Page:The Writings of Prosper Merimee-Volume 5.djvu/54

36 then it curled itself round the shrivelled arm of the old woman and disappeared in the sleeve of her sheepskin cloak, which, with a dirty chemise, comprised, I believe, all the dress of this Lithuanian Circe. The old woman looked at us with a little laugh of triumph, like a conjurer who has just executed a difficult trick. Her face wore that mixture of cunning and stupidity which is often noticeable in would-be witches, who are mostly scomidrels and dupes.

" Here you have," said the Count in German, " a specimen of local colour; a witch who tames snakes, at the foot of a kapas, in the presence of a learned professor and of an ignorant Lithuanian gentleman. It would make a capital subject for a picture of natural life by your countryman Knauss. ... If you wish to have your fortime told, this is a good opportunity."

I replied that I did not encourage such practices.

" I would much rather," I added, " ask her if she knows anything about that curious superstition of which you spoke. Good woman," I said to her, " have you heard tell of a part of this forest where the beasts live in a community, independent of man's rule? "

The witch nodded her head in the affirmative,