The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1901-02-13

ef the floor would be in our possession.
That night the two of us attended
the theater and aftcrward had supper,
and l haven't the slightest doubt that
my wine was drugged. While l was
not made helpless. my head seemed as
big as n barrel. l could hardly keep
my eyes open, and IL Duchene had not
put me in a cab and instructed the
driver l should never have found my
way to the hotel. l had to be helped
to my room. and l fell upon the bed,
dressed as l was. and was instantly
asleep. | had been asleep two hours
when l awoke as keen az fox. The
effects of the drug had vanished, and
as l got out of bed to undress | found
my legs all right again was fully
undressed and ready to get between the
sheets when my ear caught a sound
from under the bed | at once stopped
down for look, and my eyes rested
upon man lying on the broad of his
back. l had him out IN second 1t
seemed TO me as If | had five times
my ordinary strength. and, though the
fellow struggled furiously and cut my
arm with knife, l grasped his throat
and choked him till he lay like one
dead. 1t was only when | had struck
light that | found the intruder to
be Duchene. He had come In through
the window which opened ON n We
randa. He had been working Mt the
lock of my trunk when | made some
noise on awakening. and he had rolled
himself under the bed. He had come
for that bag of gold, and he had meant
TO do for me II necessary.
| alarmed the house. the police were
sent for. and the follow was taken
away, but ii was n good hour before
he recovered his senses His story was
entirely false aud he had put up
job TO rob me. II Was my testimony
that gave him five years In prison, but
after II WAS all over and he had been
sent away l was a bit sorry for him.
He could tell good story. had laugh
which made you laugh with him, and
few meu of his class In Paris or else,
where could order better dinner. He
was not grasping man withal. lie
had planned to rob me Of $1,000 where
enother would have raised the figure
TO $1,000.
The Gentle Art az Letter writing.
The classic HgP of letter writing. Ike
that of chivalry. Is gone. although no
Burke has been found YET 10 utter its
splendid funeral Grafton Correspond.
ence on business, hurried notes contain
ing invitations to dinner or aeceptaneCs
thereof-these nre the mlssivcs which
fill the bag of the letter carrier The
love letter we presume, stIll holds Its
sway, and, II we are 10 judge from the
revelations of brench of promise cases.
it is full of sugary sentimenialism us
in the days Of Lydia IaneHish. But
the letter as 1t has passed into lltera-
ture, the letter whose highest claim TO
be treated as art Is that ii couceals art,
the letter ms written by William Cow
per, or Oliver Goldsmith, or Horace
Walpole. or Miss Burney-that charm
ing epistle intended only for the affec-
Tomato perusal of friends and yet Of
such value TO the historian of life and
manpers-shall we say that 1t has dis
appeared from the busy modern world,
killed by the railway and the steam
ship and the thoughts that shake man
kindf' As least, it is now but n rare
product a fragile flower scarcely able
to maintain itself in our altered social
soil.
Correspondence from being cherish
ed art and solace has In our day tend
ed to become what is called in slang
grind" 1t Is 'snlppety." like the
cheap newspapers, n sort of bits" or
cuts" giving hints which require to be
filed out, only that the receiver has
hardly time for that mental process.
Truth to tell great deal of our letter
writing is boredom, the source OF lrrita-
tlon and WEAKNESS TO those who are
called on to undertake it.--LondoD
Spectator.