| Show THE KEY OF THE CASKET when chester seabrook Sc young wealthy intelli intelligent 7 nt and ambitious of literary fame went to italy to collect materials and to consult authorities before beginning his projected tragedy of caesar borgia his friends and relatives in new york were far from anticipating the actual results of his researches these had brought about his acquaintance with a certain dr alexander marini art an aged physician of milan who claimed descent from one of the collateral branches of the borgia family tin this s old doctors granddaughter lucrezia marini was wonderfully beautiful an italian blonde glowing with the freshness of extreme youth being then hardly 17 and sandwith with all all the luster of a loveliness which as her grandfather declared revived and reproduced the charms of her of the same name who was the famous bride of duke alfonso of df ferrara the tragedy remained unwritten and chester seabrook took to wife this dazzling creature if wedding in haste baste he af afterwards ter wards repented at leisure the outside world was destined never to know his married life lasted a little over one year his brilliant italian wife died in giving birth to a son and the young widower returned to his native land with his little child poablo sibly a wiser man but certainly a sadder one it was in an ominous fact that lie he never referred to his hia wife in any way nor to the expert experiences of his few months of matrimony A miniature painted ori on ivory and reproducing the glowing yet delicate beauty of the fair lucrezia was all that remained to him of that episode in his life that and the boy who had received the name of louis and who bore well his transfer to the elie united states growing and thriving its 13 though he had been born under the shadow of the stars and stripes when louis was a little over 13 12 years of df age his father died suddenly of typhoid pneumonia mr seabrook bad never married again a circum circumstance tance usually attributed by the world at large to his devotion to the memory of his wife in this they were probably mistaken the tn loan who has been happy in in bis married life and who is left a widower n is usually very anxious to marry again as soon as possible ile he misses the domestic peace the joys of tranquil home affection and his desire to remarry is almost invariably in proportion to the felicity bestow besto ed upon him by his wife the rhe widower of a shrew a fool ora or a disagreeable and uncongenial woman is on the other hand very apt to remain single having once escaped from fro ilithe alio dungeon and torture chamber lie is very careful eaul to keep out of them forevermore and for one reasoner rea reason or another chester seabrook never again made any attempts to enter the holy estate of matrimony he had one only sister sire mrs richard marsden and to her and to her husband he bequeathed the guardianship of his hia ton and of that sons large fortune it was a healthy natured suad and happy family in which the boy grew to manhood mrs three sons were all older than louis and did not it is true take very kindly to their cousin but her only daughter little grace was some years his hia junior and as is often the case in ill such mch instances with intelligent areco cious little girls developed a great fancy tor for her moody boy cousin and regularly took him under her protection it is ia the early development of the mother I 1 instinct the sweetest and ten kenderest derest element in feminine nature that thus finds scope and occupation and grace petted louis and watched over ili him m and sometimes scolded him in a protecting patronizing way that coming from so small a girl would have been comical it if it had biad riot not been very charming for the poor boy needed all tho illo affection that could possibly be bestowed upon him hid ite he NN was as never strong and his disposition was gloomy and morbid to a degree greetha that was extraordinary in ono one that was to so great a degree a favorite of fortune ile he was shy and silent eilent to a painful pai i n extent and despite his italian I 1 origin lie developed no taste tor for either art or music ue decided early in life to become a physician but after stud studying jing medicine for some borne fe few nye years ars in a desultory languid way devoting the chief part of his time to investigations concerning the nature and properties of poisons he suddenly suddenly y announced that on attaining his majority lie had made up liis mind to relinquish all idea of f studying a profession and he lihew likewise ise astonished mr and mrs mn marsden by making i formal proposals for the hand of grace these proposals were ware at once and decidedly by mr marsden you are both of you too young to think of sue lucli it a thing as marriage or even of an engagement louis ids uncle 0 made answer you are only just 21 and grace is but a few weeks over 10 moreover I 1 have decided objections to tile the marriage of first cousins boudo not know to what x you oil loom doom nie me uncle ah ab llo oy response of the young in annn an I gruca is all that I 1 have to lito 1 no tor for upon en th ind and if I 1 loso lose her now do not talk nonsense louis responded richard Kic liard marsden bris brielly lly but W not dt unkindly graco grace is too loo much