The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-02-27

About the luncueOD nOuf IL seemed to
Robert Pepperel that the place was strangely
empty; he did not remember that he had
ever known it so empty; but still that quail
ity, which he loved to call his philosophy,
came to his aid, and he noted the strange
vacancy with smile. Slowly he moved
among the silent marble folk, and so he came
and stood by the straight feet of a gigantic
Egyptian, who sat and stared straight for
ward, happy in the possession of the Oldest
secret in the world. There, leaning alone
upon his topless billiard-cue, Robert Pep
PEREZ was moved to look upward at the
Egyptian eyes; and the Egyptian eyes looked
down on Robert with moody humor. The
ancient creature did not move, but there
was moody humor in his eyes. The courts
and corridors were silent; they stretched
away, made larger in the larger light Rob-
ert Pepperel looked at the Egyptian and the
Egyptian looked at Robert Pepperel.
Then, from the far end of long, cool
court, came the faint sound of music. IL
seemed as If Pan himself were near, with his
gost-feet hidden in the reeds; or young
shepherd played upon the double rustic pipe
to lambs in Spring. But these were not
lambs which from the distance came tread
ing the smooth marbles, noiseless on strong
soft feet--came slow and inevitably, with
rich dappled skins and stealthy eyes. Slowly
they came. and had such leisure that one of
them paused to smooth her cheek against
the rounded column, and, liking this, she
drew her whole lissom length along it to the
end of her long, stiffened, fexile TAIL Slow
ly they came, and Robert Pepperel was a
ware of a strange satire IN their stealthy
eyes. But he could not look long at these;
for behind them, in the far end of the long
corridor, was faint blue light, like smoke
in the early air. but clearer and softer, al
most incredible. And as he looked at this
he saw dim forms of beauty, and the forms
drew nearer, coming from afar. There was
a man bowed beneath a basket full of grapes,
and the grapes seemed ready to burst album
dant from the loose withies, and two of his
fellows were with him. A girl came dancing,
coming forward and leaning backward
beautiful as the pausing wave; and her
throat was upturned, and her long hail fell
almost to the back of her knees, and the
| light Pickering gown rippled backward from
| the dancing feet Then, quietly walking.
with no one near, with the fawn-skin on his
shoulder, and for girde vine tendrils with
their glossy leaves, came Donysius: and the
brown hue of his body was beautiful as the
rosiness of Aphrodite; and his eyes seemed
bright with mischief in the eyes of Robert
Pepperel. Motionless before the feet of
Robert Pepperel sat the twin panthers, with
satire in their stealthy eyes; but the bearers
of the grapes passed him by, and the eyes of
the dancing-girl looked ever upward and
away. Only the ancient god, the young
Dionysius, coming slowly with great space of
| illnmined air about him, stood still be-
| tween the twin panthers, with mischief in
| his eyes. Then strange double conscious
ness of himself possessed Robert Pepperel.
| guardian of national treasures. He felt
| himself alive in every nerve; and he felt him.
| self to be turning into stone. He seemed to
be more alive than he had ever been before !;
and yet he thought that he was changing to
still marble, while all the ancient gods aud
heroes, whom in his Utmost heart he had
| despised, were growing to full, abundant
| life. 1t was strange two-fold consciousness,
| such as he had not known since that note
worthy night on which he had dined with
| other gentlemen critical of art, and had been
| involved at later hour in his only quarrel
| with his excellent wife. Fresh in the mem
ory of Robert Pepperel was his dinner with
| other gentlemen critical Of art, and his quar-
rel with his worthy wife; and now once
more did a strange double consciousness
| possess him wholly. The antique gods and
heroes gowed with life more and more, as if
| some white transparent vase of Hellas were
filled with ruddy wine; and their appointed
| guardian felt himself freezing to mail Bile, but
slowly, slowly; and all the while he was very
| much alive, too. 1t was a strange expert
| ence. Then two fauns came leaping with a
| cry; and the sinews of their legs were tight as
| fiddle-strings; and when they were close to
thu shoulders of Dionysius, they stood still !;
and they looked at Robert Pepperel with
Wild curious eyes. ''Shall we card him?"
asked one of the fauns; and Dionysius
| laughed; and the twin panthers smiled.
| Then the antique god of the grapevine
| stretched forth his hand lazily, and took
| from the fingers of Robert Pepperel his SYM
Dol of high office, the topless billiard-cue,
and in moment the quick vine curled a.
bout it, the bright leaves clustered at the
end, it was topless no more. And Dionysins
waved it slowly, and slowly from his lips fell
| the soft speech, like drops of wine from a
| thin-necked bottle. "Honor to Robert Pep
| perel." he said; "honor to him who is so
| high that he can look down on the ancient
| gods and heroesr' And the fauns bent their
| curly heads. and the panthers crouched at
| the feet of Robert Pepperel. Cold were the
feet of Robert Pepperel, at which the twin
| panthers crouched. "He shall be laden with
our choicest gifts said the god Dionysius,
1 and he turned his eyes to the great vase,
which the bearer of the grape-basket with
his two fellows had lifted from his pedestal
| and placed upon the marble floor; and the
vase seemed to grow greater in the eyes of
Robert Pepperel, great fair bath well
rounded and polished. And Robert Pepper
ell looked on the fair vase, and the god Di-
onysius looked on it, and looking ON it he
leaned backward lazily, and put back an arm
with grace incredible. aud laid it around the
shoulders of faun; and then he looked
| again at Robert Pepperel. And the grape
bearer and his fellows took the guardian of
national treasures, and they laid him in the
| fair marble bath; and they poured grapes
upon him; and the grapes fell in flood, and
were crushed, and their scent was as the
scent of wine 81 am an abstainer,' cried
Robert Pepperel-ssa total Observation-Disclosures
Observation-Disclosures - and he
could say no more for the weight of ripe
| bruised grapes upon his lips. Then he won
dered if they would tread the grapes, if
| presently he should feel the white foot of
| the dancing girl npon his mouth. But now
| there was the murmur of low laughter in the
court. and down the corridor came new
| riot, and the click of little hoofs upon the
marble. Perhaps it was the sound of baby
satyrs who capered; perhaps it was the pac-
ing of the serious ass that bore old Silenus,
propped at ease by laughing, Bacchante.
Onward came old Sienus riding on his
patient ass, and Robert Pepperel rails
ed his head from the grapes and
peeped above the edge of his bath, and the
face of Silenus was like the face of Hannah
Bellerby. ''What position to be found in
by ladyr' was the thought of Robert Pep
perel. The face Of old Silenus was in the
eyes of Robert Pepperel like the face of Mrs.
Bellerby, and the face of the pensive ass
but have never approved of narrator
thrusting his own personality on the notice
of his readers. "Bobby," said the patient
ass with manner not entirely free from
sententiousness, "not want OF taste is crime:
but false appreciation simulated for self
eXaltation-that is grave fault. Humbug
is always bad FORM" said the pensive ass.
a PrOvident Enplishman.