Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1886-08-18
A NIGHT OF HORROR.
M. Oufie Masquerading as We're
Wolf.

A cheerful man was NJ. Quite, 1whC
loved a jovial evening with friends, 6
glass of good wine, and merry tale
A worthy man, too, was he-the most
exemplary of husbands. and the most
indulgcnt of fathers. But he had hi:
weakness and which of us has mott
His weakness was weakness of intel
lect. In short, he was Il very good,
a very respectable, very kind-hcartcd
man, but also very silly ore. He re.
garded himself as a bit of philoso-
phcr, and despiscd superstition; yet,
for all that, he fidgeted if the salt
cellar were upset, alarmed il the knife
and fork were crossed, and he would
positively refuse to make the thirteenth
at dinner.
1t was Carnival time, and NJ. Ouile
invited all his own relations and his
wife's relations to dinner. A pleasant
evening they passed. They ate and
they drank, and they talked and they
sang. They ate till they were more
than satisfied, drank till they were very
merry, talked themselves dry, and sang
themselves hoarse. Far be il from me
to assert that any of the party had drunk
more than he ought, but they had all
grazcd the line OF moderation, and M.
Ounc, being naturally light-hcartcd,
had become exceedingly '.jolly." When
the relations withdrew, the children
went to bed. Madame Oullc took her
candle and departed with her ladies'
maid, and M. QUITE, for the sake of a
little exercise, trotted up and down
his chamber, whistling plaintive
melody, and whisting it out of tune.
This gcntlcman's eldest son, who had
inherited all his fathers amiablc quail
ties, and his cmpty-headednes into the
bargain, had Slipped of from the
paternal house by the back door, as
soon rs the guests began to leave, in u
incorporating dress, and had betakcn
himself, after the manner of scape-
graccs, to ball. Nj. Ounc, having
wCaricd of describing curves in his own
room, opened the door and went up
stairs, IL process attended by difficulties
which would have proved insuperablc
but for the assistance of the banistcrs.
Arrived on the landing, Nj. Ouhe OBJ
served his son > door open, so he walked
into the room, impcllcd by curiosity or
by desire for little moro converse
ton. The son was, however, Just ut
that time dancing in the ballroom of a
hotel two streets of.
NJ. QUITE, not finding the young man,
sat himself down beside the bed, and
began to overhaul the various mas
querading dresses which his son had
left out upon Il chair. There was n
neat suit of green and gold, intended
H. Il forcstcr's dress; there was Il cos
tune of the time of Francois l., covered
with spanglcs; and last, but not least,
there was bcar-skin suit, so contrivcd
that the wearcr of it was covered withfhr
from head to foot, and looked precisely
like black bear escaped from "a travel
ing caravan. NJ. Oufle turned this
dress over and over, and its originality
attracted his interest. He thought
he should like to see whether it
would fit his person. He therefore
arrayed himself in the habit, and found
that it suited to Il L.
just then the idea entered his head
that the opportunity of disabusing
Madame Oulle of her supcrstitions had
now presented itself. Madame Quite
was nearly rs great fool us her hus-
band, and that was saying great deal.
She was infected with the vulgar be-
lief in witchcraft and dcmonology, and
believed implicitly that warlocks could
transform themselves into wild beasts
for the purpose of devouring children.
Now" unused NJ. Ouflc, lisa chance
for me to eradicate these baneful super
stitions from her mind. II she secs
me in this dress, and takes me to be n
werewolf, when | show her the dcccp-
ton she will never believe i'm the
supernatural again
Accordingly he walked to his wifc's
still with her mistress, so M. Ouflc
retreated downstairs to the dining
room, intending to wait till his good
lady was alone; and that he might know
when tho maid was dismissed, he left
the door ajar. Then, taking up a book,
he seated himself before the. fire. The
book happened to be Bodin's "Demono-
mania,' and M. Oullc opened it
at the chapter on Lycanthropy.
He read on, and the tales of wcrc-wo.ves
floated in strange colors through his
brain, till he fell asleep with his head
on the table, and the book on his lap.
And as he slumbcrcd he dreamed of
sorcerers being provided by the evil
one with wolf-skinS which they were
condemned to wear for seven years,
and of Lycaon sentenced by Jovc to
run about in bestial form, till piercing
shrek and crash brought him with a
start to his feet.
The ladies' maid, after having pinned
her mistress back hair in heap, and
fitted over it the night-cap, had left the
chamber, and had come downstairs.
AS she passed the dnng-room, she
saw that there was still light in it,
and thinking that the candles had not
been extinguishcd, she entered prrcipi-
lately to put them out. There in the
dead of night she stood, and saw before
her monstrous black bear fast asleep
before the fire, snoring loudly, with its
head on the table and its snout up in
the air, its hind paws upon the fender,
n silk pocket-handkcrchicf over one
knee, and a book on its lap. No
wonder that she dropped her candle
and screamed.
But the shrek which testified to her
fear frightened M. Oufc out of the few
senses he did possess. He sprang up,
bcwildercd with his dreams, confused
with the fumes of wine, and alarmed at
the suddcin ness of his reviei. Opposite
him was mirror. He forgot entirely
all the circumstances connected with the
assumption of the bcar-skin, and with
the last impression produced by Bodin
and by his dream stamped upon his
brain, he jumped to the conclusion that
he was bewitchcd, and that he had
been transformed into a werewolf.
Full of this idea, he dashed past the
terror-stricken maid; and his wife, who
had rushed to the landing, saw fright
full monster bounding downstairs,
uttering bowls sufficiently loud to awake
the dead, heard IL unlock tho front
door and burst into the street. There
upon she tainted away.
M Oufie imnqllcd Inv tcrror ran