A Honeymoon Trip

It is a week since Lucien Berard and Hortense Lariviere were marri ;d. Mme. Lariviere, Ifortense's widowed niother, lias forthirty years pastkept a toy shop in the Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin. She is a stilï short woman, with an over-bearing temper, she did her be3t to prevent her daughter trom marrying Lucien, the only son of a hardware dealer in tho nuighborhood, but the young peoplo somehowgot the best of her. However reluctant, ahe had to yield her consent; but she now intends to keep close watch and atight handovertheyouneouple. Although by the marriagecontract shehasgiven up the toy shop to Hortense, merel y reserving to lierself a room in the apartment, she still, in fact, manases the house, under pretense of showing the young folks the details of the business. It is the month ofAngust. The heat is intense and business very dull. Mme. Lariviere, of course, is as sour as ever. She will not let Lucien forget himself for a moment when beside Hortense. Did she not the other niorning find thom kissing intheshop! A proper thing this, to be sure, and likely to bring custom to the place! She had never allowed M. Lariviere to touch her even with the tips of lus fingers during business hours. He, it is ti'ue, never areainc of such a thing' And that is how they had built up a business. Lucein, not yet daring openly to revolt, sent kisses to his wife when his motherinlaw's back was turned. At last he plucked up courace one day to remind lier that botli" families, previons to the wedding, liad promised hiin and his wife a honeymoon trip. At this rcmark Mme. Lariviere puckered her thin lips. "Well," ehe answered dryly, "take an afternoon walk i the Boulognu wood." The npwly marrried pair looked at each other dumbfounded. Hortense now tboaght her mother perfectly ridiculous. Even at niht she could scarcely be left alone with her husband. At the least noise, up came Mme. Lariviore in her bare t'eet, and knocked at the door to inquire if they were not ill. And when they answered that they were in the best of health, she would exclaim: "You'd bettor go to sleep then, or I'U catch you napping behind the counter again to-morrow niorning." The mother-in-law'a conduct was beyond endurance. Lucien mentioned all the shopkeepers in the vicinity who took short trips, while kinsfolk or trusty assistants were left behind to mind the shop. There was a glove dealer at the corner of the Rue Lafayette, who was at Dieppe; the cutler of the Rue 8aint-Nicolas, who had just left for Luchon; the jeweler near the Boulevard, who had taken his wife to ' Switzerland. Nowadays anyone who was anybody took amonth'sholiday. ' " 'Twill be the ruin of the business, sir, do you hear?" clamored Mme. ' Lariviere. "In M. Lariviere's timewe ' went once a year, on Easter Monday, to the Vincennes wood, and we were the worse off on that account. Shali ' I teil you tvhat it will ome to? You ' will be the ruination of the house, with your taste for voyaginglike this! Yes, the ruination of the house!" ; "But it was distinctly afreed upon that weshould takeatiipsomewhere," ' put in Hortense. "Rdmember, ' ma, you said so." "Perhaps I did, but that -was before the marriage. We are apt to say all ! sorts of nonsensical things before the ' wodding. Come, now, don't be ' lous!" Lucien went out so as to avoid a qua. rol. He had a ferocious ' tion to strangle hismother-in-law. On his return, however, afteratwohours' ' absence, he was another man; he spoke in a soft voice to Mme. ( ere, and had a queer smile at the corner of his month! ' In the evening he asked his wife: "Have you ever been in Normady?" ' "Ot course you know I haven't," said Hortense. "I have never been ! anywhere exeept to the Vincennes J wood." On the following day Lucien' s father ■ -Father Berard, as he is called in the 1 neiííhborhood, where he is known asa jolly good fellow, with a sharp eye to ! business- burst into the toy shop, ' quite unexpectedly, and invited ' slef to breakfast. When coffee came on to the table, ! he said in an off hand way: "I have brought our children a ' ent," and he produced two railway j tickets. ' "What's that?" inquired Mme. Lariviere, in a husky voice. "Two first-class tickets for a i lar trip through Normandy. Wéll, my httle ones, what do you say to that? A whole month of fresh air! I You'll come back as iresh as rose3." Mme. Lariviere was astounded. She j wanted to protest, but did not care ' to quarrel with Father Berard, who ' was of an obstinate turn of mind, and would always have the last word, but ' when she heard the hardware dealer epeak of taking the pair oiï at once ' to the station, hor I ed all bounds. Father Berard wouldn't loosen lus grip on them till he saw them both off in the train. "All right," she muttered with inward ra.ti. "take my dauuhter away froin me if you like. So nuch the better. They won't be kissing each other in the shop at least, and I can look after the honor of the house." The young married couple soon reached the Saint-Lazare station, ' companied by Lucien's father, who had baroly given them time to throw öome tinen and clothing into a trunk. He beetowed sonorous kisses on their cheeks, advised them to see , thing, and to teil him about it when they got back. 'Twould amuse him, he said. Lucien and Hortense hurried alon the platform in search of an empty car. They had the good luck to lind one, jumped into it, and were justpreparing for a nice little talk when, to their annoyance, a spectacled gentleman got inlo the same compartnient. As soon as he had seated hunself, the stranger glanced at them with a stern expression on his countenance. The train started. Hortense, who was heavy at heart, turned her head and affected to scan the landscape; but i tears came into her eyes, so she could ■ not so much as see the trees outside. Lncian triod all he could to find a means of gettine rid of the oíd ! man, but the expedients he hit upon ! were of too high handed a character. One moment he had hopes that his tellow traveler might get ■ lan or Vernon, but he soondiscovered ' his mistakt'. The old gentleman was bound all the way to Havre. ; perated, Lucien made up his mind to ! ignore the presence of the interloper, i After all they were married, andnnght openly avow their fondness. He took ■ his wife's hand in