The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-02-18
TOO MUCH FRUIT.

/ had never seen one before 1t was sx-
fremely decorative, and admired 10 very
much. It's colors were those Of the robes
Of Blum's little samson player on the wall.
| "why don't you eat 1T" asked Polly.
The idea Of internally absorbing the
bear tiful had q strange charm. 1t was
very large persimmon, but ate 1t all, and
then went to bed.
From ceiling that crawled and crinkled
watched cherry colored mandarin swing
slowly down on to my bed. From the spot
from which he dropped came another and
another, all no longer than pea pod and
rs dry. Solemnly they squatted on my
chest and lifted their hairy arms, In which
were twisted rods with carven, grinning
! faces.
Crashl They broke into shrlll, discord-
ant song, beating, beating, beating on my
| ribs, One, near the apex of my heart, would
| not keep time, and that was worse than all.
How the blows hurt, and how their curled
up knees sank deep into my feshl The
words of the song seemed to leap forth
like little cubes and hop over my skin,
burning as they rolled. The pain was I'M
endurable. Idrew great gasp Of agony
anu WAS Ireb. IHty Wbr6 BUuo.
A long vista Of grayness resolved itself
into strange perspective. was seated
In a fragile jinrikisha, but instead Of the
lusty runner, blue skirted and handy legged,
between the shafts was a monstrous horse,
tall to heaven, with stridings that deyour-
ed the road. voice, warning, portentous,
sounded in my ears:
"Be thou careful, Q careless one, for
thou hast that in charge that is precious"
I looked down, and beside me crouched
o bit of a brown baby, naked and unafraid,
whose knob Of hair, tied in a tiny brush,
painted hieroglyphics in the air with every
leap Of the lurching vehicle.
By some swift intuition knew that
this prancing, gigantic horse was the pride
Of the mikado's stables and the brown
baby the hope of the empire, and that &C.
cident to either meant a punishment to fit
the crime. I looked ahead The white
slopes Of Fusiyama, the sacred mountain,
lay before us, up which none may pass
alive.
On either side our way impenetrable
pines In whose dark branches COLLINS sat
and grimaced horribly. On we rushed.
The great fore feet of the horse struck the
slope of the forbidden hill. A sudden shock
ran through all his body. stood alone
in the road. On the side, his blood dyeing
the scanty sod, lay the horse, deep hole
in his quivering side, while in my arms
the child lay leaden, gasping.
Crowds Of other people gathered about
us and looked upon me ominously, silently.
xiii this wretched creature in mercy"
I begged. They stood unmoved, silent,
still, while the horse gazed at me in more
than human anguish. Clasping the child,
hurried away, falling, stumbling, crying
aloud for help in vain
Suddenly stood in vast room. All
about its sides were ladders of bamboo,
fragile and hung by slender threads. In
the corners, overhead and swinging corpse
like, were bundles, shapeless, unspeakable.
The air was filed with sickening odor,
as of mingled decay and strange spices,
pungent and sweet. Slowly the swinging |
bundles took form, and beneath appeared |
the outline of body in q dim and bewil- |
dering individuality, ludiorous and horri-
bic.
Again a voice cried--a voice Of authority
not to be gainsaid-"Search" Again I |
knew that somewhere in this formless i'm
mensity the little brown baby was hid, |
still alive, and could I but find him ere
tOO lht6 HllSDJ buNU CGE tOulS hHNc lTOh
l knew not what. Instantly he was no |
longer the heir Of the house Of San, but
mine, my own, that had lived and loved
and lain on my breast, and whose life
would die million deaths to save, whose |
agony would brave the gods to assuage
How tossed the dreadful bundles
aboutl How tore them open ruthlessly, |
only to see sunken eye or gaping mouth |
7 al DO he g,,tJ iHo lad
leaped across chasmlike spaces. At last,
among heap of squalid rags, in O corner
where snakes writhed and ran, o little
foot peeped out. 1t moved. 1t was warm.
I tc,e away the clothes as dog tears at |
the earth that covers his quarry and snatch
ed the child to my heart. On his bare
breast gaped wide wound, its edges al
ready purple and receding, and as looked
/ saw the fatal flush spread up and up.
Waterl Oh, If there were only waterl
saw dull pool at my feet, and, STOPPING, |
dashed the icy drops upon the wound. In
vain. One chance remained-to call back
the fleeing soul by name in desperate en-
treaty Surely my baby would listen.
The word died on my lips, for the child
on my heart changed again as / would
have spoken, and what knew Of the name
of the mikado's heirP Let me think. I
must think. Did not some one of that
cruel crowd that stared and grinned speak
itp / strive; groan; I cry aloud. The
heavy air sends back my cries hollowly,
and as l choke into silence see the lids
futter and fall. The hope of the empire
has gone all too soon to the sacred shades
of Fusiyama, and l. I alone, must answer.
Alone In the silence and darkness of q
cell. l could put out my hand and feel
that the wall was made of some rough
woven grass, about which chung pene-
trating odor. In this grass I could hear
the movement Of millions Of minute in
sects, knew not Of what detested shape
and kind. began to pass my hands over
these walls in I know not what barren
hope of escape. Carefully orept on and
on, measuring, comparing, testing. Then
I went hack and hogan again. Ny hands
kept slipping off strangely into space The
cell had no shape-simply dimension.
Alasl was no simple onlooker ct some
splendid revel of primeval nature All
that was In this stupendous scheme was
me- sentient, suffering soul.
The helpless, tortured ego was a part Of
the whole. 1t froze on those cold, piercing
peaks, baked on those plains of arid sand,
was tossed in that human sea, waa blown
on those tempestuous winds. All this /
was, all this I inflicted, all this bore for
o forever
Then the end came. About me, in me,
Of me, there was only light, light that
grew and blazed and turned white and
grew again till the eyes of both body and
opirit sank in it and were submerged. Out
Of the light in its very glowing heart
showed a point more intolerably light
Nearer and nearer 1t came, IN shape now
like live flame, darting forward snake
like Each instant 1t threatened to touch
my staring eyeballs. At last ono fiery
tongue leaped farther. The spell that bound
me seemed loosed. With q mad cry Of ter
FOR put up my hands to brushaway these
horrors and found them clasped in an
other's-warm, soft, human. 1t was Polly
possible, provoking Polly.
whatever is the matter?"
polly" answered soberly, don't
joke. I've been the conscious universe"
upooh u, qatd pollv oft waa iuat nm. |