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The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, April 15, 1882, Image 2

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TEDS NATIONAL TBIBUNE: WASHOTG-TOlSr, D. C, APBXL 15, 1882.
Tor The National Tmscsn.
TKOU ART GONE,
BV A. J. SIDSOK, M. D.
These lines were written on the ilcnth of La
Payoltc Ekbon, aged 10 years, who was mortally
-vounded at Missionary Ridge.
Thou art gone, my brother, nt last,
T1j noble, the true, and (he brave 1
SwHl down in the battle's llerce blRst,
A soldier, unknown, in his grave.
Oh! cruel the ly.issile that found
The form of that innocent youth ;
The breast which was lorn by tlwt wound
"Was the spal of honor and truth.
He knew not the tremor of fear,
He often had met the stern foe,
33rillinnl but fchoit his career,
And keen as unwonted the blow.
He fell in the midst or the flpht,
Vfws Irarnc from the red field of strife-,
HeiicSth the dark etirtnin of night.
He breathed out the spirit of life.
All! vain is man' wisdom and skill
When the .loath pnrct markelh hlspSey;
It Is the Omniixilcnt will.
And mortals know not of that day.
All ! brother, e'er life was no more,
DiiM tUiuk'of the loving and true,
Of those who have jour on befolO,
And those who mut follow thee, too?
Didst wish for thy own brotlicr lherC
To wipe the cold sweat from thy brow,
To smooihe licl: thy f-oft 'aven hair.
And close those tlaik eyes so dim now?
Yet ponecfuJ be hi- southern tomb.
Though bitter the tears of our grief.
Sweet the flowers that over linn bloom,
AVhose spring-time of life w.ibfco brief.
JUSTIN YITALl'S CLIENT.
A man on -whose prospects success seemed
to shine most sunnily was Justin Yitali, of
the Bar of M . At the age of thirty h had
already achieved a reputation as a k-Arned
lawyer aud an eloquent pleader. Withoutin
fluenlial connections to help him on labor
ing under the drawback of being a Corsican,
which is not a title of merit in the C3es of
French barristers who dislike the politics of
their insular brethren, addicted, moreover,
to solitary study, which kept him from
chumming with his fellows or going out
into society and making friends of the sort
who often do more for a barrister than pro
fessional merit does, Justin Vitali had,
nevertheless, attracted attention much
quicker than if he had recourse to ambi
tious acts. He was just the sort of man
whom solicitors appreciate. He had the gilt
of listening; It has been said that conversa-
, tion has become a lost art in these our times
because every man reflects on what he shall
answer instead of paying attention to what
ho hears; Yitali, on the contrary, hearkened
with all his ears, and his memory was so
retentive that he often surprised a client by
reminding him of a cursory remark which
had been uttered without any intention that
it should be remembered. It was a maxim
of his that the merits of a case are ascer
tained le.s by what a client says than by
. what !; lets slip ; and he had a tact of
d ravin: un a speaker to be communicative
by u jpearancc of tacitly acquiescing in
all his observations. This power of con
centrated attention brought to bear on the '
reading of his briefs lent Yitali tl
which an advocate must needs acqu
speaks with a full knowledge of Ji
and it made him 'a dangerous oppo- -
leading barristers of large practice wi
into court having bnt skimmed thei
It got to be said that when eminent counsel
knew they were to be pitted against Justin
Yitali they took care to master their facts
and charged a heavier fee for the trouble.
But, though other barristers might by Jits
and starts emulate the Corsican's industry,
few could compete with the inborn gifts
which made him an orator. He was a
mufecular man of middle height, with a
swarthy complextion, black hair which he
wote long aud brushed ofl' his high forehead
without any parting, thick black whiskers
trimmed short, and dark eyes, large and
piercing. In his ordiriry attire ho might
have been taken for a provincial fanner in
Sunday dress, for he wore ill-cut, baggy I
clothes of rough cloth, and was not careful
about dusting them; but in court his
gown and cambric fall became him well,
and as soon as he had put them on he was
auother man. In this atmosphere of justice,
which was his real sphere, he thawed ; the
cold expression of his features gave place to
a look of ardent interest in all that was going
on; he would turn his eyes with prompt,
inquiring flashes on judges, witnesses, and i
on the jury if it were a criminal case, aud
casual spectators who did not know his ways
might have thought that he was continually
tempted to spring on to his legs before the
time. But this excitement was only out
ward, for when Yitali rose to speak his im
pulses were always under his control ; they
were like a steam-machine which a child's
hand can guide. He despised tricks of
rhetoric, declamatory gestures, and seusa
lional phrases, his eloquence being the
natural outpouring of a full mind and heart,
ilowing like a torrent from a subterraneous
lake. He had a clear and melodious voice ;
his gestures were few aud graceful, and his
Corsican imagination tinged his speeches
with a warm coloring, with happy meta
phors, and with occasional beauties of true
poetical pathos, more especially when he
was pleading in cases in which his own
sensibilities were greatly stirred.
