The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-05-30

4 Il
lily practice, with a top-buggy thrown in.
30, We Of little faith What may the
lack of whiskers not sometimes dOE Has
anyone ever felt a certain fascination
under the eye Of a crook in whose hands
he may have fallen in deep dark London
town though he may feel certain he IS IN
hand for the purposes of evil dOings, per-
haps worse. Recall those eyes Of his
almost touching at the inner corners 50
close together they are, the
dim, low ceiling of an upstairs
almost inaccessible den. the recog-
milton of strange kind of new
power that at once causes shudder, repuJ-
sion and attraction. The sparrow, if he
be not misrepresented, finds charm in
the snakes eye perhaps it be the blue
rim that charms it. Neither Montague
nor Neville would consistently be put
down either in the sparrow or jay list,
though, to say the truth, they were eX-
uberantly adrift on the brilliant flood Of
things in Paris and yet, they had
found themselves vis-a-vis with that tooth
and that eye so many times since the
morning meeting in the Cha than Court
way. Monsieur Freckleworth, too, was
an American, so he said, from the States
in which connection he told of the long
and distinguished line of the Freckle-
worths. There was nothing too much
out of the common in his talk either in
drive in the Bots. in the Opera or at the
cafe table along the Avenue de IOpera,
so many nights He did not ask favors:
he was simply COMMISSIONERS. And
yet there were two matters to winch
Montague and Neville when alone had
made reference Monsieur FrecklewOrth
had never spoken a word of French since
the acquaintance had begun-thOugh, and
only once, he said he had been living
for fourteen years III Paris. Both Mon
tague and Neville would now and then
wonder at this but some passing laughter
or other thing would manage to toss the
subject off-in Paris where so many
things happen so fast Then, TO
proceed in order. neither Montague nor
Neville had ever been invited into the
apartment of Monsieur Frecklcworth,
though both of these young adventures
now had apartments, one might say. adj
joining his 1t is boOtless to inquire how
and why Monsieur FrecklewOrth had in
cluded the Americans in his fiat. They did
not need to economze; they We're law
ishly provided for mt the
Chatham, one of the swell
est caravansaries in the great French
capital. 1t is true they had made few ac-
ouaintances; they had not had time; they
had been busy about many things, in
many places. Bohemia and elsewhere.
Then their stay was not to be continued
lin Paris; they were simply buhbling over
in the June-time, without programme eX-
Icept that they must in the autumn bucnie
down to beer at Stephan's, hear Wagner,
translate Faust as it was being given ut
the Opera House, and try with an imper-
feet knowledge of German TO find out
from the great Curtius of
Leipzig what they didn't think
they already knew about Greek.
But the future is no part of this.
The present fact is that they were CO.
living with Monsieur Frekcleworth III the
suite Of apartments. But the rooms were
separate. Monsieur Freckleworth was at
one end of the narrow, long hallway. At
the other end was a neat linen-closet for
pillow slips and things. On one side of the
hallway was Montague's room; on the
other side was Neville's As already in
Montague and Neville were thus quar-
tered, nor furthermore does 1t particu-
larly matter as to why they should have
continued to linger with Monsieur Free
kleworth to the point of such an ar
rangement. If the erratic suggestion set
down above as to the need for the setting
down of another active principle yet to
be named fall unresponded to upon cold
world. let it have been unsaid and let it
be forgotten-eXcept this far: if the theory
be worth mentioning, the propriety of
making application is as patent as the
usual handling of any other premises that
may be showed forward to the attention
of men. With such guards thrown about
what is about to be stated, let it he said
that the repulsive points of Monsieur
Freckleworth may have been
his winners" so-called by the vulgar
gamester-man of this latter day. TO eX-
patiate: had it not been for the blue of
Freckleworth's eye and the white of
Freckleworth's tooth, would he have ar
rested that attention upon which further
acquaintance might grow? Or is it that
sort or devihsh satisfaction or acqul-
essence comes from lingering near the
horrible after the manner of the ten
dency they tell about in folks to jump
from high places without any cause
known even to the jumper much less
without generalization, or to throw the
body under train rushing by, if one be
standing too near or to hover at night,
about the scene of ones terrible crime
At all events and in spite of all things
Montague and Neville. so far from re-
marking now upon what at the first meet
ing with Freckleworth had given them
that icy teeth-chatter feeling, had, on the
contrary, almost ceased to speak to one
another touching the matter. In fact,
they felt that these ErecklewOrth appear
ances were in harmony with the Freckle-
worth nature. and had a sweet soft rab-
bit-like brown eye and brand-new set Of
false teeth been among the things pro
posed and possible for FrecklewOrth,
both Montague and Neville would have
found themselves inwardly eXclaiming
Eye gods and shad-fish. give us back our
Freckleworth of the blue eye and the
white toothr' All this, if not in accord
ance with recognized eternal laws, is a
stubborn fact without which, for con-
science sake, this narration were the
vefiest falsehood. Before proceeding
further one more very personal mention
must be made touching Freckleworth, af-
ter which the deck Of this tale may
gradually be cleared. For with the none
other" up-to-date story Of mystery no
psychological negligence, however trit1ing.
will for moment be tolerated. 1t is then
with rapard IN tho failurn of Erppk To-