The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 7, 1904, Page 4

THE SAN for quite a long time, and while Julia's eves were everywhere, and she nodded continuously to her friends and named them for this great person or that, Esther was very willing to be a faith- ful listener, and to. hide herself from sbservation, if that were possible. She d, indeed, just congratulated herself that they would escape with the merest recognition, when she observed her companion flush suddenly, whether with surprise or pleasure she could not tell; and immediately afterward a young man, dressed as other idlers about him, but remarkable even in their company, stepped up to the car- riage and held out his mand like one well pleased at an unexpected recog- ition. “Mademoiselle Julia!" he cried, “is it really Mademoiselle Juna?” Julia had turned ment, as though she be seen, but when the young man thus addressed her, she turned toward him, and answering in French she said: “Oh, Highn 5 really be you in London?” The newcomer laughed good-humor- edly, and, leaning upon the dashboard f the carriage, he fixed his eyes not Julia, but upon Esther by her She, on her part, tried to avoid his glance and to appear preoccupied; but something in the face attracted her, and she discovered herself, to her unnoyance, staring at him continually. “Yes,” he went on, still in French, but so slow that she could under- stand him without difficulty, “¥ ¢ London, mademoiselle. Yo erhaps, will know the reason why.” Julia did not respond immediately to She appeared to be much and anxious to terminate away for a mo- your —can it upon sid. m in his appeal. distressed, the interview ‘I do not know the reason, Prince,” protested, and then she added, am sure my brother is no wiser.” t The young man's face ctouded at the , words, and he could not conceal the embarrassment which her answer put upon him. “I thought your brother woul@ have written before,” he continued almost reproachfully; “but there is some ex- planation, no doubt. If the Doctor would care to make it to me, I am at Claridge’s Hotel. Please take my mes- sage to him, mademoiselle: it would be in three words—'The Prince regrets. remember that—The Prince she Can you regrets?' " Julia’s face regained some of its lost color and she appeared to win back her confidence. “You cannot regret as he regrets, Highness. 1am afraid it is all too late now—the past has made the future. But 1 shall deliver the message—oh, yes, it ~-ould be ‘ust to you both.” She drew herself up with a dignity which astonished Esther not a little: while the Prince—for thus he had bzen addressed—hesitating for a few utes, turned to Esther at last and said: “Pray present me to your charming companion.” Julia had forgotten even that she had a companion, and she started at the mention of her name, “How rude of me—how rude! Of course, T will present her. This is my friend, Miss Venn—Esther, dear, His Highness, the Prince of Cadi.” Esther had never been so troubled in all her life. She did not know what to say, what to do. She was not sure whether she should offer her hand or withhold it. Very wisely, therefore, she said nothing, and the Prince, after a few commonplace remarks, bowed and withdrew. Julia at once ordered the coachman to return, and they drcve away rapidly toward Regent's Park. It was evident to Esther that her friend was greatly troubled. The meet- ing had quite upset her. She admitted as much by and by. “This will be very unpleasant news for the Doctor, my dear. He has dreaded something of this kind ever since he came to London. You must, like a good girl, just go away to your own room when I tell him. He and the Prince were old friends, child. They quarreled a year ago; I have never known why, but I am sure my brother was not in the wrong. You can im- agine how much it grieves him. I am trembling like a child at the thought of telling him.” Esther saw that it was true; and she was very glad when the carriage en- tered the drive of their house, and the doors once more closed upon her. The butler said that his master was in the study, and Julia went there at once; while Esther ran up to her own room, and finding Mouton, her dog, waiting wistfully by the window, she sat down in a low chair and took him upon her knees. “Ob, my pet, what strange things ere happening to us!” she said, in her childishly philosophical way. “Where are we going to, Mouton—what's to be- come of us? Who are these people? ‘Will they be our friends?