This very frequently, happened, for Vitali
had laid down for himself a lingular rule
of conscience: he would plead no causes
which he did not sincerely believe to be just.
A well-known Scotch professor of jurispru
dence being asked to deal with the question
as to whether an advocate were justified in
pleading iniquitous causes, answered that a
counsel is a mouthpiece, not a judge, and
that it is merely his function to place his
client's case before the bench in the manner
in which the client himself would have
stated it had he possessed the requisite
oratorical ability and legal knowledge.
Yitali took a different view of an advocate's
dntiee, and contended that a man has no
right to place his talents and his learning
at the service of a person who is endeavor-
)ii to do a
'As well," said he,
"might a locksmith argue that he was justi
fied in aiding a burglar to break into a house
so long as he took no share in the proceeds
of the robbery." And on another occacion,
smiling at somebody who had styled bar
risters "the defenders of the widow and the
orphan,'' he replied dryly, "Yes, but if some
barristers defend the widow and orphan it
is presumably btcause others attack them;
therefore the bar contains as many assailants
as champion of the widow and orphan."
Often when he had read a brief through,
Yitali returned it with a nptc to the effect
that he thought the cause untenable. And
once or twice he had appended some words
of critical advice which proved mot unwel
come to the suitors Tfho had wished to retain
him. Had he been lee Inborious or able, or
less successful in winning tho causes which
he did undertake, hi hrper-?crttpnlou3ncfa
would have blighted his professional pros
pect. As it was, rolicitora gave him a
character for ececntriciiy, and while prais
ing him aloud, thanl-.ed heaven in sect el
that there were iw more like him.
BufcViioli had also ina tie himself numerous
enemies, for it was not to be expected that
a man should set up a rigid moral principle
without seriously o(jicling many worthy
people who vere lcr,a rigid. All the suitors
whom Yitali had snubbed spoke with wrath
.ful contempt of his pretended integrity, de
riding it as the affectation of an hypocritical
character; and from cprit dc corps the Cor
siciuVs iellow-barristers concurted. After
all they were as fcood as he. Did he imagine
forsooth that ihty pleaded unrighteously,
that they had ho principles, that ihey would
let tho temptation of a heavy retaining fee
sway their sensitive consciences ? Although
M is a large maritime city of nearly half a
million inhabitants, its society is thoroughly
provincial, and everybody there knows or
believes ho know3 everybody else. It
came to be rumored that Justin Yi tali's
"bearishncss" was due to his having been
crossed in love; others discovered that his
real name was Yitali della Scbbia, but that
he had dropped his arisiocr.nlical patronymic
because he was the son of a fraudulent bank
rupt, who had hanged himself to escape the
hulks; others fell suro that Yitali would
turn out to hare been a secret agent of the
Jesuits, and they bepged the rest to mark
their words. In short, envy being unable
to deny the Coisienn's laleat went to work
dropping fly-spots on his reputation or his
motives. lint this did not prevent Yitali
from increasing in credit among suitors day
by day; for suitors, like patients, will run
to the man who will bring them speediest
relief, and there is no relief in law like a
good verdict.
II.
At the moment when this tale opens Justin
Yitali had just been pleading a cause which
was to set tho seal of his renown. He had
appeared as counsel for an opposition news
paper prosecuted by government. The prose
cution was unjust, but as there is no jury in
press-trials the defendants had little justice
to expect from three jttdgeswho, besides being
ever anxious to serve government, seemed to
have the letter of the law on their side.
Yitali took codes and precedents in hand, and
proved ihaf law as well as abstract equity
were on the side of his clients ; and he forced
the bench to acquit on a legal technicality.
