Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-10-06

to the hour of dining, I rung the bell
of a large, old-fashioned house, dingy
and neglected-looking to a degree. A
Japanese servant admitted me, and
found my host seated in a Handsomely
furnished parlor. He was in evening
dress, so [ at once decided that we
! were not to be without ladies' soci
ETY..
You must pardon me- he said
courteously, "for my neglect to give
you my name. l am such a hermit
that l have almost forgotten the con-
VentiOnalities. / am Albert lie Nour
an American, born of French parents,
a traveller, citizen OF the world
here to-day and away .to-morrow-with
but one desire in life, which I fear
may never be fulfilled
I 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-
ance of rich plate and crystal, was set
but for two.
The dinner was most elaborate
one, and the wines of rare excellence.
My host displayed fund of informa
ton that astonished me. He ceased to
be the saturnine individual Ihad accos-
ted at the balloon ascension in the
morning. He was genial, witty, full
of anecdote and comment upon the
great people of this country and Eu-
rope-personal experiences indicating
an extensive and exclusive associa-
ton.
When after the cloth was removed.
following the English fashion, and Il
bottle of very choice Burgundy was
set on the table, ventured to say
'Pray, Mr.. lie AIour, do not think me
| impertinent il l inquire if you really
meant your remarks at Bakers Beach
this morning. Surely you could not
wish that the aeronaut should meet
With violent and horrible death?'
In moment the light, genial eX-
preston of lie Mours face changed.
A dark frown, tightly set lips and an
evil glitter i'll 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. l suppose l am a
moral monster, a morbid beast thirst
ing for the blood of his kind. Granted
l am all these Then on nature the
blame. But that passion in my breast
is greater and more dominant than
F.! 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 supplanted every other
desire. It 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 spatterel
with his blood. l have seen in Spain
the garrote crush the spinal cord, and
in Russia the knout fay the skin, until
the Quivering heart was exposed.
These things to me are the sources of
Why, l do not presume to tell you.
Because I do not Know But I do
know that they are, and that the APP
petite increases every year. l have
now in my body a bullet received on
the field of Gravelotte, where 1 went.
not to fight for France or Germany.
but to see men die. But | have never
yet seen man fall from a great
height, though | have spent days
watching buildings go up, and the
workmen creep like flies from plank to
plank. 1t has been my misfortune to
be absent when those accidents oc
Cured, and | have gnashed my teeth
with disappointment when | read how
narrowly l have missed this browning
quest of my life
| He ceased, and l confess l felt de-
cidedly uncomfortable. | realized
that, however sane LIE Mour might be
on other matters, on this business he
was raying maniac. l made an in-
! ward resolve that he could not tempt
me to see the upper apartments of his
| house, whatever the inducements he
offered. The working of his savage
face, the foam upon his compressed
! lips, the clenching of his muscular
| hands, and the atmosphere of blood
with which he seemed surrounded,
destroyed the bouquet Of the Burgun-
dy and urged me to get away from
| this morbid lunatic as quickly as pos
sible.
x sincerely hope he has seen some
one stabbed to DEATH" l thought,
'.else he may experiment on me before
/ leave"
''You will pardon me-" he said with
an attempt to recover his former man
ner, 'if l have startled and shocked
you. But 1 am done now. Won't you
step upstairs and have some coffee?
have some curios from many lands I
| would like fn show Won ~