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About The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898 | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1893)
EMBARRASSMENT, Gatint wreosors wateb the wintry mat ulKhts The tumiawi tokw In tlm uutwanl Bloomi KouKh mem are pmyliiK unto Uod to doom A vessel uruuiilInK Willi the Menu's mlht. Crowded anil I; mid In In supreme alrrla-ht UlXIU the riLlUll slilli. u. ftiiiLl.lnff Lr.n.h Vast bulpluxii tlin.nijs are teen where llght- uiiiMi IIIUIO, Beseecliluir Uml for milvutoKv lt,hl Aud lio lu blithest heaven doth hear these Offered by ovary soul with vnl Who for blssontenee In dlstraotlou waits. eMTiruiimi wy , uuiuon cares, kwlts on the iiouiio of triumph and of fear, Uplift! hie Judglnif hand, and-heeluteal . anol H. Baltus. A STKANGE PASSENGER. When my packet ship, the Hermiono. wm preparing to sail from Liverpool lor rw iotk i was warned to take pre cnntionn againnt receiving an passenger a certain Mary Youngiion, who, while nursing ner sick husbanda man con siderably her senior had poisoned him to death, laid hold of all the money and valuables she could get and then had made off. ft was thought that she wonld try to leave England on some out- - ward bound ship-most likely for Amer ica, where she had friends and there fore 1 sharply scrutinized the passen gers, eight in number, who were brought off to my vessel in a tender. As they stepped aboard 1 was relieved to perceive that none of them tallied with the description 1 had obtained of Miss Voungson, who, I was told, was a Beautiful woman, over thirty-five years of age, about 5 feet inches in height and very sleuder, with brown hair, dark eyes and a flear complexion. She had been born and educated abroad, but her father had been an Englishman and an amateur actor, from whom she had In herited a remarkable capacity for de ceiving people as to her character. Two of the female passengers who now came aboard were married ladies, and of dark complexion. There were also two young women of about twenty-one! one a Miss Lorton, plain and stout; the outer, Miss Merwin, slender and tall, apparently nut lens than 5 feet I inches, with the most childish, innocent looking face, for one of her age, that 1 ever saw. Hue bad brown hair and eyes, mall, babylike features, and smooth, glowing cheeks, which were constantly dimpled with smiles. As she slightly lifted her long skirt we saw that instead of shoes or boots she wore ornamented buskins of somo kind of soft leather, which mode no noise when she walked. Afterward we heard that she wore them becouse she had lately sprained her feet and could not yet bear harder leather. From the first 1 could see that my son Tom, a young man of twenty-five, and ohiof officer, was greatly impressed by this girl He bad always liked tall women, and anything "babyish" in their looks or manners particularly pleased him. Btill, was surprised at the end of one short week after we sailed to learn that he had actually proposed to her and been accepted. "She is so artless, so ingenuous, so free from guile of any kind," said he, "that you can read her heart at once! We are to be married on coming back to Liverpool at the house of her aunt, who is expecting her. With her usual childish fraukness she informed me that, although having a small fortune in three per cents, left to her by her futher, who was a merchant, sbe is at present short of cash which would hinder her from purchasing, on landing, certain little artioles she desired toward a weddinir outfit. I was bo touched by her shy, in fantile way, blended with timid distress at having to tell me this, that I at once ' went to my room and procured the t&.OOO United Btates bond, which yon know 1 lately bought with my savings, and gave it to her, telling her where she could got it cashed, and bade her then take out of it whatever she needed." "Why, Tom, you don't say so?" 1 cried, rather startled. "Of course," he answered. "Why not? We are engaged, and it ought to be the same about money matters as if we wore married." He went below, aud I sat long in the clear moonlight, thinking it over in as a hasty, foolish piece of business, when suddenly I was startled by the cry of the lookout forward. "Sail, hoi right ahead!" The stranger a large ship put her helm a-port, so I had no doubt she would pass us safely enough; but as she was going by, her helmsman raising his wheel too soon, her bow swung off, and her jibboom caught under my spanker sheet, lifting the spar and snapping it off with a crush. There was noise and confusion as we worked briskly to keep the two vessels apart and prevent further damage, in the midst of which several of the passen gers cume running up, somewhat fright ened, to tlud out what the matter was. "It is nothing; we are all right now!" I cried, to reassure them, as the other ship Bwung clear of us. Miss Merwiu had emerged from the companionway after the others, and as I looked toward her form, distinctly re vealed by the moonlight and one of the lanterns, I stood stock still in the utmost astonishment, for, as true as 1 am