The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-04

or the day. The fair creature insisted on picking a rose-branch for herself,
 and in so doing pricked her finger with
 thorn. Court plaster was called for and quiet, elderly man. tall and of meagre aspect, whom Peteer had not noticed before, immediately placed his hand in the tight breast pocket of his old-fashioned coat of gray. pulled out
 small letter case. opened 1t and pre- sented the young lady with the wished
 for plaster.
 Soon after. gazing from the hill overlooking the ocean, some espied speck upon the horizon between the dark hood and the azure sky. Mir. John called for a telescope. The gray man, with a bow. drew the desired
 article from his pocket. Peter was filled with the greatest
 astonishment at the capabilities of the weird mans small pocket; but whom,
 later. the stranger drew from the same receptacle turkey carpet for the guests to sit on. a splendid tent to
 shade them from the sun and finally
 three beautiful horses. he rubbed lis
 eyes to convince himself that he was
 really awake.
 A most singular thing was that none
 of the guests seemed to notice the tall,
 thin man or seemed to realize that all
 these things came from his pocket. The charms of the lovely Fanny in- clined Peter to stay with Mir. Johns party. but the fear which he began to
 feel of the weird possessor of the mar
 vicious pocket finally made him resolve
 to leave the place and return at some
 more convenient time for MT. John's
 answer to the letter of introduction. As Peter was returning toward the city gate he turned suddenly to see the weird man of the marvellous pocket following him. and he stopped in the A> gazing at the stranger with feeling
 as If he were bird fascinated by a
 serpent Will you excuse mo. sfr?' said the gray man, lowing humbly.
 but during the short time have been in your company I have beheld with admiration your most beautiful shad ow. Excuse the boldness of my propo- objection to selling me your shadow" Sell my shadow! exclaimed Peter.
 and thought to himself, "the man must be mad"
 "Yes. continued the stranger. T have in my pocket many things which may possess value in your eyes,
 ''But. sir. part with my shadow! How can I?"
 ''oh. leave that to me- replied the
 man. Here Is the purse of Fortuna | tus; be pleased to examine it." Peter | took the purse, which was small one of cordovan leather. in his hand. took | out ten gold pieces, then ten more, and repeated the operation again and again. There was no doubt about It. in exchange for his shadow he might have that which would make him rich beyond all men in the world. Done cried Peter. My shadow for the purse"
 Agreed, replied the stranger. and
 with wonderful dexterity he gently n>k A- lifted 1t up, folded 1t together and put it in his pocketThen. with a low bow, he disappeared into a cIump of bushes. Overcome by the weirdness of the whole transaction. Peter Schlemihl fell to the ground unconscious. When he came to himself he was still holding tightly to the magic purse. and he has been so terrified. As he passed in at the gate he heard one of the sentries ask another, Where the poor gentle man could have left his shadow He had to cross a broad, sunlit street just as the children were coming home from school. The children immedi- ately perceived that Peter had no shadow, and swarmed around him. with jeers. and even pelted him with mud.
 People are generally accustomed to take their shadows with them when
 they walk in the sunlight" they cried.
 To keep his tormentors away. the
 shadowless man threw large handfuls
 of gold among them. and finally es-
 capped in a hackney coach which some
 compassionate spectators sent to his
 rescue.
 Peter stopped the coach at the door
 of the humble inn where he had put up
 that morning, sent in for his scanty
 belongings, and then ordered the
 driver to take him to the best hotel in
 town. Locking himself in his room. he
 now took from the magic purse coin
 after coin in a sort of frenZy-gold. gold and still more gold: it strewed the
 floor. piled high; he trampled on 1t.
 rolled in it, adding coins to coins until
 he sank exhausted on the golden bed.
 When Schlemihl awoke the day was
 just beginning to dawn. He felt weak
 and famished. for he had not tasted
 food since the preceding morning. He
 now cast from him in disgust the very
 gold which such a short time before
 had so satiated his foolish heart. He
 dared not leave it lying there; and with
 great labor dragged 1t to a huge chest
 which he found in a closet opening off
 his room.
 As soon as he heard the people of the
 house stirring he rang his bell and
 sent for the landlord. with whom he
 held conference regarding his future
 establishment. The landlord recom-
 mended for his personal service one Bendel, a young man whose honest and
 intelligent countenance at once pre-
 possessed Peter in his favor. All that day the possessor of the
 magic purse was occupied in his room
 with servants in want of a situation and tradesmen of every description. Peter dared not venture out by day: but at night. wrapping himself In his
 cloak and trembling like a criminal. he
 stole from the house, and, keeping in the friendly shadow of the buildings. at last reached a distant portion of the
 town and emerged into the moonlight. fully prepared to hear his fate from the lips of the passersby. The women whom he passed expressed the deepest sympathy for him--a sympathy not less niercing 10 his soul than the scoffs of the young and the proud contempt of the men. especially of the more corpu- lent ones, who threw an ample shadow before them Finally, unable to bear this longer Peter again sought the
 friendly shade of the houses. and at late hour reached home. worn out with fatigue and oppressed with profound
 melancholy. He had acquired the
 wealth for which he had so longed, but at what a sacrifice!
 He determined to try the next morn ing to find the mysterious gray man. in the hope that the stranger would have become as sick of his bargain as Peter was of his part of 1t. and so dis tn nf Mfr