The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-23
Spontaneous Combustion,

! Some ten years since occupied house
that had small garden entirely sur
rounding it. The architect who planned
It evidently believed in high rooms as
| necessary for our climate, as each story
| was fully twenty feet from floor TO cell
ing; consequently could look down from
| the second story of my house into the
yards and rooms of my neighbors on Ell
| ther side without any difficulty, and, in
| fact, could not well avoid it. The house
| on the right hand a queer. old-fashioned
| affair." after standing vacant long time,
| was az length taken by an odd-looking
| old man. whom 1 saw going over It one
| day, and the next day II was occupied
| Not being OF a Paul Pry disposition,
l paid little attention to my new neigh
| oorS; only found them quiet. The Old
| mouse had scarce more noise ABOUT II
/ than when vacant and I congratulated
myself that some man, with half a dozen
| boisterous, romping children, had not ia
| ken il.
| But one day an old family servant re-
| marked: Miss Jeanette. dare's some
| thin odd bout dem folks what's done
| moved next door, shore, dere is, honey;
| days ony got a scrumpled ole Niger for
| "a servant, and she's all hump behind,
| and looks like ole Satan fer shore; you
| never see de ole man and de ole xo-
man at de same time; de day you see de
l DAO mon SOO Ntil / see NC OiO hOiAd4if am
| de day you see de old woman de ole man
amt round and dey don't go out any
nowhar, only dat old scarecrow goes &c
errents."
| Now, nanny" said I to her, ''you just
| let our neighbors alone; they are decent
enough people, no doubt, and you need
not spend your time looking after their
oddities; you have enough to do to 'o9k
| at your own"
| Old nanny shook her head. and, mum
| bling her words after petted and spoiled
| servant fashion, went on with her dust
| ing, and l let the subject rest Ny at
| tention being thus drawn to them, found
| myself looking but occasionally from the
| windows on that side, noticing the house
and its inmates, and sure enough 1 never
| did see the two old people at the same
! time. Regularly as clockwork, every al
ternate day 1 would see the old man, then
the next day the old woman, but never
| the two together, just as If they took
turns IN keeping guard over everything.
| They were an odd-Iooking couple shaky.
| pale, and yet puffy and bloated and as
| for the old negress she was truly a daugh-
| ter of Eblis, if looks count for anything
| in reading character
| One night, just about II, the old ne
! gress came rapping at the back gate and
| asked for me. Old NANNY who had
| often said: Dat old Niger next doah
| is hoodoo, sartin," was really afraid Of
her, and said My mistress is jus bout
| giving to bed; you can't see her, nohow,
tonight" but the old negress told her 10
come and ask me ''if I wouldn't please
come in for a few minutes; that master
| was on his day and mistress was took
| nifty bad AS she wouldn't take no.
| nanny, much against her will, did come
and deliver the message, and bidding her
tell the old woman to go home and have
the gate open for me to get in, I has
tened to change my dress for a loose
wrapper and followed her as quickly as
possible.
found the old lady lying on low, mar
row lounge, in one of the lower rooms
Her husband was not present. She did
not seem to notice my entrance, but, iy-
ing back with eyes wide open, staring
straight before her into open space, a
look of unutterable horror stamped upon
her face. Approaching her side, I laid
my hand upon her forehead. 1t was
clammy and had a sticky, cold feeling
that was unpleasant. She did not answer
when l asked her where she suffered
pain, but moaned in a pitifuI manner that
made my heart ache to hear.
Where is your master?" I asked the
old negress.
''In his room, mistss; dis IS his day,
and mistiss' day to watch him"
What on earth do you mean, aunty?"
''Dis is his day to get drunk and mistiss'
day to keep sober, but her last two days
she's bin takin' brandy and all at once
she laid down thar and don't just like
you see her, till I got scared and went
for you, NAM"
do you mean to say that your master
and mistress take turns in getting
drunk?"
Yes, nam, duz. He gets drunk one
day and she gets drunk the mex day. but
her last two days to keep sober she's bin
Citing drunk too, so she's had a whole
week. She's bin drunk and it's made her
sick, I reckon"
Though thoroughly Disguised and
shocked at such tale of horror, I still
strove to help the hapless woman.
Get some warm water for foot bath
and we will undress her and get her into
bed, and then you go into my house and
tell nanny to send one of the servants
for DR.. Arnault to come at once"
With the old negress help I gave her
a bath, undressed her, and laid her upon
the lounge; we could not get her up
stairs to her bedroom; the low, pitiful
moan being all the sound that came
from her lips, and on her face seemed in
delibly fixed a look Of horror that fasci-
mated me-
I could not keep my eyes off Of her as
I sat there alone with her. While gazing
on her I fancied I saw a faint smoke is
suing from her mouth and nostris, and,
as I leaned forward, thinking fancy was
playing me false, a pale blue, lambert
fame came creeping from the mouth and
played OVER her face, and in a moment
il seemed TO gather over her whole body.
the ears, the eyes, the hands. from the
tips of her fingers shot little flames, the
whole body was covered with the fend-
ISL thing; the poor woman writhed in tor
ture indescribable, and an odor that was
filthy in taste and smell filled the room.
I could not move. I was utterly paral-
yzed with terror, and when the doctor
and the old negress entered my room
I was in a dead faint
They told me afterward that she never
spoke. the doctor could not relieve her,
nor arrest the fame; water poured upon
Il increased It, and when the fame died
away there was nothing left but the burnt
and charred body that crurbled beneath
the touch like so much cinder; and yet,
strange 10 saw, the bed on which she lay
was not injured by fire, but covered with
a greasy SCOT that you could scarce wash
off-New York News.
Another Funston shrek.
A -,,;-s15o ~ Summers Eay