Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-08-04
HALLUCINATIoN.

HALLUCINATION.
The masters of Penny Royal School
we're a very Jolly set of young fellows
in the particular year when Septimus
Lacy Joined the community. There were
ejghit or ten of them, all men in their
early prime, fresh from college, wear
in. the bloom of their honors gayly;
strong. vigorous, athletic fellows, for
the most part accustomed to work, and
as ready for play as if they had still
been among the boys that swarmed into
The cricket field when school was up
and the matches on. -Septimus Lacy
grave, sensible-looking young man of
twenty-three or twenty-four-brought
bis sister with him, and took a quiet
lodging Of three roomsi in the High street
of Penny Royal!
Miss Lacy was several years older
than her brother, and had already &C.
CURED the formed manner and easy
bearing of a well-educated woman of
the world. Though not regularly hand
some, there was some distinction in her
figure, which was literally nodded, and
graceful in action or in repose. She car
ried her head well, and had the free,
gliding motion proper to a person well
proportioned and sensibly clad. Her
dress never remarkable, was always in
fine taste-her gowns fitted to perfec-
ton-she did not tight-lace. No high
leeled shoe or tight boot cramped her
action in walking. Her complexion was
clear and good, with a disposition to
freckles in the summertime; her hair,
ot shade of ruddy brown, lay plenti-
fully about a low, broad brow, betoken-
ing thought, and the same color haunted
Ter brown, sun-freckled eyes. She had
way of partly closing them, when talk
ing,! which made some people nervous,
and her conversation was agreeable,
particularly to men. 1t was easy, sug-
gestive, animated, and there was a Pc
culiar tone in her voice that was very
attractive. Miss Lacy was a musician,
and the fine instrument in her room
enabled her to exercise her charming
accomplishment on favorable terms.
Very pleasant evenings were passed
there in a nice, informal way. Friends
would drop in to talk, or to play a rub
Der. Miss Lacy would sometimes
take a hand, or more frequently
discourse soft music in a solilo-
quizing way which disturbed
nobody and delighted appreciative ears.
Young Derwent Percival would loll
back in a low chair, listening silently,
and musing on scenes that somehow
came back to him from the past, with
the sound of the weird things she
played. Her long fingers would wan
der about the keys in vagrant fashion,
now twining through an arabesque,
then skipping through the nazes Of
some wild Hungarian melody which
made his heart throb excitedly, and a
strange craving to dance come over
him. Then a grave, signing andante
from some ancient master would hush
ana lull his soul to silence and bring to
nm, as he sat there, the singing of the
river in his fathers garden as it sang
IN the days when he lay by its margin
coming his Caesar or devouring a ro-
nance. And through all came the
6 bor Is of the whist-players; as the rub
hearts would win her trick to the SOL
emn measure of a funeral march, and a
gay troubadour's ditty celebrate the re-
yoke Of Tom Brown, who had an evil
,llck Of revoking, and always declared
MISS Lacy's music tripped up his wits
anu led him astray. Then the party
would break up with laughter and a
glass of beer, and Derwent Percival
would say, with his eyes cast down, for
ne was a shy man: '.Thank you, Miss
Lacy. It's quite wonderful, the effect
El Your playing! 1t sets me dream
ing all sorts Of old things"
he was a big, handsome young fell
low, this Percival-Miss Lacy thought,
.ne handsomest man she had ever seen.
one would steal a glance at him out of
.he corners of her half-closed eyes, as
i1e sat playing. Once he met it and
pushed horribly. A woman's eye al
Ways discounted him. There was a
sllll IN a country parish fifty miles away
whose soft, fair face dwelt in his heart,
ana kept it fresh and pure with her in
m9cent gaze, which yet abashed him
Shen ne was beside her. He had never
Jared to meet it full and tell sweet
i!ances Lorrimer that the hope Of
us lie had grown round a vision Of
Hlose blue eyes of hers, smiling kindly
lu.o his, AS Miss Lacy softly touched
s ller chords, he lay wondering if ever he
anoald kiss that fair face of his dream,
anu call her by name, and touch her
sahd, and know it was his own. Miss
lacy little knew the apparitions she
ssoked with her spells. They did not
seveal themselves to her. Only the ass
the way.
lhe other young men were not slow
" note the fascination of Miss Lacy's
fFuua';no, and rallied Percival uumerci-
.p ,,