The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-10-25 00:00:00

ROMANTIC STORY.

The following strange story appears in the Semaphore of
Marseilles. Whether considered as a hoax, or as a proof of
the extent to which the burning imagination of the south has
carried the writer, it is not unworthy of being reproduced.
No suspicion of the girl's being an imposter seems to have
occurred to the writer or the authorities :—" We have a
touching history to relate to our readers. There is at present
in this city a young girl, sixteen years of age, and of remark-
able beauty, scarcely able to speak a dozen words of French,
who has been afflicted with extraordinary misfortunes at
more than a thousand leagues from her native country. A
man, to whom she was entrusted by a charitable lady at
Valence to conduct to Marseilles, presented her within these
last few days to the commissary of police. All he could re
late of the young girl's history was, that the lady found her
weeping bitterly in the midst of a field, and unable, either by
gestures or language, to make herself understood. As Mar-
seilles possesses consuls of all the powers in Europe, speak-
ing, of course, the languages of the nations they represent,
she has been spoken to in fifteen different tongues, without
any one of them being her own. As the words Russe' and
' Nicholas' were frequently uttered by her, it was thought
she might speak Russian; but when taken to the Russian
consul, he could not comprehend a word she uttered. She
is at present under the care of the Sisters of Charity of the
Hotel Dieu, until something certain shall be discovered of
her sad history. She is tall, with regular features, and thick
light hair. Her air is melancholy, and her eyes are frequently
filled with tears. She wrote in our presence her name and
country in close characters, which no person could decipher,
and which would have puzzled the intelligence of a Champo-
lion. This young girl was born in the Ukraine, the kingdom
of the Hetman Mazeppa. She must have been born there,
for her gestures intimate it clearly. She also gave us to un-
derstand that she was accustomed to riding ; that the priests
of her country wear long beards, and that there is much
marshy ground, in which persons sank up to their knees.
Our readers will desire probably to know how this fair maid
of the Ukraine has come to Marseilles. Her father is an
Englishman, named Joseph Protman ; he married a woman
named Vichtochtiff, a native of the Ukraine, and from this
marriage was born the young girl at present here, whose
name is Juliah. The words ' Constantine' and ` Philippe-
ville,' which she pronounced, would seem to indicate that
her father, a merchant or mechanician, which, by the way,
are not exactly the same thing, resided five years in one of
these two towns, and that he had gone from that part of
Africa to seek his family on the banks of the Don. This
father of hers must have a mother of great age residing in
some town in England. He travelled in a very handsome
carriage, drawn by two horses, with his wife, his daugh-
ter, and a maid servant, and he entered into France
through Switzerland. It is by the aid of the words
Papa Anglais ; grande maman en Angleterre ; papa a
Constantine et Philippeville ; papa en Ukraine ; Suisse ;
France; voiture; maman; deux chevaux ; une
that we have constructed the account just given. It appears,
further, that, within two days' journey of Vaience, a quarrel
arose between her father and some other persons at an inn,
that the day was rainy, and that the maid of the Ukraine
being seized with fear fled across the fields. She afterwards
tried to find her parents, but lost her way. She walked on
next day, and was robbed of her watch by some women
who were working at the vintage. For two days she wan-
dered about, and at last met the charitable lady who sent her
to Marseilles. The maid of the Ukraine wears under her
clothes a pair of long trousers, after the fashion of her coun-
try, and is as natural. Amongst the ten or twelve words of
French wilich she retains, figure those of mort and mourir,
which she pronounces often, to intimate that she will not
survive her frightful misfortunes. She wears round her neck
a medal, on one side of which is a cross, and on the other an
image of the Virgin. When interrogated about Czar Nicholas,
she gave us to understand that she had seen him, that be was
of lofty stature, and had a severe air. She, however, pro-
fesses a great veneration for him. The motives of our col-
lecting together the slightest details of this melancholy story
will be appreciated ; we have acted thus in the hope of re-
storing
this unfortunate girl to her parents, whose cruel
anguish it is easy to imagine."
The same paper, of a later date, states that nothing new
has transpired respecting the young stranger, of whom it has
given so romantic an account, and whom it has surnamed the
" Fair Maid of the Urkaine." She is still under the care of
the Sisters of Charity, one of whom is endeavouring to teach
her French. She is apparently in great distress of mind,
though not yet, the writer in the Semaphore declares, fully
impressed with an idea of the full extent of her melancholy
situation. A young Russian, residing at Marseilles, whose
fame as a linguist is considerable, was brought to see her, and
he declares that the tongue which she speaks is not that of
the inhabitants of the Ukraine. He thinks that she comes
from Greenland, that the name of her father is Pistisutii, and
that the part of Greenland from which she comes is Abraz-
lane. All this is, however, mere conjecture ; the real history
of the young stranger is still unknown.

