Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-05-18

! 70 MS nome, lett MS prize within. Then
he haStened to give over his horses to
the caretaker, and moment later he
and the waif were within the bolts and
shutters of the laboratory lie raised
the outer covering, and sweet-faccd
infant of perhaps three months cooed
into his face. lie stopped and kissed
her with delight She was his; no one
was aware that he possessed her; even
the unnatural mother knew not his
name nor where he lived She was his,
70 do with as he pleased. Not that he
would harm the little one, no, he would
| remove the curse of DEATH he would
endow her with supernatural graces, he
would strive to gain her love and TO
make himself worthy of her.
All the preparations had been care.
fully arranged. In the centre of the
room was great four.poster bed. Above
t,and surrounding it like gigantic tent,
hung canopy OF white Chinese silk.
Within and at the bedside was metallic
stand on glass feet, and thereon were
placed the APPENDICES Of his craft For
"a hours the child must be exposed to
the direct action of the essence, CON
lined SO far rs its volatility would per.
nit by the closed curtains and the sealed
room.
AT the expiration OF this time its
power would he spent, hut for six days
thereafter she would lie in unconscious
rlpenng, and then would awaken the
archetype of beauty, the prototype of
degenerate humanity. While thus ex.
posed to the virtue she must be alone.
No mortal grossness should mar its
workings. And even during the sue.
ceeding days of fruiton he would dare
study the changes only by glimpscs. So
rigid were the bounds, 50 sensitive the
conditions of success!
Grafton laid the child amid the pil.
lows. lie drew the snowy sheets about
her. He pressed knobs and pulled
handles, and the stand was aglow with
rose light. He bound thick wooden
illlet across his nostrils. He lifted the
stopper from a crystal flask wherein a
colorlnss liquid sparkled like Jewels,
and he tied from the room.
Grafton spent sleepless night, n
restless day. He could not toll; lie was
shut out from his workshop. Besides
he had surmounted the barriers TO his
ambition. Beyond lay Il broad, fertile
I-fiA' 5hAftNAiilii9 " Allt llpIlElu anu De-
You'd, Beyond, but whithcrg All, how
thoroughly he realized his own NOR.
tailty IN the irrational doubts that now
assaulted him. He was certain of the
efficacy OF the essence; yet suppose it
should fail, or should even work some
greater evil through an uncXplaiIlable
tdiosyncracy lie knew that truth must
be beautiful and fear a dctrimcnt but
suppose, oh, what an ntinity Of horrible
hypothesis was possible when one
turned the course of an eternal plan!
The day dwindlcd and subsidized. The
stars appeared, those symbols of the
unattainable, and their pale serenity
Knocked him. Anxious aud dubious,
Grafton entered the laboratory. The
rosy light still glowed through the veil,
but the essence was exhausted. He
could detect no trace of its pungency in
the air. Whether for veal Or woe, ia
mission was completed. lie raised the
curtain and started back uttering an
exclamation of wonder, of delight For
there on the couch lay young maid in
the first delicate bloom of glorious
femininity, Her eyes We're closed her
hands folded on her breast. A happy
slumber held her, for smile parted her
lips. Flaxen trcsses curled lovingly
about her shoulders, and through the
covering curves of beauty were an
parent. Grafton gazed in an ecstacy,
and then conscious that moments de-
lay might ruin the marvel he stole from
the room.
Tie rushed out into the night and
barred his brow to the breeze He would
commune face to face with nature since
he was us mighty as she. As mighty?
When, indeed, had she ever realized so
absolutely the dream of fair women?
The stars no longer mocked; they glim-
mered as If ashamed Of their own inferi
GRITTY. His mind nolongcr tortured itself
with vague suppositions. II was as
sured, content, eXultant Had he dared
to attempt the acme Of his ambition he
could not have reached what unwit.
tingly he had accomplished. There
would be no long, dreary wait; no APP
prehenSive watch Of development. lis
ideal was born full grown; he had but
to extend his arms and she would come
unto himl The night waned, the east
grew gray and pink and scarlet, the sun
rode Respondent in the zenith and drew
the purple robes of the west about ii.
Softly the twilight descended, like
symphony drawing the stars with its
consonancc--the tender stars that now
looked pityingiy down upon him.
But Grafton neither needed nor felt
their compassion. Confident and eager.
he entered the laboratory. Confident
and eager, he parted the silken folds.
Again he cried out, but more in amaze
ment than rapture. A woman lay before
him. A great, majestic woman, whose
length equalGd that of the couch. She
slept, but she smiled not. 1t was the
sleep Of the sphynx, full of dignity,
grandeur, yes, and Of awel No longer
he thought Of teachings such a one as
that would govern. No longer hn
thought of grateful superiority of
years; beside such Il one as that lie WAS
d child Like child conscious of
weakness, he trcmbcd; like child an
prehenslye Of Gtsobedience, he cropt
away.
Grafton cared not for the uncertain
gloom of the night He FASTENED to his
room and lighted the lamps and kindled
Il ire on the hearth. He drew his chair
close to the fender and sat awhile with
his face in his hands. Gradually the
heat stirred his blood; gradually his
confidence returned. Like one shaking
off tue influence Of a dream, he began
TO argue and analyze on behalf of sslf.
After all, there was nothing to fenr.
She was not, truly, the sprite of the
previous day, but yet what noble
creature! How grateful he should be 10
have obtained so sublime mistressl
She would be his Egcria, and under her
guidance he, too, might acquire super.
human proportions. But what was it
that called cut within him against such