The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1875-10-07
A GIRLS LIVELY IMAGINATION.
A Tale Full o. Drollery---What of
Taking little Sips of
Brandy.

The Paris correspondence of the
London Daily Telegraph contains the
following A tale of drollery comes from
Cambria. On Saturday night prodigious
alarm reigned i'll that city. The teie-
graph worked without ceasing, and
mounted gendarmes careered in every
direction Their orders were to stop a
van clearly described, in which would be
found several acrobats and three kidnap-
ped children. A little girl escaped had
given the alarm. She came home very
late, dreadfuily bruised, her eyes black
ened, ard scarcely able to walk. A big
dog, to which she was much attached,
led her. The parties and neighbOrs,
greatly disturbed, asked an explanation,
which, with tears and spasms and mental
agony, the little girl delivered. She
was playing on the glacis with her dog
when van came past. The fair of
Cambria has lately taken place, attended
by many acrobats and gymnasts, and the
van belonged to a party of these. a
woman got out as it stopped on the
glacis and seized the child. In spite of
her struggles she was handed over to a
man, who took her up and put her in the
vehicle There she recognized three
other children belonging 10 She town.
The man i>u5 oostie II her mouth, and
made her drink, so.ns o:,ia5s, no doubt.
But the d = .ild stJ,,k - his mistress,
and she had MOI lei g tho chain. Be-
tween them they I'raFess5ad the door
being shut, and presently the faithful
cur dragged Lis mistress ont, and she
fell into the road, L-ulAlng herself, as
could plainly be seen. The van people
didn't wait for such troublesome victim
but hurried Oft. This story was much
interrupted by the fainting fits of the
mother When she could be safely left
half a dozen jealous neighbors hurried
to the police office. The Commissioner
arrived and heard the little martyr for
himself Then ensued that galloping of
gendarmes which [ mentioned. There
We're persons incredulous, of course, for
such things always are everywhere. To
the anger and disgust of the city these
people pointed out that the fair had bro
ken up ten days before that not a van
or an acrobat had been beheld in the
last week. Reused to more aggressive
incredulity by the the wrath of true be-
levers, they declared the little girl to
be a little story-teller. After this no one
would talk TO them any more, and in
Coventry they reflected on their wicked
ness. But the worst of it is the calumpi-
ators are proved right. The naughty
little girl confesses that she found a bot
tie of brandy, that she gave glass of it
to heI brother, and took the rest upon
the glaeis with her dog. Then she sip
ped and slipped, in the blaze of sunshine
until, in fact, she could sip no more,
but rolled among the stones, to her
great damage. And then she went to
sleep and dreamed all that story of the
van. Waking, with dreadful headache
and two black eyes, she wondered how
to explain these accidents to her mother.
The dream came handy for this purpose,
and was used. But now the parents call
ed her story-teller, and treated her ac-
cordingly. With needless emphasis
they protested that brandy had never
entered their house. The Commissioner
of Police was struck with such warmth
OF denial. He called the little girl again,
and she wept sore in hopeless puzzle be-
tween her own falsehood and her moth
er's. So the Commissioner took on HIM
self to make a perquisition, and quaint
ty of brandy did he find, of which no
satisfactory account was forthcoming
There seem to be several morals that
attach TO this little story