THE GAY BARTENDER

ninety one

harshly.He even forgave me for being a girl and not the heir he so ardently desired.

I suspect you are a feminist,Miss-Amelia? Then you will be indignant,but not surprised, to know that although i am the only child of my grandfather's eldest son, I cannot inherit his title or estates. There are few exceptions to the rule that only male descendants may inherit. When my fa. ther died prematurely, the next male heir was my cousin, Lucas Hayes.

Poor Lucas! I have not seen a great deal of him, but I always liked him, and I cannot help but pity him because Grandfather was so cruelly unfair to him. Of course Grand-father would never admit to prejudice. He claims to dislike Lucas because of his extravagance and wild habits. But I feel sure such tales are only rumors.Grandfather really hates my unfortunate cousin for the sin of being his father's son. You see, his mother, Grandfather's eldest daughter, ran away with-with an Italian gentleman....(Excuse my emotion, Amelia,you will understand its cause presently. There; I am better now.)

My grandfather is British to the core. He despises all for-eigners, but especially those of Latin descent. He considers them sly,slippery-oh,I cannot repeat all the terrible things he says! When my aunt eloped with the Conte d'Imbroglio d'Annunciata, Grandfather disowned her and struck her name from the family Bible. Even when she lay dying he sent no word of comfort or forgiveness. He said the Conte was no nobleman, but a fraud and a'fortune hunter. I am sure that is untrue.The Conte had very little money,to be sure,but that does not mean his title was not genuine. How-ever,Lucas,on reaching maturity,felt it wise to change his name,since his true one maddened Grandfather.He calls himself Lucas Elliot Hayes now,and he has abandoned his Italian title.

For a time it seemed that Lucas had succeeded in winning Grandfather by hisassiduous attentions.T even wondered whether Grandfather was considering a marriage betweenus. It would have been a happy solution in a sense,for,the estate and title being entailed,Lucas would eventually in-herit them. But without my grandfather's private fortune, which was his to dispose of, the carldom would be a burden rather than a privilege; and Grandfather made no secret of his intention of leaving that money to me.

Yet if there was such a scheme, it came to nothing. Hear-ing of some new misbehavior, Grandfather flew into a rage and sent Lucas away. I am ashamed to admit I was relieved. Fond as I was of Lucas, I did not love him; and being a foolish, sentimental girl, I fancied love must precede mar-riage. I sce you frown, Amelia, to hear me use such terms of myself. They are too mild, as you will soon learn.

For love came, as I thought; and it proved my utter undo-ing.

While Lucas was with us I had become interested in drawing. Lucas said I had considerable natural skill, and before he left he taught me what he knew. Afterward,I was desirous of continuing, só Grandfather, who indulged me more than I deserved, advertised for a drawing master.Thus Alberto came into my life.

I cannot speak of him calmly. The handsome features and

shining dark hair, which seemed to me angelic, now take on

a diabolical aspect. His soft voice, with its tender broken

accents-for he spoke Englishrather badly-come back to

me, in retrospect, as the sly whispers of a fiend.He-

he....Let me be short and succinct. He seduced me, in

short,and persuaded me into an elopement. At his instiga-

tion I fled my home; I abandoned the old man who had

loved and sheltered me; I flung away every consideration of

religion, moral training, and natural affection. I cannot

speak of Alberto without loathing; but, believe me, dear

Amelia, when I say that I blame myself even more. How

true are the old sayings, that evil brings its own punishment!

I deserve my wretched fate; I brought it on myself, and I

cannot blame those who would shun me. .

Forgive me. I will not give way again.

The end of the story is soon told. I had taken with me the few jewels,suitable for a young girl,which Grandfather gencrosity had bestowed upon me. The money procure from the sale of these jewels did not last long as we madh our way across Europe toward Rome.Alberto insisted tha we live in a style that was worthy of me. The lodgings we took in Rome were not worthy of me,but by then my money had run out. When I asked Alberto what we were to do,he was evasive.He was also evasive about marriage. As a goo Catholic he could not entertain the idea of a civil ceremony But I was not a Catholic....Oh,his excuses were feeble, see that now, but I was so naïve....

The blow finally came a week ago. Alberto had been in-creasingly elusive; he was out a good part of the day, and when he returned he would be intoxicated and sullen.I awoke one morning, in the shabby, freezing attic room to which our poverty had reduced us, to find myself alone. He had had the courtesy to leave me a gown and cloak and a pair of shoes. Every other object I possessed had gone with him,from my ivory brushes to my hair ornaments. He had also left a note.

The sight of this ill-spelled, badly written document was the final blow; its crudities stung me even more than the message it contained, though this was blunt enough. Alberto had selected me as his prey because I was a wealthy heiress. He had expected that my grandfather would react to our elopement by cutting me out of his will; and through com-munication with the British authorities in Rome he had learned that this had in fact happened. He had believed, however,that with time the old man,as he disrespectfully called him,would relent.His most recent visit to the consul -whom he had always refused to let me visit-had de stroyed this hope. My poor grandfather had suffered a mast violent stroke,as a result of my cruel abandonment. He had retained his senses only long enough to make a new will, cutting me off with a shilling,and had then falen into a coma that was expected to end in death.Finding his expectations.