THE OVAL PORTRAIT.

Northern Advocate, 9 December 1893, Page 3

THE OVAL PORTRAIT.

By EDQAB 'ALLAN POE V

The chateau i«to vlnch my valet had ventured; io make forcible .entrance^ father than to permit iue iri my desperately wounded condition to |>uS anight iii .th,p o'pdh. ai?, was 5 oty of .those p^les, of commingled gloom and gfandottf'^hicli 1 ' have so long frowned among the Apennines, not less in fapt than in the fancy ©f Mrs! Radcliffo. $0 all apnearance i^ "iiadbeett temporarily and vlry lately abandoned. We established trarselves in 6ne of the smallest and least sumntuousllyi iiirnished apartnTe^ts-: It lay.;ln.lPi«--mote turret of the Wjdiiigf fts flecbra»tionsi were rich, yet tattered and antique. Its walls were hungjwi^i tapestry and,' lbedeoked with maiffold 'and muitifofin" armorial trophies, together with an nnusuaUy' great number of Ver^* spiiit^d modern paintings in frames' of f ich golden arabesque., \ ,' f ( , . In ttiese paintings^ which aepende'd from the walls nq£.;6hlyln their.'maiijk. surfaces, but.injury many;nooks iwhicn the bizarre arcnnectui'e pi the. cJiateau rendered necessary—in these • p.aintirig4 my incipient deliiimn, perhaps, ; had caused me to take-deep i inte.r,esti sp.that I bade Pedro to close the heavy-shutters of the room—sincejit was already night : -t-to light the tbrfgoes of. a tall candela- . i>ruin which stood by the head of niy 1 ;bedTi-and to throw open,far and wide fringed curtains of. "bld'clc; velvef ; which enveloped tha bed itself. I wished all this done that linight/risign. mypelf,( if not to sleepySjt lejis^yal^niatelv.to the contemplation of these' pictures and the jeru'sal of a small, volume which had been found-' iipon, tie/piypw, Jind whichr 'purported to criticilpsind de^crijae,ihem. ;'; li&ng ii)oD.^ H I, road, and devoutly, de- ' l Votedly, I gazed., I^pidly,«ndgl6fipusly th© 'hours flew by, and the deep midnight icamei The position of the candelabrum ■ displeased iirie^caria outJ-eaching,my hand| swltli dlfflc4iH>y, father thati disturb my,: slumbering, "Valet, I placed it so as to t^pwfi,fe.rays'moi;ei fully upon the boolr. ; .#}\t'.:the action; pidcluged an elfect air, .^pgether unenticipated.; i The rays of thA numerous candles, for thero-were many, ,iw fell withiri a niche; of the room which, had hitherto been thrown* into deep shade by one of the bedposts. 1 thus saw in vivid light a ujjeture all unnoticed before. Itiwas thljjfcortrait of a -young girl just ripening into woman* •hood. r I glanced at the painting hurriedlijirrand'.then closed my. eyes. .... . Why I did this was not at first apparent even to my own perception. But while my lids remained thus shut I ran over in my mind my reason for so shutting them! It was an impulsive move- , ment to gain time for-thonght —to make sure that my vision had not deceived me —to calm and subdue my fancy for a ' more sober and more certain gaze. In a veiy few moments I again looked fixedly at the painting. • . That I now saw aright I could not and would not doubt, for the first flashing of the candles upon that canvas had see*med to dissipate the dreamy stupor which was stealing over my senses, and to startle me at once into waking life. The portrait, I ha|s» already said, was that of a : yPung g& .-If.was fcimerei .head and shouldersmlone hi what ia technically termed-. sFvignette ;.m,anne3C much in the.style of tlie favorite heads of Sully. The arms, the bosom, and even the ends of the radiant hair melted imperceptibly' into the vague yet 'deep! ' Bhadow which • formed the background of the whole. The frame was oval, richly gilded and filigread in Moresque. As. a-thing of art nothiit could be more ad- ■ mil-able than the paMmgJtself. But it could have'bedii.TK?ltßeWtse§?ecution of the work nor the tmnorjtal ■ beauty of ; the countenance whlph had so suddenly , and so vehemently njoved me. Xieast of ,all could^'rt haVe been that my fanoyj shaken from its half slumber, had mistaken the head for that of a living person, i saw at once that the peculiarities of the design, of the vignetting 'and' of the framo must have instantly dispelled such idea/ —must have prevented even its momentary entertainment. .

