Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-07-12


 my uncle's-a charming custom. now obso- lete, together with many other equally charming customs which mourn for with all the heart l have lefN, took my candle and retired forthwith, so impatient did feel to enjoy my new dwelling place.
 While I was undressing, fancied that Omphale's eyes had moved; l looked more attentively in that direction, not without a slight sensation of fear, for the room was very large, and the feeble luminous penun,- bra which doated about the candle only served to render the darkness still more wis ible. thought saw her turning her head toward me. became frightened in earnest, and blew out the light. turned my face to the wall, pulled the bedclothes over my head, drew my night cap down to my chin, and finally went to sleep.
 did not dare to look at the accursed tapestry again for several days It may be well here-for the sake of i'm parting something of verisimilitude to the unlikely story am about to relate-to inform my fair readers that in those days l was really very pretty boy. I had the hand somest eyes in the world-at least they used to tell me SO; much fairer complexion than I have nova true carnation tint; curly brown hair, which still have, and F years, which l have no longer. l needed only 0 pretty stepmother to be @ very tolerable cherub; unfortunately, mine was 57 years of age, and had only three teeth, which was too much of one thing and too little of the other. One evening, however, finally plucked up courage enough to take peep at the fair ! mistress of Hercules-she was looking at me with the saddest and most languishing ex- pression possible This time I pulled my night cap down to my very shoulders and ! buried my head in the coverlet had @ strange dream that nlght-if, in- deed, 1t was 0 dream. I heard the rings of my bed curtains sliding with sharp squeak upon their curtain rods as if the curtains had been suddenly pulled back. I awoke-at ! least in my dream it seemed to me that l awoke saw no one
 The moon shone full upon the window panes, and projected her wan bluish light ! into the room Vast shadows, fantastic forms, were defined upon the floor and the ! walls The clock chimed a quarter, and the 1 vibration of the sound took long time to die away; it seemed like sigh. The plainly | audible strokes of the pendulum seemed like l the pulsations of young heart throbbing with passion.
 ! Ifelt anything but comfortable, and very l bewilderment of fear took possession of me. | A furious gust of wind banged the shutters and mnde the window sashes tremble. The I wood work cracked; the tapestry undulated. ventured to glance in ths direction of Om. phale, with a vague suspicion that she was l instrumental in all this unpleasantness for ! some secret purpose of her own. l was not ! mistaken.
 The tapestry became violently agitated Omphale detached herself from the wall and leaped lightly to the carpet. She came !straight toward my bed, after having first turned herself carefully in my direction. fancy 1t will hardly be necessary to describe \ II dier would not have felt very comfortable under similar circumstances, and I was neither old nor a soldier. I awaited the end l of the adventure in terrified silence. A flute toned, pearly little voice sounded softly in my ears, with that pretty lisp af fected during the regency by marchionesses and people of high degree:
 Do really frighten you, my childa It is true that you are only Q child but it is not nice to be afraid of ladies, especially when they are young ladies and only wish you well l 1t is uncivil and unworthy of French l gentleman; you must be cured of such silly fears. Come, little savage, leave off these foolish airs, and cease hiding your head un der the bed clothes. In my time, cherubs l were more courageous"
 "But, lady, it is because"- | "Because 1t seems strange to you to find me here instead of there," she said, biting l her ruddy lips with her white teeth, and pointing towards the wall with her long: taper finger; "well, in fact, the thing does not look very natural; but were to explain it all to you, you would be none the wiser. Let it be sufficient for you to know that you are not in any danger"
 II am afraid you may be the-the"-
 "The devil-out with the worlds it not? That is what you wanted to say. We'll, at least, you will grant that 1 am not black enough for a devil; ;.and that if he'll were peo- pied with devils shaped as I am one might have quite as pleasant time there as in para disc"
 And, to prove that she was not fattering herself, Omphale threw back her lions skin and allowed me to behold her exquisitely molded shoulders and bosom, dazzling in their white beauty.
 "Well, what do you think of mes' she ex- claimed, with pretty little air of satisfied coquetry.
 sI think that, even were you the devil him. self, should not be afraid of you any more, Mime. Omphale."
 "Ah, now you talk sensibly; but do not call me madame or Omphale. I do not wish you to look upon me as madame; and am no more Omphale than am the devil"
 "Then who are your'
 'I am the Marchioness de Bellerive A short time after was married the marquis had this tapestry made for my apartments, and had me represented on it ilsthe character of Omphale; he himself figures there as Her cules That was q queer notion he took; for God knows there never was anybody in the world who bore less resemblance to Hercules than the poor marquisl It has been a long time since this chamber was occupied I naturally love company, and I almost died of ennui in consequence It gave me the headache. To be only with ones husband is the same thing as being alone When you came was overjoyed; this dead room be- came reanimated; had found some one to l feel interested in. I watched you come ip and go out; heard you Inurmuring in your sleep; watched you reading, and my eyes !. followed the pages. found you were nicely behaved, and had fresh, innocent way about you that pleased ms-in short, fell in love with you tried to make you under stand; sighed-you thought it was only the signing of the wind; made signs to you; I looked at you with languishing eyes, and only succeeded in frightening you terribly. | SO at laSt Tn 1eSpair ' rocoluoI ,,vo,, <I,;s