No such thing had ever been seen in the
annals of newspaper trials in M ; and
after the judges had delivered their finding,
in a densely-crowded court, which had be
come the scene of enthusiastic and tumult
uous cheering, they grew afraid of their own
work. The president of the tribunal, a
shrewd old time-serving judge, rejiaired to
a reception which tho prefect was holding
that evening; so did the deputy procurator
general, for he was impatient to demonstrate
that ho had done his very utmost to get
journalist fined and sent to prison.
ilut they found the prefect much less con-
aed about the fxiiuro of his prosecution
n about Yifeali's remarkablo display of
ptence and legal acumen. He was . a
lapartist, who served the republic grudg
ingly and hoped perse veringly for the restora
tion of the third empire, which might make
a cabinet minister of him.
" What a speech ! " he said musingly to
the president ; '"a dismal pity that such an
orator should belong to the Radicals."
"Cut M. Yitali is a Bonapartist, I believe,"
replied the president, glad to show that he
and his assessors had not been worsted by a
Republican.
"A Bonapartist and yet he pleads for the
'Peds'?''
" That's the failing of the man. I Tc pleads
for anybody Avhom the thinks in the right."
"If ho be a Bonapartist, he is a man to be
taken tip,'5 exclaimed the prefect, eagerly,
for he knew the president was also an Im
perialist. " We might push him forward at
the next election. He would be a wonder
ful recruit for our party now that Rouher is
aging."
"Il'ni! he would give you a good deal of
trouble. Independence is his hobby."
" Oh ! as to that, I have known many an
Aristides grow tractable when a good berth
was offered him," was the prefect's confident
answer. "The procurator-generalship of
lU-
is still vacant, and I'll see if I can't
get Yitali appointed to it."
"He wouldn't accept," said the president,
with assurance." "So long as you pay a
procurator-gericral but fifteen thousand
francs a year, the post isn't worth the con
sideration of a man of thirty in large
practice."
"You leave the honor out of account,"
rejoined the prefect. "Besides, the post
would only be a stepping-stone to politics.
At all events wc can try."
The deputy procurator, who was approach
ing, and overheard the prefect's remarks,
pulled a wry face. He had set influences
at work to obtain the procnralorship for
himself, and ho lost no time in leaving tho
party to go and telegraph to his friends in
Patis to bestir themselves.
Meantime Justin Yitali, exhausted by his
long and intricate speech in court, had re
turned to his chambers. They were poorly
furnished rooms, whose chief luxury was
the library of well-bound law books, which
every French advocate is bonud to possess
before he can be admitted to the bar. Prior
to sitting down to tho frugal dinner which
was sent him every day from a cookshop,
Vitali went up to his writing-table, which
groaned under a weight of papers, and began
this letter :
" My DEAiu.v-i.ovnn Mom nn,
"To-morrow's newspapers will carry you
the report of a trial which has been my
greatest success, and which will, I trust,
definitely consolidata my position. My
earnings are steadily on the increase, and
I htvc little doubt now that after ftvo years
mwje of patiout work, favored by tho luck
which has hitherto befriended me, I shall
bs fcblo do pay off my poor father's debts
and clear his memory of the stain which
was so maliciously and wrongfully thrown
upon it. Towards tin's end, on which wc
have both set onr hearts, you may rely
that I shall not cease to strive, to tho ex
clusion of eTery other hoya or ambition "
He had got so fttr when there was a ring
at the door of his ciambers, and his servant
entered with a card, saying that a lady de
sired to cce M. Yitali at once.
"A lady at this hour? Did you ask her
business?" said Vitali, as he glanced at the
card, on which was the name "Madame
l)cplas)j
"She is a yottng person, sir, and she says
sbe will not detain you above aii hour," said
the servant.
'An hour; that is at least frank; they
genet ally say 'not above five minute?,' re
marked Yitali with a weary smile. "In
quire whether the business is so urgent that
the lady cannot Ox an appointment."
"She seemed very anxious to see you, sir,"
rejoined the man, and he opened the door to
go out; but at this moment a lady dressed
in deep mourning suddenly glided past him,
and entered the room.
The shade over tho table-lamp kept the
light down and rendered it difficult to dis
cern the visitor's features. But it was evi
dent that she wat young, slight of stature,
and judging by the quality of her apparel
and her gracefully dignified carriage, a per
son accustomed to good society. She walked
straight up to Yatili's table without speak
ing. He rose astonished, but bowing and
offering her a seat, aud it was only when the
servnnt had retired that she addressed him
in a musical voice of great vivacity aud
rendered slightly tremulous by excitement.
"Excuse mo for intruding upon you, M.
Yitali, but I -wish you to appear for me ina
lawsuit. I received notice this morning of an
unworthy octiou that is to be brought against
me, and nobody was ever so shamefully
nousea as l am in mat naner. lierc it is ins
my pocket, and I will leave it with you.