—tell me, Mou- ton, tell me, tell me!” The dog laid his paws upon her lap, and looked up into her face as only a dog can look. Across the court Esther -heard the sound of voices, but chiefly that of Francisco Xavier himself, now min- very did not wish to” rising as in a hurricane of anger, anon dying away to tremulous silence. In the garden long shadows fell upon the closing blooms and the restless leaves. Esther’s thoughts went hither, thither; now to the bower of roses which was her own to live and dream in if she willed; anon to the momentous choice she must make, and from that to the stranger who had spoken to her in the carriage. She had not seen many men in her uneventful life, put this one she thought she would remember, however long she lived. It not a mere of fine presence; any man His dignity of manner, the quict gentle acts, his kind a thoughtful face re- mained firmly set in Her She knew she could repeat every word he had spoken. She saw him again with his eibow resting upon the dashboard, and his dark eves searching her own, and that indefinable something which is the first link in the chain of a wo- man’s affection. She hoped that it was by ¢ right of birth that he had thus earned a ciaim upon her memory. She did not think t it was. She knew that he would al have for- gotten her 1if, indeed, he ever gave her a second thought. And this she con- fessed to Mouton witn just a little sadness. “We are nothing, my dear—we have our bread to get, Mouton, and we must do our duty. Oh, help me, my pet; help me to do right!” Mouton gave her an answer in a warm caress, pressing his shaggy face close to her Together they watched the twilight fal; and think- ing still, it came to Esther suddenly that if she remained in the house, she might see the Prince of Cadi again. was he was so e had ever known. memory. not own. CHAPTER VIL Doctor Xavier was not at the dinner table, nor did Julia offer any explana- tion of his absence. Esther imagined that she did not wish to speak of it be- fore the servants, and in this she was right: for when coffee had been served In the white and gold boudoir, and the exceedingly loneful-looking butler had the loqua- withdrawn from the room, would not hear me at all until I men- tioned your name and told him how pleased I was that you were to stay with us. That made him forget his troubles. He will have something to work for now. He will not think of Spain all day. She went on to say that science had always been the Doctor’s recreation. Even when he had governed a king- dem he had given his 1efsure to scien- tific pursuits. Medicine owed him much; he had discovered many new drugs and employed them successfully. In the medicinal use of electricity he was a master. He hoped to confer many benefits upon the human race be- fore he dled; and he now gave his whole time to the work . “We shall stay in London until the season is over—of course I would not leave before, dear—and then we shall to Homburg and the mountains. I envy you who have never been to my own dear South! Here, in England, vou do not know what sunshine is; it is cold and flat, and, oh, so dull! We live in the South; we are musicians, artists, singers; we gather flowers in the valleys and breathe on the hills. This London suffocates me. If it were not for my brother, I would go away to-morrow. But he admires your doc- tors. He says he can study here. The libraries help him. and now he has you—oh, my dear little Esther, I love you for saying ‘yes'!" Esther, in fact, had never sald “yes” at all; but she was not courageous enoukh to disturb her friend's happi- ness, and she began to see that her own “yes” or “no” went fur very little, and that these people already took her consent for granted. Indeed, when Doctor Xavier entered the boudoir at a later hour, he at once crossed the room to her and thanked her for that which she had never promised. “My sister has made me very glad to-night,” he said, laying a hand upon Esther's shoulder and almost whisper- ing the words. “I knew that I had found a little friend and comrade, but T wished her to tell me so. We shall be- gin our work to-morrow morning. I trust that you will never regret it, camarade.” . Esther scarcely knew what reply to FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. this invitation, however, no one re- sponded, and when the knock was re- peated, she crossed the room quickly and opened the door. “Who is it?” she asked. A voice answered her out of the darkened corridor: “Sencrita—the bath is ready.” She peered into the gloom, afraid to credit her senses. At first glance, she could only distinguish the long white robe and the piercing black eyes of a stranger; but, anon, the face took shape. She detected a brown skin and gleaming white teeth; and lower down, the long, bony hands of the Arab. Es- ther knew that she had seen this man