Sharp County record., 1883-08-16

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Breaking through a glass door, she
dabbled herself in blood, and in a rag
ing fit of delirium cast herself upon the
King. The latter, who was not aware
of the hopelessness of her lunacy, was
so horrifed at the appearance of a
woman clad only in linen and covered
with blood that he imagined. with a
superstition characteristic of the age,
that it was the White Lady, whose
ghost, according tO-time- -honored tradi-
ton, invariably appeared when death
was around the house of Brandenburg.
He was seized with a fever and died in
six weeks.
More ridiculous was the death of the
French Marshal, De Montrevel, "whose
whole SOUL" says St. Simon, twas but
ambition and lucre, without ever hav-
ing been able to distinguish his right
hand from his left, but cOncealing his
universal ignorance with an audacity
which favor, fashion and birth protect
ed.' He was very superStitious man,
and one day salt-cellar was upset at a
public dinner in his lap, and so fright
ened was he that he arose and announced
that he was dead man. He reached
home and died in a few days, in 1716,
literally scared to death by the absurd
casualty of a salt-cellar's turning over.
Slight accidents, trivial in themselves,
often produce most ill-timed and fatal
results. AnacreOn, the Greek poet of
love, choked to death with a grape
stone. ESchylus was killed by an eagle
dropping a tortoise on his head, sup
posing it was rock. William the Con-
queror was killed by being thrown on to
the pummel of his saddle, and Chrysop-
pus, the philosopher, laughed himself to
death at seeing an ass eating figs.
Moliere, the great French comedian and
dramatist, accidentally killed himself
while playing one Of his pieces, The
Man Who Pretends To Be Dead
"Old sury Death. offended at his play,
Would not be jOked with in so free way;
He, when he mimicked him, his voice re-
strained,
And made him acc in earnest when he
teigned."
Thomas May, the historian of the
"Long Parliament and translator of
"Lucan's Pharsalia," and one of the
most versatile authors of the seven
teenth century, was found dead in his
bed with signs of having been strangled.
He was very fat; had gone to bed
drunk, and tying his night-cap strings
too tight was found strangled. The old
authors whom drop too much and the
accident of going to bed boozy killed
form quite list Sir George Etheridge,
author of "Sir Fopling Flutter," hav-
ing passed the evening with some la
borious old soakerS, staggered out to
light them downstairs. He fell over
and broke his neck. Lee, the rival of
Dryden, was going home drunk, and,
falling in the street, was run over by a
dray; and Edgar Allen Poe, the most
brilliant of American poets. died of eX-
posure and ill-treatment when recover
ING from debauch. A pinch of snuff
accidentally dropped into glass of
wine that Jean Baptist Santeul, one of
the greatest Latin poets France ever
produced, was drinking, killed him in
a few hours. Eating too many melons
killed Argyropolis and the melancholy
Cowley, who had been to a merry-mak-
ing with Rev. Thomas Sprat, afterward
Bishop of Rochester. Both were drunk
and lay down to sleep by haystack.
Cowley caught cold and died. Xenoc-
rates accidentally walked into well,
and Charles Lamb stumbled and pro-
duced rupture which ended his life.
William Duprat, the Bishop of Cler-
mont, was the victim of an accident
which indicated his weakness Of char
acter. He was the posSesSor of the
most beautiful beard that, up to his
time, had ever been seen in France, and
was very proud of it. On Easter he
presented himself at his cathedral to as
sist in the performance of religious ser
vices. He found three canons awaiting
his arrival. The dean held in his hands
a pair of scissors and razor, another
bore a copy of the statute Of the chapter
where it is stated that in order to enter
the choir the beard must be shaved,
while the third pointed out to the Bishop
the spot where these fearful commands
were inscribed. AS the dean was about
to commence operations the Bishop
cried: .''Spare my beard and will re-
nounce the bishopric." The Bishop
ran off to his chateau, but eventually
yielded to the stern canons of the church,
but the modification of losing his beard
was so great that he was thrown into
a fever
A curious incident isrelated as occur
ing during the war of 1909 between En-
gland and France. A brig commanded
by an American was captured by the
Sparrow cutter off San Domingo, under
the belief that she was sailing under
false colors-at any rate, carrying enc
my's goods. The court at Port Royal
found the ships papers all correct, and
the Captain swore so positively as to
her American nationality that the court
decided in his favor. The American