San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-01-23
THE THREE HUNCHBACKs.

Remarkable Story of Three Broth
ers Who Looked Exactly Alike.
Three brothers, all humpbackeC
and all alike in appearance, lived ir
Besancon. One of them killed q man
but not being taken ON. the moment
| the prosecu tors could only swear tba
one of the three brothers had done tn,
| deed.
Rather than put an innocent mar
to death the judge let the guilty on,
escape, but to avoid further incon
venience of the kind he banished al
from the province.
One man settled in Paris, became
rich and married; the others, aftel
nearly starving In England. returned
and paid q visit to their more f0rtu
nate brother.
The master OF the house was abroad
when they knocked, and the poor wife
was troubled more than little by the
visit.
my husband is very jealous" said
she to them, while she was giving
them something to eat. "You must
go to the furthest quarter of the town
and never come here again; but I'll
make your brother look to your
wan ts."
While she was speaking she heard
her husbands knock and cried out:
Follow me if you value your lives"
She ordered the servant not to open
the door until she returned. and then
conveyed the brothers down the stairs
and locked them in the cellar.
Her hus band scolded her. for being
kept out SO long, but a, good dinner
restored him to good humOr, and at
night he went to pay visit.
The wife then went down to the
cellar and there found the two broth.
ers dead.
What was to be done? She sent
for a strong Auvergnat, brought him
down stairs, showed him one corpse,
which she had previously taken out
of the cellar, and promised him a louis
dor on his return after having thrown
it into the river Seine.
He made no scruple about the mat
ter. but popped the body into sack,
took it to the bridge and shook it into
the river.
Returning for his reward, the wife
disputed bis claim, saying the body
wasstill lying outside the cellar door.
Here the stupefied man saw what
he firmly believed to be the corpse he
had thrown from the bridge. and, re.
gaining himself to destiny, he got it
into his sack and went through the
ceremony for the second time.
Coming back he was terrified and
enraged by finding the twice drowned
corpse knocking at the door.
"Are these your tricks, MASTERY
said he. "Ah, Monsieur Ghost, clever
as you are, I'll settle you the third
trial.n
So saying he forced the poor hus-
band into the sack, carried HIM TO the
same spot, and effected the same dis
charge.
This time he returned in triumph
for the wife. ignoranto of her hus bands
fate, and having no more corpses to
remove, paid him twice what she
had c)venanted and gave him glass
of wine into the bargain.
"Your good health, madam" said
he; "you are better than your promis-
es; but 1 earned it. found the hump
backed rogue. or his ghost, knocking
at the door after had thrown him in
second time"
"Oh, wretch! you have drowned my
husbandr cried the woman.
While she was screaming and he
was standing in amazemept, the gen.
darmes entered secured both and sent
them to prison.
Next day they were beought before
the magistrate OF the quarter and ex.
amined. The poor wife concealed no.
thing, the Auvergnat was called upon
for an explanation, and while both
were waiting sentence the three
brothers; full of life, but with very
pale faces, were ushered into the
room. Some fishermen stationed
near the bridge had saved the three.
The unmarried men had only been
dead drunk in the cellar, and the
submersion and consequent pulling
and hauling, and eiectment of wine
and water, had recovered them from
their drunken lethargy before the
natural time.
On their first appearance before the
magistrate they could give no ex-
PLANTATION of their visit to the river,
and the husband had no idea of the
cause Of his being seized, but his
wife's explanation made all clear
Boston Globe.
The New York Tribune very truth.
fully says that "our friends, the
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