before. His were the eyes which had watched her while she slept. She re- cognized all too clearly the oval face and the bronzed features—and she re- cognized them with a fear she dare not express. Indeed, her heart beat rapid- ly, and the room seemed to swim be- fore her eyes when she said: “What do you mean—what do you want with me?” It were as though this silent, threat- ening flgure devoured her with a glance. As she receded, the man ad- vanced. Esther had never been so frightened in all her life. “The bath is ready, Senorita. I am Yussuf, his Excellency’s servant. The girl breakfasts—I come to tell you. Please to follow me.” For a little while Esther neither moved nor spoke. Why had this man dared to enter her room last night? she was asking herself. Why had the Doc- tor permitted it? What reason could he give? She was angry, dazed, and not a little terrified. Her first idea was that she would quit the house at once, fly from it as from an abode of danger which she had no right to face. Then her simple womanly logic came to her aid. Why should she not question the man? “I have seen you before,” she said. “You were here last night. Why did you take the liberty?” The Moor showed a row of gleaming white teeth and smiled all over his sun- bronzed face. After all, he did not look a very dangerous person. “Do not be afraid, Senorita. I am a very old man. I have twenty wife in Morocco. His Excellency wished you to sleep. Old Yussuf must obey. He lights the sleep-lamp. He makes the bath, Senorita. Follow him and he will show you where."” It was an incoherent story, but Es- ther took heart at it. Certainly, this In The Sunday Call Magazine, August 14, 1§ CORELLI, The Greatest Living" Woman Writer, Begins a Series on Topics of the Day cious Julia at once her curiosity. “There's been a dreadful scene, my r, 1 knew there would be. Francis believed that the Prince was in Madrid, and he is very angry with him for coming to London. He neglects his country, my dear, and it will end in ruin. T told you how they quarreled; and T am dreadfully frightened that harm may come of it. If the Prince should call here, I dare not think what they would do. You must be his good angel, Esther; you must be kind to my brother now."” It was like the chapter of a romance to Esther, and she was surprised at the interest with which she found herself listening to this candid That some mystery attended the pres- ence of the young Prince in London, had been evident to her from the be- ginning; and these fragments of the truth but whetted her appetite for more. She was ashamed to tell herself that her interest was in the man and not in his country, of which she knew nothing; but ghe was aware that this was the case, and she tried to hide it from Julia. “You said that Doctor Xavier and the Prince were old friends, dear Julia,” she answered presently. “Will they never be reconciled? I don’t under- stand it, of course; but I always think that when people have quarreled it is better for them to meet and speak to each other. I am sure that your brother would not bear animosity against any one.” Julia shook her head. “The kindest of men are the slowest to forgive, Esther. My brother has suffered much at the Prince’s hands; he has been patient—too patient—for years. 1 do not think he will ever for- give him. If he does, it will be because you agk him to.” The words astonished Esther more than she could say. “Because I ask him, dear Julia! How can it concern me? Oh, I am sure that I should never ask him!” “Never be sure of anything, child. I used to be sure of things a few years ago, but T am not so rash now. Fran- cis is hoping so much in you. He began to satisfy admission. make to him. His face was unusually pale, and there were dark rings be- neath his piercing eyes. She imagined that he had suffered much in the few Lou: : which had passed since they re- turned to the house; but she had no heart to answer him unkindly. For that matter, her mind was already made up to remain in a house where s0 much kigdness was shown her, and she permitted the Doctor to assume her consent, merely saying: I trust not; indeed, I am quite con- fident of it. pupil, Doctor Xavier. 