Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1898-12-27

Cd In mist and u starless heaven saggibe
over blank earth. IL seemed an end
LEES up hill drag to my lodging aud.
though my bedroom was unexpectedly
dainty and dear old 1man-St.
Johns mother-metaphorically tucked
me in, slept i'll that night. Formless
dreams tortured me with impalpable
tragedies and apprehensions Of horror.
''In the morning, after cold spong-
ing, the oppression lifted little from
my spirit, though the weather still
seemed rather gray. st. John had al
ready gone of to his field work, his
mother told me. She was so lovely and
the room In which ate breakfast so
heat and demure, with its whitewashed
walls, pure and stainless like country
snow, that managed toswallow every
thing but the coffee. Oh, that coffee /
had TO nibble at bit of chocolate car
ried to get the taste Of il ont Of my
mouth. tried hard not to let the blues
get the upper hand again. l filled my
pipe and pulled out my skeichbook.
Ny notes Of yesterday seemed so faint
and the morning growing 80 dark that
l could scarcely see them. ] thought !
would 90 and sit on the little bench
outside As I was sauntering through
the doorway, my head bending brood
ingly over the ske,chbook, like this, |
caugh, sight out Of the corner of my
eve of little white match stand fixed
upon the wall. Mechanically ] put out
my left hand TO take light for my
pipe. A queer cold wetness in my fingers
and little splash woke me to the sense
Of some odd mistake and in another
instant | realized with horror that
had dipped my fingers into holy water
and splashed it over that neat, demure,
spotless, whitewashed wall.
could not help smiling. "Ah,
know. one of those porcelain things
with a crucified Saviour over little
font! Fancy taking heaven for brim-
stone!"
1T didn't seem the least bit funny
at the time I just felt awful. What
would tho dear old woman say to this
proclamation: Why did people have
whitewashed walls on which sacrile.
gious stains were luridly visible: Hook
ed up and down the hall, like Moses
when be slew that Egyptian. trembling
lest the old woman should come III.
How could / make her understand l was
10 ignorant Of Christian custom as to
mistake font for q matchbox? And II
l said I was Jew-good heavens =
he might think / had done it OF fell de-
sign What wound to the gentle old
creature who had been SO sweet to me!
could not stay in sight Of that accus-
ing streak. must walk of my uneasi.
ness. threw open the outer door. Then
stood still. paralyzed. Monstrous, evil
looking gray mists were clumped at the
very threshold; sinister, formless va
pors blotted ont the mountain; every.
where vague, drifting hulks OF malari-
ous mist. l sought to pierce them, to
find the landscape. the cheerful village,
the warm human life nesting under
Gods heaven, but saw only, way be-
low, as through q tunnel cut betwixt
mist and mountain, Q dead inverted
world of houses and trees In chill
gray lake. / shuddered. An indefinable
apprehension possessed me, something
| like the vague discomfort of my dreams.
Then almost instantly il crystallized in.
to the blood curdling suggestion: What
| IL this were divine chastisement? What
II all the outer and inner dreariness
| that had SO steadily enveloped me since
! witnessed the tragedy were punish.
ment for my disbelief? What IL this
water were really holy and my sacri-
lege had brought some grizzly nemesis?"
"You believed that?'
"Not really. Of course; but you, as
an artist, must understand how one
dallies with an idea, plays with mood.
works oneself up imaginatively into q
dramatic situation. let IL grow upon
me till, like man alone in the dark,
afraid of the ghosts hs doesn't believe
| in. grew nervous.
~ dare say you hadn't wholly recov-
cred from your fall, and your nerves
were unstrung BY the blood and the
nails, and that steak had disagreed with
you, and you had bad bad night. and
you were morbidIy uneasy about annoy
| ing the old woman aud al those chunks
Of mist got into your spisita You are .
child of the sun. "
'Of course knew oil that, down in
the cellars OF my being. bat up stairs
all the same, had this sense OF guilt