his. But the olil gentleman's brow lowored like that oí a Moor; it was evident that he disap proved all outward marksof afïection, i Iiowever ligitimate; so Hortense, her face like crimson, quickly witlidraw ! her hand. Th rest oi the journey was ! plished in 6i1enco and consfcraint. Happily they had now reached Rouen. I Bliould here mmtion that Luden, on leaving Paris, had bought a guille book. The young eouple alighted at aii hotel which was highly ïecommended n tlie book, and at once feil aneasy prey to the waiters. At tlio table d'hote they scarcely dared exchange a word on account of the crowd of piO staring at tliem. So they retlred early to rest; Imt the partition walls were 8O thin that the neighbors to tlie right and teft could not badge without their bting aware of it. They no longer dared to turn or even coughin their beds. "Let's go and see the town," 6aid Lucien on rising the nexfc morning, and then start off quickly for Havre." They were on their feet all day, visited tbe cathedral, where they were Bhown the Butttr tower, built with the proceeds of taxes imposed by the clergy on the butter of the country; they went to the old palace of the dulces of Normandy, entered tlie ancient churches now used as corn lofts, saw the Joan of Are square, tlie museum, and even the Monumental eemetery. To cursory observers they seemed ardent in the aceomplishmenfcof a duty; nor did they fail to look at every historie house in the town. Thetruth is Hortense feit especia-lly bored to dtath, andso tired that the followiug day sho wentto sleep in the train. On reaehing Harve a fresh cause for annoyance arose. At tlie hotel at which they stayed the beds were so narrow they had to take a room with doublé bedsteads. Hortense feit almost as if she had been insulted and burst into tears. Lucien consoled her as best he could saying they would stay at Havre no longer than was strictly nwessary to see the town. And their rambling walks began again. Then they left Havre and stayed for a few days afc each of the important places set down in their guide book. They viaited llonfleur, Pont-1'Eveque, Caen, Bayeuz and Cherbourg; their heads in fact, got crammed with such a lot ol streets, menuments, and churches, that they soon jumbled the whole together and crew heartily sick and tired of sights and objects altogether devoid of interest for them. They no lonaer looked at anythino, but kept on the even tenor of their way as though it were a task they did not know how to escape. They seenied to think that since they had set out on a circular trip, they must somehow find their way back home. One evening at Cherbourg, Lucien let fall an ominous expression of his views. "I think I like ycur mother's shop better," Th a next day they started forGranville. Lucien remained absorbed, and at times cast a rfild and fitfal glance at the country where the fields on enen side of the car expanded before them like a fan. Suddenly, as the train carne to a smail station, the name of which did not reach their ear, but wltere a lovelynook of verdura was visible among the trees, Lucien criedout: "Get down, my dear, get down, quick!" "But thia is no station marked in the guide book," expostulated Hortense. "The guide book, say you? Wait a bit. I'll show you what we'll do with the guide book! Come, quick, get down." "What about the bageage?" "Oh, a fillip for the baggage!" answered Lucien. And so Hortense got down, the train started, and left both of them in that lovely nook of verdure. On leaving the station they were in the open country. Not a sound disturbed the stillness. Birdswerechirpin in the trees; a clear stream flowed at the bottom of the valley. Lucien's iirst care was to fiina the guide book into the middlo of a pool of water aa they went by. At ast it was all over; they were free! A few hundred steps off stood a secluded country inn, where the wife of the host gave them a large room as cheerful to look upon as sunshine in spring. The whitewasbed walls were fully a yard thick. Moreover, there was not a traveler in the house, and alone the hens looked at them with an inquisitive air. "Our tickets are good for eightdays yet," said Lucien. "We' 11 spend the time here." And what a delightful week it proved to be. They went off in the morning by untrodden paths; they sought the depths of a wood on the slope of a hill, and they spent the live long day, lost among the tall grasses that hld their youthful loves. Anon they followed the stream; Hortense ran like an escaped school girl, or pulled olï her ehoed and took a foot bath, while Lucien, who provokingly came up from behind, made her scream out by suddenly snatching a kiss from the back ol her bare neck. Their lack of lmen.and of every thing generally, was highly amusing. They were, in fact, eted beyond measure at the thought that they were thus left to themselves in a desert wbereno one would dream of seeking them. Hortense had been obliged to borrow some country underclothing from the wife of theinnkeeper. Thocoarse ttuff scratched her skin and made her wriggle. Tlieir room, too, was so gay! They. locked themselves in at 8o'cloclwhen the dark, silent landscape tempted them out no loncer. They gave strict orders not to be woke up too early. At times Lucien came down in his slippers and took up the breakfast.allowing no one to enter the room. And the meal thus eaten on the bedside was exquisito and interminable, from the kisses given and received, whii.h outnumbered the mouthful.s of bread. The seventh day they were surprised and heavy at heart to find that they had got tbrough the week so rapidly, without seeking to ascertain, or even wishing to know the name of the place where they had loved. Not until they had reached Paris did they come across their baggage. When Father Berard questioned them as to their trip they got sorely mixed up. They had seen the sea at Caen, and located the Butter tower at Havre. "The deuce" exclaimed the hardware dealer; "and what about Cherbourjt? What of the Arsena, there?" "Oh! a wee bit of a place," quielly responded Lucien; "besidts, itis without trees!" At this Mme. Lariviere, still eulky, shrugged her shoulders and muttered: " 'Tis worth while to go traveling, isn't it? Whj they don't even know what monuments they've seen! Come Hortense, enough of all this! go to the counter, please."