The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1880-01-24
Our Broadbrim Letters.
Death Of Count Johannes His Faith
full Friend-Death and Suicide -Anoth-
or sanctimonious ndrel-Amusing
Street Oar Incident.
New YORK. Jan. II. 1880.

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or Sanctimonious Scoundrel-Amusine
Street-Oar Incident.
NEW YORK, Jan. II, 1880.
EDITOR CHIEF:
1 For the past two weeks the papers
have been full If obituary notices aud
personal "reminiscences If George
Jones, formerly an actor, and for many
years pettifogging lawyer kown as
George, the Count Johannes. As the
life ot this celebrated person has been
prett, we'll ventilated b. the metro
politan press, t" every member III
which he was personally known,
Thought I might pass his death in 81
lence, nor wnnld nov call attention
to it, if it were not tor the tragic and
lromaptic interest wl,icl, attaches to it,
in connection with the tranecendrnt
devotion "f bis late pupil and d,amat
ic supporter. Miss Avunia Fairbanks
Gratitude is, unfortunately in this
world, one. nf the rarest nf virtues. 1t
is an easy matter for any man OF w".
nau tn fird friends when fortune
smiles ul"nn them, hut when poverty
aud sickness and misfortune come.
thtn j. thu crucial test nf friendship.
and Miss Fairbanks has passed
'hrmgh this trying ".tleal in a man
u-r that " il! r-fer, honor on her sex
for all time. Count Johannes war
neal, s-ventN four Years nf age. and
wv j,,g to some mental nul,alnpcr ht.
had been, liz this great city. 3 sort Of
social "utcnst He was singular
com binati"n; his manners aud habits
were those "f an -ducatrd, cultivated
g+r,lenn", shabby it is true, hut still
=. n'c.l; his conversation was ente,
taining, smooth and polished lie
neither drank 10, smoked, nor sW"re,
and iu this respect might bavt served
as II model for some of tb"st. eminent
Christian clerg, men Nh" have lo',t
80 much IL the past Year to bring re-
ligiun iDto disgrace. Miss Fairbanks
is Il woman not more than tbirt. years
Of age, and wishing to distinguish
herself npnn the dramatic stage, she
wrote tn the Count for instruction
This he undertook To give her, and
| the pair appeared together in Il series
Of performances. which will long be
remembered by the people Of New
York. They were pelted and hm'ted
l,A The ra.l.le of the metropolis, aud
for many weeks they excited II fnr",e
" l,,rh has rarely l,ten Witnessed i"
the city. For more than one hundred
rights Miss Fairbanks shared the
ss6. III .f aht,se aud ridicule which was
l+.-l-d at the Count, aud "n many &c.
ca~i"us abe fea. lessly rxp"srd herself
TO- save her nOt,le friend from danger.
The novelty Of their eccentric per.
tn,n,aDce soon died away, and with
the failure Of their histlinnic aepira
tin,s came poverty and sOre distress !;
il was IN this dark aud trying hour
that the devntinu of this true u ~Oman
| was tested, az wOmall's devotion has
seldom lnpn tried before, and che
came through th+ fire like gold seven
times refined. After a long season of
pinching poverty, dnring which they
were reduced t" the direst straigl'ts,
at last her friend lay dying. He WAS
deserted by all who had ever known
him in this great city, except this de-
voted woman. who, for long days and
nights sat by his dying conci', keep
ing her sad vigil, and at last, all alone,
she closed his eyes IN that sleep which
knows 20 waking here, and then went
out, wandering pilgrim, into the
freezing, ~intry streets, to beg enough
to give her dead friend decent sepul
ture Had it not been for her untir
irg efforts, he might have lain in Pot
ter's Field, among thousands Of un-
named paupers; out the sharp cry of
agony, sent np by this poor creature,
reached the hard hearts of men, till
enough has been collected to give him
y grave and a monument in Maple
Grove Cemetery.. It. is strange to
think that in this very city, where he
died so friendless and poor, forty
years ago lie was favnrite actor,
the glass of fashion and the mould
ot form" At that time he Was one oi
the handsomest men in the town, and
his w;fe war one Of the luveliest wo-
men both Of his daughters were tai
eDted. and his youngest, Avonia, VIII.
married Gustavs Brooke, was an ac-
t1ess eminent in her profession bnt,
towards middle life, he seemed to lose
his mental balance his idiosy Ecracy
was. to be considered nobleman, an
hallucination ha' mless enough in it.
self, yet it made him the butt of scores
of vsgabond Bohemians, who often
earned supper aud lodging BY penpine
libelous articles ON this poor dis
traught, "the latcl,ete of whose shoes