1 could never forget what you have done for me.” “You will forget it at once,” he said, protestingly. “It is my first command. The faver is on my side; it is I who should say, ‘Thank you’ We will dis- cuss it no more. The piano is open— sing to me, camarade; I like to hear your voice.” Esther went to the piano obediently; and while ghe-sang she perceived that the Doctor sank back upon the sofa and closed his eyes like a man trying to win rest. Truth to tell, a little wear- iness had fallen upon them all, and when eleven c'clock came, even Julia was ready for bed. In spite of her new anxieties, and of the unknown future looming before her 80 mysteriously, Esther slept a dream- less sleep from which the sun of morn- ing alone awoke her. Her first thought when she awoke was one of relief that no silly imaginings had troubled her sleep. The false moonlight must, after all, have been pure imagination. The Moor, whose face she thonght to have seen at her door, was surely a crea- ture of her fatigue and trouble. She dressed this morning with greater con- fidence; and when she opened her win- dow, and the sunshine fell into the room, and the perfume of the roses floated up upon the sweet breeze of the day, she confessed that it would be difficult to find so beautiful a home, or one in which a young girl might make herself so happy. She dressed at leisure, knowing that she was in good time to-day. Her work would begin after breakfast, and her anxiety that there should be no de- lay had awakened her at an early hour. In the garden below gardeners were gathering the rcse leaves and watering the lawns. Esther fell to wondering how many servants there were in the house, and was busy with her reckoning when some one knocked upon her door; and believing it to be the maid, she said, “Come in.” To You will find me a willing , Moor was a very old man. Esther remembered the moonbeams which had fallen upon her while she slept. It would be natural, she thought, that Doctor Xavier should employ strange agents. And, he would not employ one whom he could not trust. She deter- mined to tell him the whole story di- rectly they met. “Is it Doctor Xavier's orders that I am to go to the bath now?” she asked, determined that the man should not find her afraid. The Moor nodded and led the way down the corridor. “Yes, yes, now,” he said; “his Excel- lency wishes it. You are to go to the bath three times every day—his Excel- lency’s order. 1 will conduct you.” He had turned to the right at the end of the passage, and following another corridor he showed her a quarter of the house which she had not yet visited. She was still very much perplexed by all that had happened; but the new scenes to which she was introduced quickly put it out of her mind and oc- cupied her interest. For the Moor had descended a flight of marble steps which brought them to a low arched gate of bronze oddly decorated with figures of nymphs and centaurs. Upon this gate he knocked twice, and when some one unseen opened to him, he said: “Enter, Senorita, if you please. wait for you.” | It was evident that he was to leave her here; and she confessed herself not unwilling to be relieved of his pres- ence; indeed, she counted the bath in which she now found herself as not the least of the many surprises of that strange house. Esther at first believed it to be a Turkish bath, although one of unusual magnificence; for she had read accounts of these in her father’'s books, and had known women who had ventured intc such a bath in her own city. Her curiosity was instantly awakened, and she found herself impa- tient to gratify it. A rotunda of con- siderable altitude, paneled entirely with white marble, lay just beyond the gates, and Esther observed with pleas- ure the clear cool water of a plunge bath stirred into gentle ripples by a murmuring spray, which fell from a Cupid’s wings. A luxurious ecouch, heaped up with cushions, offered rest to the bather; while little tables at its side were littered with books and ivory knick-knacks. The ceiling itself was dome-shaped and gilded; windows of rich stained glass permitted a changing They light to fall upon the tessellated pave- ment. Facing the entrance, Esther ob- served a flight of steps leading from the frigidarium to a smaller apartment wherein water flowed in silver basins, and here were marble benches for the bathers with douches and other appa- ratus. One of the attendants of the bath, quite a young girl dressed in a long blue wrapper, had received Es- ther at the bronze gates; and while she spoke English it was with some foreign accent which made her a little difficult to understand. There were others with her, young also and simi- larly attired; but they appeared to be Japanese, and Esther did not hear them speak. Her guide quickly inti- mated that which she wished her to do. “We will have the drill first, made- moiselle, and then the vapor. The Doc- tor has prescribed this in your case. You will please to undress and put on your gown. Another day you can come straight to us from your bedroom. It is proper to rest as much as possible in the bath. You can ask me any ques- tions; but please do not