The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-06-26
AS STRANGE AS FICTION
Queer Sequel To a Long Past
Event.
A Gentleman Tells the Story of a Thrilling
Experience, and Finds that His List
eners Already Know the Facts.

A writer in q recent number of the Nashville
Democrat narrates the facts concerning an In
cident that occurred in that city few DAYS
since, very strange coincidence TO say tho
least, and one so interesting in its nature as to
merit place beside the creations of the brain
of tho novelist or story teller
A gentleman who has been great traveller
and visited nearly every portion of the globe
has been spending a few weeks in Nashville
Like most great travellers he is fiuent tallSer
and boon companion Among other friends
whom he made here was a young business
man who has o store on one of tho business
thorouefares of the city and lives with his
mother, widow lady, a little past the middle
age, in pretty cottage in one of the quiet SUI
burbs of Nashville Tho young man was
much taken with his new acc aintance, who,
one afternoon. after having refused several
former invitations, consented to go home with
him to supper.
AS the young man, his mother, who is an in
valid, and the stranger sat on the portco after
supper chatting quietly, the young man incl
dentally reminded his mother OF some of his
schoolboy pranks, which he said occurred
while he was at school in Baltimore before his
parents had returned from residence of ten
years in Australia, The stranger remarked
that he had once lived at Melbourne, Australia,
and after an interesting conversation with the
familiar to them all, said that he had pecu-
liar experience on his way home. On being
pressed to tell the story by his young friend, he
said
"That was some ten years ago. was quite
young man, though having just served q
term in the British army, in which / enlisted
when mere boy, and was on my way home to
Liverpool.
eve had been few days out from Australia
when storm came up, and our ship struck a
nd M axif NratA n
saw there was nothing to do bat to take to the
boats, which we did pell nell, without much
regard to good breeding or etiquette, each fear
ing that he would be left. There were three
ladies on the ship, and noticed as our boat was
about to pull out once them was left. 1 called
tho captain S attention to it, but he said our
boat already had enough in her to sink her
and ordered the oarsmen to do their work.
was big, stapping, good natured fellow, and
hated to see the poor woman left, who, by the
way. seemed lady, but was very lonely and
SO | caught hold of the side of the ship and
held on till the lady was within a few feet of
us, when she fell in a swoon. jumped to her
side, seized her in my arms and sprang back
on the boat just as 1t was separating from the
sinking ship for the last time. The captain
was so angry with me that he shot at me twice
with pistol, one ball missing me entirely and
the other just grazing my knee. There was no
good blood between the captain and me after
that; but it was no time for fighting, as shortly
aftcrward the breakers overturned our boat
while passing over q reef trying to mako our
way to n little coral island l was splendid
swimmer, and soon found myself on shore
alone. The only human beings in sight were
a man swimming bravey for the island and
the lady whom | had rescued from the Ship
chnging helplessly to fragment of
the boat. The man was soon by my side,
though in state of utter OK
haustion, and j concluded MS ] had saved tho
lady's life once I'd try and do 30 again. Act
ing upon the impulse, ] swan ont to where
she was, and finally succeeded in getting her
to land in an unconscious state. Sho came to-,
but her reason had deserted her, aud she was
wild, raving maniac. There WAS no fresh
water on the island which was very small, and
no vegetables and but little Rrass, but there
were lots of coeoanut trees full OF cocoanuts
and alive with monkeys. ate cocoannt and
drank the milk, and got some for the lady and
my companion, who had succeeded in getting
to shore. He was taken suddenly i'll from
taking too much salt water into his stomach,
and died the second day after we were wreck
ed l buried him in the sand. and made n little
house out of oocoanut leaves for the lady, but
she was so crazy she would not stay in 1t and
would not eat anything. She would run about
the island and scratch and hurt herself, till
finally caught her and tied her up with ropes
made OF bark. We stayed on the island nine
weeks, and kept her tied most of the time
and fed her on cocoanuts till finally she began
to get fat. used to climb trees after cocoa
nuts, but got terribly tired eating them, and
USED 10 divert mySelf trying 10 catch mon
key. | wanted to try piece of roasted mon
key, but / could never get hold Of one.
II knew the island was on the road taken by
ships from Melbourne to New York, and that
it was only a question OF short time till we
would be picked up, but ] Can promise you
it seemed tome Ike an age before one came
near enough to be hailed.
"At last ship came by and took us on
board. When we reached New York the lady
was still maniac, and have never heard Of
her since, except through friend of mine,
who wrote to me about six months ago from
Philadelphia that he bad heard From her, and
that she was alive and WELL and living with
her husband in Washington city"
The young man and his mother had listened
to the strangers story with breathless atten-
ton, and whom he had finished told him that
the lady was sister 10 his hosts mother, and
was at the time of the shipwFeck returning
from visit to her in Australia. They further
told him that the lady had NOT pegained her
mind for year after she came back TO Amer
lea, and that then she had no remembrance of
anything that occurred after she left Austria
liza. She is now the mother Of three children,
and the wife Of high government official.
MRS. PARSONS LOCKED UP.
The Widow of tho Executed Anarchist