The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-02-12
DOES HE LIVE +?
A Task That Flas Been Very Diff
cult for Albert kirshDer.
Terre HauUe Express.

Terre Haute Express,
Albert klrshner, the tailor employed at j. 7
a. Miller's cl0thing-stoTe. and well known IL
Terre Haute, is aDziOusy awaiting an answer
10 q letter 90 his parents IN Germany ABOUT
twenty-five years ago a Queenstown steamer
landed al New York, and among the many
hundred passengers who walked down the
gangpiank was 4 ttmid, green-lookIng German
boy. be secured q position ID q raIlor-shoD.
TINS boy was Albert Kirshner & correspond
'snce was kept up between ftbe young man ana
his parents for several wears. he finally leaving
New 1ork and locating In Massachusetts.
During his absence from MS former New
2 oTk home, man OF the sane name, also q
tailor, and bearing very striking resemblance,
committed suicide by shooting The resem-
Dlance was 50 Close that many OF AlT. kirsh-
ner's friends attending the funeral. who
viewed The corpse. had not The slightest doubt
i was the man they had formerly known.
LheY. tnefefOrr, mOurneu him as dead, and
sent WOrO 10 tie parents IA Europe thai their
son was dead. In aboul q year the Mr. kiTsh-
Der OF this sketch returned 10 New York State
he called uDon his former friend, who stared
Al MN n utter amaZemsnt. unable 10 believe
their eyes. He was laughed al Is an lmposIov
by his Ole companions. VINO declared they had
seen bin II his coffin, haO followed ms remains
IL Tie cemetery and Witnessed lis burial
The only way left for hlr Kirschn-r TO make
ms friends know lie had not disd and been
buried was 40 relate some instances which had
occurred while he was ID their company and
about which 10 one else knew. After d long
series OF stories they were finally convinced
that the man buried moi their old frlend as
they had supposed. During the next two or
three years lie received communications
from his parents IN Germany, they thought
hin deceased and would nor write. Rspeat TED
letters werr written them. but his parents like
his CID acqualnIances al nrst had done, be
neveu MN al imDOSIOT.
Last summer Mr.. klrshner went East and at
one OF the New York waterinE-plsceS met
LADY. an acquaintance OF mis- parents. The
NEE ing was pureiy accidental. and when he
disclosed MS Identity the LADY was 10th 10 be-
leVe-is. she tOd hlm MS father and mother
Doth thought him dead. TINS woman had for
several years correspondent with the Kirshner
family, anG Alb II tOld Der she might write
and tell them that ne was still alive and give
10 Germany, ouj the story was given no Gre
deDce. They believed him dead, and were of
the opinion that the Atberi hirshuer who
claimed relationship With them was not their
son.
. Thus matters stood Tor several months but
recently Mr. kirshner received a letter from %
DrOthef-ln-laW, VINO asked Tor q detailed ae-
count o. bis lie, both IN Ills country auu at
MS OVID home n Germany. The absent son
began work on an exceedingly lengthy letter 10
his br0InsT-iI-iaN. ID which ne spoke OF III
nUTleTatle instances which MS relative could
not help but recognize as coming from he real
Albert kirsuner
Tire letter, which covered nearly fifty pages
was al int resting document Il contained
"reminiscences OF their school days. the ages Of
ms father ano mother ana sist r the date of
her marriage places OF amusement they had
vlsl cd together, the contents OF letters ne had
formerly written home; II fact. every circum-
stance that ent- REQ his minG. These, together
with has photograph, which he had taken espe-
ciaiiy Tor the purpose, and one o. Two little
IrInkeTs given him by friends IL the old c0uIi-
Try, which 1T DoBsd his parents would recog-
niZe, were placed in q package ano sent with
the letter