Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-01-30

! at home; whilr Melton stood near
smoking and caressing one of his ever
lasting pets.
The studio was big barrack of
place. but so crowded with STUFF that
you hardly had room to turn. Along
one side and reaching half way up the
wall was a kind of hutch-such as is
used for rabbits-divided into some
thirty compartments; this was the
home of the pets" while in cages
underneateh were their provisions in
the shape of rats, mice, Guinea-pigs,
rabbits, &C. The rest of the place was
a mass of tapestries fishnet, rugs, pic
lures, casts and all the thousand and
one articles of virtu that are supposed
to delight the artistic eye. Over the
door the skull of a horse grinned in
bleached complacency, while several
] other skulls, that once were human,
! tricked in smoking caps, lace, shawls,
&C., added to the social aspect. Scat
tered on chairs and divans were sew
eral musical instruments, mandolins,
guitars, a couple of fiddles, a cello and
a either, and over in one corner stood
a small stop organ. | looked at the
man critically, and as he stood there,
nervously smoking cigarettes, a Turk
! ish fez on his head, and could only
! feel that he was necessary compile
ment to the whole. But the girl, with
( her sweet spiritual face, seemed en-
tirely out of place in such sulphur
! Gus den, however, she seemed appar
entity we'll content with her surround
| ings, as she swung laZily to and fro
| in the hammock.
| Melton. after prOffering rum and to-
| bacco, proceeded to show off his ami
mails. First one, then another he
| brought out, handling them easily and
Familiarity as they coiled and twisted
! round him; talking to them, kissing
| them, as they silently, sinuouSly glld-
| ed about him, touching his face, his
neck, his throat, with their fiat, vicious
| looking heads. Then | was formally
introduced to the baby boa, "Buz."
| Baby. He was, | think, the biggest
serpent | have ever seen; a huge boa
| constructor; his body, long, undulating
| graceful, except for two punches about
/ half way towards his tail end, that
/ marked the presence Of two undigest-
| ed Dummies. Melton had had him ever
! since he was indeed a baby, and with
! few strains OF music could control
| him, hypnotic him, SO that he would
stay as placed for an incredible time,
fixed, silent, motionless, but for the
weird motion of his tongue.
All the snakes seemed alike amen
able to music it swayed them, domi-
mated them, reused them to fierce hiss
ing, or soothed them to trance-lille
| quiet. And of music Melton was a
master; whatever instrument he
touched, and seemingly however he
| touched it, vibrated tremendously. He
i played for me that day; | am fond
of music, and thought | understood
somewhat of it, but here | was com
! pletely at a loss; the room was full Of
| signing sounds, wild, mournful and
sweet and I forgot the grinning skulls,
the snakes and all the other oddities,
in perfect trance Of delight.
Bessie at first when the music began
rose and moved round restles6iy, then
sat down again, and | forgot her, but
! when it ceased | looked at her once
more and started. She sat stitfy up,
almost rigidly, gazing straight in froAt
of her, with strange, uAcanny LOOK
in her pretty eyes. Her hands were
clenched tightly in her lap, her lips
slightly parted, though she hardly
| seemed to breathe. / turned toward
|
noyance, half anxiety, in his nervous
face; he walked across the room, and
rather clumsily | thought, stumbling
| over a stool, bringing it down pith q
crash. When [ recovered from my
start Bessie was rubbing her eyes and
looking around as if she had just
walked up Melton seemed to have
gotten into a different mood, and,
Selling a mahle stick, he began to
poke viciously into the cages of some
Of the unoffending pets" and soon
raised up a most horrible Kissing
that successfully served to distract my
attention, if such was his intent.
During the next few days | did con
siderate thinking. | felt quite certain
that there had been something queer
about Bessie that afternoon. She had
had the same helpless look that the
snakes had when the music got con-
troll of them Could it be possible
that it acted in the same manner on
her and if so did she know it? |
could not help thinking that Melton, at
least, knew it. | remembered his DIS
| concerted look when he saw that no.
ticed her; then the clumsy upsettlng
Of the stool, doubtless to rouse her. II
SO. what did it all mean? Did he know
himself? Was he trying to get control
Of her with his fiendish music? And
she, could it be possible that she cared
beyond the effect of the music? | re-
membered she was often in his studio
posing, presumably-yet, now come
to think, l had often heard the faint
sounds of the violin for half an hour al
stretch, while l knew she was there
If she were posing, for whom? lie
couldn't fiddle and paint at the same
! time, and knew she could not play q
note; had seen her handle the instru-
mentes, and the results was discords
appalling. Well. it was no business Of
mine, / suppose, SO I determined t.
cudgel my brain no longer; If she
chose to care for fellow Of that KIND
we'll let her.
One afternoon, about ten days later
Bessie was posing for me, for some
black and white Illustrations. The
whole place was intensely still, most
of the men being out drumming "
work" or gathering inspirations on the
"Rialto" The faint notes of a WOLF
reached up from behind Melton'S
closed doors and | confess, the plain
tive melody soothed me, despite my
still irritable feelings against the per-
former
Bessie was sitting more quiet thar