O
-
Tr)e EotertaiQiog &
BY J &
Cbas. B. Lewis.
COPYBltJKT. 1897.
Just before the big steamer,, bound i knew Miss Judson that bIic wns bo
from Loud on to Bombay, was ready to
begin her voyage, three detectives nnd
an inspector came aboard and oreateo
no little excitement among the passen
gers In their search for a slick criminal
named George Lacy. Lacy was a forger,
counterfeiter nnd nil around swin
dler, and was wnnted on a dozen dif
ferent charges. The ofllcers were sure
he had booked under another name,
and the steamer was held for an hour
while they examined the large num
ber of passengers and searched about.
They even had the firemen up one by
one, and not until they were cock-sure
that their man had put them on a false
scent would they allow the lines to be
cast off and the steamer to proceed on
her way. There was a good deal of
talk, of course, and 19 out of 20 of the
passengers, first nnd second-clnss, were
secretly glad that the criminal had not
been overhauled. So long as he had
swindled none of us we could forgive
him for swindling others. That's hu
man nature afloat and ashore. For
three or four days after sailing we were
inclined to believe that the man was
witli us after all, in the person of a
young nnd smooth-faced fellow who
kept to himself and who looked to be
sharp and slick nnd sleek. There was
general disappointment when he turned
out to be a young naturalist going out
to India to gather specimens for some
college. A lew of the more enthusi
astic were so piqued that they cut him
cold and nrgued that he had wronged
them by not proving to be the much
wanted criminal.
The first three or four days out on a
steamer making n long voyage passen
gers light shy of each other. Then
there is a general sizing up, as it were,
nnd all fall into their places and be
come more or less acquainted. There
Is nlways a mnrried lady who is deter
mined to stnnd nt the head of one set,
a young woman who aims to be the
"belle of another, and a third female,
single, widowed or divorced, who coolly
und calmly plans to llirt with every
mnn who will look at her, and who
shortly acquires the .reputation of be
ing witty, jolly nnd interesting. As
soon as we set eyes on Miss Judson,
who wns seasick nnd kept to her state
room for the first three or four days,
we Instinctively felt that she would
take this latter position. She was fair
ly good-looking, of excellent figure,
knew how to dress, and was witty and
magnetic. Before lrenkfast was over
till the blngle men nnd half the married
ones were determined to get an intro
duction ns soon as possible. As an ott'
sef none of the women liked her. Many
hud more beauty and style, but all felt
that her drawing power was beyond
them. If she had appealed to the wom
en the men would not have eared for
her, but as she appealed to the men,
the women were bound to snub her.
They began it almost at once, and that
evidently pleased her, for it gave her
an excuse for avoiding their society.
When Miss Judson got fairly started on
her course she lost no time. In a couple
of days she had been introduced to
every first-class passenger of the sterner
sex, and during the next two or
three she picked and culled until what
was known as the "Judson Crowd"
numbered about 15 men. Twelve of
these were young men or widowers,
while the remainder were married men
whose better halves were in England or
India. While this crowd wns not com
posed of the highest mental talent in the
ship, it was the money crowd, though
no one figured on this until later. When
the officers of the ship were consulted
about Miss Judson they could give very
little information. She wns the only
child of n widower out in India who
belonged to the civil service, and she
was going out to visit him. Her pas
sage had been taken by an aunt, who
was to have gone with her, but was de
tained by some property matters and
would follow on the next steamer. Miss
Judson was supposed to be fairly well
off, though not rich, nnd it was called
plucky in her to make the long voy
age without a companion nnd to act
ab her own maid. What information
the ofllcers could not supply came by
rumor from passengers who claimed
to have at lenst heard of the young
woman before sailing. It was snid she
had refused several good offers of mar
riage because the men did not come up
to her mental standard, nnd thnt she
was looking for brains instead of
money in a life partnership. This was
simply rumor, but the Judson crowd
immediately brushed up their hair and
Bought to look and talk like brainy
men.
