The record-union., 1896-09-20

1
brace. Closing my eyes. l would have
fallen if 1 had not supported myself
against the table.
During the moment l looked at her
my glance must have betrayed me, for
| my wife exclaimed:
Herbert, what is the matter? Why
do you look at me in such way? You
have Overworked yourself. / was afraid
/ IL would all come to this
| 1t was some comfort to feel the warm,
living touch of her hand and her breath
on my face as she guided me to a chair
sat down, resting my head on her
shoulder, but not daring to look up.
A little warm hand was laid upon mine
and little voice Hsped:
"Fader dear, dear fader, look at
baby!'
Unable to withstand the entreating
little voice, l opened my eys. oh, God!
how terrible! There at my knee was
a little skeleton, mouthing at me and
aping the motions of life. / closed my
eyes again and my tongue refused to
speak
Herbert" said my wife. 'speak to
us. You are i'll, dear. Speak. l entreat
you; tell me what is the matter"
With all the force of my will l COM
manded myself, and looked at her.
Il am not feeling quite right, dear,
| I answered. Il have been overworking
myself, as you say. and 1 want my
breakfast. l must take things more
| easy for a time
| l tried to regard her with my usual
| look. l could not 1t was not in my
| power No one can imagine the gro
tesque horror Of what l saw. Remem-
- low cd
above every one else, in whose beauty
l rejoiced, the light of whose eyes was
the sunshine Of my life. l looked, and
what did l see? Instead of the comely
face with it's loving smile, a grinning
skull, all the more dreadful because II
vas alive. Instead of the shapely fig
ure, ghastly skeleton, whose bony
hands were outstretched to touch me.
In the most tragic events there is some
| times an element of the ridiculous, SO
there was something of the ridiculous
| in this horrible travesty of life. There
were hairpins lowering, as it were, over
the skull, and a necklace of gold float
ing round the bones of the neck, moved
by the breathing, yet appearing to touch
nothing; the steel stiffenings of the cor
set showed like bars placed unmeaning-
ly in front of the ribs, while shoe
buckle sat lightly and uncannily above
the bony inStep of each foot. The rings
she wore encircled without touching the
bones of her fingers. 1t was skeleton
| maSquerading in the skeleton of a
dress.
To turn to the child was only to see
still uglier horrors-the cropping stature
in the baby skull, gaps where the joints
should be, hands and feet connected by
a hardly visible film with the limbs. For
some reason the outlines Of the flesh
and the larger organs were more dis
tinct than in the woman. David might
| have had some such vision when he
truly said we are fearfully and wonder
| fully made.
Come, Herbert" said my wife, in an
anxious tone of voice, Il cannot see you
like this. Your nerves are suffering
from overwOrk, and you will be serious
ly Ill if you do not rest. Come, now, and
have something to eat, and then we
will go out together 1t is a lovely,
bright morning, and when We come in
you will lie down and take Sleep
/ suffered her to lead me out Of the
room, turning my eyes away from her.
It was difficult for me to see my way
in any case as I saw little but kind of
Dash had found his way out of my room.
She led me into the breakfast-room, and
1 forced myself to look about me. l was
not i'll, / was not mad. 1t was childish
and foolish to be thus upset by the sight
Of the human frame. l reasoned with
myself, and tried to conquer and over
cCme my disgust, but it was impossible.
1t was not merely that saw my family
in the form of skeletons sitting around
me. The horror lay in the life of the
skeletons. They were not like the dry
bones in museum of anatomy or in the
valley Of death. They looked fresh and
clammy, and the skulls wagged and
mouthed at me in manner that made
my skin creep with disgust to see them
eating or pretending to eat, lifting the
bony fingers to the gumless jaws, which
they moved in the act Of chewing. The
Egyptians may have been able to feast
with a quiet, unobtrusive skeleton at the
board-one among many living.
The most callous cynic would not have
enjoyed his dinner with such company
as / had Besides could not see to eat
or drink. Nothing was visible to me
except the metal of the plate and knives.
could not help myself, and could not
or would not explain to my wife what
| naQ happened. 1 WAS dlIdlu SHe Nouiu
think me labOring under delusion, and
1 was more afraid that if she believed
me, she would feel outraged and often
ded that 1 should see her thus, and
barrier would be raised between US. l
made an effort to look natural and un-
concerned and find something to eat
and drink l succeeded only in upset
ting a cup of tea that had been handed
to me, and sweeping the crockery OH
the table Ny wife gave cry OF dis
tress and came over to me. She evil
IDENTIFY thought as she had good cause
for thinking. that my intellect was fall
ing.
AS the only means of escape l said l
was not feeling very well and must lie
down. l was giddy and could hardly
see If she would take me up stairs
and help me to lie down, 1 thought L
should be better, and some food on a
tray might be sent up to me.
Accordingly, with my wife's AID, l
went up stairs and lay down. Some
breakfast was brought up on tray,
which happened to be of silver or plated
metal. AS this was visible to me, ana
7 knew the limits within which had 10
search, 1 was able without much DIM
Guilty to find what I wanted and to take
the food of which l was in sore neeu.
This done, 1 lay still and tried to sleep.
NV care now was how to get rid OF the
power which 1 had striven so hard 70
gain, to the possession of which l nad
looked forward as the main object OF