The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-07-18


! was to spite yourself utterly? Have
you never ascended to dizzy heights
and kicked away the ladder at the
last moment just because it might
prevent all human succor. because.
in a word. for that very reason you
did it? If you have not you are
more or less than human. And this
imp of the perverse the presence OF
some people seems to enrage even to
demoniac desperation. while. in the
presence of others, it slumbars, at
least comparatively.
I'm this lies the secret of my es-
DousaI Of lara of the desert. did
not love her: did not even respect
her; welded her, nevertheless, not
because I willed to wed her involun-
tarily. but because. with an" uncon-
trollable perversity. l was impellea
to wed her against my will. A para
dox. to be sure-but then man is
paradox, the one wing of which is
human, and the other devil. So par
adox let it be. She stung the imp or
the perverse. the latent devil in me,
into horrible activity: and, for the
time. quite against my will. did,
with seeming deliberation. exactly
what I would not have done for my
soul.
There was one other popularity
about Zara, the Beautiful, which has
had some hand in convincing me OF
a certain non-humanity on her part
There is about every person, human
ly considered, a certain atmospheric
something, a personal aroma. so to
speak, which is inSeparable from the
notion of presence; and if your sense
of odor is acute, you will be able to
detect q certain individuality or
something akin to perfume. q sort
of odorless perfume Of violets to the
oppressive, oozy atmosphere OF the
upas. are just as indicative Of per-
sonal idiosyncrasies as appearance
and manner may be supposed to be.
allude to this aroma as personal IN
it's shades only, as generic in Its ex-
iStence.
about the creature that welded
there was nothing of this kind.
Cool. aromaless, blood1essly cadav-
erous, the secret of her fascination
was located in something akin to
metallic. glitter Of presence-akin to
the writhing, glittering crawl of the
adder. akin to the hacking inhumani-
ty of the laughter of a parrot.
"a mask Of woman, merely
Abderah continued. the words rat
ting from his throat with accurately
pointed and terrible vehemence; "a
mask of a woman, merely a deyilish
domino. I welded the low-born
lara of the desert. who came and
went at whim, as one having no
home upon the earth; and for a brief
year only she queened it, the gayest
of the gay. the merriest of the merry,
the profanest OF the profane. 1t
was CHASTITY day, the day that led
her to the palace of my race, a
day ominous Of pestilence and OF
sudden and epidemic death. Lurid
and terrible wonders we're in the
heavens, like those which have lured
our feet into the Valley of the Dry
Bones: and sitting and hyena-like
siroccos pursued the travellers of the
desert with devilish instinct, throt-
ting them while caravans together.
Even from the day thereof died my,
people in CHASTITY scores, and ON the
forehead of every one that died was
branded a livid blot in the exact
shape of human heart. My father
died suddenly, and first of all. the
red horror Of the brand from temple
temple to temple Zara had no grief
at the old mans death. The epidem-
ic, swift-footed and terrible. went
abroad among my people. Zara was
oppressively merry; and still as fast
er they died, merrier and merrier
yet became the laughter Of the
queen, until I was likely at last to
reign over vast metropolis. She
absented herself for days from the
palace, and night unto night I was
startled from horrible dreams of the
red brand, to find her absent from
the camera diletto. And still the ep-
idemic death baf1ed all skill, and the
red brand crawled suddenly upon all
foreheads, and was the horror Of
all hearts.
"I too, became weak, but lara
only laughed mockingly. and alb
sented herself the more from the
palace, waxing the more horribly
merry the ghastlier l became.
II dreamed ftfully, and in the
horror Of my dream the Ioathsome
brand of the red heart, the hideous
seal of the epidemic death, was upon
my forehead. l awoke, and the queen
| was not at my side. l heard a
gnashing of horrible teeth. sprang
up. I struck light 1 was too
quick for her Great God She was
| feeding upon a human heart.
! 'It has been year to a day. and
still the same lurid and CHASTITY won
ders were in the heavens.
Thou has outwitted me, for I
would have queened over it me-
tropolis of the dead Thou hast, in
deed, triumphed in life.' said Zara,
| dying. but in death would 1 have
gnawed thy heart
| so, she died. and the demon Of
| the red horror and the imp of the
epidemic death slumbered. and the
livid blot in the heavens went out
| Ill of 10 oh