The Argosy — page 84: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Madame de Siael. a1 feeling which was to slip away out of Louise Necker’s heart and life As she grew from girl to woman, and fresh and closer ties formed themselves around her, it was to tinge in a certain way her whole story, and we still find notes of it in “Corinne,” where Oswald laménts his father’s loss. One of the ways in which Louise showed, in her childhood, her devoted love for her father was, to say the least, a very extraordinary and characteristic one for a girl of her age. ‘This little incident took place when she was about ten, and as it calls up before us an amusing picture out of the panorama of her varied life, we will pause to gaze for a moment at it. There are brilliant lights this evening, and the ring of many voices in the salon. Madame Necker is giving a party. The house of the Neckers is famous throughout all Paris for the number of men of wit and intellect whom it often gathers beneath its roof in its frequent reunions. To-night, to judge by the flash of bright intelligence in every face, by the sparkles of airy fun which fly from lip to lip, by the deep, thoughtful earnestness in the eyes of some of the guests, who, a little apart from the gayer throng, are speaking of high, grave themes in knots of two or three together, there must be more men of mark than usual here. By-and-by there is a slight stir at the door of the room, many eyes are turned towards it with a kindly ght in them, many a playful word is on each lip, and all this greets a small, daintily-dressed figure which comes dancing up the salon. The gentlemen try to make her stop to exchange a few saucy words with them, the ladies stretch out their arms to draw her on to their laps; but to-night, very contrary to her usual custom, the young lady heeds none of their blandishments ; there is a set, intent look on her face, and she is evidently pre-occu- pied, and completely filled with some strong, ruling idea. Her mother tries to get her to take her usual seat on a stool at her feet, but quickly seeing that the little maiden is in no flexible mood, desists, not wishing for a scene before company. On goes the girl through rows of gleaming silks and waving fans, through long lines of powdered gentlemen; until she reaches a corner, where her father sits engaged in absorbing talk with a short, dark man, who speaks French with a strong, rather harsh, foreign accent, and whose face is all ablaze with keen, intellectual fire; yet, though that face is so clever, we do not exactly like it, and we feel we could never love it. There is something uncomfortable in the steel-like glitter of the eyes, and the sarcastic smile which flickers round the mouth ; somehow it makes us think of a fine polished Toledo blade. Genial-looking Monsieur Necker, however, seems to take great pleasure in this gentleman’s society, and the pair appear to understand each other. When little Louise draws near, the two men cease their serious talk, the guest begins a merry, fantastic tale for her edification, her father calis her with many a loving, playful wile to his side, but the COMIC OOO SS (C(O)