Fair play., 1876-11-23

never still; what wife she would have
made for some bishop of the Sioux!
Now came her last distraction-worse
than all the others combined, ard one
that positively could not endure.
Belle entered with eagerness into the
study of medicine, announcing to her
acquaintance her determination to he.
come a practising member Of that
benevolent branch of the human race
who make the ills Of flesh their study.
She was ambitious, and very likely
some vague notions of the distinction
which she should achieve as an honor
ary member of eye and ear societies
haunted her imagination. She now
saved all her pin-noney to buy surgi.
cal implements, and lancets, silver OF
golden wire, vials, bottles, pots, pes
ties, mortars, became the favorite fur.
niture with which she surrounded her.
self. She Immediately turned my par.
iors, library, and best rooms into muse
ums, exhibiting to my astOnished visit
ors various bones of the human skele-
ton as if they were the lost wonders Of
the world. She had mess of most TN
comfortable andunhappy looking bones
belonging to some decrepit mummy OF
Bohemian of the past. These accom-
panied her on all her excursions to and
from her college. She talked of the
plasma of the blood, of spectral inter-
mind glObules, Of spirit, of nerve aura
and life scintillations, till the veriest
old bald-pate Of doctors to hear her
must have gone mad. l never recall
those days of suffering without shud-
der. Irrepressible, all pervading wom-
an.
l am always one of those unhappy
beings whose nose finds out all odOrs
from afar. The sweetness of the grape
flower, where from her humble green
spray she breathes a delicious fra
GRANGE, was first noticed by me. las
sure you it was myself who found that
grape flowers resemble mignonctte.
Out on 4 hunting excursion have
tracked the yellow-woOd violet TO her
haunt by that simple smell Of sweet old
decaying wood. Imagine if You can
my sensations when my wife brought
to my house the air of the dissecting
rooms. From that moment hated her; /;
nature had her way. In this
condition went down TO the
seashore one day and encountered my
old friend Noel Hausser. We were
students together, and had parted years
ago in Frankfort. He was q mighty
''medicine man," had penetrated and
the arcana of nature and
wrested from her her hidden things.
He was skilled as poisoner. know
you are now imagining dreadful things.
Compose yourself. He was an amateur
stuffer of birds, crocodiles, snakes, pre-
server of insects, etc., ctc.-a noted
scientist. He had dwelt for years at
the foot of the Himalaya Mountains.
Not content with European scenery and
bugs, he must confront our austere
m1her in her Asian haunts.
Truth to tell, Nature, stern mother,
loved him well, and the bottles of Noel
Hausser held tales of the rainbow and
heath. of flowers that grew high up,
with pure cold lips touching perpetual
snow, Ct poisons more potent than the
reptiles fang, of sleep that was long
and deadly, of slumberous, intoxicating
dreams, warm with summer and spicy
with trOpic incenses.
Noel Haasser, wonderful man, i'm
mense creation, a puzzle to every one
save his creator! He recognized me at
once, "Sadder and older grown; old
boy, what ails you?" His own beard
was grizzled and frost-strewn with sew
eral silver threads, and on the temples
also were some struggling lines of snow.
Yet Noel Hausser called himself per-
petual youth. " "Sick?" "Well, rather
20, Noel; come home with me; We can
talk over old matters and begin our ac-
4uaintance anew." 81 was coming to
yOur house, Eton, when I met you; in
TACT, 1 have only arrived here lately, a
lew days ago" My wife liked Noel
immensely, and from his vast fund of
she, like an inquisitiye bee,
began to gather honey. Learning must,
indeed, have had huge attraction for
hat woman. He had not been domes-
,icated in our house more than q week
before she had teased from him
his Oldest and most ven
,rable saurian, stuffed toad, q