Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1881-01-20

did not need the incitement Of hand-cap-
ping and the chorus of 'Oh, dOW that
greeted the proposition to promptly consent
/ began to be deeply interested In the eX"
pertinent, and now thatI was myself accred-
tied with possessing this occult power my
Bkepticism began to waver.
"But before we go any further" he said,
NJ must make pne condition-and that iso
that should fall into comRtose state, you
will not put to me any question of private
nature-as / shall be compelled to answer
truthfully, literally, whatever it may be.
promised faithfully not to do so.
The preyiousdispositio was now reversed,
the lamp was set 80 that the light should
shine upon my face, and Arnold was enYel-
oped in the cloak, as had been.
And now, with all the nerve power pos
sessed, l fastened my eyes upon Arnold's'
White and ghastIy looked his face rising
out of the blackness Of the drapery, which
gave it almost the appearance Of being d.
vided from the body and suspended inspace.
The lips were wide apart, and the greentsh
eyes were dilated to their utmost extent,
with q strained fascinated look, such as they
might have worn under the influence OF a
rattlesnake. could scarcely suppress a
shiver at this uncanny-lo looking picture; but
a wild spirit took possession Of me that night
which soon swept away all such 'com-
punctious visitings of nature" Everybody
seemed to be thoroughly impressed by the
weirdness of the situation; there was no
giggling, no whispering, all was silent as
death. After about minute my eyes grew
rigid in their intense stare, until 1t seemed
to me that l no longer had the power to
move or close them, or even wink a lids
gradually 1 could feel the pupils dilate, until
they seemed to become two huge flies glow
Inn lam Vd oil /
see that every nerve of the white face was
Quivering, the breathing was short and la
bored, and dull, stony glare came into the
starting eyeballs, q far-away, trance-liEe
look, that told me that consciousness was
gone, and that the very soul Of the man had
passed over to my keeping. And felt
cold, cruel, hard triumph in this, desire to
strain my mastery to the utmost. / rose
from my seat, slowly moved backward, and
imperiously beckoned him, never relaxing
my fixed stare, which seemed to sctntllIate
and flash. AS l rose, he rose, clutching the
edge of the table to guide his trembling steps.
Slowly moved, he following, seemingly i'm
PEELED by an involuntary but resiStless i'm
pulse. stopped suddenly; he stopped.
"What is your namep l asked, impera-
lively.
In a forced, hollow voice he gave one, that
I afterward discovered was his family name,
Arnold being only theatrical sobriquet.
At this one of the gentlemen broke in, pro-
testing;
ono, no; that is against the bargain-no
questions" ,,
at is time to put an end to it; 1 don't like
it," said another. ...
"Oh! yes, added lady, "it is too hor-
ribIe"
The interruption seemed to exercise the
AIot hack tO
myself; with an effort wrenched my gaze
from that CHASTITY face. AS l did so, Ar
mold, as though he had been only upheld by
my eyes, fell upon the floor in strong con-
Vulsions.
Our experiment in mesmerism spoiled the
rest of the evening; for although after a
copious outward application Of cold water,
and Il judicious inward one of neat brandy,
he soon recovered and tried to laugh off his
illness, it left creepy, disagreeable depres-
sion upon all, which no amount OF hot
spirits and water and forced jolIity could sue
ceed in dispelling.
Asitmay be supposed, the effect was
strongest upon me, and it chiefly took the
form OF intense annoyance at the part l had
played; / would have given anything to
have recalled the past few minutes. After
Arnold 8 recovery, by a taCit understanding
no one made any reference to his strange ILL.,
ness, indeed, ali seemed desirous for time
of putting it out of their rthoughts-and none
so much as the principal actor in it, who
laughed and tested in feyerish manner and
never allowed the conversation to flag for u
single moment, as though he efeared the sub
iect might crop up again.
Everybody, however, was eagerly discuss"
ing the singular event next morning at re-
hearsaI. avoided the gOssiping groups, for
Af n n
to me: so did Arnold, whom / studiOusly
attempted to avoid, but he took an exactly
opposite course, following me wherever l
went trying to engage me in conversation,
and to catch my eye, as though some OF the
fascination of the previous night still SUR
rounded me.
After rather late dinner, for the rehearsal
was very long, l was doing in my chair
when there came a soft tap at the door, and
TO my sleepy "come in,' there appeared
upon the threshold the tall, gaunt figure OF
the man whom Of all others least desired to
see 1t gave me quite shock 1t was the
first time he had ever called at my lodgings.
In common courtesy | was obliged TO ask
him to take q seat and draw near the fire, as
the weather was cold. In a vague, listless
manner he placed a chair in such position
that IL exactly faced mine, dropped into 1t
without word, and tried to fix my eyes.
Immediately shifted them and stared into
the fire.
visit: he talked very little, and in an absent
manner-that betrayed his thoughts were
NOT on his tongue-abOut the business of the
theater. 1 felt very embarrassed by his
presence, and presently rose and rang for
Tea. What could do but ask him to remain,
and take it with me? He said "Thank you,'
and kept his seat. felt quite terrified by
the change that had come over him-frOm q
noisy, testing, rOllicking kind of fellow, who
had always a gibe for me, to this silent sub
dued man, with those dreadful eyes ever
yearningly seeking mine.
Atlength he went away, and never in my
life did [ feel so thankful for anybody's de-
parture.
time, and acted in Just the same manner,
until the lights were brought in; then all al
once he rose from his chair, crossed over tC
where was sitting, and, laying his hand up
on my arm, said, in hoarse whisper;
WMesmerize meW
started back and answered, shuddering-
Iv: "Not for wOrlds!'
you must" he answered, passiOnately.
And somehow OF other, can not tell how
A few minutes afterWard we were sitting
yis-n- els staring into each others eyes. In
less than a minute there was in bis the dull
stony yagueness Of insensibility.
I covered my face with my hands, but
withdrew them, as I heard something fall
heavily upon the floor, to see him huddled
at my feet in cOnvulsions, the froth bubbling
upon his lips.
I did not call for assistance; luckily had
some water and some brandy in the room.