THE SORCERESS OF MARTINIQUE.

Golden Bay Argus, Volume VI, Issue 73, 21 October 1897, Page 2

THE SORCERESS OF MARTINIQUE.

Na, was a little negiess, black—black as monkey fur. She lived with her graudmolher, a dried old woman, who spent her days making and eating sweet potato compote. They dwelt iu a little stone hut in the highest suburb of St. Pierre. Na was too small of stature to hope ever to carry a tray, and her grandmother often made the poor child suffer because she seemed to be good for nothing. But when Na had reached fourteen years she came home one day to announce proudly that she had found work. The old woman only half believed the news ; but, sure enough, at nightfall a woman came to the hut to t»ke Na home with her. This woman was a tall, well-formed Creole, a stranger to the aged uegress, who thought she knew all the inhabitants of Martinique.

"Lookout!" muttered the grandmother to Na, " she may be a sorciere !" But Na only shook her head, knotted together her two Normaude slips, placed coquettishly on her neck her one bit of finery, her painted douelette, and trotted gaily off behind her new mistress. Looking back as they turned the bend in the road, Na perceived her grandmother staring after them. When she saw she was observed the old uegras crossed herself and disappeared in the hut.

It seemed to Na that the way was very long. The woman walked in the middle of the road, and when they entered the forest she stopped, untied her madras, aiid placed on the ground a large black cat. After that Na, who had been .afraid uf the serpents, was afraid no longer. She even began to speak to the Creole, but the woman did not encourage this, aud they walked on in silence.

At length they stopped iu front of a group of (Hill palms. A gate of grape rope had been made here by twisting it round the trunks. The Creole untied this, and the cat passed through : then ttie Creole, then Na. They were in a dark vale, and Na saw the house where she was to work. The door was unlocked, and presently all three were eating supper.

Na's black eyes did not delay to begin wandering everywhere, and examining everything. The woman said nothing, but she drew a cot bed from the closet and thrust it under her own high mahogany bed. Then she said : " You will sleep here to-night." Na had never slept in a bed in her life before, and she lay awake half the night. In the morning the Creole called to her to build the lire.

" Oui, madame," answered Na, and crept out all dressed. The woman looked surprised ; she asked Na how she had slept. " Like a pig," said Na, who lied out of politeness. The woman began to grown and toss on her bed, and complain that she bad not once closed her oyes. As Na had heard her snoring all ihioughthe night she was very much surprised. That night the Creole put down the cot-bed iu the closet, and told Na to sleep there. \A hen she had lain down the woman closed the door. Again Na slept very badly, because of the lack of fresh air in the closet and the bright light that shone through the cracks in the door. In the morning the Creole opened the donr herself ; she was dressed, and the fire was built. She ordered Na to draw the coffee, aud asked how she had spent the night. "I slept finely," replied Na, who lied out of politent ss. The Creole smiled, and said she too had passed a good night As Na had heard her moviiig about the room and had seen the light she was very much surprised. The third night came, and Na, going to look iu tlifc closest, found thu cot-bed gcm«. llur mis-

tress spread a shawl undor the window, and bade Na sleep there. This time she really slipt. She dreamed she heard her grandmother crying,

" Na, Na, beware of the sorciere !" and she woke up very much frightened. Na heard her mistress moving about in the rocin, but she kept her eyes closed. She heard the Creole

To-night she is really asleep."

Na listened, and heard her slipping toward the closet. She opened her eyes a tiny slit, and saw her mistress comeback into the room carrying a small bottle. Her face was very pale, and she was naked. She took the candle from the chimney and placed it on the floor. Then she uncorked the bottle and poured a drop of its contents into the palm of each hand, into the joints of both elbows, behind both ears, s drop on her forehead, one on each eyelid, one on her chin, and she saw the Creole grow paler and older and more wrinkled with every drop As she watched Na's eyes expanded to their

full extent ; she could not help it ; what she saw was so strange. The skin of her mistress lay in great folds and wrinkles ; it slipped down on her face, over her arms, over her bust : it slipped gradually down until it reached the floor and lay in a heap at her feet. From where sLr lay Na could not see the Creole's face, but now she turned, and at the sight of those raw, burning, terrible eyes N'a closed her own tightly, and shuddered. When she dared to look again

the Creole was not in the room. The candle still binned on thellooraud never grew si.ialler. All night Na lay and stored at the awful hea| on the floor. In the morning the Creole lay tossing and groaning ou the bed. She called Na, who answered tremblingly : '• Oui, madame." " I have not slept a wink,'"said the womao. " How did you pass the night ?" " Very finely," said Na This time she lied out of fear.

The consequence of these ( vents was that Na scarcely slept at all. Every third night she watched the Creole shed her skin, and the other two she lay awake trying to Ihink what she should do. If she had not been tble to sleep everv afternoon when her mistress went to St. Pierre she would have grown thin. After a time Na grew bolder, and used to venture to touch the skin,and even to pick it up from the floor. Early one morning she knew by the sounds in the room that her mistress, returned from her witch's flight, was having great trouble to gtt into her skin ; but she did not dare to look, because the house was already fall of the pallor of day. 'However, this put an idea into Na's woolly head. Three nights thereafter she carried it out. She spread the skin carefully on the floor and salttd the inner surface thoroughly with salt from the great bag. Then she lay down ami waited for what would happen. She lay so quietly that she fell into a deep sleep, from which a scrt am aroused her. What she had expected had happened.

In the centre of the room the Creole was dancing and screaming in agony, with her skin partly adjusted. It by in great folds on her breast, and with her smarting hands the Creole was brushing out the salt. When she saw Na she retreated backward to the closet, and hid her cavernous eyes with her hands. The pain from the salt with which they were covered brought out another shriek, so agonising and shrill that it was heard at St. Pierre, and all the portres'e* and bread-carriers who were pissing on the road above came running to see what was the matter. As they burst into the house the Creole sank in a heap on the floor, struggling with her skin to tear it from her, and so render herself invisible. But the salt had tightened it too closely to her body, and besides, Na had caught up the magic bottle. j •• Sorciere ! !'' cried Na. J

it the fatal words the Creole gave up all hope ; she dropped her head on her breast aud only sobbed and moaned, while the portcuses encouraged the men to lay hold of her. For a long time they hesitated, so long that Na lost patience and went forward and pulled her mistress by the hand. The strong meu theu caught hold of Na's free hand, and the Creole was carried out to the tallest palm tree. For her bravery all the men and women who had seen it declared that Na should inherit the property of the sorceress. Na had no objection, and the very same day brought her grandmother to the house in the valley.