The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-11-12
GRQTESQgE SHADOWS


Crisbenello, the little black cat, made
such grotesque shadows on the wall
that Angelica and Bellina would have
laughed outright had not they been
looking into each others eyes. They
did not laugh, for Angelica had drop
ped an onyx into the upturned, rosy
palm of his sweetheart, whispering:
"Cara mia, keep it always and give
in exchange to me-a kiss"
Bellina breathed softly, replying, as
she drew from her fat, brown finger
small carnelian ring:
''Take this; it holds a world Of love
that has no end"
Then she gave her lips moused like
flaming poppy to her lover, and they
laughed.
Weary with seeing his own image so
like a miscellaneous monkey reflected
on the wall, Crispenello ran through
the shadows of the acacia leaves and
sprang upon his mistress, rubbing his
soft black head against her chin and
purring softly.
"See, little harlequin cried the girl
with mock despair. zone has given
me his heart, and although l crush it
in my hands it will not break. The
hearts of men are hard"
Said Angelica, all a-tremble, 81 will
not seek to break the ring that i'm
H.
The moon receded behind cloud and
the lovers embraced, then drew apart.
Bellina stroked the furry coat of
Crispenello and said:
HE will return. His dark, loving
eyes will yet again flash lovelights on
me. AS the honey falls softly from the
ling aloe blossoms, so will his words be
spoken when he tells me that he loves
ne! He will return, little buffoon, and
you and l will watch for his coming"
The cat, unheeding, sprang back to
the moonlight and began making shad-
ows once more.
To the woman sitting beneath the
acacias in the moonlight the years had
passed on golden wings. The world
had named her La FATE, the ''butter-
fly" and as q butterfly rests on the
heart of flowers, so has she rested on
the hearts of men.
1t was the eve of the feast of the
dead. The bells were tolling in the
valley. La FATE laughed vaguely, for
her soul was heavy within her.
"Come, Crispenello," she called light
ly, "let US browse in the poppy fields;
let us feed on the lotus blooms" And
she gathered the vital black vagabond
to her breast and FASTENED down the
dim arcades of mimosa trees, whose
falling, fragant down made a smooth,
soft path for her feet.
The silence and the deep shadows op-
pressed her and made her sigh, but
only as tired child would do for some
new delight.
Remembering the onyx heart that
burned upon her throat, she tore it off
and cast it upon the grass.
"It will not break" she said half re-
gretfully, "even though I have beat
upon it with stone!'
Then the poppy fields opened to her.
"After ALL" she unused, 'they yield
but idle dreams, these languorous
blooms" and she passed them by. A
lotus lily leaning from a fountains
rim touched her worryingly, but she
tore it fiercely from it's stem and bruis-
ed it beneath her feet.
'Why feed upon them" she asked
bitterly. '"Their potency is gone. /
have not forgotten, and it was so long
agor'
Suddenly her foot struck against
something white and cold, with star
ing eyes upturned to the moon.
1t was only a dead volunteer with a
knapsack on his back and the frag-
ments of broken carnelian ring light
~ clasped in his rigid hand.
"Little monkey" she said to the cat,
zone cannot keep faith forever" But
the dreariness of her voice frightened
the cat and he sprang from this warm
breast that inclosed him and ran back
to the acacias whining: "Meowi
MeOwp
The woman fell upon her knees.
With faltering fingers she felt along
the grass for the onyx heart.
Finding it. she buried her sharp nails
in her palm over it. 1t was broken!
"How came it soT she asked wonder
ingly.
Once more she turned to the upturn-
ed face, but she did not kiss the dumb,
reproachful lips. She hid her face and
shrank away, leaving the dead man to
the night, with the fragments Of the
broken ring clasped with passionless
persistence in the curled up hand.
She turned away to yield the sweet
ness of her lips, burning with the fires
of a newborn passion, to living lip,
while the little black cat made gro
tesque shadows on the wall!-Sunny
South.