The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-08-12
THE MYSTERIOUS HAND.

could ev nave seen anything supe
human Wthe occurrence. do not b,
lieve iany but normal causes. L
however. instead OF using the wor
supernatural TO express what we d
word ea sinespIieabI it oad would BE- sss mao so
more exact. In The affair | am abou
TO relate, it was. above all. the pre-
ceding and attending circumstance
that impressed me. l viii give you tn
facts
waz<Namining magistrate al tn
time at Ajieco. little white city lyinl
on the edge of beautiful bay which i
surrounded on all sides by high noun
tainS. The cases with which | ha,
chiefly to do were those of vendetta.
had some fierce. heroic instances, tn
most superbly dramatic possible
Among those people were found tn,
most glorious causes for revenge that
men could dream of--seeuiar hatreds
appeased for moment. but never ex
tinguished. traitorous ruses. assassina
tions, developed into maSsacres, anC
almost glorious in their horror. Fol
two years had heard of nothing bat
the price of blood. that terrible Corsi
can prejudice which binds a man tc
ayenge every injury on the person who
wrought it. his descendants and kins-
men. - have seen old men murdered
and children. and my head was full OF
such stories.
L learned one day that an English
man had just leased for a number OF
years a little villa at the foot of the
bay. He had brought with him a
French body-serSant. engaged at Mar
seilleS as he passed. Every body was
soon busy with this strange parsonage,
who lived alone, and left his dwelling
only to hunt or fish. He spoke to no.
body, never came to the city. and every
morning praeticed shooting for an hour
or two with his pistol or rifle.
There were many stories about him.
One man held that he was of princely
rank, and had fled his country for po-
litieal reasons; another affirmed that
he was living in concealment after hav-
ing committed fearful crime, and
even related particulars of an especial
iy horrible nature.
l wished. in my capacity of examin-
ing magistrate, TO obtain some definite
in regard to this man; but
| could learn nothing. He gave his
name as Sir John Rowell. | took sat-
lsfaction in watching him near at hand.
but no one could point out to me any
thing really suspicious about him.
Since, however, the rumors concern
ing him continued. increased, and be-
came more general. L resolved to make
an attempt to see the stranger myself.
and | began to hunt regularly in the
of his estate.
l waited long for my opportunity.
1t came finally in the shape of q part
ridge which / shot and killed in the
face. My dog brought
it to me. but taking the game in my
hand / went to excuse my lack of good
manners and beg Sir John Rowell to
accept the bird.
He was a large man, with red hair
and beard, very tall and very robust,
a sort of placid and polished Hercules.
He had nothing of the so-called Brit
ish stiffness, and thanked me cordially,
speaking with strong English accent,
for my scrupulousness. At the end of
a month we had talked five or six times
together.
One evening as | was passing his
door | saw him in his garden smoking
his pipe, astride of chair. | saluted
him, and he invited me in to take a
glass of beer with him. | did not wait
to be asked twice.
He received me with scrupulous En-
glish courtesy, eulogized France and
Corsica, and declared that he was
warmly attached to that country and
to that particular portion of the coast.
| then. with great caution and under
the guise of a very lively personal in
terest, ventured a few questions re-
garding his life. He replied without
embarrassment, telling me that he had
travelled extensively in Africa. India.
and America, and that he had had many
| then returned to the subject of the
chase, and he gave me many of the
most curious details in regard to hunt
ing the hippopotamus, the tiger, the
and even the gorilla.
/ remarked that all these animals
were formidable
He smiled.
'sOh, no; man is the most terrible"
He laughed outright, with hearty,
eontented English laugh, as he further
me:
Il have also been a great hunter of
men,"
Then he turned the conversation to
the topic of arms, and invited me to
the house to look at guns of different
kinds
His drawing-room was hung with
black silk embroidered with gold.
Large yellow flowers. rioting over the
dark background, shone like fire. He
that it was Japanese fab
ric.
But, in the middle of the largest pam
Ell, a strange object drew my eye. On
a square of red velvet 4 black object
was thrown into relief. 1t was hand
"a human hand. Not skeleton hand,
white and clean. but dried and black
ened hand, with yellow nails, naked
and traces of blood-old, clot-
ted blood. where the bones were cut
short off as if with the blow of an ak,
about midway up the forearm. An
enormous iron chain. riveted at the
wrist, soldered to this unsightly mem
Der, attached it to the wall by ring
strong enough to hold an elephant in
leash.
What is that?'' | asked.
THAT is my worst enemy" replied
the Englishman, calmly. He came
from America 1t was cut off with a
sabre. skinned, and dried in the sun
for week. 1t was pretty good piece
of work for me"
| touched that human fragment,
which must have belonged to a giant
The fingers, disproportionately long,
were attached By enormous tendons,
to which shreds of skin still clung.
Scorehed as il was. it was q frightful
thing to behold, suggesting irresistably
some savage revenge.
He must have been very strong
man. said l.
..Oh. yes. said the Englishman,
gently. ..But | was stronger than he
1 had that chain put on to hold him. y
/ thought he was jesting. and said:
1.-The chain is wholly useless now;
the hand will not run away.
But he gravely replied:
tine chain was necessary 1t was
always trying to get away
With a rapid glance | questioned his
countenance, asking myself;
is be lunatic or an ugly iester?'
But his face remained impenetrable,
calm, and benevolent | talked OF
other things. and admired his guns
noticed that three loaded revolyers lay
on the tables. as If this man lived in
constant fear of an attack
/ visited him several times and then
went there no more People had be-
come accustomed to his presence and
had grown indifferent
A whole year passed Then one
morning, toward the end of November,
my servant awoke me with the an.
Il ID L