The record-union., 1894-03-31
ON MOUNT Eth

along the darkening street.
III.
ON MOUNT ETNA,
'At any place within this wonderful
region, ones fancy can summon to their
oIden places the myth-WraithS of Joye's
most powerful helpersv'
The speaker was the LaDIOck Mind,
still oratorIc and dominant, seated upon
stout Catanian mule and the foremost,
barring the chattering, SWarthy guides,
Of party of five, toiling through pleas
ant April afternoon up the tedious as
cent Of Etna, through the Bosco or wood
ed region, between Nicolosi and Casa
1nglesi, where the frigid zone and eternal
solitude begin.
Miss COrnelia Coventry, shifting the
Jovian air in sympathetic exaltation,
followed closely upon a donkey. Cecil
LaplOck and Janet Uenham, in turn pet
ulant and complaining at their enforced
journey or quite hysteric with interiect-
ural satire and half-smothered gigglings
at the Hydrologic fervor of the Mind and
the maiden, were also upon the donkeys
behind.
Last and least, came Lillibridge Lap
lock, astride of a donkey not so large as
himself and with desperate, hunted,
haunted look in his eyes which sent
glanceS to the right and the left, and back
along the tortuOus way as though deter
mined upon flight, should anything like
fair opportunity occur.
"Oh, Antoinette! You should set down
that beautiful sentiment for your Ferosis
Society annual address," urged Miss
Cornelia with a smirk of mingled flat
terry and pride.
The wrath of Empedocles wanders
on Etna's side, clothed in purple and
wearing a Delpnic crown" cried Mrs
LaplOck, clutching at the air for crown.
whereupon Miss Coventry echoed,
"Beautifu! beautifulp' while Cecil and
Janet under cover Of their ndkerchiefs.
said something which sounded like
"bOther" and relapsed into giggling, and
little Mr.. Laplocl1 tossed both his hands
above him and moaned, "Oh, Lordp'
There, at Etna's crest, Enceladus,
bound beneath Jupiter's earthly throne,
turning every century or so upon his
fiery bed, shakes the world with his god
like woe!''
"Oh, Antoinette, Antoinettel Do pre-
serve that for the Clawtalkon Circle"
pleaded Miss Coventry, quite overcome
with her emotions.
Mother" at last entreated Cecil.
''please don't go on SO. The guides are
getting frightened at your voice and
gestures. They might leave US. Besides,
1 fear poor papa is almost distracted
Please don't, motherp'
Don't worry about the guides, Cecil"
returned Mrs. Laplock haughtily. LAS
for your father, those not possessing
mind are never imperiled with distrac-
ton. He should not have been allowed
to have come along. An efficient courier
would have been far betteri"
Mr.. LapIock gave sort of Soundiess,
aspirated ''whoo'' at this pleasant sally,
mopped his little bald head teebly and
looked steadfastly at his donkey's droop-
ing head, as the Laplock Mind resumed:
''We say of that time, Superstition
was the mother of Mythology. Let Etna
roar, tidal wave enguf, an hundred
shining cities be swept from the face of
the earth"
At this moment the guides came tum-
bling back upon them with every mani
festation of terror. gesticulating frenzi-
edly toward the wooded nights above.
The ladies screamed. the animals hud-
died and punched and whirled together,
apparently conscious OF the general
alarm, while Lillibridge LapIock, now
showing the real mettle that was ordina-
rily within him, was seen standing sto-
Idly upon his donkey's back, poised like
a determined Punch, and flOurishing a
revolver in each hand.
"Cecil!-Janet! You know Italian.
Quick! Speak to the guides. See if it is
the banditti," implored Mrs. Laplock,
sliding ponderously and trem blingly
from her mule to the stony way beneath.
Cecil and Janet cooked their heads in
an attitude OF category, and began a Sc
ries OF wranglings and pausings, in in
Ouiry and translation, accompanied, on
the part of the Catanian guides, by such
writings, contortions, gestures and
gymnastics as they had seldom wit
messed in all their travelled experience in
Latin lands.
''They say" began the young ladies,
translating the Sicilians' fervent speech,
"they will thrice burn in purgatory if
their oaths are not true"
''Say that in all Sicily there is not such
a hundred thousand times cursed way as
through the Bosco."
"Say there are no such faithful emf
nently guides as themselves"
SAY that may they never be shrived if
lurketh not danger grandissimo ahead"
''Say that men wild and threatening
with movements magnificent OF suspicion
illustrious prowl therein the region about
wherein the Casa Inglesi most loftily
stands"
Nonsense" chirped brave little lap
lock, dropping quickly upon his donkey
and belaboring it up the rocky way. "IIl
see for myself"
The guides scowlingly ceased their
his firearms for tieldglass, disappeared.
He shortly returned with,
Nothing but two crazy students, or
something of the sort, prowling around
and hammering at lava and rocks! It's
a trick of the guides, my dears, to extort
for imaginary marvellous services. "Ce-
cil," concluded Mr.. Laplock, himself un-
consciously adopting the Ollendorfer
method OF expression, tell the rascals
most illustrious we will for a safe journey
herefrom their pockets capacious I'LL with
additional scudi therein"
The guides received the pledge joy
ously and after bodily lifting the now
timorous Mrs. Laplock into her saddle
sprang nimbly forward.
No incident more serious now inter-
rupted the slow progress Of the cavalcade
along the insecure bridle-path, beneath
stnpendous oaks and chestnuts and be-
side mountainous rocks of lava, than the
nnceasing accusations on the part of the
TapIock family Mind that something
dreadful was now certain to happen, and
that Mr.. Laplock-who, with the young
ladies'. at Catania, had begged that the as
cent OF Etna be oregone-would. man
like. after conveying them all into ire
narable danger, insist that he was IN no
way responsible for the consequences.