The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-07
LAFCADIO HEARN,S ORIGIN.
| Romantic History of His Greek Moth
and Irish Father.
San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle.
Lafcadio Hearn, who is to-day unique
figure in English literature has history
romantic as any ever conjured up in the
brain of the widest fictionist. His father
and was colonel of a regiment stationed
near Dublin, which was one day ordered to
an interior town OF Greece. Colonel Hearn
had been there only little while when he
met accidentally lovely Grecian girl, the
only daughter of mountaineerS. Her parents
dead she lived with seven brothers, all
noted for reckless courage and scornful
hatred Of foreigners. Whatever might have
been the girls prejudices in the abstract,
they melted away before the concrete
charms Of this most fascinating young Irish
man. The lovers met by stealth for sew
era weeks before the suspicion of her broth
ers was aroused. They were wild with
fury yet strangely enough for men of their
temper they merely gave warning that II
ever again Colonel Hearn met or even
would kill him.
But the Irish soldier was not the man to
be frightened by threats; they had threat
ened their sister, too. with death. but this
had affrghted her as little. She soon
found means to acquaint her lover with
certain shut-in nook. where they could
meet without fear of discovery. Again the
lovers lived only in the ecstatic joy of each
others presence But a simple goatherd,
without thought of harming his young mis-
tress unwittingly discovered to the BROTH
ers the lovers rendezvous. They deter
mined to slay this man. Colonel Hearn was
set upon in lonely road by the SEVEN who
stabbed him over and over again and left
II,
The woefu despair Of their sister when
they told her of their deed touched even
those hece men ar 9 one bs o@y tne yoan
hated himself for the misery he had
brought upon her, told her a strange piece
of news. Suddenly her sorrow seemed to
drOp from her like a garment. Then the
brothers laughed and said: See how she
has forgotten him" The goatherd had in
formed her that Hearn was living, and that
within two weeks she must meet him at a
certain village, prepared to marry and fly
with him to a distant seaport town, where
they would be safe from vengeance. The
brothers, believing that the young man
was dead, readily agreed to let their Sis
ter visit some cousin living in the village
named So the lovers were married and
gone several days before the brothers knew
of it.
Colonel Hearn's regiment remained sew
eral years at the seaport town, and he and
his wife lived there in the utmost happiness.
There Iafcado was born and his younger
brother When Lafcadio was six years old
his fathers regiment was ordered back to
hr uG,tl together with his beautiful mother,
were objects of the liveliest curiosity. The
maiden aunts welcomed them ALL and took
them into heart and home. For a good
while after Colonel Hearn's return to his
old home he continued deenly in love with
his Wife Then enfrG cane sae,
with her oddities of dress and behavior, her
preiudices and superstitionS and finally
asked her to grant him a divorce He had
met again the woman he had loved but
whose father had opposed his suit before
he went to Greece Inc father was dead,
love for the Greek girl had been only an
episode.
she was made of hero stuff. She realized
what shameful wrong her husband sought
to put upon her. ana her eagerness to free
herself from him outran his. She hated
him now as much as once nee she had loved
him His auns lnefp5e spo tbe
nenhew and made his sons their heirs.
They retained as colnsel for their niece
.. Greek of remarkable legal talent, scho-
ar, rich. handsome. single and just forty
years OF age. She obtained the decree.
the uniyeTst and re love we nf I br ard
sci. whom she finally married ON his own
conditions He stipulated that she should
leave her two children with their aunts
and that they should leave Great Britain
forever. From that day to this her two
sons have never heard a word OF her, nor
| have they known to What part of the world
| the two went. For Immediately after the
divorce was granted Colonel Hearns regi-