When I got it at ten o'clock I cried for an
hour; but my maid told me I had better
come to you who are so famous, so I went to
the courts, but you were speaking in that
newspaper-case, and when it was over I could
not get near yon because of the throng of per
sons who were applauding you. I applauded
like the rest, for I assure yon you were very
eloquent, and it appeared to me that if you
could find so many things to say for a
journalist, 3'ou could speak still belter in
defense of a lonely persecuted woman."
" The suit is about a will," interrupted
Yitali politely, for he was proof against com
pliments. "Allow me to glance at the paper.
H'm ! mercenary acts, wiles. It appears the
plaintiffs wish to have the testator's will
annulled on the ground of "
"Yes, on the ground that I used undue
influence!" exclaimed Madame Desplnns.
"Did you ever hear of such a thing? Why
the money in question was bequeathed me
by a man who at least twenty times offered
to many me, and who .might have been alive
now if I had given him my hand! But I
won't waste your time in exclamations; hero
are the bare facts. I was left an orphan at
twelve, aud at
eighteen was married to
a
retired naval officer, who had been a great
friend of my father. Captain Desplans,
though much older than I, was a most affec
tionato husband, and avc lived happily
together for four years until the captain,
having embarked all his fortune in a specu
lation, was ruined. The blow preyed greatly
on his mind because of mo. During a few
months he tried hard to find employment,
but his age for active work was past, so that
he fell ill of despair and very soon died,
leaving mc nuprovidc1 f"" "
"You were absolttt .
Vitali, who continued i v: i
of process.
"I had just ten th -. iu".i .
jewels."
"And no relatives oi iiienus to give you a
home?"
"No relative at all," said Madame Des
plans, shaking her head; but I had one
friend, Captain Lacroix, who had formerly
been lieutenant on board my husband's
ship, and who is the person mentioned in
that document. It is ho who left mo the
property in dispute, and whose mourning I
am wearing. Aud oh, when I think that
ihoc selfish relatives of his, who never once
came near him in his illness, and who had
done all they could to make his life wretched
whon I think that they dare accuse mc of
having been mercenary, false, depraved, aud
everything that's wicked, it's too much to
bear: oh, oh!" aud the young widow burst
into tears.
"Console yourself, madam," said Vitali
gently, "these law papers are often drawn
up in brutal terms; bnt if the charges
brought against you be false, there Avill be
so much the more dishonor for your ac
cusers." "False, why of cottrso they are false;
can you doubt it?" ejaculated Madame
Desplans, looking up as if the merest hesi
tation were an outrage cu her. "Why, I
devoted myself to Captain Lccroix, and
spent six months nursing him when, as I
have told you, I might have become his wife
if I had pleased, and have inherited the
whole of his property instead of tho half
which he left me. He was about forty years
old when I first became acquainted with
him, that is some six years younger than nvy
husband. He frequently visited at our house,
and I was not long in perceiving that he
cherished a deep attachment towards me.
He ended by declaring himself, and I ordered
him not to let me see his face again, threat
ening if he returned to our house I would
inform my husband of his conduct. He did
go away, aud remained absent for two years;
but so soon as my husband was dead ho has
tened back from Italy, where ho was, and
made me an offer of his hand. I felt no
doubt that ho sincerely loved me, but I
was angry with him for his past behavior;
besides which ho was a man of passionate
and morose temper, with whom I knew it
would have been impossible for mo to live
happy."
"This paper says that he was almost im
becile from confirmed jntomperance."
"He became that after I had rejected him,"
said Madame Desplans, drying her eyes.
"I believe he had given way to drink during
his two years' absence, but'tipon my telling
him that I would never be his wife he ap
pears to have abandoned himself altogether;
so that one day I received a raving letter
from him in which ho said that he was on
his deathbed, that it was my cruelty that was
killing him, but that I could restore him to
life if I would go and see him aud give him
a word of hope. I confess that I was seized
with terror, and with some remorse, for it is
horrible to be told one is causing tho death
of a man whoso only crime is to have loved
you too well. Consulting only my first im
pulse, I hastened to Captain Lacroix's house,
thinking that I would only stay there a few
days to nttrso him until ho got well. But ho
lingered on for months alternately lucid and
delirious, but always quite incapable of tak
ing caro of himself, and in such a complete
physical prostration that I awoke every
morning with the conviction that ho would
be dead before night. When he did die at
last it was found that by a will dated during
tho time while my husband was alive, he
had left me half his fortune, that is, a million
francs, for he was a rich man, the son of a
Marseilles merchant. Then it was that his
relatives, who had loft me to nurse him on
his deathbed, fell upon me with that paper
in which they charge me with having cir
cumvented the unhappy man, with having
tried to cozen him into marrying me; indeed
they almost hint that when I found he would
not yield to me, I ended by poisoning him,
so as to becomo possessed of what' he had
left me the sooner. Ah, it is all too infamous,
M. Yitali! Do I look like a scheming adven
turess tto I look like ft poisoner?"
