The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-04-26
OUT OF THE TOMB.

walters began to servo them lcisurcly. to
give tho tardy ones timo to arrlvo and to
savo themselves tho bother of bringing
back tho courses. And tho old bathers
tho yearly habitues, with whom tho sea-
son was far advanced, kept a close watch
on tho door each timo 1t opened, hoping
for the coming Of new faces.
New faces, tho single distraction of oil
pleasure rcsortsl We go to dinner chiefly
to canvass tho daily arrivals, to wonder
who they arc, what they do and what they
think. a restless desire seems to have
taken possession Of us, u longing for pleas
ant adventures, for friendly acquaintances
perhaps for possible lovers. In this elbow
to elbow life our unknown ncighbors be-
como OF paramount Importance. Curiosi-
ty Is piquod, sympathy on tho alert and
tho social instinct doubly active
We have hntrctls for week, friendships
for month and view all men with tho
special eyes OF watering place intimacy
Sometimes during ON hours chat after
dinner, under tho trees of tho park, where
ripples healing spring wo discover men
of superior intellect and surprising merit,
and month later have wholly forgotten
these now friends, SO charming ut first
sight
That evening, thon, rs on every cvcnl
ing, wo awaited tho appearance of unfu-
miliar facos
There came only two, but very peculiar
ones, those of a man and recommendations
and daughter. They seemed to have stop
ped from tho pages of some weird legend
and yet there was an attraction about
them, albeit an unpleasant one, that made
me set them down ut once us tho victims
of some fatality.
The father was tall, spare II little bent
with hair blnnchcd whitc-too white for
his still young countcnancc-nnd in his
manner and about his person tho sedntc
austcrity Of carriage that bcspcaks tho
Puritan. The daughter was possibly some
81 or 25 years of age. She was very slight,
cmaciatcd, her exceedingly pale countc-
nance bearing languid spiritless express
sion-onc of those people whom We some
times encounter, apparently too weak for
tho cares and tasks of lifo, too feeble to
move or do tho things that we must do
every day Nevertheless tho girl was
pretty, with tho ethereal beauty of an ap-
partition 1t was she undoubtedly who camo
for the benefit of the waters.
They CHANGED to DO placed Mt table i'm
mcdiatcly opposite to inc, and I was not
long In noticing that the father, too had
a strange Notwithstanding wrong
about tho nerves it seemed. Whenever he
was going TO reach for anything, his hand
with jcrky twitch, described a sort of
Tutoring zigzng before he was able to
grasp what he was after. Soon the motion
disturbed me SO much / kept my head
turned in ortlor not to sec it, but not before
L had also observed that the young girl kept
her glove on her left hand while she ate.
Dinner ended, l went out as usual for a
turn i'll the grounds belonging to the es-
Enlistment, Il sort of park, might say,
stretching clear to the little station of
Auvcrgnc, Chatcl- Guyon, nesting in u
gorge at the foot of tho high mountain,
from which flowed the sparkling, bubbling
springs, hot from the furnace of an an
cicnt Volcano. Beyond us there the domcs
small extinct cratcrs of which Chatcl-
Guyon is the starting point raised their
scrratcd heads above the long chain, while
beyond the domcS came two distinct re-
glons one of them nccdlclikc peaks, the
other of bold, prcclpitous mountains
1t was very warm that evening, and 1
contcntcd myself with pacing to and fro
under the rustlng trees, gazing at the
mountains and listening to the strains of
the band pouring from the casino, situat-
Cd on knoll that overlooked tho grounds
Presently 1 perceived tho father and
daughter coming toward me with slow
steps. / bowed to them in that pleasant
continental fashion with which one al
ways salutcs his hotel companions. The
gentleman halted ut once
Pardon me, sir, said he, .'but may I
ask If you can direct us to short walk,
easy and pretty, if possibc?"
Certainly" l answered, and 1 offered
to lead them myself to the valley through
which tho swift river flows-a deep, mar
row cleft between two great dcclivitics.
rocky and wooded.
They nccpptp1 and 81 xyn lIyo1 x,-c ,,n+
urally discussed the virtue of the mineral
waters. They had, as 1 surmiscd, come
there on his daughters account.
She has n strange malady," said he,
''thc seat of which her physicians cannot
determine. She suffers from the most in
explicablc nervous symptoms. Sometimes
they declare her ill of heart disease; some
times of liver complaint, again of n spi-
nal trouble. At present they attribute
1t to tho stomach-that great motor and
regulator of tho body-this protcan dis
case of thousand forms, thousand
modes of attack. 1t is why we arc here.
L myself think it her nerves. In any case
it Is very sad"
This reminded me of his own Jerking
hand.
ut may be hereditary" says l. "Your
own nerves are n little disturbed, arc they
not?"
"MincS" he answered TRANQUILITY. Not
ut oil. have always possessed the calm
est nerves" Then suddenly, rs if be-
thinking himself:
For this" touching his hand, "is not
nerves, but the result of n shock, terri
BILE shock that l suffered once. Fancy it.
Sir. This child of mine has been buried
alivcI'
could find nothing to say. Twas dumb
with surprise.
Eyes" he continued, buried alive, but
hear the story--it is not long. For some