Western Kansas world., 1886-08-21

'And did she say what she did re-
ceive?" asked Clara, light breaking in
upon her. She pulled the check from
her pocket The readers power of ap-
prehension must be very slight if he can
not guess what followed.
MIsER AND SPENDTHRIFT.
A Man Who Was Known in New Orleans
rs IL Negro Nurse and in Paris as a Mil
liOnaire Planter.
There lived dozen years ago, on Du.
maine street, down in the French portion
of the city, and elderly negro, griffe in
color, writes New Orleans correspond
ent of the Cincinnati Enquirer. His
dwelling was rickety old shanty, dat
ing from the ancient days of New Or
leans; it's shingle roof, rotton and COW
cred with moss and weeds, and the house
seemed about to tumble in pieces. It
contained but two rooms, divided BY q
thin partition of planks, divisions, merely
for the eye, not for the nose or ear.
The front room seemed an old curiosity
shop. It was stored with broken furni-
ture, lumber, and odds and ends of
every description, but apparently worth
less and valueless. The most conspicu-
GUS piece of furniture in this room was
an immense rusty iron safe, which took
up more than half of it, Here in ca
pacious and venerable rocking chair sat
day after day an old LADY, shriveled up
into parchment, and of the august age
of 103. She was the mother Of the
owner of the house, Francis Lacroix, thf
negro nurse. His life was one of abso
lutte privation, for he allowed himsel
only the barest necessities. No one had
ever known him to spend cent, eyond
what was needed to keep him alive, for
food and dress, and even his dress was of
the shsbbiest and meanest descri ption.
For ten months of the year Francois
Lacroix lived this life of sordid want;
but for the remaining two months he
was absent from New Orleans on bust
ness.
Those who visited Paris any winter
between 1860 and 1879, if they knew
aught of Partisan life, must have feard
OF the millionaire creole planter, Francois
Lacroix. No bouleUardeur was more
thoroughly Partisan than he, or carried
more people of "the gay capital" with
HIM. A man of unbounded wealth, he
rushed headforemost into all designations
and fairly electrified even Paris. His
mistresses dressed more gorgeously than
those of any Russian prince; his dinners
were grander than those of Lucullus;
his horses the finest in France. He threw
away his money with a recklessness that
told of a Fortuantus' purse, gambled it
away, spent it on cocottes, and lived at a
rate that few in Paris could initiate. To
have maintained this style would have
required an annual income of 100000
francs. Lacroix only fingered two
months in Paris, and disappeared as
mysteriously as he came. Not for good,
however; for next year he returned to
live over again the same life, eight weeks
Of prohigacy worthy of Sardanapalus.
As Paris always contains large pro-
portion of Louisiana creoles, the disguise
If any was really attempted, could not
long be maintained, and it became known
that Francois Lac7oi1, the creole planter
in Paris, and Francois Lacroix, the negro
miser in New Orleans, were one and the
same person. By industry and parsi-
mony he had built up, perhaps, the large
est fortune in ''the Crescent city" Twen-
ty-fve years ago his income was $780,
900 year in rents alone, and he held
more than 81, 100000 of real estate, in
cluding some of the finest and most re-
property in the city. OF his
income, few hundred went for his
home expenses during the ten months of
bis life in "the Crescent city," the re-
for his two months of Paris.
Year after year this went on, even
during the war, and long after it. In
the height of republican rule Lacroix
came to the front in titanic tax struggle
with the republican state government on
the question of taxes. Just about ten
years ago, in 1915, his immense for
rune, estimated at over a million, disap-
peared so suddenly that one might
almost believe it was case of Cinder-
ella, when the golden coach became q
pumpkin again. Lacroix's property was
seized for taxes and sold. He was offered
The money by hundred persons to re-
deem it, but refused it. 70 every sher-
ifs sale he went, where the property
sold at one hundredth it's value. He
stood callous and unregardful cf what
was going on; smiling whenever piece
sold at an unusually low figure. One
week he was a millionaire, the next q
pauper.
It seemed impossible to understand
this course, and there were many who
said that he was insane. There were
others who claimed that it was piece
Of revenge, worthy of him. OF his two
SONS, one, who promised to be one Of the
,oIored leaders OF the state, died in the
Mechanics institute riot in 1867; the
other was disinherited; and it is saic
that one of the purposes of old Lacroix
IN letting his fortune be swallowed up
was to prevent that SOD from getting any
portion OF it. as he must have done under
the laws of Louisiana.