Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-11-14
CHAPTER VIII.

| left England Two days DGIOre Jne nrsG
| lot of false bills was sent in. 1 left Sc
rene and confident of the future. My de-
| parture was q happy event in a double
sense. All my negotiations had been
| carried ON at a considerable expense of
| nerve, and in leaving l left everything
! in such trim that success seemed GER
| tain. with all chance of danger elimi-
| mated from the venture. | felt that the
trying toll was now all over, with moth
| ing for me to do but TO reap the harvest,
and that without effort or care on my
| part.
So when the late November sun look
ed down on mel crossed by daylight
this Understanding on the deck Of that
same wretched channel steamer, 1t look
| ed on a happy man. l did not know
then that success in wrongdolng was ever
a failure. The anxious toll Of the Lon
don and continental negotiations was
a thing of the past. Was l not young?
Wealth was or soon would be mine.
Was | not in perfect health, body sound
and digestion good, and, above all, was
not the woman | loved awaiting me in
Paris, to give herself TO me in all her
youth and beauty, ard then somewhere
across the western waters would [ not
find in some tropic seas a paradise,
which gold would make mine, where l
could bear my bride, and there, turning
over new leaf, live and die with the
respect of all good men mine?
Here was a stately structure / was 60
ing to erect, but how rotten the founda-
ton! l fancied, in my case at least, the
eternal course of things would be staid,
and that justice would grant me clean
bill of health She did give me that,
but it was long years after and only
when she had had from me her pound
of flesh to the very last ounce.
1 Joined 1ny sweetheart and her fam
lily at the Hotel st. James, Rue Saint
Honore, and our wedding day being
fixed q week ahead we all set out sight
seeing and having good time general
". now engaged the coachman had
met before as my valet, and a very good
all around handy man he proved to be.
Of course 1 was anxious to hear that the
first coup on the bank had succeeded,
but was tolerably confident it was all
right Had it fallen through it would
have proved awkward for me.
Late one December morning on open
ing my eyes my first thought was, it
will be hit or miss at the Bank of Eng
land within the next 60 minutes. We
had engaged for Il coaching party to Yer
saiIles and were to dine there. | left
for the drive that day with a dim fear
that before the sun set 1 might be under
the necessity Of leaving Paris i'll hurry.
When starting for Versailles, left
my servant behind to wait for the ex-
pected telegram and to bring it to me
bv rail. We were at dinner, and L was
just raising glass of champagne to my
lips when 1 saw my valet, Num-, cross
ing the esplanade. He entered the room
and handed me telegram. Tearing
open the envelope, l read:
"All we'll Bought and shipped 40
bales. ="
That meant the first lot for $40, 900
had gone through safely. 1t was GER
tainly a great relief Three days after l
received $25, 200 in United States bonds
from George in London, my first share
of the proceeds. L sold the bonds in
Paris, receiving payment in French
notes
On Thursday, the day before my mar
riage, | had telegram from Mac and
George to meet them in Calais, and to
Calais / had to go. l arrived there at
midnight, Just before the Dover steamer
got in, and was ON the pier to meet
them We exchanged warm greetings.
A. p1aan1 n c,,oan hr,t
very heavy bag in my hand, and they
began laughing over my surprise. 1t
contained e4, ,000 i'll sovereigns. We went
to a hotel near by, and there they count
ed out to me the very nice sum of $780,,
900 i'll gold, bonds and French money.
AS they We're going back on the same
steamer and / was to return to Paris
by the train carrying the passengers of
the steamer just arrived, we only had q
brief half hours talk After giving me
the money we went out and sat down
on the pier, and that conversation and
scene are forever impressed on my mem
| ory. | shall make no attempt to describe
either, but could both be put ON the
stage with the audience in possession Of
full knowledge of the enterprise we
were embarked in there would be seen
picture of human life such as the nov
elist or playwright never had the imag
ination or the daring to depict. To the
earnest student Of human life it would
| have been a revelation.
There we were, three earnest, ambi-
| tious young men, enthusiastic for all
that was good and noble, l about to wed
| pure souled woman, who thought me
an angel of goodness, and about to fly
with my plunder and bride to Mexico.
| Ny two companions were returning to
| London to continue carrying out giant
scheme of fraud against a great money
| institution, but there we were with
500, 900 at our feet, sitting under the
stars listening to the dash of the waves
and talking not at all like pirates and
robbers, but much more like crusaders
setting out ON crusade or like pill
| grims going on pilgrimage
/ told my friends l should go to the
City of Mexico for year or two and
then meet them somewhere i'll America,
where we would unite our wealth TO
| inaugurate some scheme that would
|
and millions III the generations to come.
| We would hedge ourselves about with
| kindly deeds, so live as to win the re
| spect of all, and when under the sod
| live in the eyes and mouths of men.
Too soon the whistle sounded, and we
had to say goodby, which we did in an
enthusiasm that told how we felt. We
We're walking III the Primrose Way; its
flowers and songs We're sweet. We knew
it not, but it was fast leading US into a
chilling gloom in whose deadly blight
the flowers were all to wither and the
siren songs to be hushed and still
again arrived i'll Paris at daylight,
| but early as it was my sweetheart, es-
corted by my servant, was waiting my
arrival 1t was our wedding morning.
During our drive to the hotel, radiant
with Joy she told me the separation had
been a cruel one and she was so happy
to know we should never be separated
againl
At o'clock that afternoon we were
married at the American embassy.
My purpose was to sail by the Lopez
& Co. steamer Ell Rey Felipe, from
Cadiz to Mexico, which was advertised
to sail ten days later
We were married very quietly on Fri
day, and our friends, wisely recognizing
the fact that young married people like
to be alone, the next day said goodby
md returned to Brittany. We spent a