The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1889-11-28

The doctor, with his immense shaggy
head, glowing eyes deep-set and small
thin body, was an extraordinary OBJ
iect at the best of times. But, rs he
sat there in his rich and gloomy study,
with hanging-lamp throwing its light
down on his shock of grizzled hair,
and casting cavernous shadows from
his beetling brows, beneath which
those eyes of his gave forth a red
sparkle; and mis- big, irregular nose
dividing his visage like spur of q
mountain between two valleys; and
the lips of his great grim mouth work
ing and puckering as he sucked at his
black pipe-as he sat there in his
high-backed oaken chair, beside a
table piled up with rare and ancient
books, and strange ornaments from
China and India, and with q small
but 6nely-formed skull carefully
mounted on an ebony stand, and 80
placed that it had the air of whisper
ing in his ear-as he sat there, I say,
he looked less like an ordinary man
than like a wizard of the Dark Ages,
or even like one of the demons that
such wizards were wont to evoke.
Of course, as every one knows, Doc
tor Hoknagel is nothing of the kind
for though he probably knows more
than all the wizards of antiquity put
together, he is at the same time one of
the best and kindest-hearted of men
if common report be worth anything.
But that fairy like body-the contrast
between it and the head is certainly
very singular. An ogre and an elf
combined to form a man-that is how
you would describe him. His hands
are like q woman's, white, small, and
beautifully shaped and he wore on
one of his fingers a costly sapphire
ring, such as a lady might wear.
We had been discussing the skull.
"It is q woman's. then 7" said /.
"Yes; and a very lovely woman she
was, too," replied DR.. Hoknagel, in
his deep but exquisitely >modulated
tones.
"Can you judge from the skull Of
the beauty of the face 2" l exclaimed.
perhaps not; at any rate, 1 do not
in this case"
"Do you mean to say you actually
knew her 7" I demanded, with a chill
of the nerves. Even the most benev
olent doctors will sometimes do odd
things that make ordinary persons
flesh creep.
"Well, ut all events, know she
was a beauty" he said. And, after
putting at his pipe while, he con
tinued: "It's q curious story, and you
might as we'll hear it. You remember
Daventry ??
"Not Dsventry who married Miss
Saltonstall. the heiress, and went
madY
That's the man-Edward Daven-
try. My specially is mental diseases,
you know, and / .igned the order
committing him to the asylum. That
was ten years ago. He died last
week."
"Only last weekl I had supposed
him dead for years" s
Death l. q name applied indis
criminatsly to several different phe-
nomena. Nov you knew Daveutry
who married Miss Saltonstall; but
knew him before that event-long be-
fore. And I happen to know that
Miss Saltonstall was not the first
lady"
"Ah! An earlier romance! Dc
let me hear il"
There is not much to that. There
was a girl-let US call her Francesca
her family name does not concern us
She was . lovely creature, Of . style
quite unlike Miss Saltonstall. Daven
try was then barely twenty; she, {
year or two younger. She loved hin
| with ell her heart. He-well, he con
eeived . passion for her. It was un
derstood-she undefstood-that they
we're 10 be married. But she tool
too much for granted, and grentee
too much. You know the way of tn,
world. There are times When the wo
man 10 as much to blame - the man
Ali I will say is, that this wss not ont
of those times. Daventry was then ,
young fellow in . country town, viii
no prospects in particular. An unex
pected circumstance gave him a goot
opportunity to enter business in Ney
York, and he went, leaving Francesc,
behind. Well, it had to bel An,
within q year he had the satisfaction
such as it was, Of hearing that she va
dead" EstfEg
| How the doctors eyes did glow III
looked terribly At that moment.
| "Daventry had, I believe, alread
made the acquaintance of Miss Salton
stall, and it was not long before the
were openly engaged to be married
There was NO ambiguity about the ar
rangement You may suppose. if ~
like, that Davsntry was really in lov
this time. At al events. he acted q
if he were. He hardly ever let th
girl out Of his sight. She couidn
complain of lack Of devotion. The
we're married. great wedding. Yo
remember it. A handsome coupl,
AL New York looking on. Ali Ii
girls envying her; all the young fe
lows him. So off they went on the
honeymoon"
The doctor sucked hard and fast !.
his black pipe. until be, and the littl
white skull, and th6s pile Of antiqr
volumes. were al enveloped in . grs
mist of smoke.
.Daventry beesms psoserbial 4
work. Everything he took hold 1
went we'll. His wife had q million
her dovEy. 70 there vas no need f