When the ship had been out about a
week Miss Judson inaugurated cards to
while away the 'spare hours. There are
games and gnmes with cards, but she
nlways played a two-handed game, and
the gave out at the start that she never
played unless there were cash stakes
in muke the game interesting. As the
playing had to be done in the cabin,
and ns there were people aboard who
might be shocked at the sight of money
on the board, slips of pnper were used
as n substitute, and few outside of the
players knew what was up. It was a
mutter of surprise to everyone who
Miss Judsor).
ndept with the pasteboards and was at'
tended by such good fortune. There
was, ns you may suppose, considerable
jenlousy among her coterie, and 1 think
she planned that there should be, anil
took advnntage of every occasion tofnn
the flame. This prevented anything
like confidence between the men, and
no one mourned his losses to another.
I say losses, for each and every plnyer
was a steady loser. I don't mind re
vealing the fact thnt I was her first
opponent, nnd though we played n
game nt which I was considered won
derfully fortunate, Miss Judson taught
me many costly pointers in the course
of the dny. Sho handled the cards
like the slickest gambler, and her
run of luck was phenomenal. On
two or three occasions she manipu
lated the cards in such a man
ner thnt had she been a man I should
have called her down, but as it was I
had to give her the benefit of the doubt
and kept silence. She didn't want to
win, she explained she would rather
lose than win in playing with a
dear friend but if luck insisted that
she win she must pocket the stakes,
you know. When she had won $330
from me I cashed the slips and went
out of the game, pretty well satisfied
in my own mind that I Hadn't been
given n square deal, and from that day
on Miss Judson had no further use for
me. When I tried to bask in her
smiles, as usual, the smiles were not at
home to me. She had confided to me
that she found mc congenial, but there
seemed to be some mistake about that
after I had decided not to lose nny
more money.
The next victim wns the son of an
English manufacturer, who was going
out to India to invent new ways of
spending his father's surplus cash. It
was said that he had 5,000 in the pur
ser's safe. That was when lie began
playing cards with Miss Judson. How
much he had left after he got through
no one could say, but that hhe got at
least half of it was common talk, and
he himself went so far as to declare
that he had been sharped. In the
course of three weeks the "Judson
Crowd" was dissolved. One after an
other was clenned nut of his spare cash
and withdrew, and Miss Judson was
certainly several thousand dollars to
the good. Nobody wns willing to nd
mlt his exact loss. Indeed, nearly
every man lied about it nnd denied any
loss at all, but at the same time each
loser knew that the other loser lied.
There wns no card pluying for fun, nnd
soon nfter It had ceased we were
treated to several sensations in succes
sion. The first was the disappearance
of several diamond rings and a brace
let, which had been left on the piano
by a player. They had disappeared
in broad daylight, with people sitting
or moving about, and as the value was
considerable the sensation was equal.
After u little it was found that the
jewelry had been taken while only six
people were in the cabin. Four of these
were married ladies, the fifth Miss
Judson, and the sixth the young nat
uralist who had been taken for Lacy.
The cabin was turned upside down in
the search, but the missing valuables
could not be found. Then ceryone
of the six persons demanded that his
or her stateroom nnd luggage be
searched, but the captain hushed mat
ters up by suggesting that one of the
servants wns the thief and that the
plunder would soon be discovered.
Three days Intern married woman had
a sensational complaint to make. Dur
ing her temporary absence from her
stateroom some one had entered it nnd
stole 100 in ensh, a gold watch and
n costly breastpin. Her stateroom wns
only two doors below mine, nnd in
leaving my room nt three o'clock in the
afternoon I had caught a glimpse of
some one entering her's. I just got
sight of a skirt, but I was sure in my
own mind that it was one I lind seen
Miss Judson Wear. The bold robbery
was a shock to everyone. We surely
had a thief nboard the bhip, passenger
or servant, nnd no one's belongings
would be safe until thnt thief was dis
covered. It was natural to nt first sus
pect the servants, and the captain had
them before him in succession nnd tried
his best to fix the guilt. While this
was going on the mate nnd stewardess
were searching quarters nnd baggage,
but no admission was made by any of
the questioned, nor could any trace of
the plunder be found. Some thought
the thief had flung the stuff overboard
to escape detection, but the majority
settled down to the belief that one of
the passengers was the guilty party.
