The Portland daily press., 1867-07-27
Miscellany.
Translated from the French OF Erkmann Chatrian.
The Spider Crab.

the Germans afflicted with govt or gravel
went there; the wildness of the region did
not repel them. They lived in pretty little
houses at the bottom of the defle; they bath
ed in the cascade which fell in a sheet OF
foam over the rocks they drank one or two
decanters of mineral water day, and Daniel
Haselnoss, the doctor of the place, who gave
his prescriptions in a full wig and maroon
coat, did good business. Now the Spinbronn
baths have no place in the Coder; one sees in
the poor village nothing but miserable wood
cutters, and, sad to tell, DR.. Haselnoss has
gone! All this comes from series of very
strange catastrophes which Counsellor Bre-
mer of Pirmesens related to me the other
night. s-s..,.s,fa r.-t-
You know, Master Frantz," he said to
me, that the Spinbronn spring issues from
sort OF cave about five feet high and twelve
or fifteen wide; the water, which is salt, has
" degrees OF heat. As to the cave, covered
outside with moss, ivy, and briars, we do not
know its depth, for the hot exhalatons pre-
vent any one from penetrating it.
But, singular circumsta- zee! people had no
ticed for years that the birds of the neighbor-
hood were ingulfed there in full flight, and
they did not know to what mysterious influ-
ence to attributeit.
In 1901, at the bathing season. the spiipp.
from some unexplained cause became more
abundant; and the bathers, who were walk
ing on the grass below, saw human skele-
ton, as white as snow, come tumbling down
the cascade. .t f-a u t-sLsA
You must guess Master Frantz, ut the gen.
eral horror; people naturally supposed that
years before some murder had been commit
ted at Spinbronn, and the body of the victim
had been thrown into the spring-but the
skeleton did not weigh more than twelve
pounds, and HaselnosS concluded from this,
that it must have been buried in the sand
more than three centuries to have reached
such state of dryness.
This very plausible reasoning did not pre-
vent a large number of the bathers from be-
inc Mortified at having drunk the salt water.
and from departing before the day ended but
those really equity cOnsoled themselves Still
the freshet continued; all the rubbish, earth
and slime in the cave were poured out during
the following days; regular cha1neLhouse
came down the mountain; skeletons of quad
rupeds, BIRDS, and reptiles-in short every
thing horrible you can imagine
Hasenoss published little book to prove
that all these bones belonged 10 the antedu-
Wan world, that they were foseils accumuat-
ed tnere 10 sort OF tunnel during the del
use-about 1000 years d. O., that conseouent-
ly they should be considered true stories and
should not excite disgust. But his book had
hardly treasured the equity, when one fine
morning the dead body of a iox, then that of
hawk with all its feathers on, tumbled down
the cascade.
Impossible to maintain that these were an
terror to the deluxe. Then the disgust was
so great, that everybody made haste to pack
up, and go to other bathing places.
"doW infamous cried the beautiful women
-"How horrible! See where the virtue of
these mineral waters come from, Better to
die OF gravel than to take such a remedyp'
AT the end OF the week there remained at
SpInbronn only tat Engiishman, gouty in
hands and feet, who called himself Sir Thorn
as Hamerburch, commodore, and who kept
large retlnue according to the custom OF Eng
lshmen in foreign countries.
This man, tall, fat and folid, but with hands
literally knotted by govt, would have drank
skeleton broth for the sake of being cured
He laughed heartily at the running awav of
the other patients, and installed himself in
the prettiest cottage, on the hillside, announc-
ing his intention to pass the winter at Spjn-
bronn." "p'-
Here counsellor Bremen slowly took a pinch
OF snuff, as ii to refresh his memory, daintilv
shook Out MS fne lace shirt-frill, and contin-
ued: Five or six years before the revolution
OF l1o9, a young physician Of Pirmesens,
named Christian Weber, went to st. Domin-
go in the hope OF making his fortune He had
made about 100000 francs by his profession
when the nsurrection broke out. Ipeed not
recall the barbarities which our miserable
countrymen endured at Hayti DR.. Weber
and to save part OF his fortane He went to
south America, and Travelled in French Gui-
ana. In 1901 he returned to Poimesens. and
established himself at Spinbronn, where DR..
