Thomas County cat., 1890-07-24

apparently quiet She had promised
to go to sleep. and the old nurse lay on
cot at her feet.
The next morning she was dead, and
the story of her d ~ fas kept secret
The old nurse Ms~ c.a. it came from
hidden bottle of morphine, and so
did /, but we kept the fact secret and
she received Christian burial
A week later the husband left the
city with his child, and his home and
property were all advertised for sale.
Where he went none knew. and he
faded out of the life that had known
him as shadow passes away from the
sun.
Fifteen years after that entered an
apartment in New York with three
young physicians, who had persuaded
me to 60 fortune-telling with them that
evening. The strange story have just
told had come viyidly up to me by the
fact that l discovered one of these
young men to be the son of the woman's
lover. The room we entered was the
queerest have ever seen. The walls
were of polished panels of ebony, hung
with bright pictures and having deep
frieze Of poppies on an ebony ground.
The carpet was crimson, strewn over
with black fur rugs, and the furniture
was ebony, upholstered in crimson
Persion silk. There were crimson
silk-shaded lamps here and there, and
beside one sat strange figure, which
arose to greet us as we entered.
THAT'S the sorceress," whispered
barley. (the young man I mentioned:
his real name l will not give)
"The woman was a small, slender
creature, all decked in red satin and
black lace. Her high-heeled red satin
shoes were beaded in black, and in the
black masses of her hair glittered
crescent of rubies. Her face was very
dark; she had immense black eyes and
a crooked mouth, with little dimples
at the corners, and teeth brilliantly
white. She bowed and smiled to the
whole of us, and then her keen, COM
prehensive glance fell upon barley.
Her face grew suddenly sad and clouded.
"You have an urgent destiny to full
fill" she said. "You have life to
save from present and future perdition.
1t comes to you as recOmpense for
two unhappy lives. The story of it all
is terrible one. can but dimly see
it, but what see fills me with horror.
l am sorry you came, am always
affected by the fortunes of the people l
tell. 1 can't talk any more now.
Leave me, and you all can come some
other time for your fortunes. l am
very tired"
She sank into her deep crimson chair
and closed her eyes. We left her
silently, awed and impressed against
our will.
When We entered the cool air of the
October night the young fellows COM
menced jeSting over the scene.
'.:She's queer one.' said Valentine
"Lots of believers among the fashion
able people, and makes loads of money"
"Confound her. said barley, with
nervous shrug. II wish she'd singled
out some one else for her uncanny pre-
diction."
"Where shall we 60 next?" That
was the question we stood and asked
each other as we reached Twenty third
street.
perhaps you'll ike to see some of
the opium diyes?" suggested Mar
lowe.
"As I'm in for anything uncanny you
fellows propose, l think, perhaps, /
should"
"Well, there's one here that know
of which is decidedly different from the
usual run. You hear of their luxury |
and all that, but this one is the only |
luxurious one in all New York. It's
kept by an old mana Chinaman,
presumably and a young girl about |
whom there is nothing Chinese. She's |
a beautiful creature, and people go
there to see her, and she fills their
pipes and sings them songs with look
of loathing and scorn upon her face,
passionate enough to scare man with
delirum. tremens into his senses l |
have access to this place, having got
the drop on the old man through pro-
fessional knowledge of some of his pro-
ceedings.
To this place we went, reaching it |
many ways too complicated for
description. At last the queer, crooked
little dwarf who met us at the entrance
drew apart the rich curtains of the
apartment. Along the walls were
divans of rich material, upon which re-
posed forms in the abandonment of
drugged sleep. A dim, crimson glow
norvadad the room -and aho,t in tb;s