Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1911-07-20
A GRIM
VISITOR
- By F. A. Mitchell
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation. 1911.
By F. A.. MITCHELL

| was sitting i'll Il restaurant in Ma
pies with several American friends
talking about the cholera.
This cholera business is merely a
scare" said one. Besides, why fear
death? We must all die some time"
THAT for DEATH" said young Thorn
ton. swapping his fingers. Pm going
to live to be a hundred"
a singular looking fellow came into
the restaurant and sat down at an ad-
joining table. l could lot make out
that he was of any especial age; he
might have been thirty or fifty or a
hundred and fifty. Yet there was
something about him that made him
look prematurely aged. His eyes were
set very deep in his head and glistened
like those Of a wild animal in b dark.
He was so thin that one could almost
see the functions OF the bones of his
face, and his clothes hung about him
in huge folds. He had evidently heard
Thornton's boast, for he fixed his eyes
on hin in Il way that made my blood
run cold. Other OF the younger mem
bers Of the party who sat with their
backs to the newcomer perpetrated
jokes about death. Every word on
gers ire until he was dashed into d
fury.
MY friends he said presently.
you who condemn death do not real
ize what you are talking about. You
should have seen such sights as I have
seen. Were any of you in a battle?"
We all stared at the stranger. tongue
tied. No one of us claimed to have
seen anything Of war.
Il was at the battle of Gravelotte,"
he said, and advanced with an at
lacking party Of Prussians. If you
had seen that white pail that l threw
over the faces of those who were
struck you would not laugh at DEATH"
you threw over their faces?" l ask
ed, puzzled.
"Then at New Orleans the mar
went III without noticing my remark.
you should have seen the British COM
ing up III perfect formation against
the Kentucky hunters. Here. there.
everywhere the redcoats sank down
in their tracks,
do you refer to the battle Of New
Orleans. sir" interrupted Il of our
party.
Yes. sir. | do. But battles are moth
ing. Take the great plague hat swept
London. Two men were walking be-
fore me on Cheapside. | touched one
by way Of attracting his attention. He
paled and sank down in his tracks. A
party were drinking in an ale house
without the town limits. AS I looked
at one Of them he threw up his hands.
with Il roam. | went out into the
street and saw the people burning bar
rels OF tar. | laughed at them"
do you mean. sir" | asked. that
you were in London at that tir!e?"
My friend. where have | not been
when men and ONE and children
were struck down by this something
you call death? In the days Of ancient
Rome whole communities of Gauls who
rebelled against the Roman authority
were butchered. They had been; they
were not"
1t was evident to most of US that the
man was a lunatic. But we did O
communicate the thought to one anoth
er. Each Of US was %spellbound no
less by his strange talk than his weird
personality.
But even these stricken barbarians.
on for &c M M orS q 70 cn,oorr,11 n
but few in comparison with those
this thing you sometimes call the
reaper has cut down at one time.
There have been portions Of the earth
that have sunk into the sea swallowing
up Il hundred times the number Of thr
greatest butchery."
"When?" | asked.
When? What knowledge have you
Of the little planet on which you live
beyond a few thousand years? The
time of which l speak was forgotten
10000 years ago"
Tell US" | asked. your nationality
You speak English as If you are Anglo
Saxon"
English! | speak every living and
every dead language. am a citizen
of the world. | am always busy. AT
this moment l I'M resting preparatory
to a great work"
When did you come to Naples?'
Yesterday at noon"
We all shuddered. At II o'clock the
day before the first cholera patient had
died.
will you remain long|
MY stays no human being knows.
l 60 into a place. do what work l find
for me to do there and 20 elsewhere.
Then l stop often by the wayside.
During my journey here l stopped at
a cottage. There was one less in the
family when ! left. On entering this
city I made several calls before resting
from my journey. But l must be go.
ing. am pleased to have met you
onf1ar,op