The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-09-08

1 frU cf ali and mxdG iy thelr dwe1fiug place. To u. sounds of noise and strife never reached. and the heavy oaken furniture. seeming centuries old. threw abou, it an atmosphere of perfect seclas- ion and rest. h the centre of the room stood a small able on which sat glass ! lar cg.rioesly carved in the shape of a woman's bus, and head. This Angan i hlled witk. water and taking the thread of hair allowed !, To drop to the bottom. ! During the days that followed. when the autumn sun shone in through the heavily i cnvtained window. he would si, and watch the slender bar of gold faintiy i glis,ening in the bottom of the Jar, his mind hlled ~i,h unear,hly desires. such as mortal perhaps never possessed before. i At last. so strong became the spell that each evening he would no; leave the room until twilight. and again with the break of day would hasten to see that the lar and its contents were safe. h this way long weeks passed. during which Angan was intent only upon the success or failure of his experiment.. Once he though, the hair moved and had become vital. and again tha, i, had dis appeared. bu; these with thousand other surmises. were fanc,es. not realities.
 ie, on entering the room one nom ing later than was his want. Angan found ;ha, the hair no longer gli1ened in the sunshine. Fearing ,ha, !, was gone he hastened to the lar and was surprised ,o md tha, his hopes had been realized and the haif had become tlny snake. twist. ing and dar;ins through the liquid water Barring his arm he thrus; II into the water and grasping the snake drew II oa, and tor many moments a;tAined 10 wriihe and twist in his hand Then dropping II ! gently back, for hours he forgo, ali else. while he watched |: dart ;o and fro. l, was nc; until late m the day that he re- ] luctan,ly lei, the room. From that day l he kep; Journal wherein he recorded i all the strange things in which he bore part. and this being found long af.er gave key to his inner life. Ills t.rst step vas to take the precautions which rendered the disco of his secret by another inn possible and then he watched The snake as day after day I: grew larger. A; last he ventured 70 take |, with him 10 his couch al night where. as he slept. t would lay upon his bosom or col among his ] long. dark curls. So ae,ime> he would drop it into his poeke, and carry !, with him when he stole out for his evening walk: then his footsteps tended into the most solitary and inaccessible pathways. and he seemed a ,imld, frightened slave { fleeing from the cutting lash Of the mas i ter and knowing not which way to turn.
 Cobrl-for that WAS the name Angan
 had gwen his strange companion daily grew more beautiful. with a beauty like | ;ha, Q: no other snake. l,s skin grew blacker, its thousand dots of gold
 brighter and more brilliant. reminding the man of her from whose haat t had sprung and its eyes. SO strangely fascin- atlng. more lus,rous and untathomable When year had passed Il had grown so large. that when Angan would throw
 himself upon the earpeted foot and allow
 il to coil itself upon his breast. i,s head
 reached his and would dar; and 9uiver
 and weave from side to side above l,. Il,
 was then that he often fancied he could de,ect in its graceful, willowy movements something of the languid grace of his false mistress ani-he knew no; why was grimly cxultan, Cobri had learned | to answer to Us name and d, call from 1 its master would come from ou; the Jar and winding up his leg and arm perch | upon his shoulder and allow I,s head 10 rest agaihs, his cheek. Angan would talk 10 Ii for hours as II lay oolied up Il, his ice, and at such times hls voice would become AS los and soft and pleading as that of an Italian flower quail. He had told his servant never 10 enter the room while he was at his meals under penalty oi dismissal. and with ths precauuon he wos.d take Cobri with him to his meals and al low it to crawl abou, his char and into his lap as he ate. Unreal as |; may seem. Ansan had grown to love II. and |, had gained over him spell which he could no, throw of
 In this way years passed. the attach ment between m aster and snaks con- stan,ly growing stronger. and the times when they were apart shorter and further between. Excited by the s,ories of his servants and wha, they them selves saw. people came 10 believe that Angan h ad i some great secret which he kept from the eyes of man; bu, all efforts to probe the mystery proved unsuc essful. for los, in the pleasures of Cobri's companionshlp it vas seldom ,ha; he revealed himself ,o his fellows. and then even the mos; cu- rious cAugh, only Hitting glimpse of him. Bu, a. las, the mystery was es- plained. When his servants noticed ,ha, he had gone two day. ~i,hou, food they sought their masters room. only 10 ind i, securely fastened and their enuea,ies for him to open i; answered by silence. When half an hour later ,he door ~as battered down and several of the vii- lagers, who had responded to the fright enei servants call for help. entered, they recoiled in horror a, what they saw. For there. his face swollen and discoIored, with dark yellow spots in a score of places, and the snake wound round and round his neck, lay AngAn, dead In dying as he did the terrible desire of years had been fully grA,ihed. The snake, like her from whom sprang its life, anze;ed a, some sligh, thing. had s,ung him again and ! again as he lay upon the floor, and then