Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-06-25

destination, pray, that may lead you
thither without delay"
I stammered the name Of the manor
house.
"Ah, that is your home, is it?" he
exclaimed. Follow me, then, little
fairy Of the manor, sweet little angel
Of Francel" And obeyed, keeping close
behind him in the darkness, with my
fears allayed by the excessive gentle
ness of his manner
1t was only at the end Of long, long
hour that we emerged from the forest
Across the moor l saw with joy the IA
miliar outline Of the castle standing up
in bold but ghostly whiteness against
the deep black Of the trees not 100 yards
away.
Come in with me, +" said at last,
timidly addressing my strange guide
for the first time Come in with me
and rest and be refreshed with meat
and wine. | want to reward you, too,
for your kindness in taking this long,
weary walk out of your way to oblige
me. i"
The old mendicant shook his head as
if in anger
No, no, no, he repeated vehement
ly II want nothing, Twill accept moth
ing. But after few moments hesita-
ton he added with almost angelic sweet
ness, Your eyes have given me so
great joy that / need nothing more, +"
and he turned hastily back toward the
forest
Drawing a small silken purse from
my pocket, in which / had that morn
ing placed four gold coins, / ran after
the singular old man and begged his ac-
ceptance of it as a remembrance, not as
a reward, and placed it coaxingly in
his hand.
Tears stood in his eyes as he slowly
lifted the silken meshes to his lips, and
then, to my amaZement, he held it to-
ward my mouth. Mechanically / obeyed
his silent gesture and in my turn I
kissed the little purse. Swiftly placing
it III his bosom then, without word,
without a sound, he sprang into the
woods and disappeared as if by magic
beneath the trees.
The next day and for many days fol-
lowing Gruigny and | explored the coun-
try for miles around in a vain search
for the mysterious old man, whose pa
thetic, even mystic, admiration had
both touched and thrilled me the night
before, but no one had ever seen or
heard Of such being. No one answer
ing in any way my description had been
observed passing through or wandering
about the many villages and hamlets
skirting the great forest. The supersti-
tious peasants soon began to eye me
askance and crossed themselves as pass
ed, muttering, Werewolf, s" and it was
with a curious blending of fear, inter-
est and baffled curiosity that I returned
to Paris wearied and annoyed at my un-
successful efforts to retrace my singular
adorer. Still it was not long before my
strange adventure and its stranger hero
were forgotten in the mad whirl of court
life, filled as it was to the brim with
adventures and admirers, too, although
of singularly different character.
Seven years later, however, my mid
night escapade was forcibly recalled to
my remembrance by the priest of the
village church which l have already
mentioned in the beginning of this sto-
ry. He brought me, he said package
which had been confded to his care by
young gypsy lad. The boy had explain
ed that the parcel was for the LADY of
Kerzigolet'' and had been given him by
q dying member of his tribe.
Judge of my surprise when on remov-
ing the covering of the small package I
recognized the little silken purse which
| had given the old mendicant as a SOU
venir so long before, while, stranger
still, between it's faded meshes the yell
low CLINT of the goldpieces still SHIN
mered brightly. the French For
Short Stories.