She had hnlT risen in uttering these words.
Yilali lifted the lamp-shade and the light
fell full on her features. No, it was not the
faoeornn adVentmeSs iitu of anything bnt
what was sweet and good. She had large
blue eyes, soil and candid its a child's, a tiny
mouth which no falsehood could ever have
defiled, and pale golden hair that seemed to
crown her pure brow with an aureola of
innceency like those on angels' heads. So
at least thought Justin Yilali as his admir
ing gaze fell on the young face turned sup
plicatingly towards his. From that moment
his destiny altered its course.
She had no need to continue clasping her
hands as she did, for her cause was now
right in his eyes, although all mankind
should arise to accuse her. There was a look
of protection in the glance he bent on her;
then something like timidity stole into it,
and a sensation which he could not account
for, but which made his heart beat, took
sudden possession of him. He turned
towards his desk, caught up a pen, and to
give himself a countenance, asked his visitor
some desultory questions, her full names
and address (her Christian name was Clotilde),
whether she had a solicitor, what documents
she could furnish to assist her defence, &e.
All this time he felt nervous, and dared not
look again at Madame Desplans. He stam
mered, and the consciousness that he was
doing so insdo him redder; then he became
aware that he was prolonging his questions
with an inward purpos-c of preventing his
visitor from going away and this discovery
filling him with confusion lest he should be
detected, he said abruptly, by manner of
closing the interview :
"Your solicitor will have to instruct me
in due form, madame, but your case is hap
pily not a difficult oue. By the way, am I
to understand that you are entirely depend
ent for support on Captain Lecroix's leg
acy?" "Yes," auswered the young widow art
lessly; "I brought my husband no dower,
but though destitute I probably should not
have accepted the captain's money if his
relatives had behaved with common kind
ness to me. I knew nothing about his will
till it was opened after his death, and I was
more surprised than anybody to find that a
million had been bequeathed to me. But
now that I have been so basely slandered I
would maintain my rights at any cost, even
if I were bound to throw the million into the
sea as soon as I got it."
"That is natural," answered Yitali, who
was too much of a Corsican not to sympathize
with the craving for revenge. "The lejjracy
is but a just acknowledgment of your de
voledness in tending the dying man besides,
I suppose-, the captain was aware that your
husband had been ruined." . ,
"He was not only aware of it, but he was,.
himself partially the author of our ruin, and
that is just the point, for in his will he treats
the legacy as a retribution,"' exclaimed Mad
ame Desplans animatedly. "I should tell
you that Captain Lacroix often advised my
husband on pecuniary matters, and once he
counselled him to invest in a mining com
pany which had been started in Corsica."
"In Corsica!" exclaimed Vitali with a
start, while a deep pallor of a sudden over
spread his face.
" Yes; and the company soon went to ruin,
for it had been founded by a dishonest banker
one Delia Scbbia. But what is the matter,
M. Yitali? you look unwell."
"Della Scbbia was not dishonest, I sol
emnly vow," said Yitali, standing tip and
speaking with considerable emotion. "In
founding the mining company, madame, he
sincerely believed that he was promoting a
genuine enterprise, and when tho ruin over
took him and his shareholders he committed
suicide.''
"Oh dear!" exclaimed Madame Desplans,
opening wide her blue eyes and assuming
an air of contrition, "but I hopo I have said
nothing was that M. della Sebbia "
"He was my father," said Justin Vitali,
whoso brow contracted as with pain.
There was a moment's silence. The young
widow had risen, and the Corsican and his
client stood for a brief space clos-o together
with downcast faces, neither speaking. Mad
ame Desplans broke the silence by saying, in
a tone of compassion and regret:
"I am truly sorry, M. Vitali I conld not
gucs3 bnt this will not prevent you from
defending mo, will it?"
"That is a question for yourself to decide,"
answered Vitali, a littlo bitterly. "But if
you cannot believe in tho honesty of the
father, I would advise you not to submit
your fortuno and reputation to the care of
the son."
