The Opelousas courier., 1898-12-10

an American, born Of French parents
a Traveller, a citizen Of the world
here to-day and away to-morrow-witl
but one desire in life, which I fear
may never be fulfilled"
| handed him my card, and the Jap
anese announced dinner. The dining
room into Which lie Mour ushered me
was even more luxuriously furnished
than the other apartment. | perceived
that the table. on which was an abund-
arce of rich plate and crystal, was set
but for two.
The dinner vas Il most elaborate
one, and the wines of rare excellence.
Ny host displayed a fund of informa-
tion that %astonished me. He ceased to
he the saturnine individual Ihadaccos-
ted at the balloon ascension i'll the
morning. He was genial, witty full
of anecdote and comment unpn'1ne
great people of this country and BIT
rope-personal experiences indicating
an extensive and exclusive associa-
ton.
When after the cloth aWas removed.
following the English fashion, and Il
bottle Of very choice Burgundy was
set on the table, l ventured to say
Pray, MI. lie Mour. do not think me
impairment if l inquire Of you really
meant your remarks at Bakers Beach
this morning. Surely you could not
wish that the %aeronaut should meet
with a violent and horrible death"'
In 4 moment the light. genial eX-
preston of lie MoHr's face changed.
A dark frown, tightly set lips, and an
evil glitter in his small, %forbidding
eyes, replaced the pleasant, friendly
air he had worn since my arrival.
My friend,' he said, and his voice
was harsh and cultural, for years my
quest in life has been to see men die
violent deaths. 1 suppose l am a
moral monster, a morbid beast, thirst
ing for the blood of his kind. Granted
| am all these. Then on nature the
blame. But that passion in my breast
is greater and more dominant than
the love of woman in the %sensualist;
the roue who sees in woman only an
instrument of lust; or the thirst for
liquor in the inebriate, who will sac
ritice everything to his appetite for
drink. 1t has S%upplanted every other
desire. 1t has uprooted and taken the
place of every other ambition. | have
seen men die ON the scaffold by the
rope. | have stood on the platform of
the guillotine so close to the victim |
that My clothes have been spattered
with his blood. I have seen in Spain
the garrote crush the spinal cord, and
IN Russia the knout fay the skin, until
the qulVering heart was exposed. !
things to me are the sources of
the keenest and most intense pleasure.
Why, l do not presume to tell you.
Because l do not know. But l do
know that they are, and that the ap-
petite Increases every year. / have
in my body a bullet received on
the field of Gravelotte, where | went,
not to fight for France or Germany,
but to see men die. But I have never
yet seen a man fall from a great
height, though l have spent days
watching buildings go up, and the
creep like flies from plank to
plank. 1t q been my misfortune to
absent when those accidents oc-
cured, and l have CRASHED my teeth
with disappointment when I read how
narrowly l have missed this browning
quest of my life"
He ceased, and I confess I felt de-
uncomfortable. [ realized j
hat, however a n LIE Mour might be
N other matters, on this business he
vas a raving maniac. l made an iu-
ward resolve that he could not tempt
ne to see the upper apartments of his
louse, whatever the inducements he
'ffered. The working of his savage +.
ace, the foam upon his compressed
Ups, the clenching of his muscular
lands, and the atmosphere of blood
With which he seemed surrounded, :
destroyed the bouquet of the Burgun- !
y and urged me to get away from =
his morbid lunatic as quickly as DOS
ible.
Il sincerely hope he has e some q
stabbed to DEATH" l thought, d
else he may experiment on me before I
leave" c
"You will pardon me-" he said. with
n attempt to recover his former man. a
er, IF l have startled and shocked v
on. But l am done now. Won't YOU c
upstairs and have some coffee? Il
ave some curios frcm many lands 1
'Ould like to show you" 8
Nothing would give me greater G
.|easure," l replied h%urriedly; "but c.
ou must excuse me this evening. A Il
.'urnaiist has his night obligations.
Oh know. So O l must regretfully a
i'd you good evening" b
parted pleasantly enough, but 81
hen the door changed behind me / O.
like a nan who had escaped from e.
tigers den. .
Ten days afterward I read the fol- r.,
wing in a morning paper In
.Unprovoked Attempt at Murder v,
iolent and Shocking Death of the o.
'oula-Be Assassin.-Shortly before Il
ION yesterday, a strange man asked OF
Id obtained permission from the con.
actor of the new building, now in y,
'ocess of erection on Post street. to 2,
spect the upper floor. He assembled w
G ladders, and walking out on one II
the main stringers, spoke pleasantly n,
a carpenter employed on the build r
6. Suddenly and without any DOS 4;
ole reason he flung himself upon the
Drkman, and ~endeavored to hurI him