St. Landry democrat., 1886-03-13
MY PHANTOM LOVE.
The Story Of an Old Bachelor With
g ToOth-Ache.

NO one cOull nave Dnon more cUcctu-
ally out of sorts than | one lovely day
in the mild September of 1888. 1 was
about completing tour of many lands,
seeking first health and then pleasure.
| had found both and for weeks had
been indulgine myself somewhat lavish
~ in the gayetIes of the French capital
before starting home. [ was beginning
to acknowledge to myself positive
WEAKNESS and at last an all-pervading
sense of cnnui and safety in general.
The good steamer = Amerique, in which
/ had engaged passage, would be off in
q few days, however. and | should soon
be ':home again from foreign shores
To add to my uncomfortable state of
mind and body | was the victim Of a
regular old-fashioned nerve-rasping
tooth-ache. A long-neglected molar
was asserting its rights-wrongs rather
and reminding me with painful force
and persistence that the time was near
at hand when we must part company.
The very thought of it filled me with
horror. I may as well plead guilty to
an abiect cowardice, of which any nery-
Gus old woman might feel ashamed, at
the bare suggestion of having a tooth
extracted | have held my own pretty
stiffiy on the battlefield, but the very
thou ht of tooth-pulling operation has
the strange power of driving the blood
back on the double-quick to my heart,
and turning me stark stiff and cold with
dread from the crown of my head to
the tips of my toes.
1t was nearly noon when 1arose from
my bed the day in question, after a
night of sleepless torment. In vain l
applied myself vigorously to the flowing
bowl. Pain and fear refused to sleep
or drown. In desperation | sent for a
prescription of morphine, and, after
Swallowing several of the powders with
a reckless disregard of instructions, l
got the upper hand of the snarling de-
mon and felt comparative respite.
This. however. only made room for
sensations degree less narrowing than
the pains I had previously endured.
NV blood seemed coursing in wild tor
rents through my veins and throbbing
like a thousand pulses in my ears, and
heart. and brain. | looked from my
window and tried to interest myself IN
life and hustle stirring before me; to
read; to think. No use. could not
fix thought upon my object OF pur-
pose. / had through all vague idea
that ought to feel ashamed OF myself
that had not nerve enough either to
endure this commonplace suffering or
remove its cause. Then | began to
wonder in an indefinite way what was
TO be done with the few hours left be-
fore could begin my homeward jour
ney. ] tried in vain to gather my
scattering senses into some sort OF man
ageable shape. T could no longer en-
dure the oppression of my room OF. the
wild restlessness that had taken posses
sion of me. / grasped my hat and
hurried out into the streets, filled with
life. beauty. and traffic and flooded
with sunshine. It was to no purpose
that the gay glories of Paris unfolded
themselves on every hand to charm the
senses not wild and distorted with
misery and morphine.
Still striving to recall my MIND INTO q
TRANQUIL reasoning state, continued TO
ramble on until found myself at the
entrance Of the Paris Salon. went IN,
wandering about the vast galleries and
looking here and there at the works OF
art with dazed or Indifferent interest.
At length / found myself before life
size portrait which at once rlveted my
attention with strange and reslstless
fascination. The memory OF my pam
and misery seemed for the time to nave
been dispelled by some magic influence,
and nod the face and form before me
been endowed with life | should have
acknowledged myself a victim OF the
grand passion at first sight. ! had seen
fhe beautiful women Of every land IN
der the sun; but never in all my travels
or in nv rosiest dreams had sucn 9
vision OF enchanting lovelincss and q
grace greeted my sight. The portrait
was that of a young girl whose race
was the perfection of rare and classic
beauty. The small and daintily poised
head was crowned with abundant ano
naturally waving tresses ripping 10"
unon the forehead and about the shout
ilers like q veil of light. For tne
life of me could not give their color
name-not golden any more than moon
light might be so described; not nax :,
Tor there was tinge OF sunshine ina
gave them a peculiar light and color
nameless and beautiful. The features
small and regular, were OF the Pures
Grecian type, but animated with napp,