor at
Osrtde•ux, aid after midnight all the
to the neighborhood of the Grand
l'beetre are full of gamesters. The
light glitters. through the creeks of
the shutters. cloned by order of the po-
llee, and ig tee M Ade of the night.
U. passer -fry ran .lir ITiot jingle of
gold. penman from h,1id to hand Of
1Ui4 Op to the tapas vert. It 'seals
if
...VIII
were lotions to tempt the
belated wayfarer. e.nd had inmeribid
above the portals of the bnu*e "Comm
let and wit." P"tthen it is quite so
11,4* to ides. glower, to r.tran to
Greet se was bra supremacy in
fel*** world. it meat sot he
tart it was altogether es -
4/11 sryy, l sea ware said that M was
H- falser. saw �fiamtw P*esotttwlt Min
* be a .r.0111114 Rheas who had pluck -
'r
was be to find one f Habit, which is *so-
ond nature. tales ahem*, and a want
of self-reliance deterred him from even
venturing on such • search. What
•wu]d be do at his age—return to busi-
ieas f But then he must absorb him-
self in money -making, and be consid-
ered hirmaelt rich enough already. No
doubt he ought to have resolutely set
to work—het on what! And besides,
what would Bordeaux have said. Brave
enough when be grasped • sword, he
Positively felt a coward in face of pub-
lic opinion, to which he eves personally
so much indebted. Hie irresolution un-
doubtedly made him blush but be was
powerless to eoaquer it; for although
be had come little contempt for his
boon companion., be was terrified by
the idea of their twitting bio. This was
not surprising for in lien of living
for hi.na41, he'iNoB' bitlMtflkr`ifaet3"fdf
others as be very well realized to bis
own exasperation. Taking the past as
the criterion of the future. he felt
quite sick at heart and yet he came
to no decision. The truth is he was
Brei-./ thio-mereesaless lita..as unix
FLAMM OP IOC
)I4UIITSTO BB 1IPLOIBD
Young Pbysielan (excitedly) — How
did you Isere about tet Mee/wager — TO RAISE A SUNKEN BATTLE SHIP
Rang all the bells till 1 found one at TO MR SURFACE.
hams.
TIb*s--Jltnpaon Nye it was a° cold Tim nrlltsa ereKtad Ttseete to be twee
whoa he was out sleighing the other teeteteted - nae Ne. as 1N talons or
day that the reins frosa stiff. Tubbs— tao modI$rrresose see. Mvteg sew
Herd lines. mina rims Several Team Age Ie a
Pay, what le menet by 'taking time system...
by the forelock 1' lea most rases, mhlab ss
y A feat wwill auredly be use of
son, It is worrying about things that the moat wonderful edemahas yet at -
never happen.
♦ tempted has been proy.sed to the Hrl-
a soon as a girl thinks she owns • titdi Government.It ie to raise the great battle ship
Victoria. wench at present Iles at the
bottom of the Mediterranean ilea. by
means of monster magnets.
Tuve suggested experlmeet .o the
part of the British Government 1s of
special Interest at the present time.
in view of the sinking of the Americas
battle snip Maim In Havanaa Har-
bor.
Before tieing Into the details of tis
British Go.►ernment's plea it is necew
Lary to say something about the sunk-
en battle chip. In the minds of most
people the Incident of its loss is still
tresis The British fleet was steam -
tag 1a doable column rep the Mediter-
ranean. The sea was as calm as a mill
poet and the thought of • ship going
to the bottom was fnrtbst of all things
Iran the minds of time is the fleet.
Tits order Deme from Admiral Tryon.
lie offioer ia command of the skip, for
the execution of a maneuver that had
always bees • favorite one with him
whoa the vessels were practicing dif-
ficult .volutions.
It was simply • turning right about
face of the entire fleet. by the simple
',Town of tie lending ships swinging
ted somewhere on the I ani of the agent. I guess sot,' replied the real bow in toward each other and continu-
Loire. between Tours and Blots. This estate dealer. Yuu mit Hebblyd ling to turn until aids by side again
friend bad often come to see him at aide is tete next officegh. Htrye lute •sort with the proves pointed In an exactly
Bourdsaux. sad bad rel.e,tedly begged of mania fur rare hooka
him to return his visite which Hector She—Wit:its is so witty. H.—Ob, you op�ite direction to that in which
bad always promdeed to do; but un- women think nay idiot who can get at they had before been steaming. it was
fortubste�y something or otbsr lad • lot of Matt he bas read in tis -ppaar�er the sunset ,,w/evei ag iawerdlr of two
invariably occurred to prevent bin er.—. But 1 know he ie witty. Eras p.rallet abipa, turning as on •pivot
from keeping bis word. Now, hoe.ver, his own hinter laughs at hu funny ss7 until they lad turned to be w be re they
be joyfully remembered his friend. end Ings.