;ThinMng earnestly upon these p'ointe, I, remained, for an hour perhaps,' half Bitting, half reclining, with my vision,! riveted lipon the portrait. At length,, satisfied with the true 'secret of its effect,. I' : fejl back within tja'e bed.- I had found the spell '. of the piqture in an absolve ■ lifelikeliness of expression, whiciiy'at j 'filfsit startling, finally confounded, subdued and' appalled' me. "With deep and 'reverent awe i replaced the cajidelabmm in its former position. The cause of my . deep agitation being thus slant from view, ■ 1 sought eagerly 1 r the ; ;^biume which dis--1 cussed the paintings ' and their histories.. , burning to the number which designated \ .' tixe oVal portrait, I there read the vague and quain£nvoi'ds which )Pfl|lo,w: ■$ v > s j . : '|Shewas ! »- mai^eir*oft^r{a i G&; Toeauty •; an<j not more lovely than -full of glee. , ,&m2 evil w^SJfcn* hdtir'wftibif aue satV'flnd ■lovjed and wedded the painter. He, pas,Bibna±©{)stu'di'6ttel/aiiißtel*eJajid /hf|vij:(g/alf' r^dy a biiiie'.to.hia.aiit^she^ni^iden of I rarest beauty and -not -more lovely ; li'lig'hi:<iTiid'£siaiUslaba ;

troncsomoas the young id, vvu, lot^:: - • cherishing all things, hating onlyt&ejart which was her rival, dreaain^ orJyftfM pallet and brushes and other \*n.t6 r*~*{l' instrtiinej -.4'-= v.'.ich cL.; ived her t,f thr counienahce of heriover. T -rtras thnsatorfi^;ttßnf-3S>T th|B la^ to hear the paiii ■ r <p . Mit of bis de^ ' sirfe to, portray "trPfen his -young bdd«p ■feutifiW was hunible and obedlsnt \sul ?«|(fc 'Jnecikiy for niany weeks in the dark, chamijof" the light dfiplpcTtippii.^hgjale carifils, an\y from overhead. 1 3uf VB^Lihe Qminte^4&jjfc s glory in his work, whicTi went tin from hour to hour and from day to day? A 93/ he was a passionate aud wild and moo^y Jnall; who became lost in reveries, so that he would not so ghastly in t!iir£ \ O /CJ|^C l! t^^T^^F^| the health anS'lho spmts pf*his Bnd«); who piiied visibly to' all iriit hiih. "Yet bhe smiled on and still On uncomplaininjjly, becanso she saw that the "painter, whojhijd . . h.i^h .^^^/[topk.p,, fervid :a'nrt burning pleasure in his task' •and wfoii^'ht day dnd/ciJgfc^to.^fpipiiJher", \|h/ so lovetV him, yet $^ftg^isf3ly\ % mdre dispiii,l^d andiwe/jk. jAn^^n.sp ( ot^i e6;m,ej who ijeheld ; the, por^if s^olt^'of , its tese^itiloncpjiiyipp worcts^as of a mighty 'niarvel,. ana^ pi'o'of not les'sdf' the prrwer of' the painter than b'f his deep love for her whom he depicted so surpassingly, we^l. But at length, as the lar bor drew^arer to its conclusion', therewere admittbtl none into thd tuiTet,f6r. the painter had grown wild with the ardor off his work and turned his eyes from <th£ canvas' rarely, e^cn to regard the countenance of his wife. And he would 'nbt see that the' tints which he spread upon the canvas were drawn from the cheeks of fter : whrf'srit beside'liini: ' n ■ ! ' "And .when many week3'Wl passed ; anfl but little .reina^ncd tp, do save one brush upon the niontli,ahd one tint upon the eye the' > spirit -6i the/ 'lady again flickered up as the , flame, within the socket of the lamp.' ' ' Aiid then the brush ' was given; and then the r tint wag placed* and for 'one •3n6ment < Ithe .paintoij "fctooiT eyt^aiiced before the work which he had wrought, hviti in the next, while he yet gazecj, he grew tremulous and very pal-, lid and aghast, and crying with v loud "voiq'e;,-'^^.?? i^^j^o^elfl^njrnGd. suddenly to regard his beloved. She was dead!" • THE END. *'.»,'■ ! ['" •' :tVhyiie-iVei)ftx -.' ; ' Even callous hearts are touched by the sight of human sorrow"; The other night when the mercury^was .waving a f arewell^to the sicr o'in^i-k : J^gg.w an old man, leaning up against thTfaHiatO^^the Union, depot. . He hajcL jnp^oy^rfepaxT^nH his battered derby,. that.,fpa)^fl like the rejected headgear of some more .prosperous fellow citizen, was pulled down close to his ears. He canght my eye because he appeared to be the embodiment of die- : comfort and unhappiness. ;His wandering glance seemed to tell of no fixed abode; his appearance indicated a lack of human sympathy and care. His general getup made me indignant 'at foreign ; missions. As I looked at 1 Mm I noticed ia tear trickle from one corner of his eye and fall upon his co t tt collar. My hear.t> felt warm;, I stepped up to him and 'said: "A cold night, colonel?*,' V^ 1 ' ' Bitter, bitter !'! ho, Replied. "Look here," I said, "let me help yon. As I stood hero I noticed a tear fa.ll from jiour eye" — - . ; "Is that so," ho said, hastily drawing out a. silk handkerchief. "I'ardon me, but that is a glass eye, and it gets chilled in this weather and affects the tear glands." ;: Just then a fine carriage dfav/n by »' splendid pair- of h.Qjsqs (daelxed up, and. the old gentleman stepped out and with a "ftome, Thoirms," opened the' door, stepped inside and was rapidly driven away. While I mused, the radiator sizzled. — Minneapolis Journal.

