Year: 1863

Some two years ago there came 10 reside in


Paris. which is Supposed 10 be the capital of


the civilized world. lady Of great beauty and


apparent wealth. She represented herself as


the widow Of an English officer Of the Cold


stream Guards and called herself Measures


Hare Whether the tale was true or false,


it took so well that in less than Two years we


6nd the fair " meestrees still in possession Of


the same youth and beauty, with the addition


Of an enormous fortune, a splendid hotel in one
of the most fashionable quarters Of Paris, eight
high bred horses in her stables, and about


twenty thousaud pounds worth of diamonds in


her eeriR. All this property acquired in SO
short time, might surely be thought sufficient


TO satisfy the craving OF any woman on the face
Of the earth. The great Partisan millionaire,
year towards it, bad enabled the fair 'meestrees'


TO operate in building ground aud building


leases with such sure means Of snccess that she


had become millionaire herself. But, alas j.
in addition to all the visible aud tangible pos
sessions mentioned above, Meestrees Hare had
yet another, which consisted of a most devoted
passion for one of the dandies of the day-a
man with fair hair and moustache, yellow
gloves, and clean shirt collar, but without
single idea beyond. The youth, who had lately
inherited the fortune of the chief magistrate
came one day recently to take his leave of 'the
Hare" as the lady is familiary called by her
friends. He was frank, if not just, in his deal


ngs with her, and announced his return to bis
native place, Chambery, for the purpose of
getting married. Thereupon terrible scene
OF disappointed afectou-tears, supplicatious
and tears-all of no avail The old menace of
suicide, too-the one of all others the gallant
knew best, and laughed at the longest. Il
will throw myself into the Seine" "Oh, yes,
and be ished out, aud be brought home drip
ping wet" Il will poison myself, if you GO"
." Oh, yes, and have the horrid stomach pump
and the apothecary-ps psha l have known aud
seen it ALL" " But you have never seen this :"
exclaimed the lady, seizirg one of the wax
lights from the table and setting fire to the
founces and furbelows, spread out yards wide
by her crinolne In an instant her whole
person was enveloped in flames, and through the
whole corridor of the Grand Hotel the echo of
the shrieks of pain resounded with appalling
effect. The flames were extinguished after
while but the victim lies in hopeless state,
suffering the martyrdom of pain, which those
who have suffered from burning declare to be
more intense than any other Her life is de-
SPARED of, for the whole body is said to be one
mass of burns-while By singular chance the
face aud neck, unscathed, still retain the beauty
which has made the Hare one of the great
celebrities of Paris. The whole of the demi-
monde at first gathered in the sympathy Of fel-
lowship round her bed: but soon one alone
took possession of the place, and drove the
traffickers of sentiment from the chamber where
death was waiting to seize his prey from the
hand of the doctor. This single defender is
the cure of Madeline, who has rescued the soul
from perdition, and obtained the bequest Of all
the property of the dying Magdaen to the
church should she die, and the VOW of retire
ment to the convent should she live. The tri-
umph is great. Demimonde, awed into silence
at first, is beginning to chatter about this sad
Resolve; while the cause of this sad catastro
pie, after twirling his moustache, and rejecting
that after all there was another good proof of
the indestructibilty of woman by suicide for
love. as she had been rescued and still might
live drove TO the railway and started off as
FIRST class passenger, to be married at Cham
berry.