Many who had jewelry and small sums
of money hastened to the purser, nnd
people began looking at ench other in
an unpleasnnt wny. One-half prob
ably suspected the other half, but that
wasn't discovering the crlminnl. I felt
sure I could give n good guess ns to
who it wns, but guessing and declar
ing nre two different things. Miss Jud
son was loud in her indignation nnd
feverish in her anxiety to have the
mystery solved, nnd the nvernge de
tective would have reasoned that she
rather overdid it.
Four days inter another stateroom
was entered and more jewelry taken,
nnd right In the midst of the sensation
a lady missed a pair of diamond enr
rings which she had put out to clean.
There wns an indignation meeting In
the cabin, and several persons made
speeches and introduced resolutions
nnd the cuptnln found his position n
mast embarrassing one. It was fintilly
deceided to hold nil the passengers and
servnnts together on deck while a
search was made of every stateroom.
This search was most thorough nnd ex
haustive, but not one of the missing
valuables wns discovered. It was,
however, the Inst theft committed, per
hnps because every lady turned over
her last ring to the purser for snfe
Keeping. The rcmnlnder of the voy
age was anything but comfortable, as
everyone felt thnt he might be under
suspicion, nnd there were very few
farewells exchanged nt the parting. I
went up the country to Allahabad, nnd
had been there six months when an
Englishman wns arrested for trying to
defraud a bank of n large amount ot
money. It wns my province, us n
newspaper man, to write up the nf
fair, und later on to come in contact
witli the .accused. The instant I saw
him I asked If his name was Judson,
nnd if his sister hadn't come out to In
dia on the Malabar. He laughed
heartily at the question, but did not
answer it until he found thnt there
was evidence enough to send him to
prison for a long term, 'l'hen he ex
plained that he wns Miss Judson her
self. Xot only that, but he was Lacy,
lie had often escaped the police In the
disguise of a female, being small of
stature and beardless, and had start
ed for India under their noses. A con
federate had secured a berth for him
and helped hint to get a proper outfit,
and he hnd assumed the character so
nuturally and easily that all of us
were deceived. As to the robberies
aboard, 1 laid thoni at his door, and he
smiled in reply. He wns the thief with
out doubt. No wonder he had plucked
us of our cash nt cards, for he was a
notorious sharp. That lie did not rope
in others and also steal more was more
the fault of circumstances than his
own. He went to prison for 15 years
und died there nfter half his sentence
hnd expired. A year before his death
he escaped, donned female attire again,
und was finally found serving In an aris
tocratic family ns Indy's tnnld.
it Was Settled at Last.
Copyright, IS97.
BY M QUAD.
AS we were waiting in the depot at
Solum mi old man who hud to use a
cane to help him along came In and
limped over to the ticket-seller und in
quired: "Wall, hev they done anything about
my claim yit?"
"No, sir nothing done!" was the re-
ply-
"Are they goin' to?"
"Can't say."
The old man turned nwny nnd was
limping out when a passenger halted
him and inquired if he had a claim
against the inilroad.
"Yes. sah. I have." wns the reply
"A train on this toad killed one of 1113
havvgs."
"How long ago was that?"
"Jest 22 y'ars ago last week."
"How often hnve you dropped In
here to see about it?"
"Once 11 day, sail."
"And you hnve never been able tc
get a settlement?"
VNever, sah. This road hns hnd five
different presidents since that hnwg
was killed, nnd the agent here has been
changed seven times, but I never could
git no settlement. Jest 'pears like the.v
wanted to client me outer thnt hnwg."
"Have you filed vour claim?"
" 'Deed I have, sah."
"And have you threatened them with
a suit for damages?"
"Heaps o' times, sail. Yes, bin 22
y'ars tryin' to git n sett lenient., but
they dun hang off on me."
"Look here, colonel," said the passen
ger, nfter a moment's thought, "was
that a hog or a pig?"
"Wall, sah, yo' might enll it a pig, J
reckon," replied the old man.
"Fnt or lean?"
"Bather lean, sah."
"Was pork cheap thnt yenr?"
"Powerful -cheap, sah. Didn't pay tc
raise nawgs."
