Year: 1866

| "A SnreWo cholera Patient


When the cholera ragged with most
fatal virulence at Toulon, convict who
was dying rapidly of the epidemic, col
lected his fast expiring strength in one
extreme effort, and beckoned to the
turnkey under whose charge he had
been since his imprisonment The
turnkey bent his head near the dying
prisoner, and the latter gasped in al
most inarticulate sounds, everybody
knows the loss of speech is one Of the
symptoms of cholera, J this dying speech.


" You have been kind to me ever
since l reached therefore would
in turn do you a kindness. As it is
evident | shall never leave here except
feet foremost, l cannot profit by the
money which 1 have hidden in order to
enable me to live when my term of i'm
prisonment is ended. I give it to you.
The retiring pension you will receive
from the government is but mockery,
but with the amount of money 1 have
hidden you may live at the end of your
service in something like ease. May be
you have heard of the great robbery at
Grenbole, in 1856. 4 bank was broken
into, and large amount of valuable
property stolen. Much of it was of NO
account to me, (for 1 was that burglary
it consisted of bills payable, bills Of ex-
change, and railway bonds to order;
but there were $4,000 which | laid
hands on, and which I have still in nv
possession-at all events they are secre-
ted in abandoned quarry in Isere coun-
ty, l give them to you; but, mind
you, [ give them to you on one condi-
ton, that youI distribute 81 900 in leg-
acies to my best friends the rest will
be yours. Swear to me that you will
remember these conditions Remem-
Der you are swearing to dying man."
Tie turnkey took the required oath.
The dying convict then wrote on a dirty
piece of paper the names of his legatees
and the amount of their respective leg
acies opposite each name and address; ;
and on the other side of the same sheet
minute plan of the neighborhood
where the abandoned quarry was to be-
found, and of the spot of the quarry
where the money was secreted. He
continued to add verbal explanations
until he was speechless. A few mo-
ments his words ceased to be audible;
he sighed heavily, and fell back life
less corpse.


The turnkey summoned the hospital
servants, and the dead body was car
ried to the deadhouse, where it was cov-
cred with pail. The turnkey at once
asked for leave of absence. It was re-
fused Irritated by this refusal, and
fevered with impatien of handling his
treasure, he ran away, without pausing
to think he made himself deserter by
this act, and was liable to bo caught
any day. He went to Marseilies, which
he reached in so fainting condition, he
felt it necessary to take somebody into
his confidence. He had not money
enough to travel to the spot where the
treasure was hid. He took the inn
keeper into his confidence, and soon
inAamed his cupidity. They were
long time agreeing upon terms, but the
innkeeper persuaded The turnkey to
dismiss all thought of the legatees, and
to divide the whole $1,000 equally be-
tween them. Terms being accepted,
they set out to discover the treasures
hiding place. 1t was not easy. The
convict was unfamiliar with local names
and county is large place for the
game of hide the switch" They
hunted for four months, going over eve-
ry foot of ground in Isere county, at
terrible cost to the innkeeper's purse.
AT last, the conviction forced itself on
them that they had been humbugged-
that there was no abandoned quarry in
Isere county, and no hidden treasure !.
The innkeeper's anger at this discovery
was unbounded ; he beat the turnkey
numerically, and, as the turnkey was
not patient, blows were returned The
" friends were black and blue when they
returned to Marseilles. AS the turn
key got out of the car, he was arrested
for desertion, and the first person he
saw at Toulon Che could not believe his
eyes, was the dead convict, and the first
thing he heard Che could not believe
his ears) was that the convict had new
er been i'll, and that he (the turnkey
was the third person the mischievous
convict had made April fool of in the
midst of Summer.