Wichita eagle., 1888-07-21
THE FATAL RAIL.

The judicial inquiry into the c1rcum-
stances attendant upon the horribly sud-
den and strange deaths Of three persons
in the house of the eminent Spanish
electrical scientist, Senior Juan Mirenque,
has lust been concluded IN Barcelona,
Spain and. as WAS expected, has resulted
in the complete exeneration of Senior
Mirenoue from all blame. At the same
time there seems to be a tacit understand
ing in the community that in such find
ing the written law Of the criminal colo
had been less considered than the IN
written law. that gives every man Ger
tain rights for the protection OF his
honor. The story of the case Is curious
one, well worth narrating
Senior Mirenque is q man OF full 55years
Of age, thorough scientist, engrossed
most of the time III his studies and expert
ments, possessed Of an almost childlike
innocence of the ways OF the world, and
both respected and beloved by all who
know him. His fortune is ample and his
social standing deservedly high.
About seven years ago he committed
the folly of marrying very handsome
Young woman named Rosita Faranela.
whose mother was the widow of an army
officer, between whom and Sener Mirenque
q lifelong friendship existed. Rosita,
girl of some 20 or perhaps 20 summers.
was in herself a poor assurance OF quiet
life to husband then nearly 80 years old,
and there is reason to believe that she
very reluctantly became his wife. Her
mother however, compelled her and
wheedled him so that the lily mated pair
were matched.
One of the witnesses in the recent pro-
70 to-
that the young woman conduct had been
so i'll guarded that her mother would have
found difficulty in marrying her to any
man in good society who was not so alb
normally innocent and unsuspecting as
Senior Mirenaue Be that as it may, the
old scientist was quite infatuated with his
younp wife, and, for time at least,
seemed very happy.
The friend who called oftenest upon
Sonora Mirenque and was most frequently
alone with her was Lieut. Rafael Zaga.
On the 23d of September last the
saints day" of the fair Rosita was cele-
brated by grand fete in the elegant man
sion of her husband The spacious garden
and the conservatory were so superbly
decorated, by means Of electric lights in
colored globes, flowers, drapery and other
adiupcts of light and color. that they
seemed a portion of fairy land. A fine
orchestra furnished the music for the
dance. The supper was one to be remem
bered. And the scene was enhanced In Its
beauty and magnifcence by the presence
of the most charming of Barcelonas fair
ladies, escorted by caballeros Of unques-
tionably the best society OF the city,
among whom Rosita moved like queen
as well as most gracious hostess.
Senior Mirenque was present, OF course,
and it was felt to be no small condescen-
sion that, even upon such en- occasion. he
had torn himself away from his labora-
tory No one appeared to be happier than
he, and even those who deemed that they
had reason to suspect scandal In the air
had their .spicions disarmed by the man-
ifest cordiality. affection and confidence
that he demonstrated toward his young
wife. Evidently, they thought, he knew
nothing, for he smiled upon Lieut.. Zaga
and shook hands with him as no con-
sciously outraged husband could have
done.
One of the chief adornrents in the con-
servatory was a superb marble bust
three-quarters of life size--of Senors
Mirenque, birthday present from her
affectionate husband. 1t stood in a semi
circular space, backed by some rich trop-
ical foliage, and was surrounded by pro-
tecting silver rail- the supports of which
were based in it's heavy marble pedestal.
On one side of it, near at hand, was the
entrance from the parlors; on the other
side door that led to Sonora Mirenque's
private apartments; and beyond, through
second conservatory. lay the way to the
gardens Every one had to pass the bust.
and all stopped to admire it as they went
by.
The fete was o complete success in
every respect, and it was almost daylight
when the last of the guests took their de-
parture. and their host, a weary old man,
was at liberty to retire to rest. But &c.
fore going he was very careful about see
ing personally to certain precautions. The
electric currents that had been supplying
the lamps all the night had been furnished
from powerful storage batteries. and no
one knew better than he the dangers of
those contrivances, so he saw to it him
self that every one Of the batteries, was
disconnected and left in such condition as
to be absolutely harmless. gave the strict
est orders that nobody should touch bat
teries or wires. or anything else connected
with the display until he could personally
supervise luS VI lilo QSAt
day, and then went Off to bed.
In taking all this trouble he had acted
very prudently; for, while several of the
batteries had been completely exhausted
and were as harmless as so many blocks
of ice, there were others that had not
been touched or drawn upon at all, and in
which terrific energies were still bottled
up, sufficient to kin many persons should
they come in contact with the current.
In view of his prudent care the SUISSE
quent events were all the more surprising
and inexplicable.
Between II and 10 o'clock Of the sue
seeding forenoon Lieut.. Zaga made
morning call upon Sonora Mirenque. That
was a favorite hour for his visits. 1t was
a time when the old man was almost alb
solutely certain to be in the laboratory.
when there were not likely TO DO any
other visitors. and when his interview with
Rosita was least likely to be interrupted.
The servant who admitted the heuten-
ant and went to announce hin TO her mis-
tress left him In the parlors From there
the young man strollsd out into the con-
servasory, well knowing where he would
meet the lady. The gardener had eyi"
IDENTIFY been watering the plants. for the
cement door was quite wet The decora-
tons OF the night before were still in
place upon every hand. possibly looking
q little tawdry In the daylight; but there
was one. the beautiful bust OF his lovely
mistress. Of which the perfection might
well challenge any illumination. He
stepped toward it, laid his ungloved hand
upon the rail lightly. and then-in tina.
same ins.snt-dropped to the foor as If