Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1869-11-12

him. BE only presented the yellow skin,
the curled hair, and some of the less of
fensive traits of the African type. At frs,
my hostess had probably not observed
the man in the hall. But could clearly
see that when her eyes met his flaming
looks, 1t seemed as if her whole frame
trembled under bis influence. When the
waltz was at an end, she would dance nc
more, and soon retired.
1t was midnight when the dancers per-
mitted me to quit playing, and soon al
was silent in the house. The Colonel
had not yet returned when l had pre-
pared my night toilet. / walked up aud
down in my room for about twenty min.
utes, and was just lying down, when ]
heard knock at the entrance door oi
the hall Instinctively I opened my
door, and saw the mulatto gliding down
stairs with candle in his hand like a
ghost; but when he had reached the last
step, he commenced to tramp on the
Aoor with certain vehemence, as if he
intended to deceive any listener as to
whence he came, before he reached the
front part of the hall.
The Colonel had arrived. The mulatto
showed him to his room, and l, after
havisg formed a great many romantic
combinations about what / had observed
that evening, slept the sleep of thor
oughly tired man.
Ipass over some days Of my sojourn in
that place. After having performed my
official work, took leave Of the Colonel,
who had treated me with the utmost
courtesy during my stay at his headquar-
ters. The night before leaving took
supper with him. He was very affable
and courteous towards myself and his
wife, and yet it seemed as IL heavy
cloud rested on his brow. He forced
himself-so at least it seemed to me-to
talk of literature, and quite abruptly be
expressed his doubts whether there was
anything like historical reality at the
bottom Of Shakspeare's Moor of Venice.
His wife kept good oountenance during
this discussion, but her husband i'm
pressed me with the idea that he had
some hidden intention in dwelling with
so much emphasis on this topic. Had
I been the father of Desdemona," he said /;
II had killed the Moor and cut the ears
off my degenerate daughter" After this
a certain chill pervsded the entertain.
ment and retired. The next morning |
started on board the steamer, and coon
forgotth the whole affair.
Years passed on. Yesterday | found
the following story in letter written by
a German correspondent of the Cincin-
natl Volksblatt. The correspondent
says that be extracted it from the
Gaulois, one of the great newspapers of
Paris: IA few days ago, an American
lady left the Grand Hotel, in which she
had boarded for more than three weeks.
She was spoken of in the fashionable
world as the woman with her ears cut of.
Only the ears were wanting to complete
her most extraordinary beauty. She
hid the deformity by heavy ribbons tied
around the cheeks. She lost them during
the late war, not as an Amazon, but be-
cause, during the absence of her hus-
band, a Colonel in the army of the North,
she entertained an illicit intercourse
with one of her servants. FouRd in
fagrante, she was at the mercy of her
husband. He dismissed the servant, cut
off her ears, and banished her from his
home. Being wealthy herself, she could
endure her il-fste, especially as her ac-
compice kept faithful to her. He is a
mulstto. She has travelled with him over
Europe, aud now intends to settle at
Stuttgart"
We're these the persons of the family
drama in that little village of Kentucky
in 1862 / am not certain of it, but IT
impresses me as if it could not be other
wise I.