Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-06-24

! IL my IIuuDS-luS tS Is anu ned0 aCned
with the strong dazzling light; oc-
casionally, too, an icy SILVER ran
through me that made my teeth chat
ter. But I recognized these symptoms
! as the after effects of my so nearly
fatal illness. and I paid no heed 10
them. A few weeks rest under nv
wIfe's loving care. and knew I should
| be as well as ever. I stepped on
brayely. For some time I met no one
hut at last I overlook a small cart
laden with freshly gathered grapes.
| The driver lay on his seat asleep: his
pony meanwhile cropped the green
heritage by the roadside, and every
now and then shook the jingling bells
Oh his harness as Though expressing
the satisfaction he felt at being left
to his own devices. The piled-up grapes
locked tempting, and | was both hun
CRY and thirsty. / laid a hand on the
sleeping mans shoulder; he awoke
with start. Seeing me, his face as
sumed an expression of the widest
terror; he jumped from his cart and
sunk down on his knees in the dust.
lmplorlng ne by the Madonna, st.
Joseph, and all the saints to spare his
life. l laughed; his fears seemed to
me ludicrous Surely there was moth
ing alarming about me beyond nv
paucity OF clothing.
Get up, mani | said. q want moth
ing Of you but a few grapes, and for
them | will pay" And I held out to
him a couple of francs. He rose from
the dust, still trembling and eying me
askance with evident suspicion, took
several punches of the purple fruit,
and gave them to me without saving
word. Then, pocketing the money
[ proffered, he sprung into his cart,
and lashing his pony till the unfortu-
nate animal plunged and reared with
pain and fury, ratified off down the
road at such a break-neck speed that
saw nothing but whirling blot of
wheels disappearing in the distance. I
was amused at the absurdity of this
mans terror. What did he take me
for l wondered? A ghost or a brigand?
| ate my grapes leisure}y as [ walked
along-they were deliciously cool and
efreshing-fOOd and wine in one. [
net several other persons as I neared
the city, market-people and vendors of
ices-but they took no note of me
in fact, | avoided them all as much as
possible. On reaching the suburbs I
turned into the first street | saw that
seemed likely to contain a few shops.
1t was close and da. and foul-smelI-
ing, but l had not gone far down it
when l came non the sort of place |
sought-a WTetched tumbled-down
howell, with d partly broken window.
through which a shabby array of
secondhand garments were to be dim
ly perceived, strung up for show on
pieces of coarse twlne It was one of
those dirty dens where Sailors. return
ing from long voyages, frequently go
to dispose of the various trif1es they
have picked up in foreign countries,
so that among the forlorn specimens
of secondhand wearing apparel many
quaint and curious objects were to be
seen, such as shells, branches of rough
coral, strings of beads, cups and dishes
carved out of cocoa-nut, dried gourds,
horns of animals, fans, stuffed para
keets, and old cOins-while grOtesque
wooden idol peered hideously forth
from between the stretched-Out por-
lions of pair of old nankeen trousers,
as though surveying the miscellaneous
collection in idiotic amazement. Al
aged man sat smoking at the open
door OF this promising habitation-a
true specimen Of a Neapolitan grown
cid. The skin of his face was like a
piece of brown parchment scored all
over with deep burrows and wrinkles,
as though Time, disappearing of the
history he had himself penned upon
it, had scratched over and bIotted out
records, SO that no one should hence
forth be able to read what had once
been clear writing. The only ANNA
ton left in him seemed to have con-
certrated itself in his eyes, which were
black and bead-Iike, and roved hither
and thither with a glance of everest
less and ever-SuspiciOus inquiry. He
saw me coming toward him, and he.
pretended to be absorbed in a pro-
found study of the patch of blue sky
that cleaned between the closely lean
ing houses Of the narrow street. l
accosted him-and he brought his gaze
swiftly down to my level, and stared at
me with keen inquisitiveness.
= have had long tramp" l said,
briefly, for he was not the kind of man
to whom l could explain my recent
terrible adventure, land I have lost
some Of my clothes by an accident on
the way. Can you sell me a suit? Any
thing will do am not particular
The old man took his pie from his
mouth.
DO you fear the plague?" he asked.
4 have just recovered from an at
tack of it, l replied, coolly.
He looked at me attentively from
head to foot, and then broke into
low chuckIing laugh.
'Ha! hal" he muttered, half to him
self, half to me. "Good-good, Here
is one like myself-not afraid-not
afraid! We are not towards We do
not find fault with the blessed saints
they send the plague. The beautiful
plague!-I love it, buy all the clothes
l can get that are taken from the
corpses-they are nearly always ex-
Cellent clothes. I never clean them
l sell them again at once-yes-yes
Why not. The people must d1e-the
sooner the BETTER l help the good God