Wanderings of French Ed

by J. Adelard René

"What? Do you mean to say that you believe that Nellie is not sincere?" asked Edward, turning pale.

"I do not say that; but, Edward, she may be misleading herself. She is impulsive by nature, and you came in her life at the proper moment to allow her erratic imagination to create a romance with you as the hero; but you know that there is something else in life besides romances and illusions."

"True," answered Edward; "but this illusion, if illusion it is, is worth the reality to me, and every hour that it will last is worth a year of the life I have lived heretofore."

When they retired later, Edward could not sleep. He was in that nervous state that increases the activity of the mind too much. As his excitement about Nellie began to subside, a faint picture of his first sweetheart came to his mind. First, it was only like a passing glimpse; but it persisted in coming back, and after a while Edward's mind was impressed with a vivid image of Marie Louise. Every detail was perfect. Her large blue eyes, so true and so innocent, were full of a reproachful expression which brought sorrow to his soul, and then the sad face would vanish and make place for Nellie's picture, whose large brown eyes never failed to set his brain on fire. His sleep was only a continuation of these emotions, and in the morning he was tired and nervous.

After breakfast the Russian went to Dr. McNaughton's office, to make final arrangements about his position, while Edward sat in their room, trying to fathom the mysteries of the future. Getting tired of this inactivity, and knowing not what to do until the afternoon, when he was to call on Nellie, he decided to take a stroll and see something of the great western metropolis, that immense agglomeration of all nationalities, where men of all colors can be seen, but where every one seems to be in a hurry. People in Chicago seem to be always on the run; they rush along, knocking each other, sometimes they get jammed, and then they swear, but push their way, and on again they rush. The millionaire and the gamin who blackens shoes rub elbows. The fakir who is always on the lookout for a victim, and stock brokers go through the crowd side by side; the African, the Chinese, the Jap—in fact, representatives of almost every nation under the sun are seen in the great flood of humanity.

Edward drifted aimlessly with the moving mass. No one paid the slightest attention to him, and he felt lost in that human sea. He was overcome by a sense of smallness which he had never felt before. The atmosphere was loaded with a dense fog, and his clothes were soon saturated with a moisture that made him feel heavy. Once he got caught in a jam, and when he succeeded in extricating himself, he was considerably bruised and scared, besides having lost his bearings: in fact, he had to ask a policeman to direct him which way to go to find his hotel, where, disgusted, he decided to go, feeling that he could never find any pleasure in living in Chicago.

Arriving at the hotel he was handed two notes. One, from his friend Ben, telling him that he was at work, and would not come to the hotel for lunch; the other was from Nellie, asking him to come and have lunch with her. This invitation was to him like a ray of sunshine through a clouded sky. He went to his room and carefully made his toilet, his linen being all soiled from his morning's excursion.

When he met Nellie at her home she was radiant and made him feel at once that he was most welcome. The minute he looked into her eyes he felt the same charm overcome his whole system, and all at once life again was nothing but happiness.

She spoke of the play and asked him if he had enjoyed the French song, "Rendez-moi ma patrie," and Edward told her that never in his life had he enjoyed anything so much. Their lunch was a dainty one, served by a colored maid, and after drinking a small glass of fine wine, Edward felt the most happy sensations tingling through his whole nervous system. All the poetry of which his nature was capable came to the surface, and he was surprised himself at the way he could speak to Nellie. He spoke of his dreams when he left home, and she told him that she would help him to realize them, and he believed every word she said. The whole afternoon was spent in the most delightful tête-à-tête, and when darkness came, Edward was surprised that it was so late. Upon leaving her it was agreed that on the morrow they were to take up the question of his future life in Chicago.

After holding her hand in a caressing way, he bade her good-by, and the next instant he knew that the charm had left him. He was seized with a chill, caused by the Michigan Lake breeze, and the delightful intoxication of a moment ago gave way to the feeling of morose unhappiness. He felt a great shame come over his soul when he remembered that he had sworn to Nellie that never in his life had he loved any one but her; again Marie Louise's image came to him, and he walked to his hotel, carrying a great load of unhappiness and misery. At the hotel Benjamin was waiting for him, waiting with a satisfied smile upon his face, the very picture of contentment.