Gardnerville record. (Gardnerville, Nev.) 1898-1902, 1901-07-26

WITHOUT merit ana, gazing steadily at 1t
for any length of time. had n strange
effect even upon so prosaie person as
myself. | have fancied more than once
that saw an undulating movement in
the lines of Omphale's beautiful neck
and that the delicate glow of her cheek
changed TO a deeper or paler shade.
You may laugh at me If you like, but
no one looking at the tapestry could
shake off the impression that the figure
of woolen and silken shreds was ami
mate. Her langulshing glance followed
one about the room. growing intense az
one gazed at her eyes.
Naturally | tried the experiment of
separating my patient from the inf1u-
ence of the tapestry, but this, as | fear
ed only had the effect of changing his
habitual melancholy into violent pas
sion that was much more difficult to
deal with than melancholia. We then
tried hanging the tapestry in a much
used room, where some member of the
family was likely TO be ut all times.
There young Wlltse would sit before 1t
In silence, with an imploring express
sion on his face. Finally he became so
callous Ia regard TO his strange infat-
uation that he took small pains to con-
ceal 1t. Uncomdimentary 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
'Marchioness, and that, too, Is explain
ed, though at the time we were In the
dark as to his reason for comforting
this particular rank upon Omphale,
perhaps I exaggerated the impress
sion the tapestry made upon whoever
looked at 1t for any length of time. |,
you must understand. was to some ex-
tent under the influence was studying
and trying to couHteract in my patient.
Suggestion In such cases goes far and
follows strange paths. Every one IN
the family came more or less under
Omphales influence"
had followed my unele's story thus
far with intense interest. but here
objected that If he attributed the pecul-
lar Influence of the tapestry upon him
self largely or partly to its known In
fiuence upon young Wiltse it made it
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.
49, t. a I
can only suppose that young Wiltse
had some time or other read this story
of Gautier's and come TO imagine him
self a second lover of the beautiful
Marchioness de T., posed TO please her
husband, In the romantic scene with
Hercules"
My uncle'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 Gantier's
preposterous yarn about the amours of
the young student and that wooden
ragr
Not so fast not SO fast" he replied.
Il 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.
The 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 the tapestry representation
of his goddess IN an oddity shop and,
trembling with JOY. hurried away to
get the 800 francs demanded for ii by
the shop@eeper. Before he returned an
Engllshman (why not Wiltse. SrD had
offered 600 francs for the tapestry. the
dealer had accepted, and the tapestry
had been carried away"
But" | broke In again. you are still
supposing slat Gautler's tapestry and
youth actually existed"
Not at all. Whether or not Gautier
described an actually existing tapestry
do not know. | am inclined To think,
however, that the novelist had seen
this very tapestry. And when young
Wiltse found Ii In his fathers house
either after or before he read the story
for am confident that he had read it.
Omphale's spell grasped him. and he
was never able to throw 1t off. He be
came the successor to Gautier's youth.
but probably 0mphale did not warmly
respond a second time TO a merely bu-
man lovers advances, and hence his
despair"
Poor fellow" said |. "Doyou know
And then hesitated, ashamed to dis
close TO my uncle the intense inter
est he had excited in me. "Where is
that tapestry nowT' | finafy demand
ell.
My uncle 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 as am."-St. Louis Repub-
lie.