The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-10-21
rrcIAL CORRESPONDENTS.

uEcIAL CORRESPONDENTS.
London. Oct. Bone Of The most fdsci-
Mating stories of woman and war when mas
come out Of The Transyaai is that told IN
tie London Daily News by It's war cor.
respondent. Nj. Hales. II is the story OF
q modern pelilah-a woman whose 'n"r"i
and cunning bsguiIed from British officers
high military secrets. These secrets inns
spy OF Dom Paul Kruger conveyed II her
Roer friends so quickly and accurately that:
Mr.. Esles says, they accounted iVr SeNft"i
disasters to British arms.
Before the WAT. writes IN" correspondent
there lived in Johannesburg a Stnar'-loph-
ing married woman about - years oIu-
Madame was IF German or Swedish nation
ality, married To = Russian civil engineer.
Ehe was not a beauty. but hcg lace was iui
of charm. her eyes had the gift 81 "iiquelce
and she could say more without opening nef
mouth than most women can impari VINO
possess a tireless tongue. She corlc De gay
or sad, pathetic. pleading or lmi'efEnuS ~
will. Her hands were Sfapeiv. soft ara
white, and had the trick of ciingins careSs-
fnsly to masculine fingers when the hurior
suited the dame. and men WHO knew hrt
well. and who later came under her SPELL
have told me that there was a magnetism
IL her touch which drew men 10 ne. as
moonlight draws the CaihtE'
Ike the scent of the waffle flower at the
dawniug in the nostri.s of the bushinah.
Her waist would lit the crook of a mans
arm. her bust was fashioned on a model de-
signed by the gods. When she reclineu
upon a settee she looked like a tigress bask-
ing in the sun. so fUlI Of l.ssom grace ana
vitality did she seem. and when she walked
her body unduIated like the ripples on n
running river
When the war clouds gathered thick over
the land it was an open secret that Madame
was deep in the councils of the Boer lead
Her husband was given a mission in
Europe, not because he was of any paftlcu-
lar use. but he was in Madamc's way IN
South Africa. She was a desperate woman.
prepared to play a desperate game Tor d
big stake. d-s hated the English Ru-
NOR saith that she had good cause to hate
one of our breed. but that tale would take
TOO long in the telling. Hate us she oi1'
and she gave US good cause to know IT,
She had not too much money in the days
Of peace. Her husband earned a good salary,
but he was a gambler, and a lot more OF
his salary went into the pockets OF the
professional harpies than into his wife,s
purse. Yet as soon as he carried his port
manteaH to the seacoast Madame began to
live in finer style than she had ever done.
Dom Paul the Man in the Case.
People said there was a man in the case,
and SO there was. but not in the sense
that folks at the time imagined. Old Dom
Paul was the man. When she left johannes
burg on her frequent trips she was not
wasting her time, as some people fancled, or
even spending her time with men at all.
From town to town, from farm to farm.
che went with RESTLESS activity. organizing
q system of spying among the Boer women.
1t was Madame who arranged that when
our troops arrived anywhere in Natal or the
Free State the wives of the farmers and
their bes~t-looking daughters should visit
our lines with fresh eggs, fresh butter ana
other little luxuries. She instructed them
to take note of the number of men Ia each
camp, the number of guns and the quantity
and condition of our horses. Each was ad-
vised to send all information SO CLEANED
promptly to the nearest Boer commando,
and right vel! they obeyed her when the
time for action came. TIL Beers have been
well served in many ways during the war.
but by none better than their own women
folk, who have worked for them with des-
perate earnestness from beginning to end,
displaying q courage, determination and re-
source seldom eQualed In all the history O:
the world.
When war was at last formally declared
Madame was one of the first women turned
out Of the republican territory. She was
not sent away with a lot of other women.
She was purposely singled out and ostenta-
tiously passed over the border and labeled
dangerous by the smart agents of crafty
old Dom Paul. When she reached Cape
Town she lifted up her voice in lamentatiOn.
Her dear little happy home had been brok-
en- up by the brutal Beers. All that she val
ued on earth had been swept away by the
tidal waves of war, and she was left Ike
@ piece of human wreckage on the coast
line Of life. But, strangely enough. she
was not long in establishing another little
nest" in a charming suburb. where the
beautiful scenery was enough to intoxicate
the senses of the most phlegmatic Of men.
The nest" lay back In q dainty garden
surrounded by shady trees. and all around