Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-04-27

ne Ouner nlguV, WDlle Wlun Il NUM-
Der Of friends, heard story of
woman who had been driven to a
strange suicide by terror and remorse.
She was highly bred and cultured.
Suspected of completely in crime of
which she had been mute witness,
in despair at her irreparable. coward
ice, tormented by perpetual night
mare that showed her her husband
pointing her out with his rotting fin
ger to the magistrates, she became
the helpless prey of her oyerwrought
nerves. A trifing circumstance de-
termined her fate. Her little nephew
was living with her. One morning, as
usual, he was learning his lesson in
the dining room; she was sitting near
by. The child began to translate,
word for word, some verses from
Sophocles. He said over the Greek
and French terms as he wrote them
out: ''Kara teton, the divine head;
Iokastes, of Yocasta; letneked, is dead
Sposa konnen, tearing her
hair; kalei, she calls; Laion nekron,
dead Lais. Eisedomen, we
saw; ten gunaika kremasten, the
woman hanged" He wound up with
flourish of his pen, stuck out his
tongue violet with ink and sang:
Hanged! hanged! hangedl" The
wretched woman, her will-power ut
terly destroyed, obeyed the sugges-
tion of the thrice heard word. She
rose without word, without glance,
and fastened to her room. A few
hours later the commissary of police,
called in to investigate her violent
end, made this reflection: II have
seen many woman who has COM
mitted suicide. This is the first one
T'vef Lnnurn-4n hang herself ',.4-2.---..s
This case recalled similar one to
my mind, that of my unfortunate COM
rade and friend, Alexandra Mansel.
In the foregoing story the heroine
was killed by a verse of Sophocles;
my friends life was brought to an end
by sentence of Lamprides.
Mansel, who was schoolmate of
mine at the Lycee of Avranches, was
different from all other boys. He
seemed both older and younger than he
really was. Small and slight, at fifteen
he was afraid of all the bugaboos that
terrify children of five. He had hor-
ror Of the dark. We were not fond of
him; he would have become our butt
if he had noe impressed us by GER
tain fierce pride and his record as a
clever scholar. Though he worked
spasmodically, he often stood at the
head of his class. They used to say
that he talked at night in the dormi-
tory and walked in his sleep. None
of us could swear to it, for we never
woke after our heads once touched the
pillow.
For long time I was more curious
about him than fond of him. We sud
denly grew great friends on an excur-
sion that we all took together to the
abbey of Mont st. Michel. We had
walked barefooted along the shingle,
carrying our shoes and our luncheon
on the end of our sticks, all singing
at the top of our voices. We crossed
the drawbridge and sat down side by
side on one of the old cannon, rustet
by five centuries of rain and spray
Looking with his dim eyes from the
old stones to the sky, swinging hi'
bare feet, Alexandra abruptly spok,
to me:
''I should like to have been knigh
in the old wars. l would have taker
hundred cannon. l would have
fought single handed on the ramparts
and the Archangel st. Michael woul'
have stood over my head like a whit
cloud"
From that day on I understood
far better than before.my schoolmate
character. I discovered that it wa
founded on an immense pride that
had not suspected. / need not tel
you that at fifteen I was not pro
found psychologist, and Mansel
pride was too subtle to be at first evi
dent. 1t extended itself to vagu
chimeras and had no tangible form
Yet it inspired all my friends sent
whimsical, incoherent ideas.
During the vacation following on
excursion to Mont st. Michel, Manst
invited me to spend day at hi
parents home at st. Julien. Secul
ing my mothers rather unwilling cor
sent, / started off, in white vest an
blue tie, early one Sunday morning.
Alexandra, smiling like happ
child, was waiting for me onthe thresl
old. He led me by the hand into til
'sbest room" Though the house
half rustic, half bourgeoise = wa
neither poor nor disordeily, | was ol
pressed on entering it, so silent an
sad it was. Near the window, who's
slightly parted curtains denoted ce
tain curiosity, was seated woman
oil appearances old-perhaps moi