Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-04-27
THE PURPLE EGG.

BY ANATOLE FRANCE

old as she looked. She was thin and
sallow; her eyes glittered in their dark
sockets under their reddened lids. In
spite of the warm summer day she
was swathed, head and all, in black
garments. But the strangest thing
about her was the metal circlet that
clasped her brow like diadem
'Here is my mother; she has her
neuralgia"
Nine. Mansel made me welcome in
faint voice and, observing my puz-
zled look, said, smiling:
"My young sir, what you take for
crown is a magnetic circle I wear to
cure my headaches"
Mansel led me into the garden,
where we caught sight of a little bald
man gliding down the path like
phantom. He was so frail and slight
that he looked as if the wind would
blow him away. His uncertain gait,
his long, thin neck craned forward,
his head no bigger than your fist, his
sidewise glances, his hopping steps,
his short arms raised like wings, gave
him quite the appearance of some new
sort of fowl My companion told me
that it was his father, but that we
must let him go to the poultry yard,
which he infinitely preferred to all the
rest of his domain; he lived among
his hens and had almost lost the
habit of talking with human beings.
The odd little figure at this moment
vanished, and loud cackling rose in
| the air.
During the short stroll we took in
the garden, Mansel told me that at din
ner 1 would meet his grandmother;
that she was good old soul, but that
| must not pay much attention to what
she said. as she was. oftesa g listle out
of her mind.
The bell rang for dinner. M. Man
sci followed us into the house, carry
ing basket of eggs. Eighteen to-
day." he said, in clucking voice.
A delicious omeet appeared. I
was seated between Nine. Mansel,
signing under her diadem, and her
mother, round checked, toothless,
old Normandy woman, who smiled
with her eyes. She seemed delight
full to me. While we were eating our
roast duck and creamed chicken the
old lady told us amusing stories that
showed no signs of weakening facul-
ties. On the contrary, she appeared
the merriest and sanest member of the
family.
After dinner we went into parlor
furnished in black walnut and yellow
Utrecht velvet. Under the globe of
the gilt clock on the mantel lay q
purple egg that at once drew my at
tention. With a child's inexplicable
) curiosity I could not take my eyes off
it, But must add that the egg was
of strange and splendid color-a
royal purple, not in the slightest man
ner recalling the wine -colored Easter
, eggs, dipped in beet-juice, that de-
| light the children at all the fruit
stands. I could not resist making q
| remark about it.
, NJ. Mansel replied by an admirine
cackle: "My young sir, that is not 6
= dyed egg, as you seem to think. i
was laid just as you see it there by {
Cingalese hen of mine. 1t is phe
. nomenal egg
8 'You must not forget to add, my
. DEAR" sighed Nine. Mansel, "that i
was laid the very day our Alexandra
: was born"
, Gust So" returned the father.
. The old grandmother, in the mean
time, looked at me with mocking eyes,
and with an expressive movement o
. her lips betrayed her skepticism.
"Hum" she murmured, ''hens some
times hatch what they haven't laid
and if some mischievous neighbol
should happen to slip into their nes
, a"
: : Don't listen to hef!' broke in hel
= grandson, violently. "1ou know
what [ told you'll Don't listen tc
her!'
. sIts fact repeated M. Mansel
fixing his round eye on the purple
i egg
Not long after I lost sight of Alex
II andre. My mother sent me to Paris
Il to finish my studies. l entered the
is School of Medicine. About the tim'
r that 1 was preparing my doctors the
l. sis, / received letter from m,
d mother. in which she told me that m,
friend had been very i'll; he had hat
y some strange seizure, on recoVeIln;
l. from which he had become exceeding
le ly timid and suspicious; but he wa
= quite harmless, and, in spite OF hi
Is troubled health and reason, he showed
p remarkable gift for mathematics
ID This news did not surprise me, Man
Sc time, while studying diseases OF tn
r nerve centres, / had called up men
to tally my poor fliend from St. julie
so and in spite OF myself, had made