Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1910-03-17

threatened to return to Barbados, bu
she was too lazy to make the effort o
again settling herself in life. With al
her longings for the fairy islands o
the West, she was out OF place in thi
northern land. and so was Dido.
This latter was tall and massivel!
framed negro woman, with very littl,
of the black about her. She looked
rather like priestess, with her sterr
face and stately mien; and, indeed, II
the West indies, II was known amonl
the negroes that Dido was high III
power among the votaries of Obi. She
could charm she could slay by means
of vegetable poisons. and she could
as the negroes firmly believed-causc
human being tn dwindle, peak. ant
pine, by means Of incantations.
This black CANDIDA had left terribls
reputation behind her In Barbados
Dido was not favorite In the ser
wants part Of The Wlgwam," but for
this unpopularity she cared little, be-
ing devoted to Isabella Dallas. She
adored her nursing. The girl was
about twenty years of age tall and
straight, with dark hair and darker
eyes, with a mouth veritably like Gu
pid's bow, and figure matchless in
contour With her rich southern col i
oring and passionate temperament
she was of Irish blood on the paternal
side-Miss Dallas looked more an An
dalusian lady. She had all the lowell :
ness of a Creole woman, and bloomed
like rich tropical flower with poison
in its perfume, amid the roses.
If Mrs Dallas was bore-and her
friends said she was-the daughter
was divine, and many young men came
to THE Wigwam" to be spellbound by
her beauty. More men than the three
who had dined at "Ashantee" were In
love with Isabella.
Upon her Dido exercised a powerful
and 1t must be confessed, malignant
influence. She had fed the quick brain
of the girl with weird tales of African
witchcraft and fanciful notions of ter
restrial and sidereal influences. Isa-
bella's nature was warped by this do
mestic necromancy, and had she con-
tinued to dwell in the West Indies, she
might almost have become a witch
herself. Certainly Dido did her best
to make her one. and taught her nurs-
ling spells and incantations, to which
the girl would listen fearfully, halfAbe-
lieving, half doubling. But her con-
tact with the sunny side of life saved
her from falling into the terribly abyss
Of African superstition; and how ter
rible 1t is only the initiated can de-
clare. 1t only needed that she should
be removed from the bad influence Of
the barbaric Sybil to render her nature
healthy and fill her life with pleasure
But Dido was like a upas tree, and
the moral atmosphere with which she
surrounded Isabella was slowly but
surely making the girl morbid and un-
natural. Mrs. Dallas-versed in the
negro character-half-g guessed this, but
she was too indolent to have Dido re-
moved Moreover, strange as it may
appear. she was more than a trif1e
afraid of the negress and her unholy
arts.
Maurice had met with. and had fell |
len In love with, Isabella, and she re-
turned his affection with all the ardor
Of her passionate nature. His hand
some and frank face, his sunny nature
and optimistic Ideas appealed strongly
to the girl who had been environed1
from her earliest infancy by the pes
simism Of Dido.
Maurice saw we'll how Isabella had
under the bad influence OF
the negress. and he did his best to
counteract her insidious morality and
morbid teachings. He laughed at Isa-
oella's stories and superstitions, and
in making her ashamed of
ner weakness In placing faith in such
degraded rubbish. While with him Is
lbella was bright and laughing rill;
lutte another sort of being to the
grave and nervous creature she was
while in the presence of Dido. She
elt that if she married Maurice his
bright, strong nature would save her
rom a lamentable and melancholy ex-
stence; and as all her affections and
Instincts inclined to the young man
he hoped to become his wife.
Ito be continued