• -' Iced been when beginning tbe ere the -
wee delighted with the idea -DI Witness, said ter-etlosses.tn4sing er, blit with-Ilis difiotio. reversed -
what wee he to do alone at Tbuire mss she begins to act boat and die-
durisg . four long weeks/ He bad to pleased when be doesn't put eau en ov-
climes .ether Y al'eraatltres,, or erooat when he goes out into the cold.
might either r 're'frace hi>y"'stepp or Those loving Girls—Helen—Don't yon
profit of W remaining days of liberty N
to study Parisian life. incognito. think my new bonnet is • perfect
Strange as it may seem. Hector was dreamt Mattie --it's more (ban •
acquainted with Paris. He had only' dream dear; it's a genuine nightmare•
b..�there ones as a child. and shoe Wallace --How would you like to join
one of these 'Don't Worry elate?' Ferry
—I'd join in a minute, liut my wife
would take it as an. insult.
Modus Operandi—I met your friend
typringely this morning. How did he
strike prat Said be had left bis change
at home in his other trousers.
He --So you're going to throw ma
the first In bis own city, to being t
. - . '--'""- second in the metropolis. Now. on
CHAPTER II. the •ve of his marriage. he instinct.
Hector. haven derided to tttset4and Leidy dreaded Paris. Hes conversion to
Mete' serious life was so recent. and be knew
honor the verbal,draft. which bis (ath- that all the temptation of St. Anthony
es had drawn in his mane on the tut- would at once assail bio. if he as much
urs. next determined to prevent all as ventured to set his foot on the
possible retreat by following the tire- boulevards. Still, on the other band.
ciao example; he literally burnt hie he .carcely eared for the part of •
ships. He wrote to his future fatter- peripatetic lover ; he had wandered
in-law to inform him "teat at the end through Switzerland enough already.
of next September he would call upon Aller .p.od{mg •long time in deliber-
ation. Dim to remind him of an engagement ion. be was quite at a loss what to
deer to both of item;" and scarcely had du with himself, when appropriately
be posted this letter than be bad at .sough be remembered that one of the
Dore began his preparations for leaving friends of Die youthful days now nisi -
Bordeaux. As he intended to return to
the city in hie wife's eoml•any. he now
put a stop te all epbemersl connect-
ions. and carefully burnt everything
tbat would have reminded him of hes
past life Faded ribbons and „itbe-ed
Aow-sas - atceosoepigN,- rnantairse -cad
dainty rings. silky earls of hair of
every shade effusive letters. impreg-
nated with the scent of violets or
verbena—one and all were ruthlessly
consigned to the (lames When nought ing time in his society. tic as t10nm
remained but a pile of ashes he heaved a-ha_was be jysteaedlown lawyer, are you willing to swear that
Men sats -is, I •m ties now. Y as stairs to ask bis landlord if be were the tTrttome7 was atsokltet wyiPs at the
•anther men." On the sorrow be ..at acgtalnted with his friend's address time! No, sir, replied the witness; 1
It so happens that one at Tours never swear. But I am willing to bet
Ms heard of M. Ferdinand Aubanel. you $10 to 85 that be was.
who livaa om a pretty estate called is Perry Patettic-1 wonder bow w�q
$rennase, at • distance oil five abort
,them fellers that bee a steady job sad
leagues boat Um ,sty. TI Freanele works wary day feels? Waywora
was indeed described .to Hector in
more monotonous th,e ;the *vole sons
of a pendulum.
" Always the same thing. always the
sense thing." be would mutter night
after night 'on returning home,,with
dreary eyes and yawning mouth. Ab e
if his friends had only seen him I But
be carefully concealed this crushing
spleen. wbieh no one as much as sus-
pected, not even his own valet de
chambre.
At last one morning an inspiration
came 10 him and be truly believed that
it bad reached him from on high.
"Suppose I pot an end to all this."
be murmured ; " why not think of
marrying t" He adopted that inspira-
tion on the spot. and decided. there and
then, that be would get married with-
in the neat three menthe. He did not
pause to reflect over the exigencies and
worries of matrimonial life. He did not
even ask himself. " Shall i he happy or
unhappy f" No. be .imply mid: i've had
quite enough of • bachelor's life. Mat-
rimony will he • change." And build-
ing his castle in the air, he added: "My
wife will he pretty, witty and we•ltby.
We steals have the ferret eetwbtishment'
in Bordeaux. She will do the hdnors
of her drawing -room to perfection ; we
shall receive a great many guests and
i shall be the most envied and conse-
quently the happiest of men."
In short. after liming for the world.
be was going to marry for the world.
Always the same folly.
When he acquainted his friend* at
the duh with his new -torn determin-
ation they lonked at him in amazement.