Haselnoss sold him his house and the rem
nant OF his practice. Christian Weber brought
with him an old negress called Agatha; a
hideous creature, with fiat nose, thick Inns.
and three-story turban OF CANDY silk on her
mead. DIR. Weber himself was tall. thin
man, always dressed in sky-blue coat and
Duckskln small clothes. He wore soft straw
nat and yellow topped boots, from the front
or Whlch hung the acorns. He talked little:
ms laugh was nervous, and his gray eyes, u.s.
uany cam AMI thoughtful, sparkled with a
singular light at the least appearance of con-
tradiction. He had brought from Hayti n
NUMBER OF rare insects, in which he was more
Interested than in his patients and often
ne brought home in his daily walks, butter
n,es on the lining OF his hat. He was natur-
any attracted to Sir Thomas .Hamerburcb
wno was Inc most Intelligent OF bis patients,
ana soon noticed that these two originals |
mad long private talks together. Thew dis |
eussed mysterious things, and strange facts |
that they had observed in their travels. Sir
Ihomas In the east and the Doctor, who was |
my cousin and my tutor, in America. This
Puzzied me much Like child, 1 was al |
ways ON the watch for that which they appar- |
emily tried to hide from me; but at last. des-
palrlngi OF discovering anything, l resolved to
question Agatha, and the poor old woman
having made me promise not to tell, confessed
that my tutor was magician u - "a
BESIDES, Dr. Weber had singular influence |
over the mind OF the negress and this wo- |
ilan Usually SO gay and ready to laugh at ev-
erything, trembled like leaf when by chance
the gray eyes OF her master rested ON her.
All this, Master Franz, seems to have M
conhecuon with the Spinbronn Sprines.-but |
wat-Wait-you will see by what STRANGE |
gether. 'AJ Aoiu' W
nave told you that birds, and other larger
a anild We're drawn into the cave After the
departure OF the bathers, some of the old neo- |
pie in the village remembered that ya,,no
GIRL Lolsa Muller, who lived with her old in.
urn grandmother in house Oh the Hill side
had suddenly disappeared about fifty wears be-
lore. She set out one morning to cut GRASS
IN the forest, and since then had never been
heard ot-only two or three days afterwards
tne Wood-cutters. who came down from the
mountains, found her sickle and apron faw
steps from the cave Il. '
hence 1t was evident to everybody that tba
skeleton Wnlcf came down the cascade and |
apouC Which d. Hasemoss wrote sucb fine
phrases, was none other than that of 7 oisa
Muler. The poor girl had doubtless hean
ulawn uito tne cavern by the mysterious now
CT 10 Which weaker beings Welded every Tow, /
-, What was this powerP No one knew. Rnt
i Ihe inhabitants OF Spinbronn, superstitious
i ihe an inountaneers, believed that the devil
n .,s ~ tne cave, and terror spread through
the whole neighborhood
One July afternoon, 1902, nv cousin vas
making new arrangement of his insncts
was near him holding a lighted candle and
needle. Sir Thomas sat by window la1;,"
smoking, and watching our work. 7 was asA ~
innate with Sir Thomas, and drove with hin,
every day. He was amused to hear me iah-
Der English, and said he would make frna
gentleman of me. When the butterflies were
all labelled, Sir Thomas rose, and drawing
near, began to look at spider crab from Gut
ana, WIN an expression of sorrow which was
very strlking In his great red face.v
1nat, said he, sis the most G;obtf,l
thing IN creatlon-it makes me sbuddar oniu
to see it, ne shuuoer only
ana truly his face grew suddenly male
ban, said my tutor, that ia oniv q chill
ish prejudice. You have heard 49, e ,
scream at it. You were frightened an du use
impression has remained. But if YOU look 'n at
the spider through powerful micToscone H Ho az
VIII be charmed with the finish of his dreams So
WIN Win their admirable arrangement, with their
oo,,i ~ alsgusts me- quickly interrupted the
ooMn, , and he turned on his heel
tn iy cousin was evidently angry. and Sir
ly- JUG hand ana SAID Kind
Leu YOUR tutor ufioIx |