Iron County register., 1897-12-09
AND THEY CAME BACK.
Frenchmen Who Became American
without Knowing 1t.

AND THEY CAME BACK.
Frenchmen Who Became Americans
without Knowing 1t.
It is an old saying that when one has
once tasted Mississippi water in New
Orleans, the Crescent City has fascin-
alton that cannot be resisted. This is
illustrated in the case of gentleman
of France who lately died In New Or
leans. He first came here before the
civil war, and in three or four years
residence attained a wonderful liking
for the manners and customs of the
people. During the war the death of a
relative called him back to his native
1and-to the place of his birth-Tou-
louse. OF course, at first, he was glad
to get back; he met again the friends of
his youth; he sat under his ancestral
vine and fig tree and drank the wine of
the pleasant wales of Gascony. It was
not long, however, before he began to
be disturbed in his mind. A restlessness
possessed him; he was not able to take
pleasure in life. Around him were all
the conditions that he considered es-
sential to happiness-oldf friends, plen-
ty to eat and drink, an amiable wife;
coming to him with agreeable regular
ity was IN ample income from the es-
tates of his forefathers. What was the
matter? He couldn't make it out. He
could not rid himself of the restless
ness; he could not find it possible to
be pleased with existence. What is
the trouble, my wife?'' he said one day.
"France does not seem as pleasant as 1t
used to be-" "Now, / will tell you,"
said his wife, who was wise woman.
''In Louisiana, you will remember, you
used to take every morning before
breakfast one or two whisky cocktails;
then in the afternoon you would take
another cocktail, and in the evening
you used to drink your whisky and wa
ter before going to bed" 81 believe
that is it," said the gentleman. "You
are a treasure" So he went to New
Orleans for a barrel of good whisky,
and for awhile he took his old-time
drinks, and the restlessness and dissat-
isfaction seemed in way to depart
from him. But it was not long before
he was again going about the house in
gloomy and disgruntled frame of mind.
'It Is no use," he said to his wife; ''the
whisky does not do me any good. These
people here are not the same as they
used to be; the manners are not the
same. Since Louis Napoleon has come
into power all our good, free-and-easy
times have gone away. 1t is all bowing
and smirking and politeness now.
have to do this, and have to do that, or
people frown upon me. I am tired.
] don't know why France, my native
land, should have such an effect upon
me-" "I will tell you what is the mat
ter" said his wife. "Well, what then?"
"This is it," answered his wife. You
have become an American without
knowing it. Your heart is turning to-
ward our old home in New Orleans"
The gentleman's face frightened. 1t
was a revelation to him. "You are
right, my dear WIFE he said. 81 wish
freedom of action; I love Louisiana; I
shall go back to it; am become an
American without knowing it" And the
good couple did come back, and both
have died by the side of the yellow,
fascinating, incompatible waters of the
old Mississippi-N. o. Times-Democrat
How a Caterpillar Defends Itself.
The caterpillar of the puss moth,
quite a common insect in this country,
has a most effective way of defending
itself, and may prove, as we shall pres
emily see, dangerous even to human be-
ings. This well-protected caterpillar is
provided between its head and forelegs
with cleft, from which it can protrude
an organ capable of squirting out a
quantity of very acid fluid to consid-
erabIe distance, and when alarmed it
habitually makes use of this formidable
weapon. In one of the chronological
magazines a correspondent states that
he was observing some of these cater
pillars in captivity, when he happened
to disturb one, and it suddenly squirted
out a quantity of fluid in jet, which
struck one of his eyeballs, though his
head at the time was quite two feet
away from the insect. He rushed off
in great agony to the doctor, who told
him that the eyeball was in very dan
gerous condition. His eye was totally
blind for hours after the occurrence.
and it was some days before he finally
recovered. What the effect of this fluid
must be upon smaller creatures we
leave our readers to imaginel-Cham
bers' Journal.