Year: 1877




wonder grows as the questions. Whence
he came +? What he meant, or whittier
he has gone? still fly back and forth
among the bellies and beaux unanswer-
ed save by a thousand speculations,
every one of which when followed up
so far have proved to be false. Not
since the Count of Monte Christos day
has such strange splendor dazzled and
confounded.


About l o'clock, in the midst of the
snow storm, a handsome close carriage
with liveried driver and tootman and
drawn by aristocratic bays was seen to
halt on Franklin street, in the neigh
borhood of the club. The initial on the
panelling of the door was simple ~"
Snow being upon the ground and fall
ing, the footman, with great obeisance
and alacrity, rolled from the carriage
to the house door a handsome Tar kish
carpet, and, with the aid OF the coach
man, Immediately spread costly pro
lection of striped silked stuff, under
which the occupant of the carriage pro
ceeded to the door Of the house and
entered. Whereupon, in an instant the
paraphernalia was returned to its place,
and the carriage presented no extraor-
dinary appearance One or two observ-
ers, struck by this extraordinary
ceremony, approached the servants
with questions, but their surly manner
was such that little was elcted. The
stranger remained but few minutes,
when, on his temperance, the same
ceremony of carpeting and cOnopying
was gone through with and The con
veyance drove off. His appearance as
described at this time by one who saw
him passing was that Of a tall, well
formed man of thirty-fye, erect, with
Grecian features, dark, bright, clear,
soft hazel eyes; hair prematurely gray;
moustache, olive complexion, and ele-
ganty dressed. The extraordinary
ceremony attending his advent and de-
parture exciting the curiosity Of a
neighbor who observed it, he sent a
messenger to the house visited to ascer-
tain the name of the distinguished visi-
tor, but the servant only returned to say
that it was stranger who had mistaken
the residence for another TO which he
had letters of introduction, and gave
bis name as Mons. lie Compte dAud-
rasse. That good manners and the
relience of the visitor had prevented
further inquiry. The servant, however,
tripping across the sidewalk where the
carriage had stood picked up a small
gold coin, which is not French, and
seems to be Cubau or Spanish. With
er the stranger went from this, the first
point to which We have traced him, We
know not. 1t is certain he did not GO
to the place inquired tor, however,
although he was distinctly told where
and how to find it. Runners from all
portions of the city as TO the apparition
and queer conduct of a stranger satisfy
us that some imposter or practical joker
had a merry New Year in our midst.
Yet if Ire be mere imposter he is GER
tainly rich one, for his favors were
distributed most lavishly and the tokens
he has left are certainly valuable. We
have arranged the numerous accounts
| of him which we have received in the
order of their occurrence. At l -
o'clock his conveyance was seen OPP
posite Monroe Park. He entered a
residence there with the same ceremony
as at first named; left the same card;
approached a lady of great beauty with
all the air of old acquaintance; express
ed great delight at renewing an old
acquaintance; talked with such volubili-
ty in French and English as utterly to
cenfound her; declared that his only
purpose in stopping here was to see
her, and presented her with handsome
bouquet and holder, which he SAID he
bad brought with him from New York.
She, of course, declined the gift, but it
was left in the hall He then stated
that he was stopping at the Exchange
Hotel, aud on his way 10 Florida for
business and pleasure. The curious
part of his visit was that he declined all
refreshments, and although the sequel
proves that he must have been drunk
towards evening, 70 one whose house
he visited testifes to his taking liquor
or Stinulants OF any sort.


All his visits were very brief, and
paid with such an air Of rush and furry
that they seem to have utterly dumb
founded those who should be able to
describe them infinitely. The servants
who received him seem the best Wit
nesses. Many of the young ladies have
most vivid recollection of his sweet
smile, bis eyes, and his in3escribably
sweet broken accent. Others have not.
Between two and three o'clock he had
suddenly placed his carriage upon
sleigh-roUkers-how, where, or when is
a mystery which inquiry at every pub
lie stable in this town has failed to
solve, and the quantity or robes within
and without the carriage was astonish-
ing. If any one had anticipated such
freak of course it would have been
easy to detect the author, but the very
bad weather, the immense fall of snow
and the fact that no one until towards
evening suspected that it was mystery
or extensive hoax, necessItates our tax
ing the back trail to work up the affair
He was princely to the servants wher-
ever he went, as not less than sixty or
seventy can attest by gold and silver
coin of France, Spain. England, Ger
many and America, and in one instance
of Turkey, DOW in their possession, the