The record-union., 1891-07-11
THE SHROUDBD WATCHER.

1t is many years since the following re-
markable incident in my life took place
For the ordinary commonplace details of
| everyday experience my memory is gem
orally held to be Indifferent, but the cir
cumstances in this case were such that
they have indelibly fixed themselves in
my recollection, as though they had oc-
CURED yesterday.
AT the time l allude to was very raw
young ensign, scarcely done with the
goose-step. My regiment was quartered
in the - Barracks. situated in suburb
of the capital of that well-known island
fortress which stands warden over the
blue waters of the Mediterranean high
way. within sight of Sicilian Etna, and al
most of Northern Africa.
To make my narrative clearer will be-
gin by presenting to the reader the chief
character in it.
Ralph D was young fellow with
an odd history. What brought him to
Malta none of us ever exactly knew. He
was understood to have been in one of
"John Company's'' regiments, but wheth-
Ell horse or foot | cannot remember. His
own account was that he had left the In
dian service (for some unexplained rea-
som, and found his way to Vienna, got
himself into regiment of Austrian cav
| airy, as not few eX-British officers man
aged at that time to do. But, for reasons
best known to himself and the authori-
ties, his stay in the KaiSer's service was
not of long duration, and when / joined
my regiment in the island princlpality
sacred to San PublioS D was a we'll
known character among the English resi-
dents and garrison. Not that the noto-
riety was altogether conducive to his fair
fame, but D had singular way of
worming himself into the good graces of
a particular set. and passed for gentle
man of affable manners, much wit, and
especially a certain and bold diablerie
that stuck at nothing, and gave him a
kind of popularity among the more dar-
ing spirits in society. How well l can
call up his appearance! Dark, brilliant
eyes and black hair; a tall, 1.-the figure
with very peculiar but really bewItch-
ing smile on occasions when it suited
him to please; and beautifully shaped
contour of head and profile. He was
known to be of good family, and, as he
had been in the service, my regiment had
made him an honorary member OF our
mess; and | rather think another corps in
our garrison had given him the same en-
tree into theirs. At ali events, he was on
good terms with some OF our fellows,
though our Colonel and one or two OF the
older officers certainly did not encourage
him much, as his example was not con-
sidered beneficial to the juniors.
D was wonderful billiard player.
/ never saw anyone beat him at closing
hazards or the 'spot stroke.n As to
pool, our lives were nothing in his
hands; and at all card games in particu-
lar, both the skill and the luck of the
man were extraordinary. Night after
night / have seen him at play, and his
winnings must have almost Sutficed to
maintain him. AS to other traits in his
character, l am sorry to say [ never
heard of one single good or generous
sentiment that could be traced to him
D-'s talk at the mess-t table, or in the
anteroon, was of the most cynical flavor
it was ever my lot to hear; and though
''de mortuis nil nisi b0numn is an excel
, lent and decent moral to abide by, truth
compels me to add that some very sinis-
ter tales Of D-S influence over the
other sex had got about at the time [
speak of. What has now come to be dig
nitied with the name Of hypnOtiSm WAS
| unknown as such in those days, but
believe D. possessed some conSpicu-
Gus powers in this direction, ana { am
afraid was not always over scrupulous
IN his use of them. Even at this distance
OF time his portrait stands out clear to my
minds eye-a kind of Rembrandt-liko o
sheen upon it, by reason of the mysteri-
Gus shadow in the background which
was to loom up and cover it with the
blackness of darkness. ! ought perhaps
to add, for the better understanding of
what is TO follow, that for little while be-
fore the denOuement came, some OnlnOuS
whisperings got afioat among us about
D, ard the methods whereby SO much
, silver and gold was perpetually being
transferred at whist and ecarte from
other peoples pockets to his own. For
in my long experience of those holding
her gracious majesty'S commission, not
withstanding a black sheep here and
there, it is not 10 be denied that scrupu-
lous honor and fair dealing have ever
been III the forefront OF their traditions.
/ now come to the memorable day of
the occurrence of the strange incident, to
one phase of which | and others-most Of
them gone now-were eye-witnesses.
The season was Holy Week toward the
end of April 18th. Music has always been
! a passion with me, and every afternoon
preceding Good Friday in that particular
week, when I could get off duty from the
dust and glare OF the white parade ground
and the monotonous bawling of the drill
sergeant, 1t was my wont to steal away
TO the Duomo Of San Giovanni. And
who that has ever sat in that stately Y cathe-
dral church, surrounded by it's splendor
of inland marble and under the magnifi-
cent frescoes of Matteo Preti, and in the
; dimly lighted atmosphere, odorous with
incense, listened to the entrancing strains
ever forget il? Such exquisite pathos
in the solos, inexpressibly mournful, yet
! sweet and then the moaning harmonies
of the antiphonal choruses-like no other
music l ever heard, or probably shall
! ever hear again-while one by one, at in
tervals, the great burning candles on the
sable-draped altar are being solemnly
extinguished My thoughts will wander
back to these impressions, so vivid are
they still. Well, the eve of Good Friday
arrived. had gone over to see a friend
on the Verdala side of the Grand Harbor,
and on my return after dark what a
! star-specked vault overhead. The air
was deliciously soft; and as 1 sat in the
, stern of the gondola-shaped galley while
the dark figure of the boatman monoton-
ously and silently piled his long sweeps,
great gray ramparts frowned on every
side, and the lights twinkled, flashing
back in wavering duplicates from the
family rippling water. / was soon along
side the low letty on the Valetta side,
and, ascending the great flight of steep
stone steps, presently found myself in
the strait Strada Reale. Here it was no
easy matter threading ones way, for the
procession of the ''Stazione," represent
ing the main incidents of the Passion -
was passing up the street. At all times
! this pageant, which some no doubt would
revile as superStihous and papistical, has
seemed to me full of solemnity, notwith-
standing that the symbolic figures used
are often somewhat tawdry, and savoring
: too much of stage properties. In the in
tense silence maintained by the multi
tude of spectators, as each scenic group
passes by; in the deep reverence exhib-
tied, as the wall of the dirge-like music
! | cHt.a1I, a,I Io,,Io1 bo,. a IL