The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1882-12-31

/ what You want Now, at once, here is something
perfectly simple ot itS kind With that he rose,
yawncd then stretched himself, and stood between
Nellef and Inc.
THIS was the way he began; 'You Me- NelIct, an,
apparently half-head taller than I, aud MIR. rage,
your name Is raget-your father, ne err well had
10 drop the hua arlstdcratic T. aud you never got
q crack ON the skull friend OF mine gave You, aud
that stuuted youl you fully half head less IN
height than T. See, stand between you now like the
middle stop w the pipes OF the great FAM
Then the gas burners sprang into hriaWy when
lie said ran. and then assumed their former dim
light. ut always does that way when talk OF ran
and beg to remark that have not charge of the
gas meters. Now heller is the tallest and Page the
shortest of we three. Tray watch; we viii stand In
row IKE when you soldiercd, rago.''
Tho man grew In stature At oncc-halfa hcad-and
now he looked down on Neller. Everything seemed
To Increase about him IL was not an elongatlon, y
ING oi Tho legs. As the man took on bulk II was all
over The horrld expression of his features In
tenNned. Ills eyes burned with increased light.
- III Foucho or Nidocq had only been possessed of
my secret they would have glvcn millions for isay
was described rs murderer some feet Inches In
hcight-l could lie at pleasure feet or feet I at
my viii. Mr.. raCo | tower over rs do over Nell
Ter. Hut we viii not 10 arrogant. do not want to
ape the Colossus OF Rhodes IL TX qnite unnecessary
that You should measure with me, for now am to
shrink land down slowly, gradually he sank, until
ne was OF my size, then lower and lower he went
w ho was the shortest of tho three Then he smiled
grimly, gared ut MS With feline eyes, and took his
seat. had noticed an ugly, siovenly spot ON his
wastcoat. wine stain perhaps, aud happening 10
glance from his dlrcfully expanding face to this blur
u grew too visible with the man, he slid socket
IKE upon himself that boch drew In Its edges and
shrank. The hristly, shaggy eyebrows, that ran like
bridge curvlngs the flashing, streaming eyes, be-
came more wlIc-llke and harsh, or contracted into
pencillngs as he dwlndled away. Here was q man
who could ebh aud flow like q tide and was always
proportionately appalling
Are you Mephisophelcs In the beer cellar?"
asked heller.
That Idea OF Goethe IS Is aOsurdiy com mon-p place
clap-trap-the bottle trick put In verse. All per-
totmances with apparatus belong to the lecture ROOM
No automaton Is MS good as Dent chr nometer, Me-
chanical appliances for use, for amusement.
our yokel to-day Is no longer amazed Mt the electric
shock. Who wants to exhibit steam engine or
gayanlc battery Here, give me that bread and
cheese. This Is my variation OF one of the common
est OF the Hindostanee tricks, although must
mark that no true follower Of Buddhn would touch.
look at, or smell cheese; he would be denled | put
ON this table crust of this brown bread. This is a
marble slab supported on four castl Iron legs Cover
this bit OF bread with that towel and do you move
away from 1t. Now look and listen. -
We strained our ears and heard rustng, quver-
ing under the towel which presently rose In irregu
lar form few inches from the table. "Lift up the
towel, " cried tina man. II heller who did II,
aud IN the table was n small russell shear OF rye.
do not touch II yet, for the trick Is not concluded.
See look! Here are beans-that flour was aduerated
anu here are crystals OF alum, and there copperns
In IT, 1t was yillainous baker who made that bread
Cover II again, my poor heller, You have managed
TO touch u, and have secured beard ofryc aud
Slipped II Into your pocket IN very clever way You
may try and fluid It. 1t Is not thereg Yes, It's; but
you took an car that was mody blIghted; the y hnd
poisoned it-your pocket has only some dust In ".
Ergo. 1t is--and there are bakers who are called
honeStl Take away the towel and You sec again your
.
believe have a small hut appreclatlve, one. This
is my cheese trick which mprovlse the SPOT for
your especial benefit. Cut q slice OF II. phew how
1t Smells! Put 1t on that plate and cover It with
another one. You shall hear from that cheese.
Llstcni''
Then f. ON under the covered plates there came the
sounds OF bells and the lowing of cows soft subdued
as IL IN the distance, and there was only for in
slant the fragrance of newly mown lay, and now one
heard the chatter and laughter OF the girls and
he tnking OF milk AS 1t spurted on the pals. Then
all was stlll.
''Do you smell cheese, asked the man. and
there was apparently some anxiety on the part OF
THIS miraculous person. said heller to me In
whisper: 81 don't smell and odor Of cheese, hut
pa'nabe birthstone This place reeks like the crater
OF Mount Nesuvus.''
at is really Swiss cheese, ~ said the man. 'tfor
have resolved 1t into some of its elements Had 1t
been the New Jersey fraud, you would have heard
the cows all the same, but the Irish mkman would
nave been cursing the kline. Now, shall wind up
the performances l meet you, my good Mr.. Neller
on your own ground, aud am trying to go through
your own mongre round of performance. An the
difference between us Is that my skin Is simply ana
Stical. resolve things Into their components. !
might show You that that wine never grew on the
lihine-land hills, that the beer glucose free of
malt, independent of hops But, Neller, do you
See that you have FILTERED away. your tis,e with
deep aud long study Of this instrument mastered
IT.. Tie pointed To the piano. "Pagann' Inn
my piano need not lie told Apparently, this music
box with Its Scared Sides It's ramshackle legs Is
performing Its last degrading service. The poor
life has been beaten out of 1t. Its sounding board Is
shattered, its strings jange; the pedal stopped
working years ago. II is worth exactly aggos of
kndiing- wood you could splinter IL Into. But a
piano Itself does not make music any more than a
music stool. 1t has no soul, but the performer
should make 1t alive. Come, now, and look at this
finger board. The keys Irregular, worn and
Jagged as tho teeth In an ugly wOman's mouth.