a liv ing mau, her stature now seemed at least three inches shorter than 1 had hitherto seen it I was the only one who noticed her at that time, and on meeting my gase she drew back as quick as a flash and van ished is the cabin. The strange phenomenon 1 had wit nessed for a moment almost took away my breath. My whole mind was fixed upon this one thing, and when my son came up a few hours later to take the deck I described the singular change I naa noticed in miss merwm stature. tie stared at me at first as i ! lie thought me mad, then broke out into ,in incredu lous laugh, saying that my .'yes or the imperteot light must have deceived me. 1 knew better, however; but finding I could not convince him 1 told him to wait until the young lady should appear at breakfast in the morning, when he might see for himself. Two hours later the second mate came op to relieve Tom, who then went be low. The officer, seeing me seated in a reverie on the quarter deck, walked amidships, where he stood looking care lessly lorwara. All at once, judge of my surprise when, on raising my head, I beheld, leaning against the rail near me, a per son I had never seen before a slender, middle aged man, of rather low stature, with hair covering nearly every part of the face excepting the eyes, which gut tered like fireballs in the moonlight! "Why, holloa) Whoarevou? Where did you come from?" I cried. "Pray don't excite yourself." he coolv answered. "I am a detective, and got aboard in the harbor through the con nivance of one of your crew I am not going to tell you which one who also supplies me with food, I have been all along in the stateroom next to MissMer win's, with my carpetbag. Had you looked in the room you would have seen me, but you probably missed the kev. or thought it was lost." "That is true; but" "Here is my warrant," he interrupted. handing me a paper, which, on reading n uy me lantern s ugnt, 1 peroeived was a signed document, apparently from the proper authorities, instruotinir John Clews, the bearer, a detective, to con oeal himself aboard the Hermione and act as h might see fit in his endeavor to detect the murderess, Miss Youngson. who it was suspected was a passenger in uisgnise aboard the vessel, She is here," was his confident renlv when I remarked that there must be some mistake. "I have not watched through the hole I bored in the partition tor notning. Why, man!" I cried, aghast, "she cannot be the guilty one. She is inno- oenoe itself as artless as a child. Be sides, she is very tall and young, whereas I have beentold that the murderess was much shorter and nearly twice as old." tie laughed in a way which to me was indescribably disagreeable, It ib not Miss Merwiu I allude to." he said. " Yon will remember that the stateroom of Miss Lorton iB also next to mine,1 " What!" I exclaimed, almost as much surprised as before, " you suspect that stout young lady who r I don't suspect," he interruDted i " I know her to he the criminal." "But she is young, plain and stout: the accused woman was slender" Bah!' he again interrupted. "Dis guise! That will explain all. It is easy for a woman of that kind to make her self look younger and stouter than she really is. Should we fall in with a good Liverpool bound ship I shall arrest this woman and take her on board of it with me. 1 will go back to mv room now. You may or may not see me again be fore we sight a home bound craft." With that he gtided like a shadow into the cabin. "Now, then, 1 had somethine to keen me awake, to drive all thoughts of turn ing in from my mind. So, after all, that woman, that terrible murderess, was aboard my ship! I commenced to walk the deck in no pleasant frame of mind, and the morn ing light stole around me before I was aware that the hour was so late. When breakfast was ready in the cabin Miss Merwin was absent from her ac customed place at the table. During the progress of the meal 1 looked more than once at Miss Lorton the stout young iouy wno. tne aetective had positively as serted, was Mary Youngson, the poisoner. The quiet dignity and composure of her manner, the frank, honest expression oi ner race, and its undeniable plainness. seemed to me so natural, so real, that I morveled how the detective contrived to penetrate through so perfect a disguise. Feeling tired out after breakfast slept until near noon. When 1 went on deck Tom was super intending the repairing of the spanker boom. , "It is very strange," he said to me un easily, "Miss Merwin has not yet shown herself." The day wore on without our seeing ner. Bven at supper time she did not make hor appearance. Tom looked pule and concerned. Final ly he went and knocked at her door, calling her name. There was no re sponse. "I do not know what to make of it," he soid to. me on deck. "Oh, father!" he added wildly, "is it possible she can have suddenly died?" "I don't think so," I answered; "she seemed to be in good health" and then thought to myself, ''Were it not that we are where we are, and she a different sort of person, I might suspect that she had absconded with your money." As night approaohed her non-appearance excited general comment, and I was advised to break open the door, which was locked. 