The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-20
Irrintes sy Special acknowledgement 1885,
TWO STILETTOS.
A STORY BY CONRAD MORE.

Once upon time,I was the owner of some
what curious old Italian stiletto, which had
bought for song at auction down in the neigh
borhood of Clinton place. 1t had slender
prism-shaped blade, about seven inches
long, and half an inch thick at the
base, whence il tapered leisurely away
10 the point Two of the three facets were
engraved with an elaborate running scroll.
and on the third you distinguished what at first
sight you would certainly have mistaken for
blood-stain, but what on closer inspection you
recognized for struggling inscription IN dark
red enamel-"Per rodio lamor." being the
rather ambiguous Italian phrase. The hilt was
of silver, cleverly wrought in imitation of hu-
man finger; and at the extremity an unusually
large and brilliant opal did duty for the nail.
suppose it is needless to say that valued this
stetto highly. AS keepsake of time when
the flavor of romance still fingered about the
world, it prompted thousand interesting
dreams. In what historic hands it might have
trembled Perhaps Paolo had worn it during
his visits to Francesca. Perhaps Queen Joanna
had disposed of an inconvenient lover with it,
At any rate, did not doubt that, If it had only
had a tongue, it could have whispered many
q thrilling secret. the spark pent up In
The opal was all that remained of the
fires that had burned in dead mems breasts
per podio ramor. 1t was like Hans Ander-
sens magical gooshes. / had but to press it in
my clasp and be transported over the sea and
the centuries to Italy and the middle ages.
So, as / priced it thus, the reader will easily
imagine my dismay one morning, when. through
sheer clumsiness on my part, it sustained an ir-
reparable injury. While handling it according
to my frequent custom, somehow carelessly al
lowed it to slip from my grasp and drop upon the
hearth. OF course l hastened to pick it up but
the damage was already done. The OPAL which
may have been loose in its setting, had fallen
out.
An immediate ard thorough search failed to
recover it. | wasted more than an hour ransack-
inh every nook and Granny of my chamber
Then called in the servant and babe her move
out the furniture and sweep the aoor-in which
operation l did not disdain to assist, but to no
avail. The opal obstinately refused to be found
Apparently it had been swallowed up in one of
those cosmic gaps of which, the transcendental
physicists tell us, space Is full. At last, heated
and out of pate nce I returned to the stilletto.
aed throwing myself in an easy chair, set about
an examination to see whether the mischief had
begun and ended there.
But scarcely had I glanced at it when my
attention was arrested by contrivance which
promised to account in somewise for the extra
Orti1ary luster of the vanished gem. Directly
beneath whore it had lain inserted a tiny
strip Of looking-glass. so that Il thoughtl what
ever rays of light had filtered through the
body of the stone had there been gathered up
and reflected back. Now, my own countenance
stared at me in miniature, and the ex-
preston of it, owing to what cause |
Gould not determine was so peculiar SO I'M.
familiar, that stayed studying it considerably
longer than modesty justified My face it was
Eeyoud peradventure; and yet. had seen it
anywhere else than in the lookinggla should
have passed it FOR a strangers. 1t was modified
I'D hue and contour 1t might have been my
Emin-brothers. If had had one
By an accidental turn of the wrist, slightly
Mtered the angle which the mirror bore to my
Bye the result being that my own image quickly
fltot upwards and off. But before had started to
Fesd5ust it, perceived, slowly shap-
ma itself upon the blank surface, an
Bther face which was not mine at
KN. Everybody remembers how If one
hold an old-fashioned daguerreotype at certain
ihellnation, it appears to be perfectly plain
piece Of looking. glass; whereas, if one tilt it
little, the likeness printed on it begins to
gnerge This was precisely what happened in
The present instance, with the exception that the
likeness which now confronted did not resem-
BILE daguerreotype in the least Just what the
effect was, it would be hard to put in words. 1t
seemed as though, in transparent and almost in
visible colors, this singular picture had been
woven in with the glass.
And yet it was anything but weak or indeci-
sive A single glimpse suficed to fix my gaze
The exouisitely modelled features. the low, white
forehead, the wealth of raven hair, the serene
LIQUID eyes, were fraught With individuality
and must have beea done under microscope, so
faultless they were even to the minutest details
It was the face of woman--fancy the virgin of
Murrillo, infinitely spirtualized, and you will
form tolerable notion of her celestial beauty.
For myself, as I looked into her eyes, which
were fastened half reproachfully, half appeal
ingly, upon my own could feel the blood Jingle
in my veins, and tremor sweep over all my
limbs In general I am not an unduly sensitive
person; but on this occasion was as impression
able as a child. The diminutive portrait exerted
o hardly credible influence upon me. draught
of strong wine could not have stimulated me to
such pitch; the touch of living Madonna could
not have lifted me to higher plane of, exata-
ton. / eazed upon her until my breath had
grown short and convulsive, and pure exhaus-
tion compelled me to close my eyes.
When I reopened them made very simple
discovery, and yet one that caused me to exclaim
for surprise. l discovered the reason for that
have alluded to above Because of the distance
at which held the stiletto, my reflection In the
mirror was of the same dimensions as the por-
trait, so that the lines of the two exactly coin
cided. II increased or diminished the dis
lance, they became separate, because their rela-