The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1901-06-19

uation that he took small pains to con-
ceal It, Uncompllmentary remarks
about Omphale would send him into
uncomfortable fits of passion that bare
ly stopped short OF violence to the per-
son who had made the aspersion. No
one ever heard him address his enchan-
tress by name, but he would call her
Warehouses, and that, too, Is explain
ed, though at the time we We're in the
dark MS to his reason for comforting
this particular rank upon 0mphale.
perhaps | exaggerated the impress
sion the tapestry made upon whoever
looked ut It for any length of time. |,
you must understand, was to some ex
tent under the influence | was studying
and trying to counterfeit In my patient.
Suggestion In such cases goes far and
follows strange paths. Every one In
the family came more or less under
Omphale's influence"
l had followed my uncle's story thus
far with intense interest. but here
objected that IL he attributed the pecul-
lar influence of the tapestry upon him
self largely or partly to Its known in
fuence upon young Wiltse II made 1t
more difficult to understand how the
patient had In the first instance come
under omphale's spell, since he did not
have any outside suggestion.
"That is true" said my uncle, 'and |
can only suppose that young Wiltse
had some time or other read this story
Of Gautier's and come to imagine him
self second lover of the beautiful
Warehouses de T.. posed. to please her
husband, In the romantic scene with
Hercules
My unele's whole story ran counter to
my very strong projudices against be
lief in all things supernatural. spirit
Ism" and the other 'isms" Of the same
sort do you mean to say" | ex-
claimed, that you believe Guutier's
preposterous yarn about the amours Of
the young student and that WOODEN
ragr
Not SO fast; not so fast" he replied.
~ have not said that looked upon the
tale as a recital OF fact. You miss the
point. | Will refresh your memory of
the story and then you Will under
stand.
"rhe youth Of Gautier's story was
deprived of his Omphale by an unfeel-
Ing guardian who had discovered the
boys infatuation. Years afterward the
man found tho tapestry representation
of his goddess In an oddly shop and,
trembling with joy, hurried away TO
get the 500 francs demanded for II by
the shopkccper. Before he returned an
Engllshman (why not Wiltse, Sr. p had
offered GOO francs for the tapestry, the
dealer had accepted, and the tapestry
had been carried away"
But" broke In again, you are still
supposlng that Gautlers tapestry and
youth actually existed"
mot mt all. Whether or not Gautler
described an actually existing tapestry
| do not know. | am Inclined to think,
however, that the novelist had seen
this very tapestry. And when young
Wlltse found IL In his fathers house
either after or before he read the story,
for l am confident that he had read It,
0mphale's spell grasped him. and he
was never able to throw It Off. lie be-
""'"" ~" sncoaasor to Gautier's youth,
but probably omphale did not warmi,
respond IL second time 10 merely hu
man lovers advances. and hence his
despair"
Poor fellow" said |. "Doyou know
And then | hcsitated. ashamed to dis
close 10 my uncle the intense inter
est he had excited in me. "Where Is
that tapestry nowW L finally demand
ed.
My u4clc first looked amused and
then serious.
you shall never see 1t. Hugh, until
you are too old TO be foolish-until you
are as old ms | nm."-St. Louis Repub-
llc