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Cruel As The Grave

Page 84

"No good? Yes there will too!" answered Joseph Joy, who was fond of

contradiction. "All these bare-necked, bare-armed, and bare-legged

people will get the pleurisy and be laid on the flat of their backs for

three months, when they will have the opportunity of meditating on the

iniquity of their ways! And won't that be good?"

"Yes, it will; and I hope it will be sanctified to their souls," sighed

Miss Tabitha.

"And now here comes another bogie! Gentleman, or lady, please?" politely

inquired the usher, as a red domino approached.

"Lady," softly murmured the domino.

"Pass the lady on to your maids, Miss Winterose! And here's another that

certainly belongs to your department too! And another, and another, and

a whole dozen of them!" exclaimed Mr. Joy, as a troupe of bayaderes,

gipsies, peasants, court ladies, et cætera, filed up.

All these Miss Winterose passed on to Delia, with directions to show

them to the ladies' dressing-rooms. And then she turned to Mr. Joy with

a deep sigh, whimpering: "Ah! Joseph, where do all these people expect to die when they go to?

I--I mean, to go to when they die?"

"They don't trouble themselves about that, I reckon," said contradictory

Joe.

"Ah! but it is written that we shall not make to ourselves the likeness

of anything that is in the heavens above, or in the earth beneath, or in

the waters under the earth. And here are all these people making of

themselves--" Miss Tabby stopped and snivelled, and then stopped again

to wipe a tear from the tip of her nose.

"Well, what?" demanded antagonistic Joe. "What are these people making

of themselves? Nothing that breaks the first commandment, for surely you

don't mean to say that they make of themselves the image of anything in

the heavens above, the earth below, or the waters under the earth, do

you?"

"No, Joseph; but I was mistrusting as they had made themselves up into

images of something in t' other place."

"With the Evil One for a pattern, eh? And here he comes, sure enough.

Talk of the d---- and you know what happens," muttered Joe Joy, as a

most appalling apparition approached. It was a tall, thin figure, clad

in a tight-fitting black suit, that clung close to the skin from the

crown of the head to the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands;

skull-cap, mask, jacket, sleeves, trousers, shoes and gloves seeming to

be knit all of one piece, or else very artistically joined together.

Crowning the black brows were two tall white horns; tipping the black

fingers were long white talons; terminating the black feet were cloven

white hoofs. Crimson glass goggles over the eyes gave the look of

burning coals; and by some "devilish cantrap strange," some trick in

chemistry, at least, little jets of flame appeared to issue from the

mouth and nostrils of the mask.

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