The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-09-04

music, in which the turbulent life anl
buoyancy of bacchanalian strains meltet
gently. almost imperceptibly, away into
a sobeing wall of regret and languol
and WEAKNESS and despair. 1t Wal
beautifully rendered, and made a grea
impression upon the guests, one o.
whom. a lady, cried, GLOW lovely how
sad Did you compose that yourself
Nj. de Lasa ?" He looked towards hel
absentlv for an instant, then replied
CT? Oh no. That is merely q remi
niscence, madam" "Do you know who
did compose it, NJ de Lssa?' inquired
virtuoso present. 81 believe it was
originally written by Ptolemy Athletes
the father of Cleopatra" said Nj. de
Lasa, in his Indifferent, musing way
"but not in its present form. 1t has
been twice rewritten, to my knowledge
still, the air is substantially the same.
"From whom did you get it, M. de
Lasa, if I may ask j" persisted the gen
tleman. Certainly certainly The
last time heard it-played was by Sc
bastian Bach /; but that was Palestrina'f
the present-version. think 1 pre-
fer that of Guido Arezzo-it is ruder,
but has more force. Igot the air from
Guido himself" "You-from-Guid 7
cried the astounded gentleman. eyes,
Monsieur" answered De Lasa, rising
from the piano with his usual Indifferent
air. "Mo,a Dieu!" cried the virtuoso,
putting his hand to his head after the
manner of Twemlow. "Mon Dieu!
that was in Ammo Domini 1922 r ga
little later than that-July, 1881, if
remember rightly" courteously correct
ed NJ. de Lasa.
At this moment the tall footman
bowed befc re M. Delessert, and pre-
sented the salver containing the card.
Delessert took it and read " On voats
accorde trente- cling secondes, NJ. Fla.
Dry, tout au 7ofus!" Delessert followed
the footnan from the salon across the
corridor. The footman opened the door
of another roam and bowed again, sig
nifying that Delessert was to enter.
"Ask no questions" said he briefly ;
"Sidi is q mute" Delessert entered
the room and the door closed behind
him. It was a small room with a strong
smell of trankincense pervading it.
The walls were covered completely with
red hangings that concealed the win
dows, and the floor was felted with a
thick carpet. Opposite the door, at the
upper end of theroom near the ceiling,
W86 bu6 ldCc VI y 1alk0 CAOOA uAoOA AoS
each lighted by tall wax candles, were
two small tables, containing, the one an
apparatus very like the common regis
tering telegraph instrument, the other
o crystal globe about twenty inches
in diameter, set upon an e1quisitely
wrought tripod of gold and bronze in
man jet black in color, wearing white
- or6 hoU Govt
of wand of silver in one hand. With
the other he took Delessert by the right
arm, above the elbow, and led him
quickly up the room. He pointed to
the clock, and it struck an alarm he
pointed to the crystal. Delessert bent
over, looked into it, and saw-a fac
smile of his own sleeping room, every
thing photographed exactly. She did
not give him time to explain, but, still
holding him by the arm, took him to
the other table. The telegraph-like in
strument began to click.click. Sidi
opened a drawer, drew out a slip of
paper, crammed it into Delessert's hand
and pointed to the clock, which struck
again. The thirty-6ve seconds were
expired. Sidi, still retaining hold of
Delessert's arm, pointed to the door
and led him towards it. The door
opened, Sidi pushed him out, the door
closed, the tall footman stood there
the interview with the oracle
was over. Delessert glanced at the
piece of parer in his hand. It was
o printed scrap, capital letters, and read
"To M. Paul Delessert The
policeman is. always welcome; the spy
always in danger r.
Delessert was dumbfounded a mo-
ment to find his disguise detected, but
the words of the tall footman, "This
way, if you please, NJ. Flabry," brought
him to his senses. Setting his lips, he
returned to the salon, and without delay
sought NJ. de Lasa. "Do you know
the contents of this ?" asked he, show
ing the message. "I know everything,
M. Delessert," answered De Lasa in his
careless way. "Then perhaps you ere
aware that mean to expose q charlatan
and unmask an hypoorite. or perish in
the attempt I" said Delessert. "Cela
M est egol, monsieur" replied De Lasa.
" You accept my challenge, then ?"
" Oh ! it is a defense, then !" replied De
Lasa, letting his eye rest q moment upon
Deleesert; "nsais oui, je poccezter"
And thereupon Delessert departed.
Delessert now set to work, aided by
all the forces of the project of police
could bring to bear to detect and expose
this consummate sorcerer, whom the
ruder processes of our ancestors would
easily have disposed of-by combura-
ton. Persistent inquiry satisfied De-
lessert that the man was neither an
nor named De Lasa that no
matter how far back his power of
{" "Reminiscences might extend, in his
present and immediate form he had
been born in this unregenerate world in
the toy-making city of Nurnberg; that
he was noted in boyhood for his great
surn for ingenious manufacturer, but
was very wild, and a nsauvais sujet
In his sixteenth year he had escaped to
Geneva and apprenticed himself to a
maker of watches and instruments.
Here he had been seen by the celebrated
Robert Houdin, the 7orestidigitateur.
recognizing the lads talents,
and being himself q maker of ingenious
had taken him off to Paris
md employed him in his own work
shops, as well as an assistant in the
public performances of his amusing and
curious diablerie. After staying with
Houdin some years, Pfock Haslich
which was De Lasa's right name) had
gone east in the suite of a Turkish
pasha, and after many years rowing in
ands where he could not be traced
1nder a cloud of pseudonyms, had
inally turned up in Vienna, and come
hence to Paris.
Delessert next turned his attention to
Nine. de Lasa, 1t was more difficult
% get clue by means of which to know
Ter past life; but it was necessary in
rider to understand enough about Has
ich. At last, through an accident, it
probable that Nine. Aimee was
IDENTICAL with a certain Nine. Schlaff,
Who had been rather conspicuous among
he denai monde of Buda. Delessert
,osted off to that ancient city, and from
hence went into the wilds Of Transyl-
'ania to Medgycs. On his return, as
Don as he reached the telegraph and
civilization, he telegraphed the project
from Kardszag): "Don't lose sight OF
ny man, nor let him leave Paris.
viii run him in fer you two days after I
,et back"
1t happened that, on the day Of De-