New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-06-19

. as much as he pleased in such cpinci
!, dences; for my part decidedly object tt
being made a-portion of any sort O
phenomenon. l had read of very I'M
pleasant consequences following personal
resemblances, and earnestly hoped tina
this individual, whom nature, short o
moulds at the time, had undoubtedly cas-
in mine, wouldspeedily clear the neighbor
hood of his presence. .gg .~sz.gsg.s q
"A week or two after this, in taking a
walk across beautiful bit Of adjacent
country, suddenly encountered my like
ness seated on rustic bench beneath 8
tree, with his, arm circliBg the waist Of a
very beautiful peasant girl. Her skin, of
q pure and cream-Iike tint finely contrasted
the beautiful luxuriance OF her black
hair. go -" - 80 ,..-.l..@-.
Her eyes flashed upon me as I passed.
and I noticed her, draw herself erect with
rand hauteur, as if indignant or impatient
Of detection.rl The man BY her side. Who
would have passed very well for me to any
other person bat smy mother and myself,
still maintained his earessing attitade.'@
He did not condescend to raise his eyes
to me as passed, but kept them fixed upon
the face Of the girl, who. could see,
| W8tcucO W0 Will 0HCCAOS "a SuAAcA Cu6SA.
ness, as if wishing me well out Of sight.
As I passed them must confess to bav-
ing experienced a momentary sensation of
envy Of the man. Since Nature has put
him in my skin. I thought, it seems only
fair that should put myself in his shoes.
For all know, I reflected the beautiful
peasant girl might have been originally
designed for me; but the intention of ma
ture has been defeated by her love Of coin.
cidence. Ilaughed at my thoughts as l
walked on, and then, turning corner, I
lost sight of the lovers.
On reaching the bottom Of the lane /
had fallen upon a cd de sac. The pas
sage terminatedin q series of fields, across
which could discover no footpath. I
had no wish to be arrested far trespassing,
80 I decided on returning the way had
come. 80
On sighting the bench I found it was
deserted. I was not sorry. I would by
no means have disliked another peep at
the beautiful brunette; but at the same
time / had no ambition to inspire the
couple with the notion that l was watch
had got to the top Of the hill, and was
passing between row OF thick bushes,
making a sort of natural hedge for broad
area Of trees, like q gigantic park. when i
was suddenly startled by the report of
pistol, discharged to my left. At the
same moment IJheard the hollow sound of
ball striking my hat, and that article of
dress rolled to the ground. ..,--
looked round with a pale face. The
attack was horribly sudden. Who, in
the name of heaven, wanted my life! For
what crime was my blood demanded?
What had 1 donee saw the blue smoke
curling in from the densest portion of the
bushes and heard the cracking of the
furze and twigs, caused by the hasty flight
Of some one. t -- v.--
picked up my hat. The ball had
passed clear through it. Had it struck
two inches lower it would have entered
my skull. ''-
fastened toward the town, possessed
with much the same sort of enviable feel
ings as you might imagine a Tipperary
landlord or agent would feel who sees
threats of his life carved on every other
tree. Bravery in a situation Of this sort
was quite out Of the question. Of what
use is pluck when you have to deal with
invisible foes. eH 81 -a7 sdi SEW
I might almost confess to having broken
into downright fight as neared the town,
so extremely anxious was to escape the
vicinity of every sheltering bush, tree Or
hedge in the neighborhood. "a
Ga gaining my hotel I began to reflect
on my narrow escape. I had been too
much excited to attach to it the signifi-
canoe it demanded. But the hole in my
hok nruvnvn1 xbo nct chuJJa~;,,~ i, Gov
nation of my narrow escape Beyond all
reasonable doubt my life within that hour
had only been worth two paltry inches.
repeated the question to myself, "Who
wants my life? And il anybody wants II,
what are his claims? What have done to
merit assassination 2"
Being wholly unable to answer these
queries, I resolved to make confident of
my host, the hotel keeper. l called him
to my room, and told him what had hap
pened. He shrugged his shoulders as he
exclaimed: 2" -+' -.-- 500
''Monsieur, like the rest of mankind,
must pay the penalties of making love-"
"But,' said l. shocked at his sanqtro;d,
81 have not made love. Since have been
here, am not conscious of even having
looked at woman, much less spoken to
one"
"Then it is an enigma" he replied.
"The only solution that can offer YOU
| ls-you have been mistaken for some one
else."
"Mon Dteu 7" I replied. "You have un-
doubleday hit the mark. I have been
mistaken, and l know for whom. Have
lyou not seen a man in this town who
bears striking resemblance to me-"
No" was the answer.
"Wsll, my friend. | have. TIE mr. mont
saw hp felt uncomfortable. II was a
presentment OF evil Obligs me by letting
me nave yoox Dill. i shall 60 to Paris to-
night II snip here another day. NV life
which l left Eaglaud to fortify. will he
snuffed out like candle" "
The hotel keeper, seeing matters come
toa point that affectedhis interest, endeav-
ored to laugh down my dopbts. =
He argued that the ball in my hat might
have been destined for bird; that it was
the shot of some wretched marksman,
who night have mistaken my hat for a
crow. 80
"That may be all very well, p I answered,
shut suffer me to tell you that your ex-
cuse only makes me more resolute to leave
the place-for of what value is a mans
life in a district which abounds with
sportsmen who can mistake hat for a
| crow"
A train left for Paris at 2:25. It was an
express and found it to be due at eight
o'clock. l dispatched my portmanteau by
q porter to the station, and having twenty
minutes before me. sat down to light re-
past of cold fowl and vin ordinaire. The