The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-03-28

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thought of the matter. This recalls 10
my mind m incident which many viii
now remember.
On the l4th of July, 1862, Prof.
Croftly was found dead in the bath
room I have just mentioned. Croftiy
was well known among scientific men
as q professor of chemistry, and, be-
sides, had large circle Of acquaintance
in this city. He was supposed at the
time to have committed suicide, and
his death furnished three days sensa-
ton for the press. The accounts in
four leading newspapers materially con-
ficted, which made the matter all the
more interesting to the public. ALI
agreed, however, with a singular una
nimity of opinion, that he was dead.
Even the Call, while not positively ad-
hitting his demise in the article, VIZ
tually conceded it in the head Lines.
Croftly, when found, was lying in the
bath, covered with wounds of curious
nature that no one could explain how
they came to be inflicted. They were
deep, ragged and gaping, and there was
no instrument found in the room with
which they might have been made.
Even the detectives who visited the
scene of Croftly's death shook their
heads and were at sea. Those who dis
covered the body found the door SCI
curely fastened from the inside, and
were obliged to burst it open. The
room had no other means Of egress or
ingress.
"Suicidel" remarked one of the re-
porters.
How came those wounds on the
neck? !" asked detective.
"Who else was here?" responded a
journalist. And neither man had any
thicg more to say.
A post norton revealed nothing new,
except that the physicians found state
of the blood which they could not salts
factorily account for.
He was frozen" said young physi-
Gil, whose opinion seemed to have Its
foundation only In surmise.
"You seem to have forgottenthat this
is july" remarked an elderly gentle
man connected with university.
The newspapers We'd with each other
in building up ingenious theories ac-
counting for the affair, the Coroner's
jury found a verdict of suicide, for want
of anything better, and the remains
were buried.
The reader who desires to get q more
detailed account of the affair-as relat-
ed at the time-can do so by referring
to the files of any of the city papers of
that date. In fact, would produce
them here, did space permit. The main
thing, however, is to clear up the mys-
terry of Croftly' remarkable death.
He came to the coast in 1860, and
was reputed to be man of sufficient
means to live handsomely on the in
terest of his money. He stopped q
while at the Oriental Hotel, and there
met Edward Dean, young man who,
like himself, was gentleman of leisure.
The two became intimate, and finally,
tired of hotel life. they determined to
seek quarters which would be more con-
genial and home-hke. They found
these quarters at the residence of Rich
ard Armstrong, mutual acquaintance,
who lived in very desirable quarters on
the corner of Mason and California
streets. Before the costly habitations
of Stanford, Croker, and other million
aires sprung into existence, Armstrong;
house came very near being called q
mansion. Armstrong rented Croftly
and Dean three elegant rooms, partly
because he liked the men personally,
and partly because he was running on a
pretty close margin financially. The
two found their new quarters as attrac-
tive as men of taste could wish. Arm
strong was widower, and the three
men had some rare old times together
evenings. His cellar was stocked with
excellent wines, and his library with
books of the very rarest vintage of liter
ature.
One evening hack drove up to the
door, and a woman, clad in wraps,
bounded up the steps with astonishing
vigor and agility, like most Western
girls who are blessed with good health
and animal spirits. She dashed into the
hall in style that sent perceptible
tremor through the house, and fell into
old Armstrong; arms A fusilade of
kisses followed.
1t was his daughter Alice.
Next morning the usual formalities of
introduction were gone through, and
Miss Armstrong became one of the
fixtures of the place. A few days before
her arrival Prof. Croftly had suggested
the idea of living somewhat nearer the
center of the city. After Miss Arm
strong entered the house, however, no
further allusion was made to the pro-
posed removal. The pr ofessor began
to pay Miss Armstrong the most devout
attention, and, as matter of course,
she fell madly in love with young Dean.
1t is generally conceded that one of the
most effective ways of wooing woman
is to let some other man do it. The
woman tires of the indefatigable lover,
and the man who treats her with indif-
ference is soon preferred. Some men
learn this by experience; Dean discov-
cred 1t by accident.
He presently began to turn his knowl-
edge to excellent account, and bitter
rivalry sprung up between the two men,
Croftly soon realized that he was not
the favorite, and never for the life of
him could ascertain how a woman could
! form an attachment for a man who
| hadn't tho rapootaat i1oo of oh o;,t ~,