Watch me closely
Then he took the plano. stool and rs lie twisted the
screw OF 1t IL gave saddcning shrek Then lie put
his hands those great claw like fingers of his. on the
Keys AS hope 10 live. suddenly there grew out OF
those hands, sixth, seventh, ami eighth fingers, a
pleXus al digits. There thumb for one note Of
The octave, and every note in the eight was covered
Oetaves, double, treple were nothing to him then
Chromatic scales stn with difficulties, sprang elastic
from those marvellous fingers.
'Liszt,' he said " flushed is the Abbatts
musc-ior he is a mere capon-now. 1t was better
when, rs wild springad, urged by passion lie made
bis musical mark Then there ran sounds of thun
der along the piano, aud the sparks bazed up the
keys like railroad wheel tearing over gritty track
And here is Bach, ~ he shouted, and the plastic Hn-
gers were plated, AS 1t We're, and wreahed as they
nnfolded the lnrlcacles of the fngues. a. Bach
played that lust before lie died. like sick dog at
Lepslc, and know where they threw his old car
case but never will tell where are his bones And
now this Is Chopin, and watch me-
Welooked on awe strlcked and noticed wondrous
change. These were no longer eagles taOns on the
piano. with hOrrid dgial additions but delicate four
fingered and single-thumbed hands, and they were
milk white and the blue veins were lust under the
skin, aud on one finger of the left hand there was
red gold ring, with plate opal In 1t that sent out
iambent flame. They were languid hands at times
that RULED but did not beat the keys-and the airs
were sad and waillng and cious but then again
there came death requiem, the repOse In the grave
but the raising OF the soul to heaven left entirely
out rms was but Il passing mood, for suddenly came
another change. The fingers took "A cocky, lauuty
motion, trigger-llke and jerky rs mazurkas, poon-
haises, ana substituting css We're played. Then the
man stopped suddenly only modelling his head in time
with the pulsnting rhythm for the vibrations kept
and-and the piano cover was lifted I'M ana out of IT
came ono cavalier after another, with hussar
jackets, ermine tipped, lined with back
astraklan, and flashing sabres clttered by
their sides, and with OutStretClei hands they
bent on their knees; sprang to them sim out of tls
piano, dainty women clad in golden embroidered
Jackets, fringed With swans down, and the white
pearls ratified upon their heaving bOsoms and topping
the black braids of their heads there swayed and
balanced aigrets of heron plumes. ana the strain of
the dance kept on, with Its distinct its accumulated
its provoking measure, and the men and women In a
Wild dance bounded past ms. and the cavaliers cried
Said heller to me This is an incubation Look
ut the clock. 1t is but one. | wish l were out of
of that mans art Then the music stopped at
once, every figure vanished, and claw Ike hand
was extended toward Neller-and one talon seemed
Ia DeckOh MN on. just then powerful
explosion burst through the air and the building
seemed shaken to IT'S foundation. Everybody can
in Baltimore in 1870, which wrecked almost a whole
quarter of the city, and this beer cellar was only
short block from the centre of the disaster.
A year before Nellor died the writer of this asked
HIN for some of the particulars of this highly i'm
probable story, as related by Page
Poor Page, " said Neller, ihonghtfully she
wasa born artist picked him up ont OF II cellar
somewhere IN Baltimore. lie had gone through the
apprenticeship VI misery lie WORKED FOR me Tor
quite while, but died in an insane asylum
"What about that strange character you once met
in some beer cellar In Baltimore? Had Page story
the least possible foundaton?''
"My dear boy you knew Page, then? Now
pray do nor ask me for particulars, for you would
put me down as II rank liar did l tell you all be-
lleve saw that night. 1 have Travelled the world
over Aud once In Ceylon l a poor devil OF
native, naked save for breeCh- cloth, whose whole
mise-en -scene was narrow plank stretched across
ditch fall of muddy water, carry on things on that
board which with all the paraphernala In the
world could not compass. Alongside of that copper
colored creatures craft, all that my skill or
liOudin's would be worthy OF would be to show
II on before nursery. What did sec that unknown
man in Baltimore do turned my hair gray. 1 dream
OF him sometimes AMI it's like a nightmare for |
wake M In funk. My dear boy, every bit of silver
had In my pocket-and silver was rare after the
war-was as black as Ink, patine of sulphur on It,
A silver watch had coated so thickiy AS TO be
spoiled. IL he was not Lucifer, who the devil was
heY When l am dead aud gone you may write it
up. You might say that 1t was kind OF solemn
warning TO me-