of a child to lie be allowed to listen to i 3 our prof fers of affection she cares no more for you than llian she does docs tor for ned or harry or n nank frank ank you are arc elce a brother to her n nothing thin more ana and I 1 do not wean mean to ii have her igind by anything liko love making besides you have been nothing of if tile as you should do before choosing a wife and settling down to matrimony and quietude go abroad spend tile act two years in ill european travel ind and then I 1 and then you will give grace to me eagerly asked the youth Ms ln s pale face flushing nu shing and his dark eyes eves glowing as lie he I 1 I 1 spoke 1 I make no promise aromise I 1 will enter into no compact with you vou on that subject you and grace rn in list both be b entirely free and if emier of you shall fall ili ih rove with some one else 1 I cannot admit the existence of such a possibility so far as I 1 ani am concerned made answer louis passionately I 1 nevertheless such things are possible and have occurred especially where two such chil children drenas as you both are were concerned now let me hear nothing more on this subject I 1 shall send grace to stay with her aunt mrs elevyn in washington until you arti are gone and I 1 shall feel seriously displeased with you if you broach to lier her any subject connected with love and matrimony before her departure and so well and carefully did mrs marsden who was at once acquainted by her husband with all the details of the affair watch over her daughter daug liter that grace went away for her bir visit wholly unconscious of the conquest she had bad made of her cousins affections slie site was to tell the truth so delighted at the idea of a journey to washington of a sojourn with tier her favorite aunt whose daughter alie alice was about lier her own age and of all the things she meant to see and do that she had lost sight of the fact that cousin louis was going to sail for europe in a few weeks and that site she would riot cot see him again fur for a long long time in fact the peculia peculiarly ily morbid disposition of the young man had bad finally become repellent to her bright nature and thou though it she was always affectionate and kind to him she felt unconsciously a certain degree of relief iu in the thought 0 1 his absence I 1 you must not forget me grace lie said fervently at the moment of her departure and the young girl answered gayly no fear of that louis even if you never write to any of us ishall al ivans remember 5 3 ou for you are my cousin you know just tio ote same to mo me is one of my brothers louis was about to utter some protestation f tation respecting this announcement in n grace s part but a significant touch in his shoulder from tile hand of mr marsden recalled that gent lemans tern prohibitions and he contented himself with kissing with fervor the little hand that grace frankly placed within his big wn own unheeding the fresh young face that hat was held up to him for a parting salute how odd you are louis not to kiss me goodbye good byl she cried gayly as she sprang into the carriage remember you von must write your first letter from rome to me and be sure you tell me what you think about st peters peter s and the colosseum 1 I wish I 1 were going with you fou to see them all if you only were muttered louis ts its the carriage drove away there does my guardian angel and I 1 must go I 1 forth alone to meet tile the demon A few weeks later louis seabrook sailed from now york for europe he lid iid not f fail it to write to gra grace ce more than ine impassioned lo love veletter letter shortly after his arrival but tho the child perplexed un sympathizing and half provoked with what she called cousin louis foolishness made no response to liis his fervent protestations louis took the hint and the correspondence thereafter was con lucked on a more tranquil footing to this his change a sharp reproof from mr and a threat of forbidding altogether any interchange antei change of letters lly contributed largely the alia traveler wrote but seldom but lie often sent tokens of regard and remembrance to his ati anches cles family and especially to grace D one of f these was a fine copy of tile celebrated portrait of casar borgia by raphael ph which is 13 one of tile noted art treasures of tho the borghese palace and la in the strangely beautiful face with the wil tendencies of tile the inner nature looking ax front from the large eyes and curving the full red lips mrs marsden recognized with a shudder a strong resemblance to lb the countenance of her nephew indeed he alluded to the likeness himself in one of alf the infrequent letters received from fr 0 him during his sojourn in rome 1 I inest bo be a true truo descendant 0 of the or zoaa he be wrote I 1 for my like likeness e toot to the raphael portrait lias has been commented apon even by total stra strangers lugers and when I 1 went vent to see my great grandfather dr lI marini arini when I 1 passed through milan the ither day his first exclamation on beholding we me was you are like your mot mothers hers race by tho the way what a wonderful old man lie ho is I 1 I 1 havo have promised to pay him a long visit on my way back to paris and lie ho tells me that he be will then confide to my keeping sundry family relies relics of