Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-03
THE STORY OF A CRIME.

A squadron of dragons being stationed
at Grenoble, followed them as army vet
Urinary and took up quarters IN Villars
street. My apartment was on the third
story, and from my window there was q
fine view of Mt. Saint-Eynard, which rose,
rocky and majestic, before me.
But there was one great objection tc my
lodgings. On the floor just below me lived
4 retired glove manufacturer who kept a
parrot and l have never had a more an
moving neighbor than that bird, for its
voice was shrill enough to crack ones ear
drum, and when 1t spoke it repeated one
phrase again and again until l was nearly
driven mad. Moreover, the brute was hid
eouS to look at, Tor 1t ate too much, and
consequently had the govt; its feet were
so swollen that it could hardly stand, and
many of its feathers were missing. l had
always had poor opinion of people who
kept parrots, and thought they must be
either depraVed or imbecile. The heart of
man has unfathomable depths, but the love
of parrots-incomprehen
Whenever the weather was fine, the
glover would set the birds perch out on a
balcony just under my window, and every
time I looked down the stupid brute would
turn his round, dull eve toward me and
utter his one phrase, Pretty bird
Jacquot!" over and over again, as if he
were wound up and could not stop. His
haunted me like a nightmare, and at last L
became furious and desperate.
If the thing would but diei'' I thought,
and my next impulse was to cause its de-
mise, but l resisted the temptation. Before
long, however, my endurance was ex-
hausted. Violent maladies require violent
remedies; why should l not treat my tor
mentor to little arsenic2 By degrees 1
grew accustomed TO the idea. 1 bought
some arsenic acid, l opened my shutter and
leaning out, sprinkled the seed in the birds
food cup. For several days in succession
repeated the maneuver, and every morning
I looked out anxiously to see the result.
The COMPOUNDED animal did not die, how
ever, but grew more lively than before; the
swelling in his feet went down. and his
general health improved visibly.
A horrible suspicion dawned upon me.
Arsenic in small doses is q tonic-I was
curing my enemy.
This discovery ought to have disarmed
me, but instead 1t served to increase my
fury. Selling the package of powder
turned 1t upside down above the parrot, and
its contents spread over the perches and
everything, and looked like snow. It was
the birds winding sheet.
Ten minutes later heard violent ring
ing at my door. and on running to open it
found young girl, angelically beautiful,
standing there.
''Oh, DOCTOR" she gssped breathlessly,
twill you come down stairs7 Our parrot is
dying. Mamma is so fond of it'' 1 felt
twinge of remorse as looked at her, and
knew my punishment had begun.
Without a word 1 followed my lovely
guide, and found the whole family in the
deepest distress, and rs I approached they
cried with one voice:
You will save Jacquotin
The bird was nearly dead. and it was in
vain that I tried to administer an emetic.
The patient looked at me with his leaden-
hued eyes, then croaked family:
Pretty bird, Jac''-and expired
As was goind away, conscience struck,
the father of the girl followed me TO the
door and asked me what he owed me, and,
hardened as l was, I blushed as he spoke.
Nothing, nothing" 1 answered hastily;
81 am not a regular practitioner - and made
my escape as fast as I could.
The next day he called on me TO thank me
for my attention, and when returned his
visit found that his daughters great dark