The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1879-11-14
Death or Cora Pearl.

Emma Crutch, better known as Cora
Pearl, the first horsewoman of the sec
ond empire, is dead at the age of fifty
years The genesis of this pleasing per-
sonage is uncertain. Her own story of
her birth and early life varied with her
auditor, and was romantic or prosaic as
was prompted by the fancy of the mo-
ment. Certainly she was an English wo-
man probably she was the daughter OF
respectable music dealer, whose shop
was in Regent street. Being disowned
by her parents, and being driven out OF
England by prosecution for debt, she
took up her abode in Paris in the days
when the second empire was in the full
flood of it's artificial prosperity. She had
not handsome face, but she had fine
figure, and she rode superbly. Liter
ally, she galloped into notoriety in Paris,
and under the rule of the third Napoleon
notoriety was fame. Her great conquest
was Jerome Napoleon, whom she captured
whilst out with the Princes staghounds
at Mendon-riding to hounds and riding
to hearts were pretty much the same
thing with this cheerful young person.
Counts many and Dukes few served
also in her train, and stray Americans
possessed of large fortunes were permit
ted to purchase her smiles at the ruling
rates of the market. The ruling rates of
the market uniformly were high. With
the Franco-Prussian war and the COM
mune the star of Cora's destiny paled;
and as she was growing to be an oldish
woman by this time it never again
recovered its brilliancy. Astronomically
speaking, she reached the point of
her highest ascension simultaneously
with the empire-that is to say,
in 1867 the exhibition year. It was in
this year that she played Cupid in the
opera of "Orphee aux Enters" dressing
the part extensively, tastefully, but not
excessively, in a zone and necklace of
diamonds After the wreck of the empire
Cora returned to Paris-.having been tenn
porarily domiciled in London-and gath
cred together the remnant of her court.
But it was a dark time in Paris; she was
growing old; her titled friends no longer
were numerous, and the few left to her
were far less friendly than of yore. But
she was rich, for, with commendable
prudence, she had garnered her harvest
while the sun still shone. Under this
combination of circumstances the time
seemed favorable for her turning devo-
tee. However, young Duval, the rich
proprietor of the many cheap eating
butcher, his father, appeared upon the
quently, and always in four fgures-was
needed All Paris laughed at this con-
quest that the industrious Cora had
made in the youth of her old age, and
Cora laughed, too, for the francs that she
was winning were plentiful and real.
When the francs were all gone she
dropped the butchers son as she would
have dropped an orange that she had
squeezed dry. The butchers son being
refused admission to her apartment, in
continently shot himself upon the
threshold. This was in Christmas week,
1879. The upshot of the affair was that
Cora was ordered out of France. Since
that time she has drifted about Europe,
leading not very satisfactory life; for
the never very great charm of her per-
son has stalled with custom and withered
sadly with age.
A CENTENARIAN SMoKER.-We lately
chronicled the death of a stout centena-
rian in the Isle of Skye, an old woman,
but the really stoldest inhabitant'' is only
now dead, and she, too, was Scotch, Mrs.
Margaret Robertson, or Duncan, died
| two days since OF Coupar Angus in her
107th year. She was born in Glensee,
we are told, in 1773, and had lived under
the reign of three British Kings and one
Queen. Until about six or eight years
ago she retained possession of her facul-
| ties, but then she became blind, and,
| about year since, bedridden. She was
| very intelligent, it is stated, and talked
| in terms of becoming scorn of the poor,
feeble creatures who could not manage
to live longer than paltry eighty or
| ninety years, which, she declared, "nae
age ava" (Anglice, ''at all''). But how
| did this seasoned old dame, it may be
asked, manage to stop" the century in
| longevity? For one thing she was de-
voted smoker. The clay pipe was con-
stantly in her mouth, and she repudiated
| the notion that it could do her any harm.
| When spoken to about the injurious
effects of the tobacco, her invariable an
swer was, "I've smoked a. my days. It's
has plenty time to dae me ill, and it's
never socht" (sought). Mrs. Duncan's s
deduction from her long experience will
| be admitted to be perfectly sound, and
every smoker will refer with pleasure to
the tough old lady, of Coupar Angus as a
conclusive proof of the antiseptic proper
ties of his fayorite weed. London Tele-
graph.
A GRATEFUL COUNTRY. we are
informed that the expenses of funeral
of an English soldier in Zululand are de-