The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1913-01-18

Deadwork, to which We're attached
wax figures in high relief: at the top,
a miniature portrait of Charles II. in
his state robes; at the bottom, one
or Nell herself. in court dress. The
King appeared also on the right In
hunting costume, and on the left was
another figure OF his favorite In less
ornamental garb. According to the
legend which accompanied this in
teresting antique. it was Nell
GWynnes own handiwork
1t possessed for me certain fas-
cination due more to its history than
its beauty. for 1t was not the most
artistic of creations. and as Cameron
poked about for his Baudelare, l
stood gazing at the glass and think
ing OF all l had ever read Of the IL
literate. but saucy. sprightly actress
whose sole claim to fame hung on her
winning the favor of that easy going.
royal hypocrite. Charles H.
| Here's the binding!" heard Cam
eron say, and turned from the mirror
to the table. where he had found his
sought-for treasure beneath pile OF
heavier, grosser works
You know something OF book
| binding" he went on, with enthusi-
asm Now examine that carefully,
and tell me if you ever saw anything
more exquisite. l had it done in Lon
don. last year. It's a copy of one Of
lie Gascon's"
| AT first sight it seemed all glitter
ing gold. but on closer inspection l
found that the groundwork was bright
red morocco. inlaid with buff. olive,
and marble leather, the spaces close
| ly filled with very delicate and beau
| ttful pointille traceries. 1t was a YER
liable gem in its way, and l could not
| blame Cameron for his raptures.
When | had applauded and be-
| praised to his content, he took the lit
tie volume from my hand and open
ing 1t. with a sort OF slow reverence,
observed with something like patron
| ism:
I'm afraid you don't quite under
stand Baudelaire."
Does anybody" flung back.
He is not so obscure as his critics
would have us believe" Cameron as
serted. sit down in that lounging
chair moment. and I'll read you
something" And as l obeyed, he
drew up chair for himself. speaking
all the while in denunciation of Tol-
stoi and the injustice of his criticism.
One poem after another he read,
while / lay back listening. To his
credit he read them well, though he
paused often in mid-verse to explain
what he thought | might regard as an
affectation or. as Tolstoi has put it,
''an intentional obscurity."
| There was one verse which i'm
pressed me particularly as he read
| it, and remained with me for a long
while afterward, for, In view of every
thing. it seemed to have a special ap-
positiveness. The lines to which I
refer have been translated in this
way:
| From Heavens high balconies
| See! In their threadbare robes the dead
| years cast their eyes,
| And from the depths below regrets wan
| smile appears.
| Cameron sat with his back to tho
door leading to the passageway, and
facing, diagonally. across the table.
the Nell Gwynne mirror. My own
| gaze was on him as he read.
| As he finished the verse, a portion
| of which | have quoted, he lifted his
eyes. l thought to meet mine, but his
look rose over my head. and clung.
| while his lids widened, and into every
| line of his face there came rigid,
startled expression, half amazement,
| half horror And in that instant of
| slipped from his nerveless fingers,
struck the table edge. and dropped
| with unseemly echo to the floor.
In a breath I was on my feet and
| staring where his vision had focused.
| hardly know what l expected to see
am sure nothing would have sur
prised me. And yet l was scarcely
| prepared for the inexplicable ruin
| which my sight encountered. The
| glass of the Nell Gwynne mirror was
| in atoms.
Cameron rose, little unsteadily
| thought. and coming around the table.
| Joined me in closer inspection OF his
| wrecked hereditament. l can find no
) word adequate to the description of
what we experienced. Amazement
and all it's synonyms are far too
| feeble for the task. We were certain
| ly more than appalled,. What We saw
suggested to me spontaneous disin-
| tegration II such a thing were pos
| sible, which l believe 1t is not, it
might have explained the condition Of
| the mirror No other ascription
seemed admissible; for. though the
glass remained in its frame not 30
| much as splinter having been
dropped it was fractured into
thousand tiny pieces, resembling a
| crystal mosaic. incapable of any but
the most minute reflections. And the
| change to this condition from a fair.
L IL