Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1894-06-21
OUT OF THE TOMB.

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tells great dining hall and took their
/ places; the walters began to serve
/ them lelsurely, to give the tardy ones
/ time to arrive and to save themselves
the bother of bringing back the
/ courses. And the old bathers, the
yearly hahitues, with whom the sea-
son was far advanced, kept "A close
watch on the door each time it opened,
4 hoping for the coming of new faces.
! New faces, the single distraction Of
/ all pleasure resorts! We 20 to dinner
| chiefly to canvass the daily arrivals,
to wonder who they are what they do
and what they think. a restless de-
sire seems to have taken possession Of
us, longing for pleasant adventures,
/ for friendly acquaintanceS, perhaps for
/ possible lovers. In this elbow to elbow
life our unknown neighborS become
of paramount Importance. Curiosity
is piqued, sympathy on the alert and
the social instinct doubly active.
We have hatreds for a week, friend
ships for a month and view all men
with the special eyes of watering plan
Intimacy sometimes during an hours
chat after dinner, under the trees of
the park, where ripples a healing
spring we discover men of superior in
tellect and surprising merit, aud a
month later have wholly forgotten
these new friends. so charming at first
sight.
That evening, then, as on every eve
ming, we awaited the appearance of
unfamiliar faces
There came only two, but very pecu-
liar ones, those of a man and woman
father and daughter. They seemed
to have stepped from the pages of
some weird legend, and yet there was
an attraction about them albeit an
unpleasant one, that made me set
them down at once as the victims Of
some fatality.
The father was tall spare, little
bent, with hair blanched white-to0
white for his still young countenance-
aud in his manner and about his per
son the sedate austerity Of carriage
that bespeaks the Puritan, The daugh-
,
of age. She was very slight, emacat-
ed, her exceedingly pale countenance
bearing a languid, spiritless express
sion-one of those people whom we
sometimes encounter apparently too
weak for the cares and tasks of life,
too feeble to move or do the things
that we must do every day, Never
theless the girl was pretty, with the
ethereal beauty Of an appartion 1t
was she undoubtedly who came for
the benefit Of the waters
They Glanced to be placed at table
Immediately opposite to me, and l was
not long in noticing that the father,
too, had a strange affection-some-
thing wrong about the nerves 1t seem
ed Whenever he was going to reach
for anything his hand with jerky
twitch. described a sort of tluttering
zigzag before he was able to grasp
what he was after Soon the motion
disturbed me so much | kept my head
turned in order not to see 1t, but not
before / had also observed that the
young girl kept her glove on her left
hand while she ate
Dinner ended. 1 went out as usual
for a turn in the grounds belonging
to the establishment, a sort Of park,
[ might say, stretching clear to the
little station Of Auvergne, Chatel-
Guyon, nesting in a gorge at the foot
of the high mountain, from which
flower the sparkling, bubbling springs,
hot from the furnace of an ancient
volcano. Beyond us there the domes,
small extinct craters, Of which Chatel-
Guyon is the starting point raised
their serrated heads above the long
chain, while beyond the dOmes came
two distinct regions one Of them
needle-llke peaks, the other Of bold,
precpitous mountains.
It was very warm that evening, and
] contented myself with pacing to
and fro under the rusting trees, gaz-
ing at the mountains and listening to
the strains Of the band pouring from
the casino, situated on a knoll that
overlooked the grounds
Presently perceived the father and
daughter coming toward me with slow
steps. | bowed to them in that pleas
ant continental fashion with which
one always salutes his hotel compan-
ions. The gentleman halted at once.
Pardon me, sir" said he, but may
I ask If you can direct us tosa short
walk, easy and pretty, II possibleY
t4Cor+airIt~ answered and i Of
fcred TO lead them myself to the val
lev through which the swift river
flows deep, narrow cleft between
two great declivities, rocky and
wooded
They accepted. and as we waBed we
naturally discussed the virtue Of the
mineral waters They had, as ] sur
missed. come there on his daughters
account.