Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-11-01

MISS DuIneTlanu nad not caught the
words, and, indignant at the additional
outburst of patois, inquired: "What is
the matter with them3 Is it anything
extraordinaryG'
have wholesome terror of Miss
Sutherland's moods, but the doctor had
apparently survived his, forhe answered,
very coolly: "We are apparently upon
the verge of the valley of Matrimony,
and the donkey women are calling our
attention to the fact.n
There was silence that under the cir
cumstances was painful. Miss Suther-
land tried to look dignifed from the top
of her donkey-an impossible thing even
for her. The doctor succeeded without
trying in looking savagely bitter from
his position at the tail of the mine.
To relieve the situation l opened the
guide-book.
"sThe so-called Val di Mitromania,
sometimes called Matrimony by the
islanders, descends eastward to the sea
at the base of the Tuoro Grande.'"
"Ah," said the doctor, Sit certainly
does descend eastward"
went on:
"'The Grotto di Mitromania, or
Grotto of Mithras, shrine of the
Persian god of the sun, to which one hun
dred and thirty steps descend"
This time Miss Sutherland was ready
with remark.
eve must see the grotto, by all
means.''
To this I objected on the score of the
one hundred and thirty steps, and the
doctor agreed with me.
shall always think that it was the
peculiarly chilly and disagreeable tone of
the doctors voice that sent Miss Suther-
land so precipitately toward the brow of
the hill In half moment she was off
her donkey and explainingin in her choicest
Italian to a group Of women and small
boys that she would not have either their
assistance or their company in descend
ing the ragged steps. The peasants
shook their heads doubtfully, and
shrieked, half in warning, half in fury,
at being disappointed of their soldi.
The doctor never moved muscle, and
in two minutes more the girl was out of
sight. By way Of relief to his mind and
my own nerves we began to discourse
eloquently on Italian scenery. Finally
the subject could not be avoided any
longer.
"Doctor," said I, find out if you can
from these women how long it ought to
take to descend to that grotto and come
back again"
The labor of this investigation was
dreadful The doctor talked and the
women screamed. Time enough was
consumed to have lost a dozen lives
when he announced as the result of his
struggles that Miss Sutherland should
have returned long ago.
/ Doctor exclaimed, q that girl ha
broken her neckn
"Wellro
"Wellr' I shrieked. els it possible
you don't care anything about ita"
con the contrary, am rather pleased
at such an appropriate denouement. She
has broken my heart, nearly lost you your
life, and what could possibly be more
suitable than for her to finish by break
ing her own neck 2''
This was pretty speech from a man
in Lowell
"Will you go down and look for
her ~
+" Certainly, if you viii go with me
We shall probably find her sitting on a
rock politely indifferent to our feelings,
and meditating on her next new bon
net"
He positively declined to 60 unless I
I WcuJ Win LHn1 uIlAtI SOuC1luQ6 Oh
Miss Sutherland's behalf it was not in
DR.. Manning's programme to bestow.
Hand in hand, and assisted by a sturdy
peasant woman, we scrambled down that
horrible precipice. The shrine Of the
Persian god, cave with arches and walls
of brick, was passed, but no sign of Miss
Sutherland's presence.
Presently, looking over small cliff,
we saw the young woman half sitting,
half lying, on rock.
is anything the matter9" the doctor
called out.
"No, nothing-not exactly.n The
words were exactly those Miss suther-
land would have liked to utter in her
firmest tone. The tone she did utter
them in was one that denoted an agony
of suppressed pain.
The doctor heard it quite as well as I
did, but he did not move.
"Will you come up, or shall come
uoWn 10 you
By this time we could see the white
drawn face. The doctor took two steps
forward and stopped.
Miss Sutherland, Spartan that she was,
had borne all she could bear. Both
arms were stretched out, and the weakest
kind Of voice answered:
s'I cannot come Come to me.n
There was really nothing-not ex-
actly' the matter with Miss Sutherland
but broken ankle and dislocated
shoulder
What piece Of work it was carrying
her up that dreadful hill And how
ever did we manage to get her all the