"I will believe anything you tell me, M.
Vitali," said Madame Desplans, without hes
itation; then she added, with a half-smile,
"but, unintentionally as it may be, your
father was tho cause of our ruin. He was
tho cause that I am standing before you to
day; so you owe me a kind of reparation.
Prevent me from being despoiled of Captain
Lacroix's legacy, and wo shall be quits."
To bo continued.
SAD FATE OF A FAMILY,
The Indianapolis Sentinel says: A sad
picture was presented on tho road west of
this city. A wagon on its way to the in
sane asylum contained a woman of umSbuud
mind. In her arms, pressed to her bosom,
was tho lifeless body of an infant. Three
other littlo ones, whoso destiny was the
poor-house, were crouched in the wagon
shivering and cold. By tho woman's side
sat her husband, with his head bowed in
sorrow. A pair of handcuffs were locked
around his wrists. The family of six was
to be rudely separated, perhaps forever.
Their destinations wore, tho asylum, tho
poor-house, tho jail and the grave. The
mother, it is understood, would not consent
to her removal unless she could take her
dead child along. Tho father's crime was
not found out.
Francis Joseph, of Austria, never applauds
when an actor makes a good hit, and he never
seems to care when an actor makes a bad one.
ne preserves tho exact expression of coun
tenance of a man who hasan annual free pass
in his pocket.
THREE MEN KILLED BY COL. BETTS.
Col. Wm. H. Betts, while on the stand as a
witness in New York a few days ago giving
lu"3 evidence in the Tracy-Miller murder trial,
made a somewhat remarkable statement.
His testimony is reported as follows :
William H. Betts, a gray-haired, long
bearded, military-looking man, who now re
sides in Washington, -D. C, testified that he
spoke to Tracy when he came into Darling's
saloon. Tracy walked up to the counter,
tnrned, stepped across the threshold of the
partition dividing the cigar stand from the
bar-room, aud, facing Miller with a pistol in
his hand $ said: "I come in here to kill you."
He fired and witness seized Tracy and turned
his pistol to the floor; Tracy was about three
feet from Miller when the shot was fired.
Cross-examined by Mr. Howe I saw a
pistol in Miller's hand and took it away
from him. He identified the pistol shown
him.
To a jhror I didn't get the pistol until
we reached tho sidewalk.
To Mr. Howe I carry a pistol nearly all
tho lihio.
Mr. Howe Have yott ever killed a mntt?
The Witness I have.
Mr. Howe Have you killed two?
The Witness I have killed three.
Mr. Howe That's all I want to know.
Mr. O'Byrne (to the witness) Will yon
explain under what circumstances?
The Witness At the breaking out of the
war I was in an Alabama regiment at the
capture of two forts and the Peusacola
Navy-Yard; a man named Brown in the
same regiment insulted my wife; he was
arrested and his captain promised to punish
him, but I said it was not the kind of
punishment I wanted; Brown pulled his
pistol and shot me in the lip; I pulled a
knife and killed him; a coroner's jnry dis
charged me and I was never indicted; case
No. 2 was at West Point, on the Chattahoo
chie Eiver, the dividing lino between Ala
bama and Georgia; I was in a bar-room
with some friends, when twenty men came
in armed with pistols ; one fired and broke
my right arm, and I fired and killed him;
the jury was out five minutes, and acquitted
me; case No. 3 was at Albany, Ga., in 1867,
where I went to get up a horse race; on a
Sunday I was chanlng with some friends
about a burglar who had escaped from the
villagers the night before, when a man, hold
ing a hickory stick in one hand and a six
shooter in the other, said he would take me
in; I told him to go home, that I had just
got out of prison, and didn't care to get in
again; he insisted, and I fired and killed
him; the jury were out eight minutes, and
they found a verdict of not guilty.
The testimony created a marked sensation
in the court, but the witness was undisturbed,
and talked as glibbly, coolly, and disinter
estedly as though he were nrrating some
commonplace tale.
DEAD TO THE WORLD.
At the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy,
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, recently, two young
ladies renounced tho world and took upon
themselves the white veil. One of the nov
ices is a young lady of well known family.