What an idea! to think of Maleetrat
putting the rope &round his neck be-
fore he was thirty years of age. Some
of his more intimate companions com-
plained to each other of bis reticence
in not consulting them. Others ware
seriously affected by the news. right-
ly opining that his purse strings loose
enough now that be was a bachelor,
would speedily tighten *len he became
• married man. After all, the great
question was, who did be mean to mar-
ry f All the widows and spinsters of
the town were passed in review. and
curiosity reached its height, the more
so an no one could even guess who tbe
future Madame Ma]estrat might be.
At last it was decided that he must
he carrying on scene mysterious love
intrigue which no rend knew anything
about. 1a point of fact, however,
there was no love ►b all in the matter.
Hector hal simply been deeignat.ed.
some severteen years previously. as the
future husband of Mademoiselle Aure-
tie Blandureau. a young lady who liv-
ed with her parents in the vicinity of
Parsee, lied -whose existenee even was
unknown to his friends.
Many years previously. when Mr.
Malestrat. senior. bad begun business
in a small way. he haat had • partner;
Y. B]andnrean, who, however, soon
grew tired of the crmnection. He did
not understand much about shipping,
and he found that vveelth could not
be rapidly acquired at Bordeaux. Se
one dee he bid his partner good -by. and
went to Paris, where het started acom-
mimicn business—and procured himself
a wife. He was successful both is t rade
and matrimony. And had already amas-
sed more than half a million France,
when his wife presented him with
little girl. M. Malestrat, with whom
M. Bl•ndureau still kept on friendly
terms. was asked to stand as godfath-
er to the child. and be aoeordilgly
started for Paris. with his ono.
HHssee.-
tor, wire wee then arms ten years .W.
Oen the evening of the christening. af-
ter a copious repast, Biandureau and
Maleetrst swore senses the walnuts
send the wine that their rbildr n abould
marry each other whenb.y wars
" grown up." There w$* no ormal en-
gagernent in writing, but each bad such
{fig Ol"nin' d( lis (fiend's word
that 1 . matter wee looked tapas as
quite as irreveeeldy eett.led. as If the
two youngsste» bad already plighted
tyheir troth before the sitar. vt ver
M. Rlandureau wrote to Bordeasz, he
invariably asked after him daagbtsr'e
husband, and M. M•leetrat, t• rept)
always Inquired after his sse'a wife.
Evictor, lm his side, bad •)ways heard of
'< as a ,dlHidad
ka
hes never MO leakedfor; a ke
Now, Bennie. bere's the medicine, and
here's the dime pep• left to pay you
for taking it. All right, mamma. It
you take it sad don't tell, 111 give you
half.
Proprietor—No, 1 can't give yon a
job. I find it hard work to hop what
clerks I've got busy. Boy—I wat►'t
er you that way; 1 can Meg Way •
long time doing very little.
Wbee'st a roan attempts to drown
His troubles, then I nota
He always seems to think they are
Located in his throat.
Could I sell you & Bible, asked the
.cop i•. A delicate **What dial o•
the too& will record the depth to
wktoh the magnet leas seek, and tete
'power wills Which fit loos attached it*
.elf 5. the battle ship wt$ tee moon
te tbs same way.
11 It is shown that tis force of the
magnetic !pldoenoe is out sutfietleutly
gnat to stand the strain that will bit
put upon it when the work of raising
the ship begins then the magnet will
be broken away from the iwauffte1eat
embrace and a new spot ore the shlp'•
aide. played for until a firm hold is
obtained.
Weems all ibd' i•Agsota have Mee
thus fixed the work of reelag the
wreck will be begun. On the maltose
aro to be powerful hydraulic rama and
dynamo machine.. and those wIU get
to work °a the Lifting.prasent. Back
Uftiog cable will be anodised to this
Lifting pontoon bys of a sheave
• Om m bead of a means
lifting rant
having a stroke of 11 feet. which would
give as 'Motive lift el Al that. Haab
bydraalla cylinder our the pesteon
would be connected with all the others
and a balancing aocuolator would
prevent any rope getting more than
e normal strein of 100 tons.
When the rams have all made their
cull stroke the lifting cables will be
almtijtaneously bold In persltloa by
moue of bydrsnlio llftl blocks.
Tar ram. will then be lowsre tied sm-
other Lit of 24 feet given to W wreck.
sad thin operation will be repeated up
111 by patient wort the grist battle
snip is reined so Mar the gurface as
to allow of bar Ming towed to .bel -
lower water and than fid.
All Ilia will be the ems* of a great
deal of time. Mit lissomness of ace a -
title opinion la that it can bs perform-
ed. When it is suariulored thet tis
'Victoria coot to build se IoM • sues
then $8,000.000. It to worth the attempt
at
AIi.lIBM11N811 cart
•.'ew.'• ...... -.: