The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1894-02-17
Lovno HIS MusrAcHE.
Crime Committed bya Larkcy in Revsues
for the Loss of Ills Adornment.

A
for the Loss of Ills Adornment.
OF all the curious motives for crime |
recorded by history or enumerated by |
Lo,nbroso, without doubt the most &c
| centric and amazing is shat alleged by
| laclscy in Vienna, who has just acteo
| the part of the unjust steward com
mittcd robbery and threatened murder
and suicide, all for the sake of miser
able mustache, of which during the
past five years. nothing had remained |
but the maddening memory. His mis- |
tress--a wealthy widow we'll stricken |
in years-when engaging him as a
lackey made it condition sine qua non
that his upper lip should be always
clean-shaven. Albert Iaikovsky at first
| demurred, then consented under pro
test, and, after several vain attempts
to have the cruel order rescinded, sub
mitted to his fate with seeming resig
nation. But the sequel shows that the
wounds inflicted by the shaving off OF
his mustache had never healed, and
now he has taken what he considers a
just revenge, under circumstances
which, in any other country, would
have branded the man as Il lunatic,
says Vienna correspondent But in
Austria the mustachc fulfils so much
more important a function than in En-
gland, that no male citizeu is complete
without it, while il covers no end
Of natural blemishes. An individ.
ual may be disfigured and bow
legged and generally unpreposses-
sing, and IaikovslSy was all three,
but once he possesses the hirsute
adornment of the upper lip he's "a
man for a that" Hence the wearing
of the mustache is tolerated in profess
sions in which elsewhere 1t would
be deemed an impeachment, and the
singers of the Imperial opera threat
cned to strike when, on the occasion
of the German cmperor's last visit to
Vienna. they were requested to appear
in their roles clean-shaven. In some
provinces the priests and monks are
not only permitted. but are compelled,
to sport Il mustache while carefully
shaving their boards. as otherwise
their floclis would lose all faith in the
efficacy of their ministrations.
Iail>ovsky's situation was probably
!, the nearest approach to a sinecure
which the luckiest of lackeys can hope
to obtain in this imperfect world. His
, mistress, whose health was delicate,
was generally absent for six or nine
months out of the twelve. during
, which time he was at liberty to let his
/. hands rest from work and let his mus
tache grow A few days ago the lady,
about to return to her house after a
long absence, telegraphed to her
: lackey to have everything in readiness
4 for her coming and to meet her at the
station, but on her arrival she discov-
, cred no traces of her servant. AT home
4 she found everything in apple-pie
order, the table laid, supper prepared
and only the lackey missing. The
maid said he had gone out some hours
before with a couple of valises full of
I things. This seemed suspicious, and
when Madame glanced at her snow.
white napkin, she deserted an envelope
without any address, which, on being
opened, was seen to contain the small
9 est copper coin of the empire, and the
. visiting-card of the missing lackey with
the oracular inscription, 81 seek death,
: but do you look to your safe" In a
: moment the lady had rushed through
5 the suite of apartments that had sep
arated the dining-room from the bed
3 room, and, examining her safe. found
= everything in apparent order. But she
g sent for the police all the same. Then
n the safe was moved away from the
u wall by three men (the lady had left
? her keys in her portmanteau at the
o station) when an enormous hole was
l. discovered in the further side and an
examination of the contents showed
that many thousand forins had been
distracted.
!. But the most interesting find was a
It letter deposited in the safe by the un-
), faithful servant. In this lengthy lucu-
s Sratio he confesScs that he stole the
II Scrip sold it and invested the proceeds
q in the 2ar;uas Austrian lottery loans,
n in which he Gui.y los. them and in bet
% ting on races His motire Ysas to re.
- venge himself on his mistress FOR hsv-
i. ing insisted on the removal of his mus.
tache, measure which, he writes, cut
n deep into his feelings and wounded his
!. honor beyond endurance. He then goes
t on to say that he is still cctuated by
. sentiments of llindliness towards the
Il lady, in spite of her unjustitiable con.
:, duet in the matter of the mustache.
q and that no more convincing proof OF
MS 1rlenuliucSS Couiu NC given IldH
the circumstance that, although he
had at one time firmly resolved to mur.
: der her, pity for her prevailed over jus.
5 tice, and he permitted her to live on.
g Now, however, he considers it his duty
q frankly to tell her that if she commi.
K nicates with the police she is lost, as
he will then be compelled to murder
J. her without remorse, and then save
: himself from the ignominy of arrest by
e committing suicide. Tele,
: graph.
The Servant Was Willing.
A lady, whose Christian name was
Jane, and who had a little daughte:
named for her, was engaging Il house
: maid whose name also proved to be