The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1880-11-04
THE MUMMY'S FOOT.
French of Theophile Gautier.

THE MUMMY'S FOOT.
French of Theophile Gautier.
One day, . wandering aimlessly
through the streets of Paris, noticed
q little shop which seemed crowded
with bric-a-brac, and entered it simp-
ly with the idea of filling an idle hour.
It seemed to be at one and the same
time an old iron shop, a Warehouse
for tapestry and upholstery generally;
the laboratory of an alchemist and an
artists studio. In these mysterious
dens, where the partly closed shutters
admit only a very prudent hall light,
the most genuinely antique thing is the
dust; the cobwcbs are much more real
than the guipure, and the pear-tree
wood far younger than the mahogany
from America, which arrived yester-
day.
This establishment was especially
curious; every age and every country
seemed to meet there. An Eutruscan
lamp OF red clay was placed on a
BOule armoire, with ebony panels Sc
verely decorated with fine lines of
copper inlaid; duchess chair of the
reign of Louis XIV. stretched it's claw
feet under heavy Louis VIII. table
with clumsy-twisted oaken legs, carved
in foliage and fantastic figures. A suit
of ar,nor from Milan, beautifully in
laid, was reflected in an antique mir
ror in the corner; exquisite little loves
and nymphs in biscuit, grotesque
Chinese figures and beautiful cups of
Saxony and old Sevres were crowded
upon the etegeres and the corner
brackets. On the denticulated shelves
lining the walls were immense plaques
of Japan ware, with blue and red de-
signs relieved by gliding, side by side
with Bernard de Palissv's exquisite
enameled china representing adders,
lizards and frogs in relief. From half
open armoires escaped cascades of sill
yer brocade, and waves of brocatelle
powdered with gold glittering in an
oblique ray of sunlight; portraits of
every age smiled at one another
through their yellow varnish from out
frames all more or less shabby.
The shopkeeper followed me very
closely in my labyrinthine passage be-
tween the piles of furniture, keeping
his eyes and sometimes his hand on my
coat tails, and watching my elbows
with the anxiety of an antiquary and
usurer. He had such an odd face,
this shop-keeper; an enormous head
bald and shining, surrounded with an
aureole of thin white hair, which throw
ing into bold relief the peculiar salmon
color of his skin, gave him an air OF
patriarchal simplicity ,counterbalanced,
however, by the twinkling of two little
yellow eyes which trembled in their Or
bits like two louis d'ors on quicksilver.
The curve of his nose had an aquile
outline, recalling the Oriental or Jew
ish type. His hands thin, veined, trans
parent, full of nerves protruding like
the strings on the handle of violin,
with claws rather than nails like those
terminating the membranous wings Of
bat had an incessant senile oscillation
most unpleasant to witness; but these
same hands so useless with nervous
twichings became 6rmer than steel
forceps or lobster's claws as soon a.
they raised for inspection some prec
ious object-an onxy cup, Venetian
glass or plate of Bohemian CRYSTAL
This queer old fellow looked so thor
oughly rabbincial and cabalistic that
three centuries ago he would assuredly
have been burned at the stake-his an
pearance would have been considered
sufficient proof Of guilt.
"Can not sell you anything today
Monsieur Look at this Malavan sword
the blade quivers and undulates like s
flame; see these grooves for drainin,
off the blood, these reverse indenationl
for tearing out intestines when thu
sword is withdrawn; it is a ferociou,
weapon, very rare, and would look vel
in collection of arms; here is a swort
to be used in both hands, it is one O
La Hera's, and this
mo; I have an abundance of arm
and weapons of every description;
should like little figure, some littl,
triae which, could use as a paper-weiqh
for cannot endure these trumper,
little bronzes sold by every stationeii
which one invariably sees on ever.
desk.' ..s
The old gnome, rummaging anon,
his trash, finally diplayed some an
tique bronzes-at least he called then
so-some pieces of malachite, som,
Hindoo and Chinese idiots-a sort o
poussa of Ok stone-incanations 0