1 did so, and we found her room empty. Her trunk Was till there, but she was gone, My son looked nt me as pale as death. "my uod! what can have become of nerr ne groaned. . In fact, it certainly was a very necu liar case, and coupled with my previous observation of the strange shortening of apparent. She had feared, after I dis the woman's stature it seemed to me to, covered the strange shortening of her partake almost of the supernatural. stature, that I might suspect who she "May she not have gone on deck last night and fallen overboard'?" inquired one or the passengers. "Impossible!" 1 answered. "It was clear moonlight. 1 was on deck all night, and besides, I had good lookouts posted about the ship. The thing could not have happened unknown to us." We looked to see if we might not find a note or something explanatory, but in Then I ordered a thorough search to be made throughout the ship, This was acme; out no, she was not to be found. though every nook and corner was looked into. Then it occurred to me to speak to the detective about it, and as soon as I could do so unobserved I knocked at his door. He cautiously opened it, but on seeing who was there he invited me in. I told him what had happened, not even omitting to mention the sudden change I had previously noticed in the young lady's height As I proceeded I observed that his keen eyes seemed to grow larger, while the thick beard that covered the face of this singular man kept twitching, as if every hair was in stinct with life. , Give me time," he said solemnly. when I had finished, "and I will solve this mystery. In a few days I may be able to do it perhaps not for a week." 1 left him and went on deck. Tom was there, looking so downcast and for lorn that I resolved to acquaint him with tne presence of the detective, and tell him what he said, aud so, perhaps, brighten bim up a little. I did so, but my words had an effect I had not expected. Reflecting a moment, he cried out: "Father, I believe that man iB a humbug! But whether he be a de tective or not, I now suspect that he is a thief and a murderer; that he knew of Miss Merwin's having that 15,000 bond. and that in order to possess himself of it ne has tolled her and thrown her body overboard!" 1 stared at him in amazement, and told him I feared that his grief had dis turbed his reason. How was it possible, I asked him, that the man could have got the body overboard without our knowing it? "He could have choked her to death, carried her to one of the open cabin win dows, and dropped her through that," he replied. "Impossible," I answered, "without the splosh being overheard by the man at the wheel, or by some one on deck. Besides, 1 doubt if he could have squeesed the body through either of our cabin windows, which, you know, are very small.' Tom, however, seemed to think it could have been done, owing to Miss Merwin being so slender, and in Bpite of all my efforts, I oould not entirely rid his mind of that horrible idea. Days passed, for we had headwinds. which kept us off our course; but as yet the detective bad nothing to tell me, though he said he soon might be able to explain the whole affair. A Btrauge affair enough. Never before had I such an experience, or anything approaching to it, in any craft I com manded. The passengers were equally puzzled; it was the talk of all aboard the Bhip. As for Tom, he grew paler. thinner, wilder every day. At last, one afternoon, when we had entered St. George's channel, he came up to me and said, in a husky voice: "ItisasI thought! Quick! I have something to show you! Make no noise!" I followed him. We both wore light slippers, and without noise entered the room Miss Merwin had occupied. He pointed to a crevice, which he had evi dently made lu the partition, and look ing through it I saw the detective in the next apartment, kneeling by his open carpet bag, from which now protruded the identical buskins I could not mis take them which Miss Merwin hod worn. Spread out before him he held a $5,000 bond evidently the one which my son had given to the young lady! "You see," he whispered. "Was I not right? He has murdered and robbed her!" Low as the whisper was the man evi dently heard it, for he pushed the bus kins, and after them the bond, hastily down into the bag, which he then closed. Before 1 could hinder him Tom rushed out aud threw himself against the de tective's door with a force which broke the lock and admitted him into the room. He flew at the man, clutched him and shook hiin, when the fellow drew a dirk, but in his futile struggles to use it for I held his wrist and soon disarmed him his beard fell off, showing it was a false one, and at the eaiue time his shirt bosom was torn away about the throat Then both Tom aud I uttered a simulta neous cry of surprise on perceiving that this pretended detective was a woman over thirty-five years of age or, in other words, it was Miss Merwin herself de prived of the oosmetios and other appli ances which had, while in the natural attire of her sex, mode her look so much younger than she was. , ' The whole truth broke upon me at once. This woman 1 suspected was in reality Mary Youngson, the murderess, for her face and height now answered to the description I had of her, and we found, while looking for my son's bond in her carpet bag. some articles bearing ' her name, and others marked with that j of her victim. In fact, afterward, while Ul, she confessed to being Mary Young. - ! son. ' Her motive in disguising herself was really was; and besides, the ruBe would. 