talk more than 1s necessary.” Esther undressed as she was instruct- ed, and having put on a loose robe of muslin.and felt slippers, such as are worn in Eastern baths, she followed the attendant down the stairs and through the lavatorium to a bright open room, which served the purpose of the Doc- tor's gymnasium. The accessories of this were such as Esther had always assoclated with gymnastic exercises; but when she came to use them, she observed the difference. The Indian clubs, which the attendant now put into her hands, were provided with soft sponge-like grips, saturated with some liquid which had a pungent odor. Esther remembered the Arabian Nights and how that a doctor had cured a king by such an old device as this. She did not, however, use the clubs with any less confidence; and when her body was in a glow, the attendant led her to a curious swing, wherein, seated in & wicker cradle with her feet resting upon a second bar, she was bidden to swing herself for a specified time. From this she passed to a fa- tiguing exercise, where light weights were lifted gradually from the floor and as slowly set down again. The grips of these also were found to be saturated with the same pungent liquid. These exercises continued at intervals for some twenty minutes; and when they were finished she was given a glass of milk with which some drug, — b whose taste she recognized, was min- gled. Esther said that the same medi- cine, whatever it was, had been admin- istered in one of the sweets at dinneér yesterday. The flavor was not up- pleasant, and the effect of it was to in- duce a slight sense of languor and the desire to rest. Just as at the mid-day meal she had been stimulated, so this morning and last night at dinner sleep had been invited. Indeed, the atten- dant at once led her from the gymna- sium to a low, vaulted mosque-like apartment upon which it gave, and here informed her that the bath was to begin. “There are three processes, made- moiselle,” she sai rst the vapor, then the massage, and then the elec- tricity. Try to rest here, and to sleep if you can. The bath will de you a great deal of good. You will be very much refreshed afterward.” She made a sign to one of her assis- tants, and instantly the room was filled by a soft vapor of steam, grate- ful to the lungs and pleasant to breathe. Esther reposed upon cne of the long marble couches with a wooden pillow beneath her head, and she now folded her hands upon her breast, and inhaled the refreshing steam. The ben- efit of this was both immediate and re- markable. Esther had never known, she thought, what it was to fill the lungs to their utmost capacity with air that both soothed and stimulated her. She breathed for the very pleasure of the act, long, satisfying drafts which expanded her chest and sent the blood coursing swiftly through her veins. Her skin, at first harsh and dry, anon became soft and pleasingly moist. She experienced that pleasant content with all the world which follows rest prop- erly employed. That any one should resent such treatment as this, or deem it to be empirical, never occurred to her for a moment. The Doctor had promised her that she should be the servant of science. She admitted that he was keeping his promise, and she knew already that she had to deal with a master-mind. It was very still and silent in the room, and the sere- nity of mind with which she could view her past and the future she had chosen for herself astonished Esther. She fell to wondering what success would mean. They had not called her pretty at home, paying her that poor compli- ment of saying that her face was “pleasing.” She knew that she had un- usually beautiful hair, and that her skin was naturally fair and soft; but she did not believe herself to be what the world would call “good-looking.” Should the Doctor justify himself at all, her future might be greatly changed. Esther had always under- stood the power which beauty bestows upon a woman. She would have been untrue to her sex had she not wished very much in her heart that the Doc- tor might succeed. His experiments already interested her beyond her hopes. Her curiosity had been awa- kened, and she would have been very sorry to have drawn back. The half of an hour passed in these silent meditations, and at the end of that time the attendant returned and invited her to go to the lavatorium. Here the Japanese girls were waiting, and they at once took possession of Esther; and placing her beneath a re- freshing spray of lukewarm water, they began to massage her. Esther had not understood until that time what massage meant; but she quickly became aware of its beneficent results, and of the