The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-20
The EIo,ver parIor.

letter THAT is, to the superficial OBJ
sewer who was not acquainted with
the size of the house and had not had
the opportunity of remarking that at
the extremities of the upper hall max
ing this T were two imposing doors,
usually found shut except at meal
times. when the left hand one was
thrown open, disclosing long and
dismal corridor similar to the ones
above. Half way down this corridor
was the dining room, into which L had
now been taken three times.
The right hand one, l had no doubt,
led the way into the great drawing
room or dancing hall which L had set
out to see.
Proceeding first to the front of the
house, where some glimmer of light
penetrated from the open sitting room
hat was written on the several tags
attached to them. They were seven.
The largest was marked a. Two Of
lesser size had Gray Parlor'' and Ii
b1ary" severally written on their taS
which. by the way, were dog-eared
since they were written on and attach
ed. Blue Parlor" designated a fourth.
and upon the others l saw some such
words as these: Flower Cabinet
Shell Cabinet" Dark Chamber"-all
very suggestive and to an antiquarian
But ii was upon the key marked "a
! first fixed my attention. This should
open the large door at the extremity
of the upper hail. and when [ made
trial with ii l found my conjecture cor
rect, for it moved easily though some
what gratingly in the lock, releasing
the great doors, which in another mo-
ment swung inward with a growing
sound from their rusty hinges that
might have been startling to nervous
person filed with the legends of the
place.
But in me the only emotion awaken
ed was one of disgust at the nauseous
character of the air which seemed to
envelope me in an instant Had l wish
ed for any further proof than was af
forded by the warning given me by the
condition of the hinges that the foot of
man had not lately invaded these pre-
cincts.I would have nd t in the m lGy
atncost here ard smell of lust that greet
ed me on the threshold. Neither hu-
man breath nor ray Of outdoor sun
shine seemed to have disturbed its
gloomy quiet for years, and when /
moved, as l presently did, to open one
of the windows / could just dimly see
In the distance, l felt such movement
of something foul and nois0me over the
decaying rags of the carpet through
which I was stumbling that l had to
call into use the stronger elements Of
my character not to back out of q
place so given over to rot and the crea-
lures that infest it.
what a spot thought I, "for Anne
liza Butterworth to find herself in," and
wondering if I could ever wear again
the So yard silk dress in which [ was
then enveloped. OF my shoes I took no
account. They were ruined, of course.
I reached the window in safety, but
could not open it; neither could l move
the next. There We're sixteen in all or
So l afterwards found and not till |
reached the last you see, I am very
PERSISTENT did l succeed in loosening
the bar that held it's inner shutter in
place This DONE [ was able to lift the
window, and for the first time in years
perhaps let in a ray of light into this
desoIated apartment
The result was disappointing. Moldy
walls, worm-eaten hangings, two very
ancient and quaint fireplaces. met my
eyes, and nothing more. The room
was absolutely empty. For many
minutes I allowed my eyes to roam
over the great rectangular space in
which so much that was curious and
Interesting had once taken place, and
then, with a vague sense OF defeat, L
turned my eyes outward, anxious to
see what view could be obtained from
the window l had opened. To my as
tcnishment, I saw before me a. high
wall with here and there a window In
1t, tightly barred and closed, till by a
careful look about me / realized that
l was looking upon the other wing of
the building and that between these |
wings extended q court so narrow and
long that it gave to the building the
shape, as I have before said, Of the let
ter U. A dreary prospect reminding
one Of the view from a prison, but it
had it's point of interest, for in the
court below me, the brick pavement of
which was half obliterated by grass,
I caught sight of William in an atti-
tude so different from any [ had h1ther
to sec him assume that I found 1t diff
cult to account for it till I saw the jaws
Of the dog protruding from under his
arms. and then 1 realized he was hug
gins Saracen.
The dog was tied, but the comfort
which William seemed to take in just
this physical contact with his rough
skin was something really to have
seen. 1t made me quite thoughtful for
q moment.
I detest dogs, and 1t gives me
creepy sensation to see them fOndled,
but sincerity of feeling appeals to me,
and no one could watch William Knoll
lys with his dogs without seeing that
he really loved the brutes. Thus in
one day I had witnessed the best and
worst in this man. But wait! Had 1
seen the worst. l was not so sure that
l had.
He had not noticed my peering, for
which 1 was duly thankful, and after
another fruitless survey of the win
dCws in the wall before me I drew
back and prepared to leave the place.
This was by no means a pleasant I'M
dertaking. I could see now what had
only felt before, and to traverse that
space amid beetles and spiders requir-
ed determination of no ordinary ma
ture. l was glad when I reached the
great doors and more than glad when
they closed behind me. SO much for
room A, thought L
The next most promising apartment
was in the same corridor as the din
Ing room. 1t was called the dark par
Tor. Entering it, I found it dark in
deed, but not because of lack of light
but because it's hangings were all of
dismal red and it's furniture of the
blacklist ebony. AS this mainly con-
sisted of shelves and cabinets placed
against three of it's four walls, the eff
feet was gloomy indeed and fully ac-
counted for the name which the room
had received. I fingered in it, however,
longer than I had in the big drawing
room, chiefly because the shelves con-
tanned books.
Had anything better offered I might
not have continued my explorations
but not seeing exactly how [ could pass
away the time any better chose out
another key and began to search for
the flower parlor. I found it beyond
the dining room in the same hall as
the dark parlor.
1t was, as 1 might have expected
P,0p h., l..