Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1924-08-06
LOVERS LEAP" CAMDEN.
Real story of Fatal Fall About Which
Romance HAS Been Woven.


listen to the romantic tale OF
beautiful girl who, on the eve of her
marriage to a man not of her own
choice. threw herself from the cliff to
death on the rocks 800 feet below.
The real story from which the cliff
gains it's name loses something of
This romance. The maiden becomes
an eleyen-year-old girl, and her fall
was purely accidental. The tragedy
occurred sixty-two years ago, ana
Elenora French was the victim. me
story as told by her sister, Mrs. FRED
Gaseous, still living in Camden, is as
follows:
1T was back in war times, and my
sister and were living with my
father and mother. Mr.. and Mrs.
Zadoc French at Lincolnville Beach,
then called French's Beach, named
for one of the first settlers-my
great great grandfather There were
twelve of us children, and | was the
oldest. On that May day, l had
planned to drive to Lincolnville Cen
ter with school teacher, MISS
Hartshorn, and sister Elenora,
then eleven years old begged to go,
too l was eighteen and felt she
would be in the way, and so did
mother, but she leased so hard that
we gave in and told her she could go.
How clearly it all comes back to me,
her happiness as she danced away to
put on her new print dress which
mother had made for her to have her
pictures taken in the next week 1t
was made with full skirt gathered
into a fan waist and she was very
proud of it, She never lived to have
her pictures taken and we have none
of her.
I'VE drove away with the old horse
father kept for us to use, and it was
such beautiful day that the awful
tragedy waiting us almost around the
corner cast no shadow. Arriving at
Lincolnville we were met by young
man, Randall Young, of that town,
who invited us to climb Mt. Megunti-
took This we were delighted to do,
and started off in gay spirits. We
made the ascent on the Lincolnville
side which is very gradual, and gives
no idea of the height to the one who
mounts. When we were on the cliff,
Mr. Young told us how very high it
was, and as we stood looking out
over the lake and its many little is
land, and admiring the scene, he
went to fetch a big stone which he
said he would roll down over the
cliff, to show us how high up we
were.
"AIiss Hartshorn and l sat talking,
and just bit apart from us Elenora
sat. l we'll remember how she looked.
The wind had blown her hat off. TAX
ing with it her net. 1t was not the
kind of a net girls wear to-day but
was hand knit out of colored silk and
little girls as well as their mothers
wore them. AS | saw her last, she
sat there in the May sunlight putting
on her net. | turned to speak to my
companion and heard Il piercing
scream. The place where sister was
sitting was empty. She was gone
with that awful cry which | shall re-
member to my dying day. Should |
live to be hundred | shall never
forget the horror of that moment but
although | was almost insane | did
not faint and with the others ran to
the edge of the cliff.
1--WE could see no signs of her, for
we could not get near enough to look
down where she had fallen. Mr..
Young told us to go down the way we
came up and get help, telling us to
lead them to the turnpike road sew
eral hundred feet below. He said he
would scale the cliff and find sister.
at seemed an eternity before we
could get down to the village and find
men to come to our aid for they were
all put in the fields as it was plant
ing time AT last we found some and
went to the foot of the cliff, while
young woman, Miss Barrett, ran to
the field. caught a horse and rode
bare-b back to Camden for doctor and
to get word to father and mother.
"In the meantime Mr.. Young had
crept down over the face of the cliff,
how. no one can ever figure out, as it
is like a straight wall, and had found
Elenora unconscious. The men made
q
tenderly lifting her placed her upon
it as carefully as they could. 1t was
two O'Clock when she fell and it was
sunset when she was finally removed
and carried to Lincolnville Center. 1t
was estimated that she had fallen
about 500 feet This was estimated
by the conditions of the mountain
side The first fall was undoubtedly
fatal. 1t was found that she had a
bad bruise on her back but not bone
in her body was broken. 1t was in
ternal injuries, the doctor said, that
killed her She died at 1890 that
night without regaining conscious
ness. Father and mother were with
her, but of course she didn't know"
Astrologer- Mr. Editor, | have
here a very fine article on 'The End
of the World. Jan l /"
Editor-Yes. let me have that. 1t