Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1868-09-24
was, seriously injured, hcogal mo tn

Voc 'SSAfOuotN ii.iotSh,l DSSEcU lllc 10
come and accept his mistress ex-
cuse. Turning around, saw luxu-
riously on the carriage cushion, a
beautiful creature, whose black eyes
rested on me with interest. Buried
10 velvet mantilla, and wearing a
round hat adorned with floating
feather, she he'll out her right hand
(which she had hastily ungloved) to
me, and held the reins in her left
hand. After / told her who l was,
she said: "Ah. you are newspaper
writer and frenchman. l am de-
lighted. Menkin's horses have had
the honor to knock you down. Cant
you come this evening to take tea
with me in my dressing-ro room at Asst
ley's theater, where l am playing Ma
zcppa?" l bowed. She gave her
horses a heavy blow, and drove rap
idly OFF. Three hours afteaward she
told me. between two acts, the his
tory OF her life, which everybody
now is familiar with. Everybody
knows she possessed smattering
of all human knowledge. She knew
and talked on every subject with
giddying facility, from tho dialects
of the New World to the trancen-
dental mathematics, from Latin to
philosophy, from versification to
theology. The astonishing traits OF
this rare nature lay in some weak.
ncsses, or rather some vices inhe-
rent in the character Of women who
have lost caste, and of ordinary
men. After discussing the. immor-
tally of the soul and the divine es-
scnce Of jehovah, Miss Menkin
would confess she was over lead
and ears ir love with an Irish Prize
fighter, and she would interrupt the
most abstract quotations from Greek
sophists or Hebrew dogmas to toss
off glasses of brandy with the glut
tony of drunken hostIcr. While
she showed off to me her mind and
soul, she changed costume, and let
me see, without modest and with.
out embarrassment, the marvellous
beauty Of her body. She showed
me the trace of the balls she had re-
ceived in war, and lifting up a tress
OF black hair, which she dropped on
my brow with thoroughly feminine
art, she begged me to feel the depth
Of the scar left on her head BY a
hatchct- She admitted she was the
blind slave of her passions, and
tiaced to heaven the dcplorable de-
lights found in the satisfaction of
the guiltlcst appetites. She was a
Jewcss. and yet her beauty had moth
ing oriental about it. Her black
eyes, edged with long lsshes, had
gamutof characteristic expressions
like finger board with a series of
notes of different tonalities. Her
eyes expressed anger, love, ferocity. |
ecntleness. Her nose had the aspi- |
rations Of the wild beast; it somc-
times invited kisses and sometimes |
made threats, or gave insults. As |
for Lcr body, imagine not the body |
classical Venus, modern Venus
round, obtrusive, almost thick out
lines. Her flesh was frln but slight
Ia tanned by the climates in which
she had lived, and also by the VIC. !
lent exercises in which she had in
dulged since her childhood. As
soon rs she reached Paris she sent
me her address. forgot what pre-
vented me from going to see her.
Nevertheless, one day cont ived to
call on her. i found her in a fourth
class hotel giving the last touches
y volume of poetry which her Lon
don publishers imperiously demand
eel of her. and OH the table lay I'M
finished the sheet of n political let
ter destined to some newspaper q !
in the United States. She always
wore long, white tunic spotted
with the ashes of cigarettes, which
never quitted her lips. she always
had around her people who lived on
her: chambermsiis, female friends,
and Americans O. mcorkcdI her
champagne and cmpticd her brandy
bottles. assure YOU none OF them
were ahead of her in these exercises.
She spoke with enthusiasm one day
OF an idea of Al. Dumas. sr., ard
one of VI. Dugues pieces. With the
hope of playing the parts skctched
in these projected works she studied
French, which she spoke with diff
Guilty, but which she wrote quite
well. Her dressing-room at the
Gate theatre was quite elegant. She
had stipulated in her engagement she
should have drawing room to re.
ceive yisits, might smoke and might
serve tea to her friends. The last
time saw Miss Menkin was two
since in the hotel in the Rue
Conmartin, where her funeral took
place. She wrote to me \ note to-
say she was i'll and | called OIL her
one afternoon. She said To me with
4 very sad smile: My poor dear
boy, feel | am very ILL.," When |
tested with her about her apprchen-
lions, although the great change
which had taken place in her fca.
Inres filed me with the worst fore
Dodings, she replied: Il have rccciy
ed my death wounl. ] AIN lost to
lrt ana ta life She fetched i re-
signed sigh and added: After all |
nave lived more than woman of n
years, SO it is but justice i
should go where they carry old peo-
PIE" l succeeded in giving her
some confidence, but the idea of
leath continued to return in her con ,
She said: You have }
never w itten an article about me. /
Make haste, for il die L shall not :
read ii i rellied: "Don-t talk of )