Storyteller.

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 13, 24 June 1893, Page 13

Storyteller.

■ PAULETTE : A STORY OF A STAGE TRAGEDY. The whole of fashionable Pax-is gathered each evening in the Jardin d’Bte to admire, in the height of his glory, the illustrious Italian marksman Salvatori ; and in truth he fully justified, by his surprising skill, the prepossession with which he inspired the Parisians. • . Only to see him —tall, well built, marvellously handsome in his closefitting costume-cast into the air balls of o-lass or porcelain and shatter them with a bullet from his rifle, and never making a false movement, never an ungraceful gesture. Apparently without troubling himself to take aim, as if by chance he pressed the trigger, and the balls, fired high or low, to the right, to the left, before, behind, never failed to hit their mark He pierced the foot of a bottle, making the ball pass out at its neck, or pierced a card at a marked spot, or cut.a rose from its stem. In the course of his many tours throughout the world, Salvatori took with him a youth named Peppo. This youth picked up the fragments of the broken balls, placed the objects on the required spots, and, in the sight of the public, held the bottles and cards for Salvatori to pierce a function which, at the least false movement on the paid of his master, might have cost him his life. Many times the people of the theatre, with whom he had chatted between the acts, had expressed astonishment on this subject. “ Either he pays you a big salary or you have unbounded confidence in him,” someone remarked. “Bah!” he replied. “The bullet is not cast that is to kill me ; and the master never takes a false aim.” Nevertheless some shook their heads in sign of doubt, and the dansenses.in the ballet of “ The Prawns, which concluded the performances, were equally unconvinced. Little Paulette —engaged at three francs a night to march in the processions—alone seemed to share in Peppo’s confidence. \With Monsieur Salvatori,” she said, “ I should nevei‘ be afraid.” “ Oho ! That means that you are in love with handsome Monsieur Salvatori ! ” replied half-a-dozen of her companions. On one particular night the house was full to its utmost holding- capacity. The manager paced the stage in a state of pleasant excitement. “ A first rate night,” he said to the danseuses he met on the way. “ We will try and let the public see what dancing is, eh F They have come to see Salvatori, no doubt, but I don’t want it to be said that, besides him. besides him I’ve nothing but a set of —hem ! —Ring up ! ” The curtain rose, and during the first part of the programme the manager remained in his room. He had been there about twenty minutes when his door was thrown open violently, and Salvatori entered. “ We are lost,” he cried. “ Eh ? —lost ? —what’s the matter F ” “ I’ve just found Peppo dead drunk ! ” ,“ What is to be done P ” ' “Nobody will replace him— ” “ Stay a bit—let’s see.” And the manager rushed out out of the room with Salvatori at his heels. “ Assemble all the company in the green room,” he cried to tlie prompter. Five minutes afterwards singers of both sexes, gymnasts, jugglers, dancers, male and female, were gathered in a big room off the stage.', Tim manager entered with Salvatori. He took a blue paper from his pocket and waved it in the ail-. ..“.Peppo, who ordinarily assists Monsieur Salvatori in his exhibitions, cannot come to the theatre this evening,’’ he said; “this five-hundred-fran • note is for whoever will take his v.” v. ■_ T ,;:ero was an excited movement in

