Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1880-02-12
The Cuckoo's Song.

TRANSLATED from the French by Stella g. Athens
Ten o'clock had just struck in all the
clocks of the little town of H, in the
canton of Berne, and q metallic undula-
tion seemed still to vibrate in the air,
prolonging itself from house to house,
from street to street. to indicate that the
morning was advancing. The streets
were crowded with passers-by, work
men, peasants, laborers and idlers. rich
and poor. This little town was but a
great capital on a small scale. The
merchants uncovered their, goods and
removed the dust of the night. The
gossips passed from one door to another
in the midst of the universal activity,
and each one on crying good morning
said little evil of one, grear deal OF
another, and thought still more of his
interlocutor you see it was the whole
of society in diminutive.
Ten O'clock" cried the big, brawny
butcher Herman-whose sponge vigor-
ously welded was making the slabs of
white marble brilliant where were
ranged the quarters of beef and mutton
Ten o'clock! and our neighbor Sam
uel Stauffer still sleepsi 1t is astonish-
~ing!" His face. tinged with red fbrils,
with It's heavy, square chin and pale
blue eyes. expressed in fact complete
amazement.
That's so; you are rightr' responded
the grocer, who came out on his door
step twisting a long cornet of paper and
leaning forward little in order to pene-
trate more materially into the phenom-
enon which had curved and elevated the
brows of the butcher like the arches of
a bridge. 1.-The broker has not raised
one of his shutters, and nothing seems
to be moving in his house; yet his do
mestic, Jean Muller. is habitually an
early riser, and this is the first time
that have ever risen before him."
Bah! What trade could he make
this morning? Perhaps the storm of
last night hindered his sleeping, and he
is making up for it now"
"Oh, what a storm it was!" remarked
the grocer. 60 scarcely closed my
eyes; the shutters ratified and their
hinges creaked, and bang, chimney
tumbled into my court. have rarely
heard such a high wind since l have
been in business here"
Without counting" added the BUTCH
er, the thunder. hail and rain, one
could almost say Satan was conducting
dance" And he accumulated his little
joke with a loud laugh, which shook
his stomach and shoulders so that the
fat on his chin and cheeks had terrible
convulsions.
"Hush! Herman, never say that! 1t
is an evil omen, believe mel" t5Fsa
'Ohi whas superstitious fellow YOU
are. friend Bloch! One must have a
laugh now and then"
- admit that subject Of conversation
Is repugnant to me always; for every
time, that hideous name is mentioned.
there is misfortune lurking somewhere
The laugh of the butcher increased at
the sight OF the pale face of his COM
panion. $3.50
"Well, well, you are timid. / will
be still, for you will finish by thinking
me a scape- goat-but what can old
Samuel be doing?"
Let up rap at his door. What do
you sayP" "a
The grocer indicated with his fingers,
without budging, the house of Samuel,
and the butcher, without speaking, di
rected his steps toward the little shop.
1t had two floors surmounted by an
attic, and seemed to bury among the
other buildings its pointed roof. covered
with tiles, and to conceal with worn
and patched air, the shop which occu-
pied the whole OF the ground floor. The
wooden shutters soidly fixed by large
bars of iron, and the front door with its
tight bolts, kept an unaccustomed 81
lence. On the floor above, the blinds
stopped up the windows hermatically,
and this house with its eyes closed in
the midst of the morning hustle assumed
an ominous aspect. On the roof the
weather-vanes turned by the wind
emitted every now and then mournful
cry, that .resembled the moan of a sea-
gull across the hurricane which agitates
the sea.
The butcher struck the bars with his
fist, and listened to the echo transmitted
by the solitary knock through the corri-
dors of the house. He waited a few
minutes, then knocked again, and called
loudly with his strong voice. No an
swer. A vague terror stole into his
breast and made his heart beat with
qulckened motions.
=" No answerr" cried Bloch to him
from affair." +s
Then he advanced slowly, pushed by
curiosity only exceeded by his alarm.
II is extraordinary! | cannot ex-
plain it. How is it that neither Samuel
nor his servant answer to nv cell
Could they both be deadp Bloch, / think
it is our duty to summon the chiet oil
police. / will send one of my boys
Wait heren
When the chief of police arrived, ac-
zcompanied with his men, surgeon and
locksmith, he was obliged to traverse
dense crowd which increasedgevcry
minute, surging around like the wateri
of river overdowing its banks, and
showing an eager desire to penetrate