Osage Valley banner., 1881-10-27
THE TWENTY-FIVE HATS.
A French Passengers story.


He was a Frenchman-no doubt
about that. He was very pleasant
fellow no doubt about that, either
But what his occupation might be was
q puzzler to us all. A sailor he could
never have been, as any one could see
by his unsteady walk on deck, and his
very poor performance at dinner the
first day out from Lisbon.
He was too polite for Government
official, too quiet and thoughtful for a
commercial traveller, too well irformed
for a newspaper correspondent, too
grammatical and refined in his language
for popular author.
From certain iauntiness in his air
and manner. and the semi-military cut
of his short, gray moustache, some of
our party were inclined to set him down
as retired army officer; but the sud-
den start with which he clapped his
hands to his ears when the signal-gun
was fred close to him, was quite suiii-
oient TO knock that theory on the head.
1t was in rather curious fashion
that the truth came out at last. On the
third afternoon (when we we're already
well down the African Coast toward
the Cape Verd islands, Monsieur
Cartier suddenly stopped short in a
series Of very entertaining anecdotes
about various European celebrities
whom he seemed to have known quite
well, and stared fixedly straight before
him, as if he had seen a ghost.
looked somewhat anxiously in the
same direction, expecting to see, at the
very least, the ship on fire or somebody
falling overheard; but nothing was to
be seen more remarkable THAI very
sickly-looking saloon passenger crawl
ing up the cabin-hatchway for the first
time since we started. He was certain
ly quite pale enough to have passed for
a ghost, but ] could see nothing else
about him TO justify my genial compan-
ions excitement.
In another moment however, | no.
ticed that Cartier eyes were fixed not
upon the sick man S face, but upon his
hat, which was certainly very extra
ordinary head-gear for the open sea
1t was o genuine 'stove- pipe" rs ever
blew OF in high wind, but all of a
Light mOuse-color. and curying down
ward both in front and behind, as res
olutely rs il some one had sat down
upon it.
Cartier eyed it with the startled air OF
one suddenly meeting an old acquaint-
ance in very unlikely place, and l
could hear him mutter:
That's the first OF the sort that I've
seen since ! made twenty-five of them
myself, the year of the Paris Exhibit
tion.
$50 thought /, 1.-THE murders out
at last; this mysterious old gentleman is
neither more nor less than a halter.
nj. Cartier" added, aloud, "I'm sure
there's some good story connected with
that hat and nobody can tell one better
than yourself II it's not asking too
much, would you oblige me by doing
soP'
"Wen," said the old gentleman,
laughing, II should have thought
had bCred you enough for one day al.
ready with my "reminiscences. It's not
every young fellow who would listen
SO patientlyto an old man 5 ramblings'
If AL oldmer 'ramble' like YOU, my
dear sir, | shall certainly make the nc
quaintance OF as many as possible Now
viii you oblige meen
"Well, II really is a curious story; so
If you're so good as to be Interested ii
It, ifs at your service
" In the spring of 1867, a little be
fore the opening OF the Paris Exhibi
tion, had Just moved into q new shoy
in the Rue Saint Honore, and was do
ing pretty fair business, though per
haps not quite so good as l had OK
peoted.
But one day business had been un
usually slack, and was beginning I.
be rather put out about il, when, to
ward afternoon. in came fine-lookinl
gentleman. dressed in the height OF th1
fashion, saving that he wanted som,
hats made after pattern OF bis own
TO be ready by certain day. Ther,
were 10 bs twenty-five of them IN all
and the pattern that he gave me wa,
exactly the same as the hat Of that gen
tleman yonder,
alt struck me at the time as rathel
an odd idea. for although the shap'