San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-12-10

ONOih bO"h nan, "ASI iNo oiSiSho
tower, its beautiful porch, and the
graceful oriel which forms the apse of
the chapel in the second story.
One OF the city waite linen, muffled
in his military overcoat, and conspic-
uous by the great bunch of dark
feathers that dropped from his black
hat, was standing idly at the corner
from which the Wanderer emerged.
The latter thought of inquiring
whether the man had seen lady
pass, but the fellows vacant stare
convinced him that no questioning
would elicit a satisfactory answer
Moreover, as he looked across the
square he caught sight of retreating
figure dressed in black, already at
such a distance as to make posi-
tive recognition impossible. In his
haste he found no time to convince
himself that no living woman could
have thus outrun him, and he instant
ly resumed his pursuit, gaining rapid
ly upon her he was following. But it
is not an easy matter to overtake even
a woman, when she has an advantage
OF a couple of hundred yards, and
when the race is a short one. He
passed the ancient astronomical clock,
just as the little bell was striking the
third quarter after eleven, but he did
not raise his head to watch the sad
faced apostles as they presented their
stiff figures in succession at the two
square windows. When the black
eyed cock under the small Gothic arch
above tapped his wooden wings and
| uttered his melancholy crow, the
Wanderer was already at the corner
of the ring, and he could see the OBJ
| ject of his pursuit disappearing before
him into Karlsgasse. He noticed I'M
easily that the resemblance between
the woman he was following and
the object of his loving search
seemed now to diminish, as in a bad
dream, as the distance between him.
self and her decreased. But he held
resolutely on, nearing her at every
step, round a sharp corner to the
right, then to the left, to the right
again, and once more in the opposite
direction, always, as he knew, ap-
preaching the old stone bridge. He
was not dozen PAGES behind her as
she turned quickly third time to the
right, round the wall of the ancient
house which faces the little square
over against the enormous buildings
comprising the Clementine Jesuit
monastery and the Astronomical OBJ
servatory. AS he sprang past the
corner he saw the heavy door just
| CIoslng ana TearG the sharp resOund-
| ing clang of it's iron fastening. The
lady had disappeared, and he felt sure
that she had gone through that en-
| trance.
He knew the house well, for it is
distinguished from all others in
Prague, both by its shape and its
oddly ornamented. unnaturally mar
row front. 1t is built in the figure of
an irregular triangle, the blunt apex
of one angle facing the lutte square,
| the sides being erected on the one
| hand along the Karlsgasse, and on
the other upon narrow alley which
| leads away towards the Jews quarter.
| Overhanging passages are built out
over this dim lane, as though to facil-
| itate the interior communications of
the dwelling, and in the shadow be-
meath them there is a small door
studded with iron nails, which is in
variably shut. The main entrance
takes in all the scant breadth of the
| truncated angle which looks toward
| the monastery. Immediately over it
| is a great window, above that another
and highest of all, under the pointed
| gable, round and unglazed aperture,
within which there is inky darkness.
| The windows of the first and second
stories are fianked by huge figures of
saints standing forth in strangely
contorted attitudes, black with the
| dust of ages, black as all old Prague is
black, with the smoke of brown Bo-
| hemian coal, with the dark and
! unctuOus mists of many autumns,
with the cruel, petrifying frosts OF
| ten score winters.
He who knew the cities of men as
| few have known them knew also this
house. Many a time had he paused
! before it by day and by night, Won
dering who lived within its massive,
irregular walls, behind those uncouth,
barbarous Sculptured saints, who kept
| their interminable watch high up by
| the lozenged windows; he would know
| now. Since she whom he sought had
entered he would enter, too; and in
some corner of that dwelling which
had long possessed a mysterious at
traction for his eyes, he would find at
last that being who held power over
his heart. that Beatrice whom he had
learnnLi 10 thinE Of as dead while