"And what wns the amount of your
claim?"
"One dollar, sah."
"And what is it now?"
"Jest the same, sah one dollar
Don't wnnt no mo' than a howg is
worth, yo' know; and can't take no
less."
"Well," snid the passenger, as he
pulled out u dollnr and handed it over,
"here's your money. This settles the
claim nt last, and don't you bother this
railroad any more."
"Thanks, sah," replied the old man.
ns he pocketed the bill. "This makes us
squar' for the hnwg, sah, and I shnn't
bother you no mo' no mo. It's bin
n mighty long time, sail mighty long
time but I knowed I'd git it if I stuck
out long 'nu ft, nnd the ense is settled.
Mawnin', ladies mnvvnin', gents
mnwnin' to all. I shnll be powerful
lonesome 'bout this time o' day, but 1
shan't bother this railroad no mo' -no
mo'l"
.til nun.
He Ethel, can't ,vou read my mind?
She How can I when the type ie so
fcmull? Brooklyn Life.
NOBLE QUEEN LOUISE.
Hor Momory Bovorod Unto Tlxlo
Day by All Prusslana.
She Wnx One of the Cii-nmlcHt Women
it ml AIhii One of tlie llt, unil
Jn Clicrlnhuil liy Iter I'cmtlo
iim 11 Sllllll.
Special Dcrlln (Germany) Letter.
When tlie list oh! how small a one
It Is of the greatest and best women
the world knows, is told off, no matter
in which country, tho name of Queen
Louise of Prussia unfailingly nppenrs.
Here In this land she loved, loved best
in its deepest debasement, Queen
Louise is cherished ns a saint. The
Berliner is not usentimeutalsort of per
son, rather the reverse, in fact, and
few things and men there are his caus
tic wit, his irony nnd puns are not prac
ticed upon. Hut Queen Louise is an ex
ception. Don't you dare to sny any
thing against Queen Louise when you
come to Berlin life would bo made a
burden to jou. Tho people here, every
body, high and low, nre so proud of this
lovely queen of theirs, thnt they would
not allow anybody to say it word
against her. And it is said that one of
the chief reasons why the Prussians in
1813-15 were so fiercely "down" on Na
poleon I. was because the great Corsl
enn had hounded her to death. That
famous statue of Queen Louise in the
Thlergnrtcn, made of Carrara marble
by the sculptor, Ituuch, is never barren
THE PRUSSIAN KOYAL
of wreaths of flowers, while flowers ore
to be had, tlie year round. 1 have just
returned from u walk in the Thlergnr
tcn, and I saw a great throng of people
around that monument, reverentially
beautifying it with Flora's lute au
tumnal blossoms.
November 10. 1S07, it wns just a cen
tury since Queen Louise with her
spouse, Frederick William III., ascend
ed the throne, nnd the whole city keeps
the dny as a sacred memorial. The em
peror early this morning rode to the
mausoleum in Chnrlottesburg and per
sonally decorated the handsome tobbof
his great-grandmother a tomb where
her charmingly life-like cfilgy reclines
us if in peaceful slumber. Then he
bank down on his knees and delivered a
prnyer for the repose of her soul. Hut
not only the emperor, the whole nntion
celebrates the day, for in the hearts of
the people this beautiful and gentle
queen has erected an imperishable
QUEEN LOUISE IN 1797.
shrine. Let me give you nn idea why
this is so.
Louise wns n daughter of the grand-
duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who
ruled, a hundred years ugo, over a small
and obscure territory by the borders
of the Baltic. While on his wuy to join
the army lighting the revolutionary
hosts of France, in 1702, the young
Prussian crown prince met the princess
in Frankfortrou-Main, where she hud
gone on n visit. It wns love at first
sight, as the crown prince subsequent
ly styled it himself. On April 24, 1703,
the betrothal of the two wus celebrated
in grand style, and on December 22 of
the hame year the young princess,
amid the booming of cannon nnd the
joyful shouts of the multitude, mndeher
triumphal entry into Berlin ns a lovely
bride. Her husband's uncle, the then
reigning king, Frederick William II.,
died a few years later, und she became
queen.
