The National tribune., 1894-01-04

| recognized it at once as the old Algerian Witch
Dance-the dance prohibited. inasmuch as the
intoxication Of it was apt to produce panic in
| the harem.
In the center of the circle of loungiug girls
stood, erect as q reed. tall young woman,
whose supple. slender brown body shone
through her thin silk gown. She swayed and
danced in the moonlight, playing with long
green vail that was spangled with stars. Gradu.
ally the music quickened, she seemed to float
in an intoxcatiOn of sensuous movement; the
girls rose, dancing about her with glittering
eyes, holding their guitars over their heads and
shrieking. Suddenly they stood traasfxed-
immovable-as. holding her spangled vail be-
hind her like the wings of butterfly, the girl
absolutely faded from sight. For a moment
she had stood in beam of m0onlight-then
she was gone.
What little sense Herbert might have had
left after seeing woman float of a roof go feet
from the ground was completely knocked out
of him by feeling fat arm around his neck,
and it took him some minutes to find out that
it was one OF his own servants who had fol-
lowed him. Somehow-Herbert for the most
part carrying the devoted but fat Ahmed-they
got home. Knowing the fate that awaits a
stranger who ventures to pry into the sacred
precincts of barem, Herbert packed up his
things the next day and went back to Ireland.
Many years after he was going around the
world iU rich Americans yacht. The party
was picked one of men who had lived and
smoked in almost every part of the globe, and
few sights were new to them. The vessel put
in at Algiers ostensibly to get fresh fruit but
really that they might see the witch dance Of
which Herbert gave such a marvellous account.
Money, however, proved of no avail, and the
disgruntled millionaire was about to order
steam on the Gentle Jane when Herbert met
his old servant, Ahmed, in the market, and,
after many parleyings and much transferring
of gold coin, was able to tell his companions
that not only should they see the witch dance,
but see it on their own ship the very next night
if the weather was clear, the principal per-
former only stipulating that she should come
on the ship at midnigbt-the hour when the
moon was full-and depart without being
spoken to-
These conditions only made it more exciting,
and the following day the party acted very
much like schOolboys. studying the sky for
fear of a cloud and making bets on the possible
appearance of the mysterious dancer.
About IL o'clock the Gentle Jane steamed
we'll out into the stream away from the other
vessels; the men sat smoking and chatting
in the moonlight some half dozen girls from
a music house squatted in circle on the deck
near them, strumming the weird melody that
Herbert remembered so we'll.
Then suddenly there sprang into the midst
of the circle the tall 1.-THE girl, looking as
young and beautiful as years before when Her
bert had seen her dancing in the harem. She
was dressed in the same kind of cliuging silk
robe, and the wind huttered the great spangled
vail with which she was shrouded. She danced
until the pulses of those blase rich men beat
to time they had never known before-until
the weary music girls flung their guitars away
and beat time with their hands, shrieking
wildly. For moment she stood still, smiling
full in Herbert's face with look of recog-
milton; then she spread her great vail and
vanished.
Was it intentional or did something go
wrong? There was faint splash-but moth
ing of her was ever found or ever seen except
her green spangled vail, borne swiftly away on
the current.-VOgue.