Took' Off His Slgus. jLast summer a 'Boston ■ bank clerk ■ went abroad. When 'He returned,, his '"grip" was adorriediwith a great variety of foreign express, railway and steam- , ship labels, which,, as evidence of the extent of his travels, he cherished and , displayed with deep affection. . , „ . One day no,t long ,ago, however, while the young man was , out at lunch, his fellow clerks heartlessly pasted a lot of labels of local import all over the traveling 1 bagt so'as fcom^letely to cover it. ',', this trick was a sa'&lftow-to its victim, but he conceived' a way 'of retrieving- his loss^ ; iand ' carrying • the -bag : to a /trunk m^ker instructed 'him: to. remove the lciqal labels, but to leave the others where , they (-were.; -■. <. <•, *■ . . ...... -I'TJie, bag, was promptly returned to its 'tiwner, but it was shorn, alas, of all its , glory .' For, in the utter disregard of the orders he had received, the artisan had caretully cleaned off -eVery label from the 'leather, and it emerged from the operation, as fresh: and' bright as when it had , nipt left the shop in which it wasjjought. If you, want to, have fun now with the much tripled yjpt^gjm^ Jugfcaßk Kir n;] Where he got his new "grip," but be care- * ful how you approach hun^f ox he, is dan« . trerousr-^Boston YXsraldf! & *H, &§ 4 % ■ : jnr — a I I§|tv t? ■&% „ -The First a It was only 116 years after the discov--1 cry of America that the first glass works wer^e established in' fhef colonies: 'It was ■ a.Jpjodest venture in an industriaLw^yy but; one to which much importance is at- - Itached, since it was the starting point in an interesting history, and still more be-" caujse it was the first industry started by Europeans' : 6n : ; American! rsdil: i ' It - ihua . 1 heads a,list which is today certainly as longJas h'-iiiiilan liebdsancl almost im long! as hT4mp,n desires'., , ilt-i8 ) a ! li§t | w^ichjhas--, 1( been nearly 800 years in the" making. This was in the year 1608.— Professor O. iH. Henderson in Popular Science ropthly. ■■■■' •.,/,.;•■ ■ • '■■•,-,- --i ..,. ( ! „ . ' f'']'.i* I]he government "of the United States 1 is ajmoiig. the oldes^ . pf civilized govjernments now existing ' iri the w»orld, ' since njrostiEuropeah co.unt^ > i^B have, bqen to ; considerable degree revolutionized :since the first election of George Washirigwn 1 t*o the presidency.