81,6 thought, enable her the better to escape irom Tom and get off with his ,000. The mystery of her having as j Miss Merwin looked so much taller than she really was we found explained by n buskins, which proved, like those sometimes worn by actors on the stage, ' to 08 provided with very thick cork soles. to give an appearance of elevation to the stature, On the night she so astonished me bv the difference in her height she had, in her hurry and alarm, come up in her slippers, having forgotten to put on her Dusains. It is hardly necessary to sav that the detective's warrant she had shown me was forged, written by herself; nor scarcely need it be mentioned that Tom was now disgusted with this woman and entirely cured of his infatuation, Subsequently she died of a malignant fever while being conveyed a prisoner back to England thus escaping the pun ishment she so richly merited for her odious crime, although there were not wanting those who stoutly maintained that the charge had by no means been conclusively brought home to her. How ever, after occupying the publio mind tor more than the proverbial nine davs. the "Youngson Case," as it was called. gave place to a fresher sensation. Ed ward Herns in New York Press. Finding Lout Bag-gage It was on the Stormy division of the (J. B. and Q. it happened, when Superin tendent Dugan's jurisdiction embraced that division. The east bound passen ger train, thin called the Cannon Ball, had on board five corpses, through from Denver, in charge of the train baggage man. It was in June, and the weather was hot. The baggage man find ing the atmosphere in the baggage car be coming undesirable moved three boxes containing a corpse each to the plat form of his car outside, one on top of the other. As the train was nearing Ottumwa. the baggage man upon looking out was horrified to discover one of the boxes missing. Surmising that one of the boxes had slid off in rounding a curve, owing to the high rate of speed the train hod been running, he wired Superintendent Dugau immediately upon arrival of the train at Ottumwa, apprising him of the loss. Dugan wired the section foreman at Ottumwa as follows: "Patrick McGann Look for corpse lost off Cannon Ball three miles west of Ottumwa and report condition of same when found." Patrick immediately started out with the section gang, and found the box in tact and brought the same to Ottumwa. It was Beldom that Patrick received or ders direct from the superintendent, the roodmaster being his immediate supe rior. Consequently Patrick concluded the time to win promotion had arrived, and after reading Dugan's telegram over for the twentieth time wired his super intendent as follows: "Mishter Doosrun I hev found the koropse, aud the koropse was ded." The operator's expostulations were in vain, and Patrick wonld permit no change in the message, saying: "I inusht obbcy the arders of Doo gan." Astoria Examiner. America's Natives Described. This description of the natives us they appeared to the English colonists in Maryland was written in 1603: They are very proper tall men of per son; swarthy by nature, but much more by art; painting themselves with colours in oyle, like a darke red, which they doe to keep the gnatts off. As for their "faces they have other colours at times, as blew from the nose upward aud red down ward; somewhat contrariwise, in great varietie and in very gastly manner. They have no beards till they come to be very old, and therefore draw from each side of their iriouthes lines to their eares to represent a beard. Their ap parell generally is deere skyns and some furre, which they wear like loose man tels; aud yet under this, about their middle, all women and men, at man's estayte, were rounde aprons of skyns, which keeps them decently covered, so that, without any offense to chast eyes, we may converse with them. All the rest of their bodies are naked, and at times some of the youngest sort of both men aud women have just noth ing to cover them. The natural wit of this nation is very quick and will con ceive a thing very readily. They excell in smell and taste and have far sharper sight than we. ' if these people were onoe Christians (as by some signs we have reason to think nothing hinders it but want of language), it would be a right virtuous and renowned nation, A UeaX HoveUy, Mrs. Duquesne X suppose yoo sing or playl Miss NewcomerOh, not I'm, not at all musical. lira Duquesne You recite, probaWyl Miss Newcomer Oh, do, inUeedl Mrs. Duquesne Well, toon, I eupposo you paint plaques) Miss Newcomer 