From the first she endeared herself to
the heurts of the Prussian people. Ou
'ottwifef
her corona tlon day she wrote to the
landgravine of llesse.her grandmother:
"1 nm now queen, nnd what rejoices me
most about thnt is that I need, in fu
ture, not stint myself in doing good."
And to a delegation of Merlin citlzcim
she said: "The softest pillow of rulers
is the affection of their subjects." Hor
mode of expressing her sentiments wan
so felicitous simple and yet touching
in its kiiulncHip-iind her whole person
tility was 80 gracious, so replete with
youthful charm, that she could not
full to capture till hearts, and when tho
royal couple made their tour of tho
country, soon after ascending tho
throne, tlie king himself, whom naturo
hud denied the gift of Hympnthctic mag
netism, snid to Iter: "Louise, I thank
thee, thou understiindest things belter
thnn I do." Not only in conreiwitlon,
but in her correspondence, too, Queen
Louise possessed a Bingulnr charm of
expression. Her letters arc, In their
way, as Interesting und entertaining ns
tho famous ones of Mine, do Scvlgnc,
nnd she exchanged letters with tho
greatest men of her time, with (loctho
and Schiller among others, anil also
ullli Napoleon I. With all that, how
ever, she was as unaffectedly wifely
and modest, ns solicitous nnd affection
ate a mother na any of her humbier sub
jects, und her bon, William I., nil
through his long nnd glorious life, car
ried the loving remembrnnco of his
mother.
When an old mnn of 00, after he had
become emperor of reunited Germany
and humbled to the dust on the battle
field of Sedan the nephew of the very
FAMILY IN 1S0S.
man before whom Queen Louise with
her two boys In 1807 lied into the wild
of Mcmcl, William I. still delighted to
honor his mother nnd to recall charm
ing personal traits ot her engraven on
his childish memory.
For lifter nine yeurs of hnppy reign,
in 1800, Prussia's armies were nearly
destroyed on the battlefields of Jena
nnd Auersti.cdt, und the whole country
came into thegrnnpof the great French
conqueror. And the queen, with her
two little sons, hnd to tnke to precipi
tate flight in order to escnpe being
taken prisoner. Only n small slice of
his territory was left the king of Prus
sia by Napoleon, und Berlin itself re
mained in his hnuds-ior two years.
During the negotiations for the pence
treaty of Tilsit, in 1807, Napoleon re
peatedly expressed a desire to make the
acquaintance of Queen Louise, und full
of admiration he afterward said to
Talleyrand: "Truly, I knew that tho
queen whom I was to see was beauti
ful, but 1 saw not only the most beauti
ful queen, but also the roost attractive
of nil women."
Nevertheless, he would not nbate one
lotn of the hard conditions he i mooned
on the conquered. During the next
three yeurs Queen Louise, owing to tho
horribly impoverished condition of the
country, lived in deep retirement anil
almost in poverty. In May, 1808, the
royal couple moved into a pluin farm
house near Koenigsberg, their own
capital being still held by the French
who dictated as unquestioned masters.
It was during this period of great men
tal depression, and immediately duo
to the inclement weather in that north
ernmost district of Prussia, that Queen
Louise's health succumbed. Her lungs
were affected, and on July 10, 1810, she
died, three years before that Prussia
she loved so well was able to throw off
the yoke of Napoleon. But she left a
legncy of loyal patriotism which haa
bince borne fruit.
WOLF VON SCIIIEnnnAND.
AiMical to I-'nmll)- I'rlile.
"We will now tuke up our annual col
lection for the benefit of the heathen,"
announced Hev. Dr. Fourthly at tlie
clobe of his sermon, "and 1 hope those
young men in the buck bents who have
been making so much noise all through
this service will be especially liberal in
their contributions. They arc in duty
and honor bound to help their brother
heathens." Chicago Tribune.
All on the Surface.
Mr. Todgers Why do you think the
Moiibons are trying to make a bigger
show than their circumstances war
runt? Mrs. Todgers Mrs. Monbon wears a
sealskin bacquc, but I've never heart!
her petticoats rubtle yet. Chicago
News.
. )i