great importance I 1 con fess ess that I 1 am very curious curious to see them ile he is nearly go 00 years old now but preserves all liis faculties unimpaired A few months 1 later louis wrote rot that tile the promised visit had bad been paid and that dr marini had placed in his bis hands band s some curious curious and antique objects several of which had at one time belonged to tile the famous family of pope alexander borgia amongst th these ms lie wrote wroe is an ivory i casket of exquisite and artistic workmanship it possesses certain singular properties which I 1 dball describe we meet next came tile news ne Ws of tile the death of the old doctor who had bad seemed to have lived thus ton long for the express purpose of bestowing his ln a cherished cherish cil heir looms on his great grandson and sole direct descendant the two years that had been fixed as the period of young seabrooks absence had nearly come to an end and ho he had already written to 10 announce the date at which lie would sail for home when ho he received from mrs marsden the news of graces engagement to a young and talented lawyer stuart hastings by name the match was ono one that was as satisfactory in every way to mr and mrs marsden and to do them justice they had both looked upon the attachment of louis for his cousin as a mero merc boyish passion that had not survived tho the tests of time and absence this letter received no response but louis wrote a few hurried lines to grace declaring his intention of being present at her mar ariage and to prove to my pretty cousin that I 1 bear her no malice for the way that she has trifled with my affections lie wrote 1 I will bring iier her a wedding present such as few brides in this nineteenth century have ever received ceh ed but it was not till the day before that fixed for tho the ceremony that i iuis ais made his appearance at the house of his aun aunt t lie he received a warm abarm welcome from mrs marsden who had bad always looked upon him as one of her own children you have grown tall and manly kaniv louis elie said after the first grce greetings tingE were at an end but you look loa wild haggard and lev crish rish are you buffering cring from malaria you must not fall ill on the very day of your return the eve of graces wedding day your playmate of bygone days would feel sorely grieved if you were not to bo be present tomorrow to morrow ali ah yes ves where is grace 1 I had forgotten grace the young man responded spon ded hurriedly 1 I want to see her I 1 have my wedding gift ready for iier ter and I 1 want to present it to iier her myself go into the library then and I 1 will send her to you in a moment she is just having iier ter wedding dress tried on for the last time and I 1 will tell iier her not to take it off for I 1 want you to see liow how charmingly s in it f and with a nod and a smile mrs marsden disappeared some ten minutes later the door of the library where louis was pacing the floor impatiently was slowly opened and the bride elect graceful and charming in fit her vesture of snowy satin with a 1 mien of grave sweet advanced with outstretched hands to greet the newly returned wanderer ho he gazed upon her for a moment with a lowering brow and a bitter smile simile so it is thus that I 1 find you woman that I 1 loved he said between his hia teeth on the evo eve of your marriage all radiant and smiling in your bridal finery cousin cousin louis stammered the young girl amazed and half alarmed at seabrooks demeanor oli oil you need not be afraid 1 I have not come to overwhelm you with reproaches pro aches or to tell you all the ill that you have wrought my cousin grace I 1 have brought you a present from beyond the seas take it and with it such blessings from me as you and your kinsfolk richly deserve so saying he turned towards the table and brought forward to tho the light an ivory casket that stood there still half shrouded in its wrappings divested of these it showed in the sunset light as a marvel of artistic beauty in high relief upon the lid was carved the meeting of bacchus and ariadne and the sides were adorned with a representation of tho the bridal procession of the god wherein bacchantes and satyrs nymphs and fauns dauns and cupids cupida and panthers were all mingled in graceful confusion tile the moun mountings tinga of tho the casket CaSke were in antique silver and on a shield just above the look lock were engraved the intertwined initials C B and below these a IV I V surmounted with a ducal coronet the insignia of casar duke of Valenti nois it was a gift worthy to bo offered byan by an enamored monarch to his future queen grace drew near and gazed with breathless delight at the alie exquisite workmanship P of the ivory carvings meantime louis took from his pocketbook an ant antique key in darkened silver this too was a veritable work of art the tube was held in the upraised hands of a mermaid whose curved fishtail formed the handle of 0 of the key this handle on its outer edge was bordered with email scarcely perceptible cep tible points or spines which would be apt to wound the liand land of tiny any one trying to open tho the lock and riot not warned to take due precaution this key louis carefully fitted into the lock of the casket open opel it t 4 open it gracel lie ho cried |