skill of the operators. Nim- ble fingers chafed every muscle of her body. Flasks of perfumed oils were opened and rubbed gently upon her skin. The face especially interested those about her; and one of them, ap- parently chosen because of her greater cleverness, sat down at Esther’s side, and bidding her shut her eyes, she en- tered upon the task like an artist who has a picture to make. For a full hour, at least, the work went on. Es- ther did not fret at the delay, nor find the process tedious. Her body was now in a warm glow, like the body of one who has been engaged In active and healthy exercises. She felt stronger, capable of exertion and mentally alert. A second glass of the milk being ad- ministered to her, she was then led to that which her attendant called “the chamber of lights.” Here electricity proved to be the agent of those experi- ments in which the Doctor had so greatly interested himself. Esther per- ceived that the walls of this room were toned to a delicate shade of green. A single armchair, placed in the center of the apartment, had for its neighbor that which looked like a giant magic lantern. From a switch-board attached to one of the walls many eleetric wires fed little lamps in shape like telescopes. All the attendants grouped themselves about Esther when she entered this room, and began to fix the lamps on iron stands and to focus their rays upon her. Presently she sat in a very bath of light. Beams of intense bright- ness, like those from miniature search- lights, warmed her flesh and seemed to plerce her through. The exquisite col- ors which dazzled the eyes were in themselves a pleasure to behold. Es- ther thought that all the hues of the spectrum were shown to her while she sat there. Now golden, now deep pur- ple, anon a radiant blue, bewitching shadows of pink, the whole gamut of the beauty of color revealed itself to her. When her eyes were dazzled by the light they covered her head with a silken veil, and so played with the beams upon her neck and arms. She was conscious of great warmth, but never of a temperature that was hurt- ful. A stimulating current of elec- tricity coursed through her body and acted upon every organ. Mentally, the effect was bewildering in its swiftness. Esther felt that she could face any peril, dare any venture by the help of that unseen force which now animated her. Her natural timid and retiring disposition gave place to a courage and self-reliance most welcome to her. And this was the remarkable thing that these attributes did not at once pass away when the bath was finished. Up- stairs in the frigidarium, the young girls dressed her anew in a long morn- ing gown from Paris. They gathered up her hair, and bound it with a gar- land of flowers. A jeweled brooch, with* the word “remerciments” set in bril-% liants, she received without question, although she knew it was the Doctor’s morning gift to her. By what process of reasoning it came about, she could not say; but she began to have a great delight in the very risks of those ex- periments. The luxury, the exhilara- tion of it all cast a spell for good or ill upon her. The long mirror above the figure of Cupid showed her a face she never would have known. She began “ to say that Doctor Xavier might yet make good his words, and confer upon her a gift whose price she did not care to estimate. In the frigidarium she rested for a full hour. It was twelve o'clock when they opened the bronze gates and told her that the task was over. She had not breakfasted, and was very hungry; and she heard with pleasure her atten- dant’s final instructions. “Breakfast is served 'in your own room, mademoiselle. The rest of the day is your own. Doctor Xavier is away to-day—you are your own mis- tress.” Esther crossed the sunny garden, scarcely knowing if sNe were awake or dreaming. No one appeared, and the absence both of the Doctor and the loquacious Julla confirmed thé attend- ant’s words. In her own little room she found a harvest of roses no less rich than of yesterday. The fountain still murmured and cast a refreshing spray upon the cooling breezes. But more welcome still was the breakfast set out on its snowy cloth—the golden wine, the lucious fruit, the snow-white bread. Esther sat at the table and be- gan to eat with healthy appetite. The scene, perhaps, was still unreal to her, the change beyond her imagination. She would have been entirely happy in it, and no longer regretted the consent she had given, but for that silent voice whic, still would ask, “Must no price be paid; is there indeed no secret?” She knew not; she knew nothing— how could she?—of the terrible days before her. Continued Next Sunday.