Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1897-08-08
CHAPTER III.-DIDO.


abode stood a long, low rambling
house on a slight rise. Surrounded by
deep verandas, it was placed in the
middle of emerald green lawns,
smoothly clipped; and these, lower
down, were girdled by belt Of ash,
and sycamores, and poplars, which shut
out the house from the highroad.
The mansion, with its fiat roof and
wide yerandas, had a tropical look
and indeed it had been built by a re-
tired Indian nabob, at the beginning
Of this century. When he died the
house had been sold, and now it was
occupied by Mrs. Dallas, who leased
it because of its suggestion Of tropical
habitation. She came from the West
Indies, and had lived in "The Wig
wam," as the house was called, for
over ten years.
Mrs. Dallas was large, fat, and
eminently lazy woman, who passed
most of her time in Knitting, or sleep
ing, CT eating. Her husband had died
before she had come to England, and
it was the desire to preserve her
daughters health which had brought
her so far from the sun-baked islands
which her soul loved.
Her languid Creole nature and leth-
argic habits were. Jnsuited 20 brisk,
practical England, and she mated the
grey skies, the frequent absence OF
sunlight, and the lack of rich and
sensuous coloring. Often she threat
ened to return to Barbados, but she
was too lazy to make the effort Of
again settling herself in life. With all
her longings for the fairy islands Of
the West, it seemed as though she
would end her days in grey and misty
England. But she was out of place in
this northern land, and so was Dido.
This latter was tall and masSively-
framed negro woman, with very little
of the traditional merry nature of the
black about her. She looked rather
like priestess, with her stern face and
stately mien; and, indeed, in the West
Indies, it was known among the negroes
that Dido was high in power among the
votaries Of Obi. She could charm, she
could Stay by means Of vegetable poi
sons, and she could-as the negroes
firmly believe-cause a human being
to dwindle, peak, and pine, by means
Of incantations.
This black Gambia had left a terrible
reputation behind her in Barbados;
and though in sceptical England her
powers were unknown, and if they had
been made manifest, would have been
flouted at, yet her looks, the tragic
tones of her voice, inspired the white
servants of Mrs. Dallas with distrust.
Dido was not favorite in the servants
part of the Wigwam, but for this I'M
popularity she cared little, being de-
voted to Isabella Dallas. She adored
her nursing.
The girl was about twenty years of
age, tall and straight, with dark hair
and darker eyes, with a mouth verit-
ably like Cupids bow, and figure
matchless in contour With her rich
southern coloring and passionate tenn
perament-she was of Irish blood on
the paternal side-Miss Dallas looked
more like an Andalusian lady than a
native of the English speaking race.
She had all the sensuous loneliness Of
a Creole woman; and bloomed like a
rich tropical flower with poison in its
perfume, amid the English briar roses
of Surrey maidenhood.'
If Mrs. Dallas was bore-and her
friends sad she was-the daughter was
divine, and many young men came to
the Wigwam to be spell-bound by her
dark beauty. More men than the three
who had dined at "Ashantee" were in
love with Isabella.
Upon her Dido exercised a powerful
and it must be confessed a malignant
influence. She had fed the quick brain
Of the girl with weird tales Of African
witchcraft and fanciful notions Of ter
restrial and sidereal influences. lisa
bella's nature was warped by this do
nestle necromancy, and had she con-
tinued TO dwell in the West Indies, she
might almost have become a WITCH her
self Certainly Dido did her best to
make her one, and taught her nursing
smells and incantations, to which the
girl would listen fearfully, half believ-
ing. half doubling. But her residence
in England. her contact with practical
English folk, with the sunny side OF
life, saved her from falling into the
terrible abyss of African superstition;
and how terrible it is. only the Initiated
can declare. Is only needed that she
should be removed from the bad influ-
ence of the barbaric Sybil. to render
her nature healthy and fill her life with
pleasure.
But Dido was like a upas tree. and
the moral atmosphere with which she
surrounded Isabella was slowly but
surely making the girl morbid and IN
natural. Mrs. Dallas-yersed in the
negro character-half guessed this, but
she was too indolent TO have DIDO re-
moved. Moreover, strange as it may
appear, she was more than tribe
afraid Of the negress and her unholy
arts.
Maurice had met with, and had fallen
in love with Isabella, and she returned
his affection with all the ardor OF her
passionate nature. His handsome and
frank face, his sunny nature and opti-
mistic ideas appealed strongly TO the
girl who had been environed from her
earliest infancy by the pessimism OF
Dido.
Maurice saw well how Isabella had
deteriorated under the bad influence OF
the negress, and he did his best to
counterfeit her insidious morality and
morbid teachings He laughed at Isa-