the motley crowd. Some -handswere stretched forth as if involuntary drawn by the temptation of money, but they were as quickly withdrawn. The manager px-oduced anothex- note. “ A thousand fi-ancs.” Complete silence. The manager saw that it would be useless to incx-ease his offer; the amount he promised would have no effect: all were afraid. He put back his notes and was tux-ning away, when a little danseuse put aside hex- comrades, behind whom she had hidden, and came forward timidly. “If you please, monsieur,” she said, I will help Monsieur Salva-tox-i.” “ You—Paulette ?” “ Yes. monsieur.” Evex-ybody pressed fox-ward to look at the child—-for she was only a child, bax-ely seventeexx, but exceedingly px-etty, with hex* wavy blonde hair, in hex- x-oae-coloxxred costxxme as a prawn —resembling one of those tiny figux-es in ware ■which one sees on the shelves of the to}*-seller. “ Hex-e, my dear —hex-e ax-e the thousand francs.” “ Thanks, monsieur. It will anxxxse me to help Monsieur Salvatori.” “ Oh ! if it will amuse you, that’s a different affaix-,” said the manager, delighted at getting out of his difficulty without having to loosen his purse-strings. And he took himself off, while Salvatori, behind one of the wings, gave Paulette some indispensable instx-uctions. When these wex-e given, he said: “ You undex-stand, then ? Yow throw into the aix* the glass balls I am to fire at; you hold between your thumb and forefinger —very lightly — closing your other fingers, you extend your arm and I fix*e. You next take a x-ose and hold it by the stem between your teeth turn your side face towards me —motionless —and wait : I fire —and the rose falls. Thex-e is no danger —I’m pex-fectly sux-e of myself. That’s all: now you knowas mxxch as Peppo —all that you need is courage. Yoxx don’t tremble in the least ?” “ Oh, no !—bub— —” “ But what ?” Paulette cast dowxx her eyes, and blushingly, x-eplied : “At the last moment—please do not look me in the •” ! Salvatori sxxxiled; he began to divine I the truth. I “ Why not, my deal- ?” “ I am afraid of—of appoarixxg to be afx-aid.” i “ Vex-y well ; I’ll xxot look at yoxx. | But, tell me, xxxy child —why did you l x-efuse the thoxxsand fx-ancs the manager offered you F Are you so vex-y x-ich F” “ Oh, no, Monsieur Salvatox-i !—on the contx-ax-y —but- ■” “ I don’t undex-stand ” Paulette blushed again, and, as in a tone so low that she seemed to be speaking to hex-self, said : “Yet it is xxot difficult to nnderstand ——” Thexx Salvatox-i comprehended her xxxeanixxg. Bxxt the prompter cried : “ The curtain is up !” and the famous marksman was obliged to break off the conversation. The performance was axx enox-moxxs success. Never had Salvatox-x made a mox-e bx-illiant display of his powers. The press next day lauded him uxxx-eservedly, and with equal warmth celebrated the beauty and sang-froid of the little gix-1 who, at the last moment, had consented to take the place of Peppo. The marksman instantly obsex-ved that the px-esexxce of Paulette at his side served to increase and solidify his success ; this presence —the double attractiveness of feminine grace and mystery —flattex-ed the eye of the public and excited its curiosity. Salvatori speedily ascertained all about hex-. She was a- thoroughly well-coxxducted girl, who had entered upon her extremely hazardous profession with the sole object of supporting her mother. On the other hand, he had not failed to be deeply touched by the pi-oof of confidence she had given him, and* as she was Jp, charming little cx-eature, and - as/ he

believed it would be difficult for him to find a more devoted and more loving wife, he married her. This was the realisation of Paulette’s dream. Salvatori was her ideal, her deity. Her sole delight had been to approach him, to speak to him. A word, a look from him, and she bore away with her enough of happiness to fill all the next day. When the occasion came, permitting her to take the place of Peppo, she took advantage of it without any sort of calculation or thought of self-interest. A word of thanks, a kind smile from Salvatori, and she was sufficiently paid. So when ho offered to marry her she felt as if she should die upon the spot. But if joy causes fear it does not kill. Paulette was married to the man she adored, and acccompanied him in all his professional wanderings from capital to capital, and they were the most charming couple on which eyes could rest Alas ! when we have reached the utmost height of the hill of happiness we have often to descend by the other side. Paulette w r as too happy, and after two years of unmixed joy and mutual love, she began to feel, all the more cruelly on that account, the infliction of sorrow. Salvatori continued, as in the past, to be attentive to his wife. He met all her wishes anticipated them .sometimes ; but it was not thai she wanted. She felt that she was no longer the mistress of her husband’s heart. Letters discovered —frequent absences —a woman quickly learns from these that her reign has ceased. Paulette was an innocent creature ; had not studied the world about her. She did not reason. The idea of I'evolt no more came to her than that of resignation. She did not say to herself, “Lot me wait patiently; lie will return to me, and then I shall be happy again.” She did not even attempt to win him back. ISTo sighs, no tears, no coquetries. All day long she lay buried in a deep chair- —alone, motionless, bewildered Poor bird, whose wings have been cut, and who is astonished at being no longer able to mount heavenwards ! She thought: “He has loved me. For two years I have had his heart, his soul, his life. Alas ! how short is happiness in this world ! How all is over Then, if all is over, what more have 1 to do with earth P ” She never thought of blaming him. He had been good to her in consenting to lower himself to her level. . He had not been patient enough—that was all. Against the other she nourished no feeling of hatred. Oh, yes ! She could have wished to have been able to take things more philosophically; but it was not in her nature. She suffered too acutely. Two years of complete happiness. It was so simple to be contented with that; but her heart could not resign itself to such an abandonment, to such a solitude; she could not! After an absence of two jmars Salvatori has returned to the Jardin d’Bte. The house is crowded. All fashionable Paris is there. He enters on the stage, followed by Paulette. The display commences. Paulette throws into the air the globes which Salvatori shatters at his will. Then comes the feat of the card, then that of the bottle. The applause is deafening. There remains still the feat of cutting the rose from its stem —-the last. Paulette chooses a rose fi’om a basket standing upon the table, and returns to the centre of the stage. She bows to the audience, then places the rose between her teeth —its stem is so short that the audience shudders at the thought of the danger she is about to incur. She glances for a momeht at a box on the right, in which sits enthroned a woman, she smiles on the marksman —and casts a last look at Salvatori who has returned that smile. She makes a gesture, vague and incomplete —like a mystic appeal, or a sign of the cross —then places herself with her side-face towards Salvatori. up-

right, motionless; but, at the last momentj she insensibly bows her head. The shot is fired—and Paulette falls dead upon the stage.—The Million.