The Gnomes of the Saline Mountains: A Fantastic Narrative

king through the valley surrounded by lofty saline cliffs, in this howling storm, while clouds

row. His large intelligent eyes were now sunk deep in their sockets. A nervous restlessness made him shiver, and h

as now old and worn, and hung loosely about his emaciated form. He lo

reast, as if afraid at any moment it might escape or drop out of his hands. This idea made him tremble. It was indeed his only

nd still, his earnings were not sufficient to support him and his motherless child, pretty little Marie, whom he had left

erably; and his heart was sick and heavy. Now he felt a frightful nervousness, fearing not t

cted to see a clearing in the forest, and an open road to the hotel. But on all

breathing heavily, while great beads of

lplessly around. Darkness began to fall, contesting every inch of ground with retreating day

insidious fever!... "How upset I feel; it's the peculiar atmosphere," he said to himself. At the same time he remembered that the entertainment he proposed to offer this evening, was not sufficiently furnished with witty epigra

of wind commenced to bend the tops of the high, impenetrable trees. The songs of t

could not make out. In the marshy places the fireflies were seen, wanderi

doubt, he had taken an e

grated audibly on his weak lungs. A fearful storm was gathering, whispering and sobbing like complaining

s, soaking him from head to foot, and the centuries old tree-tops groaned and moaned like lost souls in Dante's Inferno. Now everything began to swim ar

ying to march straight down upon him. He wanted to retreat, but could not move; there was a dark mist before

and a whole troop of tiny, little mountain gnomes came

pattered down upon him. As soon as they caught sight of him they commenced to giggle, swarming around him in great merriment. And then they put their ludicrous little heads together and pointed at him with cont

f it!" he screamed, cursing the whole deceitful band. In his indignation he tried to rise several times in order to drive them away-down into the foaming stream, or back into their mountain riff; but he could not m

els were descending from heaven. His eyes dilated as he saw a procession of tiny elves passing him, carrying little light

his trembling lips when the fair Siren so fatal to his life stood before him, intervening and trying to ensnare him again wi

She loves only him! And unheeding the beseeching beckoning of his anxious mother, whose tortured heart w

with blazing torches appeared upon the scene carrying a coffin. Just in front of him the lid opened and the pale waxen face of his dead mother met his frighten

laughed. Beside himself with indignation he panted, trying to strike her and hurl words of hatred in her face;