THE GASTRIC JUICE.—Worms in the alimentary canal
resist the agency of the gastric juice so long as they are
alive ; but when dead they are then subject to the laws which
govern inanimate matter, and are consequently digested or
expelled like the ordinary contents. This fact affords a good
reason for using cold boiled water, as the high temperature
to which it is raised must kill the animalcules that may be
found in this fluid, and thus they are rendered easy of
digestion. It is a remarkable circumstance, first observed
by John Hunter, and referable to the same principle, that
the gastric juice will, when the individual dies, dissolve the
very stomach that bad secreted this powerful solvent, and
had resisted its action when living. The knowledge of this
fact was the means of acquitting an individual accused of
the crime of poisoning.—Philosophy for the Public.
SCENE IN A. LONDON OMNIBUS.—WeII, this London is
a strange place. There is no knowing the gentleman from
the swindler—the man of " ton" from the man of " tun."
Yesterday, returning from the city, in the Strand, an ex-
quisite, bearded like the pard, and a new zephyr cloak for
1842 carelessly flung over his jewelled hand, entered the
omnibus in which were your humble servant. and seven other
ladies. He aped the "lady-killer"—stiff in stock, and
trussed up to the " mode." In a moment I found a hand
passing my waist, and gently descending to my pockets. I
made a slight movement. The exquisite pick-pocket became
alarmed at my discovery, and removed his digits ; hut I re-
mained on the look-out for a second attempt. In a short
time afterwards we bad a new arrival, in the form of a dashing
elderly lady, who was admitted at Piccadilly. Her trip was
short. Near Burlington House she unclasped an ornamented
reticule, then unlocked a splendid purse, well stored with
rare ayes, yclept " Victorias." Taking from amidst these
chirping canaries the needful miler sixpence, she called a halt
at Birlington Arcade. While she extended her hand to the
omnibus mercury, I saw the beau jump quickly from the
vehicle, closing his zephyr about him, and rush hastily up
the Arcade steps. I called out, " Oh, madam, look hale
you your purse; I am sure you have been robbed ?"
" Thank you, ma'm," said she. " Well I never—did you
ever—?" " No, never." Out I bounced, followed by the
victim. We both gave chase. " Stop thief—stop dandy—
there he goes—stop thief !" shouted we. The swindler
turned the corner, and got to Lord Anglesey's house. On
We came, but behind us arose a din similar to the music,
" once heard, ne'er to be forgotten," of some half-score of
donkies in a chorus arranged for the purpose, and forth came
the omnibus guard. " Ladies," said he, " you did not pay
Your sixpences, and you are not going to give us the slip after
that fashion." The fact was, in our hurry to overtake a
swindler, we were ourselves mistaken for a pair, having, in
our hurry, forgotten to pay our fare. We were obliged to
discontinue the pursuit, and the youth in the zephyr escaped,
carrying with him twenty-seven sovereigns.

The following story, related by the Gazette des Tribunaux,
is a new version of a tale given long since in some of the
Paris papers by way of a quiz at John Bull. The Gazette
says 1— 'The English (MM. les Anglais) have now and then
eccentricities to which it is impossible to habitUate ourselves,
alt hough the frequency of our relations has in some measure
made us familiar with their whims. An eccentricity of this
nature has just brought M. Fressart before the Tribunal of
Correctional Police at the suit of Sir Plakett. On the 2d
ult., at six in the evenin M. Fressart entered a restaurant
on the Boulevard du Temple to take his dinner. All the
tables were fully occupied,
except one at which was seated
only a single person, although the table was large enough
for four. M. Fressart politely approached this person, and
asked permission to place himself at the same table. 'Je
voulais Bien tree volontiers,' replied the person addressed,
who was no other than Sir Plakett. M. Fressart took his
seat, and dined tranquilly opposite the Englishman, who
went on eating without saying another word. Sir Plakett,
having finished first, rose, and went to the bar to pay his bill.
An instant afterwards, the waiter who had served M. Fressart
went to him,
and inquired wh hey he would take anything
else, as my lord
was paying the bill for both, and it would
be included at the same, time._
rising
rn
bill 1' •
Y 1 . said M.
, is
hemad ? and, immediately, he went
Fressart ;
to the bar where the Englishman stood, Picking his teeth
and waiting patiently for the bill. 'My lord,' saidid
conceded
to
Fres-
saat, ' I thank you foorrhaving very politely
a portion of your table,but that was quite sufficient, andrel
beg you sill allow me to pay my own bill.' Sir Plakett
re-
plied, ' Sir, I will not suffer it. I know the laws of hospi-
tality, and I will prove to you that they are practised better
in England than in France. You have dined at my table,
and as true as my name is Plakett I will pay your bill.' A
sharp discussion ensued. The Englishman became angry.
The Frenchman laughed, but remained
of the Frenchman,
firm. At leth,
exasperated at the refusal and laughter ng
Sir Plakett struck him a blow on the stomach with his fist.
Furious at this attack, M. Fressart took up a bottle which
was at hand, and struck Sir Plakett with it on the head,
causing him to bleed profusely. The master of the house
now interfered, and separated the combatants.i his Sir Plakett,
however, who had become seriously injured,
lad
com-
plaint before the police authorities, and M. Fressart appeared
to answer the charge. The President of the Tribunal said
to Sir Plakett, ' It was you who provoked M. Fressart.
Why did you strike him ? ' Sir Plakett—Because he refused
to allow me to pay for his dinner, and laughed in my face.
President—His repugnance tO allow you to pay his bill is
easily to be conceived. Sir Plakett —ln England we are
hospitable: if we had been in London under the same cir-
cumstances, and I had dined at his table, I should have al-
lowed him to pay my bill. The President next addressed
the defendant, and lectured him very severely for having,
even with the provocation of a blow, resorted to an act of
such violence as that of which he had been guilty, and which
might have caused death. M. Fressart replied that he was
so excited by the blow that he knew not what he did. He
had laughed until then ; but after receiving a blow, the se-
cret of administering which is known only to the English,
he lost all self-control. He was found guilty, and con-
demnedgmegar 150 francs and the costa.
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