This was Miss Eleanor Ewing, daughter of
GenoralnHugh Ewing, of Lancasterr-Ohio,;
niece of General Thomas Ewing, and. niece
of General William T. Sherman. Miss Ew
ing is in her twenty-first year, and was well
known as a society belle in Washington. She
travelled extensively in Europe, where she
was received into excellent society, and after
ward spent two seasons in Yvashington. She
was noted for her beauty, modesty, and wit,
aud was as fond of the social gayetie3 as a
young lady usually is. About a year ago she
began to talk of entering a convent. The
idea was not well received by her parents,
especially her father, but there was no posi
tive prohibition of it. Six months ago Mi3
Ewing entered the convent hero on tho usual
six months' probation. Mrs. Ewing-, two
brothers of tho novice, and Miss Edith Ew
ing, her sister, were present at the ceremony,
but General Ewing was so much overcome
by his feelings at his daughter's action that
he did not come to Pittsburg.
SUMMERING ABROAD.
Reports from the headquarters iu New
York of tho various European steamship
companies confirm tho impression that
travel from this side the coming summer
will be fully equal to that of the most pros
perous season heretofore ; and, what is more,
it promises to begin much earlier than usual.
Even now the Hots of cabin passengers aro
of respectablo proportions, and tho ap
plications to all the leading lines for accom
modations ahead are sufficient in many cases
as to absorb all tho spare room in the best
steamers clear up to tho middle of Juno,
thus necessitating the employment of extra
boats. There are no special causes at work
to stimulate this sort of emigration, and its
expansion, therefore, must be set down as
something that is simply keeping pace with
the natural growth of tho country in other
respects.
AN ESTHETIC BAR ROOM.
A New York correspondent of tho Hart
ford Times writes : " Thespians with enough
money on hand to paj' for a drink sometimes
drop into tho magnificent bar-room fitted
up by Ed. Stokes, of Jim Fisk antecedents.
It is by long odds the most elaborate place
of its kind in New York, and it may be
doubled if thcro is another equal to it in
the world. Tho room is about fifty feet
square, with tho bar in the middle. This
arrangement gives tho bar two sides instead,
of one. The floor is covered with carpeting
fit for tho best drawing-room on Fifth
avenue, rich but not bright in color, and so
thick that no foot fall can be heartV All
the woodwork bar, chairs, tables, &c aro
solid mahogany, richly carved, and giving
a certain tone that no other kind of wood
imparts. When lighted up by magnificent
crystal chandeliers tho effect is superb.
Heavy draperies and enormous tropical
plants add to tho richness of the whole.
The walls contain several paintings, of no
particular merit, and somo pieces of statuary
of very decided merit stand near the bar. One
is a splendid marble figure, life-size, resem
bling tho figure known as ' California ' in
tho Metropolitan Museum collection. An
other is in bronze, and has for its subject an
erect female figure, nude, like tho one in
marble, with tho head of a satyr grinnin"'
over her shoulder. There are other striking
pieces, but theso two are notably so. Many
of tho regular frequenters of the place are
sporting men and stock-brokers. A Wall
street firm has an office at one end of the
room, and tho sound of the ticker is heard
aU day."
A GHASTLY DISCOVERY,
In New York a few evenings ago a mes
senger of the American Express Company
whilst assorting his packages for shipment
West, tore open a suspicious looking package
and found the bodies of two children one a
boy about two years old, and. the other a firl
probably not more than six months old. The
boy was neatly dressed in white shirt, jacket
pantaloons, and shoes and stockings. The
girl was neatly dressed, in white and also
wore shoes and stockings. The girl lay in
the boy's arms and the two bodies were tied
in a sheet. A board about two feet Ion" and
ten inches wide, was then laid over the free
of the box, and around the bodies was snngly
wrapped light brown wrapping papersecurely
tied with a string. The address on the out
side of the package was "Prof. Gage, Cornell
College, Ithaca, New York." The bodies were
in a good state of preservation, having appar
ently been dead not more than twenty-ibur
hours. Tho theory of the police is that thee
bodies were purchased frora some undertaker
who had been charged with the sacred duty
of burying them, and that the person who
purchased them, whoever he was, had resold
them to Prot.
Gage.
THE KNIFE AT A METHODIST CONFER
ENCE. The Methodist Conference, which ad
journed at St. Louis a few days ago, brought
forth a row between the presiding elder and
a prominent minister, and a stormy scene
was enacted. The church was crowded, and
it became known that the Eev. Dr. G. W.
