The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-03-19

far that I believe he really was de.
votedly in love with the girl, unlik
many others. who were In love with he
fortune.
We'll, about a fortnight before w
were to be married, a fearful bloy
nearly sent me out of my mind-my fu.
ture wife died suddenly.
Now, had just given her a wedding
gift of a set of valuable jewelry, and
nothing would satisfy me but that they
should be buried with her. This was
done and a few days later, when some
one--her father, I think-went to the
vault IL was discovered that the coffin
had been tampered with, and examina-
tion ELECTED the fact that the body and
tewelry had been removed. You can
imagine how this sacrilege affected me:
her father and myself offered enormous
rewards for information, but no clue
was discovered except that some Cne
had seen party of sailors carrying
something from the direction of the
cemetery to the sea, which turned our
suspicious towards the Presidents son,
but as the letter's ship was discovered
total wreck and as none of her crew
save one was ever heard OF again, the
information did not aid us in our quest.
THE man who came back was luna
tic, and as such was confined in an
asylum by the Presidents orders. hut
there was something i'm his narrative
that gave me some hope. His story
was to the effect that he, two other
sailors and their officer-the Presidents
son-stole the body Of my partners
daughter and carried her on board their
vessel
THAT they had not been out to sea
long when the lady came out of the
trance or deep sleep into which she had
been thrown by some powerful drug
secretly administered. Then he told
long story which sounds very improb-
able, but which may still be true. 1t
was that having got on board as Inuch
coal as they could carry, the chief OFF,
Ger made a proposal, which as 1t would
make the men-all foreigners used to
brbes - independent for life, was
promptly accepted by them.
"All on board with the exception of
the girl, swore allegiance and eternal
silence to their chief, and then the boat
went cruising in the track Of the mail
steamers.
1T hardly seems possible but the
man asserted that a certain vessel COM
ing in sight, the chief signalled to her
(on some pretext to stop. and that he
went on board with one man, leaving
the rest of his crew on the torpedo
boat with full steam up. That he
threatened the captain of the mail
steamer with instant determination by
his engines of war If the latter did not
hand over the contents of his strong
room, and he told him that he had left
word that If he did not return within
a certain time a torpedo was to be dis
charged at the Inflated vessel. AS l
said before the President had the man
confined as lunatic, but, all the same,
that steamer, when 1t was discovered
wrecked on the Spanish coast, had Lot
a single diamond in the strong room,
and when she set out she had record
cargo, but that part of the story has
never been verified.
Some months ago, when travelling
in Dalmata I met huge funeral equi-
page 1t was the son of the late Presi-
dent of that South American republic
that was being buried, and the chief
mourner-save the mark!-was the poor
woman he had kept prisoner in that
out-of-the-way corner of Europe, his
wife-the girl / was TO have married.
al Vi tIlt Sdiioi StoiS 40 u uN' Iut
about the piracy she cannot say, as she
was drugged at the time. Her husband
left her enormously wealthy, and no
one knows how he accumulated the
money. And now l have only one more
thing to say, that / must tender my
resignation to this club. as l am about
to be married"
THE wise of to-day are the fools or
tomorrow" murmured some one under
his breath.
A servant brought in telegram. The
restless man tore it open. read and let
the tissue paper autter to the ground.
II withdraw my resignation" he Sc i'd.
No one asked the reason why, but
some one poked the fire.-Illustrated
Bits.