3Io paint 1 1 couldn't paint a fence, airs. Duquesne (eagerly) Oh, you dear girl, bow lovely t You must promise to come to rary one of my reception. You'libosucha aauaationl FittsUrg Bulletin, THEORY AGAINST PRACTICE. An Instance Where Rook Learning tvae Defective; "I'm bunged .up considerable," said a red beaded young man as he stood at the foot of Courtiandt street, waiting for the ferry, and felt of the repairs which had been put around on bis face En the way of courtplas ter. "I'm busted pretty unanermously, but I guess I can bold out till I strike Jersey." "Been in a flghtl" asked a sympathetic by stander. "Naw I didn't git started 'nough so you could call it a light. I've been licked though and 1 ain't tryitt' to dodge the issue." "What gotyou intothe trouble" "Edgereation, sir readin' when i orter been in better business; b'lievfu' a lot of blame fool truck Jes' 'cause it was in a hook." "How was it!" "W'y this way: You see I had one o' these 'ere gymnazerum books and read it. Says the book tike this, you see: 'A man with his waist bigger 'round than his chert ain't no good physically.' That's what the book claimed. He's li'ble to give out at the critical moment, says the book. And if he's fat went on the book, he's dead sure to give out at the critical min ute. He's short winded and bis muscles is flabby, says t he book. He ain't no good on arth, says the book awful certain, and no man needn't be 'fraid to tackle him. He's a Vnimbrance on the world, says the book, and he ort to train and git down the size of his waist and boom the dermensions of his chest Yore some small man swats bim one and walks on bim. This was the idea the book held and I took it all in." "Didn't the theory hold good in practloe!" -"1 ain't been able to see it In that light yet, I come over from Jersey this morning feelin' pretty O. Ew My dimensions are all right. you can crack bickry nuts on my chest I ain't short winded Nothing flabby 'boutmy muscles. 1 don't give out at the critical mo ment says t Alter a while 1 was up on Bleecker street lookin' in a winder watchin' a Frenchman cook pan cakes on an iron foot stool, when 'long comes a policeman as big'l a load o' bay. He tried to run on me by tellin' me to move on. 1 sized him up. It was a foot further Yound his waist than 'round his chest if it was an inch. He was fat too. Consequently, ' says I to myself. you're flabby and Bhort winded, and, 'bove ah, you'll flunk at the critical moment, Then says 1; 'Old boss, dry up or I'll mob youl1 He steps up and 1 sails in, dependin' on the Critical moment for bim to cava" "But he didn't do itf" "Dont know, you see, I was- dead at the critical momentsolcouldnt tell But 1 have a sneakin' lowdovvn notion that he didn't I eouldnt swear to nothin', but ita my 'pinion that at the critical moment be was waikin around on meand reachhV down and poundin' me with a black club 'bout the size of a bananner. He may have slumped at the critical moment, but I'd sooner think that he dancin on a blasted fool about mv size durin' sev'ra! very critical moments. When 1 come to I put on my boots which he had pounded ofTn me and went and bought court plaster by the roll like wall paper. I am now goiu home to burn up a green covered doob oo physical development, and when 1 git my arm out of the sling I shall go to work again and try to forgit some things that 1 have read. Good-by." New York Tribune. Wnea Nellie's Hukband gut Down. Mrs. Brown Tfill me Nellie, wasvour bus band much embarrassed when be proposed to youl Mrs. Younghusband-Not nearly so much as he was after too bills for our wedding re- cep.iou came in. Boston Transcript, One Who Didn't. "Well, uncle, 1 suppose you got in your ' vote all right the other day," he said to Un cle Beans, of the market brigade, "No, sab, I didn't" "What was the trouble!" "Dar was sich a big crowd dat I reckoned I would wait till de nej' day, an' when I went ober agin de polls was dun gone an' net up an to;ed away." Yankee Blade, The Difference. Customer Well, 1 guess I'll take these pants, Rubupaginstme Ya, mein frent, tree tol lars is wery cheap. . Customer (aghast) Three dollars! Why, you bad them marked a dollar aud half in the window. Rubupaginstme -Och, yal dot means ein toliar und feefty cents for von leg. New York Sua UseleM. ' "Can I Bee Mr. Basrffertvr inauirad tU caller at the jaiL "Before he was arrested ne owed me a little bill that be Dromiwd hn would pay at this date, and he has always been a man of his word. " "You can see him If you will wait a few minutes," said the turnitey. "jtus attorney is with him now." The tailor shook bis head and Bighed deeply, "There is no use in my waiting," he said. Chicago Tribune. Used to Horrors, Dentist-The tooth you want extracted Is very firmly set. Will you take gast Patient No, 1 never take gas. "Ever had tooth extracted before!" "No, but i was best man at a wedding once, and 1 took no gas then, Liacola Journal , . Diplomacy, Mrs. O'Kay Vm going to Cutlet's, Hor ice. Shall X order the Sunday dinner! Mr. O'Kay-By aU mieauB, nol Just ask ur it uw aioncni Dili is still due. Time,