Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1901-10-19
THE HOUSE OF DREAMS.

The light that filtered into the curio
| shop was so dim that only the bronze
Buddha was clearly discernible; the
shelves, rising tier upon tier along the
walls, and laden with Eastern cloths,
seemed but so many dusky reflections of
the gloom. Whiffs of hot air came
through the overshadowed doorway and
mingled with the scent of spice. The
atmosphere of the place sanded the
throat with a dry and enervating
warmth.
The man and woman, standing amid
the shadows, were conscious of it, but
with a differing consciousness. The man
| breathed it in, as the necessary breath
of his existence; the woman felt stified-
oppressed. She moved, and the costly
material of her skirt rustled against the
uncovered floor.
And this" Her hand rested on a
dark vase. Her figure, family silhouet-
/ ted against the wall, seemed almost In
congruous in such a scene; for her dress
| swept round her in rich folds, and her
| hat dropped over her face IN a wide, ex-
| trayagant curve. 1t was the dress that
three great artists had made famous, and
that the world knew by heart, but to
| the pale, pinched man in the mean shop
!
hended to be of any note. To him she
was gorgeous butterfly, that, posing
! itself for moment in the darkness,
would presently fit away into the sun.
And this" she said again.
That is Chinese" he said in his pc
culiar voice. I'VE have had it for ten
years. 1t is accounted very old, 200
years old-perhaps more. We prize it
very much" Commercially he always
spoke in the plural. Most things that he
| did had fantastic turn. 2
''Indeed!' she said. Her voice was ex-
| traordinarily low, but she did not move
her hand.
He watched her uneasly. 1T is not
for sale he said.
And whyY' She kept her face avert
ed, and surreptitiously she touched the
bronze dragon that guarded the top Of
the vase Everything in a shop is usu-
ally for sale
The man smiled curiously. ''Shops,"
he said, like other things-differ.'
At the tone of the words, half caustic,
half solemn, her mind sprang back into
| the past. A DictGre partly remembered
| never wholly cast aside. shot into the
! light of knowledge: and sharp, unex-
pected pang went through her heart.
And your master, she said, hesitat-
ingly, 'he still liyes?'
A fash of surprise lit the mans eyes
then passed. He was too simple 10 ques-
ton woman's pleasure. Besides his
master had been well known opce-and
had known many Of the great world.
My master has been paralyzed," he
said, these ten years back"
She made a sudden movement and the
top of the vase fell-rolling away into a
| corner.
Forgive mel" she said: and there was
a breathless catch i'll her voice,
He sprang after the cover, wiping it
jealousy as he picked it up. If this
were broken he said menacingiy.
Then his manner changed. HE has been
helpless since this misfortune" he said
gently. When hope is taken, life may
go as well. The two are one" This
man with his pale face and deformed
body was an untaught philosopher. There
are many such in the workshops of God.
Tell me of him." she said-her voice
was very low. People said that on the
stage her words could thrill TO mans
soul. No audience had heard her speak
as she spoke now. Tell me-" she said
again.
For an inconceivably long time he hes
itated. Then he looked up Even in the
shadow. the pathos and the fidelity in his
eyes made them shine like lamps. Il sell
dom mention him." he said, but if you
Will it His tongue, long rusted by
silence. halted in its speech.
Yes" she urged, Yes"
lie replaced the cover of the vase care
fully, and picked up a plaque-dusting it
with his sleeve.
Ten years ago the master had n
daughter"
He stopped and coughed. A passing
cab ratified on the cobbles: and a tiny
ray OF sun, falling through the doorway.
| made bar of dancing dust
HE woman moved slowly.
Weir" she said. "Well?"
He bent his head.
She was the stars and the sun and
the world to him-and to me-" he said
SIMPLY. but we, we were like the
things he moved his hands comprehen-
Slvcly-"dusty and gloomy and dull-fo
one so bright, She had a face like
heaYen and earth sees so little Of heaven
that 1t must take all it can. One morn
ing we found her gone"
mere was silence in the street, and IL
seemed that all life had clogyed IFS
wheels, and that only the man with his
ptiful deformity and half-poetic words
breathed and had his being. s'
but he lves!" she whispered. "you
Salu t1at ne lveS! His head was still
oent-he was lost in reyerie
FOUND him on that morning'r no
Said' not heehng her words, found him
Nlng by the shop door. For hours /
thought that he was dead: but the doc
tor came and said thai we must look ~
time tof ms recovery. Timer'-he smiled
easier word" OeeH ah
Her skirt rustled again upon the have
moor ana ste drew her breath with a
Tell me more" she said: evervthinsr,
For Years he lay like log. and never
SP"He' men one day his voice came
o"ck' aud his first words WERE Where