Ilughey, who has hitherto had charge of
Trinity, one of the largest Methodist churches
in the city, had been transferred to the Ca
rondelet church, a charge not nearly so im
portant, and yielding only half the salary of
Trinity. As soon as the Conference was de
clared adjourned, Dr. Hughey, accompanied
by his sons, met Presiding Elder Hagerty
and the Rev. De. B. St. James Fry in the
aisle. In an excited manner, Dr. Hnghey
charged the preachers with undermining his
character and improperly influencing the
Bishop to have him assigned to Caroadelet.
"That is a nice way," he exclaimed, "to sen e
a minister with a ministerial record of thirty
three years as good as any in the Conference."
Dr. Hughey "s three sous were present, and
one of them, George, 14 years of age, de
nounced Dr. Fry in vehement and profane
language. Dr. Fry replied to the boy : " I
suppose you are a son of Hughey, as you act
and talk like that breed." The boy imme
diately drew a, clasp-knife, and was in the
act of opening it, when his sister detected
the movement. Other members of thefamily
seized him and pulled him away from Dr. J
Fry. Dr. Hughey realized how his son'r
rashness had done his own cattseharm, anft
said to him, "Yon villain, what did yon do
that for ? " The lad replied, " Why, father, I
want to cut Fry's liver out, and I'll do it
yet.". All of this took place in the presence
of the congregation, causing great confusion.
Some of the ladies screamed and fainted.
ESCAPING MASSACRE TO DIE OF
THIRST.
. The fate of Mrs. Watson and her child has
at last been definitely ascertained. The de
scription was given a fevr weeks ago of the
(attack of the North Queensland blacks
upon
the-Lizard Island fishing station, the bravo
defence made by Mrs. Watson and her Chi
namen against overwhelming odds, and the
suspicion of the police that the survivors
had been drowned while making, in a leaky
littlo pttnt, for the mainland. The finale of
the sad tragedy is told by the last mail
delivery. Mrs. Watson anil her child had
escaped murder and outrage from the sav
ages, but were fated to a lingering death on
a distant desert island.
The master of a trading schooner found
three skeletons on No. 5 Island of the Hor
wich group, and these arc proved to be the
remains of Mrs. Watson, her baby, and the
faithful Chinaman, Ah Sam. A revolver, full
cocked and loaded, was lying by the mother
and child. The dead Chinaman was found,
under a tree a few yards off, with a loaded
rifle at his side. There was no water on the
island, and the unfortunate castaways had
no doubt died from the most terrible afflic
tion of thirst. Ah Sam had been speared in
seven places, and the bandages showed that
Mrs. Watson, in the midst of her woes, had
noc neglected to dress the wounds. The
presence of mind and heroism displayed hy
the courageous woman are now seen to be
even greater than was at first supposed. The
flight from Lizard Island wa3 made, not in a
boat, bat in half of an iron tank used for
boiling down beche-de-mer. The woman,
child, and Chinaman set forth on their peril
ous voyage on October 3, landed next day on
a reef, and remained there till the 6th. Then
they went frora slet to islet in search of
water, of wliich they could not have had a
drop for at least five days.
During this horrible period of suffering
and suspense Mrs. Watson kept her diary,
and never lost sight of her husband's papers
and account books.
The extracts from the heroine's diary tell
as much of the touching end of the harrow
ing story as will ever be known, but imagi
nation will but too vividly indicate the
closing scenes of this brave woman's life.
The supply of water on hand had evidently
lasted the fugitives during their earlier wan
derings, but prior to the date of the first
entry it had altogether failed.
Tho pencilings in the diary speak with
pathetic force for themselves "October 9.
Brought the tank ashore as far as possible
with this morning's tide; made camp all
day under the trees; blowing very hard; no
water; gave baby a dip in the sea he is
showing symptoms of thirst and took a dip
myself. Ah Sam and self very parched with
thirst. Baby showing symptoms. Snnday,
10. Baby very bad with inflammation; very
much alarmed ; no fresh water, and no more
milk but condensed ; self very weak ; really
thought I should have died last night Mon
day, 11. Still all alive. Baby very much
better this morning; self feeling very weak;
I think it will rain to-day; clouds very
heavy; wind not quite so high; no rain;
every appearance of fine weather. Ah Sam
gone away to die; have not seen him since
the 9th. Baby more cheerful; self not feel
ing at all well ; have not seen any boats of
any description. No water. Dead with
thirst."
Tho relics were discovered by Captain
Brenner, of the schooner Kate Kearney, and
over tho remains he raised a mound, and
road tho Church of England burial service,
heard for the first time upon that lonely
island under the Southern Cros3. Subse
quently tho people of Cooktown sent across
for the remains, and accorded them a public
burial.

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