New Britain herald., 1919-09-20
THE MAGIC ESSENCE. a story by
 HANK LONG
THE MAGIC ESSENCE,
 (Contributed.)

IS my lflend-yet, III spite or the fdct ! of his prevarications-I love him, [ for say what you may, 1t will be gen erally conceded that if one can Suc- 1 cessfully lie one is always welcome in | any society and always given the seat ! of honor at table, especially in Am i erica. And, this brings me to say, that in some way lies-American lies, i are not what are known in the con- crete as ies-at least to Am orleans.
 My friend and I had been discussing the rapid strides science has made in various departments of the worlds , activities, especially since the war. I had invited my friend who had just returned from France to spend a week with me. We were sitting on the piazza sm olling the last of his French cigarettes, and looking over a lot of photographs he had taken. "What would you say. said Bill my friend, were I to tell you that I met a man in France who had dis covered a magic essence which pos sesses the quality of turning anything to life when it is applied to that object?" "Why." I replied, I'd say either the one telling the story was daft, the one making the asser- ton was a fool.'
 "Then,' replied Bill, I'm nuts. and I suppose you don't care to listen to the story?''
 "Well-er. not quite that" I re-
 piled but, we'll CT, ahem, g'on with tn story.
 Bill ignored my words a moment,
 and launched off in another line of thought in which he proved to me that liars were as necessary to the worlds comfort and entertainment as are Sabbath breakers horse racers | gamblers and the like.
 "It was this way" began Bill in his delightfully."- droll way, "I was in the little town of Picardy. where I had gone in response ) the kind in vitation of my friend Monsieur de Vergnes, that I come there and spend ] the hunting season, though l intui- lively knew it was not for the pleas
 ures of hunting I had been invited, l but something quite the reverse. Five 1 years previous I had one day met l this friend. At the time I thought ! he was under the influence of liquor i --vermouth absinthe-Nou know l funny stuff-brngs all kinds O weird l thoughts to the mind-well, he told me he had discovered a magic fluid 1 and when I laughed 1t him he be- 1 gan in proof a long lingo bout CO., 1 hesion, adhesion, molecules, atoms, 1 organic and inorganic matter, first 1 principles, and what-not. I declare i before I knew it I almost believed
 my friend was able to do with the stuff what he said he could do, but I was not prepared to see two photo 1 graphs that were sitting on his li- brary table come to life, and breathe, and speak, and the one tell the other l lust how she was murdered" Come come,' I cried, this is 1 drawing it almosk too strongly" I said 1 to Bill jumping up as if I had de- 1 cided to turn in.
 Well, as you will, I am not so
 very anxious to finish the story, for
 to tell the truth sitting here and l listening to the winds in those ever greens does rather get on my nerves
 when I think of that right in Mon.
 de Vergnes' library"
 You better believe I was now all 1 attention now, and would have gone l to my knees before Bill that night
 and begged for the story.
 Wait" I said as Bil, seemed de- ! termined to pass inside. "and I'll get
 a little something thatll help the l story along" I soon returned with
 a bottle and glasses. Bill partook and continued.
 Tt was @ bully good supper we
 sat down to that night. Mon. was
 delighted as a child He sparkled | with wit, and after we had discussed
 some of the trivialities of the day, and
 had smoked in his den we went to
 his library. Almost the first objects
 to claim my attention were two photo l graphs standing on a rosewood table 1 in the center of the room. I i'm ] m edia tely picked them up one in
 each hand, and as I stood compar 1 ing them side by side Mon. Henri de l Vergnes having excused himself re-
 entered the room. and noticing my i delighted look as I gazed on the 1 beautiful face of one of the photo 1 graphs said, DO you not recognize l her?'
 "'No." I replied, then as I again
 studied the features more closely and 1 turned my eyes on Mon. Henri, l
 recognized instantly that the photo
 graph must be the picture of some
 relation of his for there was no mis- i taking the deep full set eyes, and
 firm chin as well as that imperial
 carriage of the head. Mon. Henry
 smiled sadly and replied. Yes, my
 friend you have guessed it, it is the | photograph of my sister-Countess i Rosa His voice was very sad and l as I directed my eyes again to the 1 pictur7 I saw him wipe tears from l his eyes.
 "'Pardon me, my friend" I said, 1 for somehow intuitively I knew there
 was a mystery behind the two pho l tographs I held in my hand.
 "'Yes,' began Mon. Henri, " There | is a mystery concerning my sisters death that has never been solved. It Mas supnoSed that while her husband