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About Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930 | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1902)
frH-frH * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TEEE f CURIOUS CASE * oir * WILLIAM GULLY umy safely be Inid flown that HT - millionaire dies # here usually morajnterost taken in the subsequent fate of his property than sorrow felt for .the loss of its late own er. Millionaires die so seldom , for ob vious reasons , that this statement maj perhai > s be taken MS it stands without further argument Mr. William Gully was no exception to the rule. Having spent the greater . * part of his life in amassing 11101103 % and having never spared any time for the cultivation of the domestic affections , It is not surprising that his family hardly mourned him beyond dropping the conventional tear on his oaken cof fin. His vast fortune had been rapidlj" built up by the immense popularity of the penny weekly newspaper of which Mr. Gully had for years been the pub lisher a.ud owner. The millionaire never made anj- friends , and when he retired , at the age of sixty , from taking an active part in the business , he settled down almost Into the life of a recluse ! " His one di version was the study of Eastern phil osophy and occult science , in which subjects he took a very deep interest. In the pursuit of this hobby he was assisted and encouraged by his pri vate secretary , a half-caste native of India. This man went by the name of Stavely Hunt , and was a peculiar per sonage. His general appearance sug gested that of a tj'pical temperance lecturer , run to fat in some hot cli mate. Add to this an habitual air of deference , coupled with a shifty look about the eyes , and you will have some Idea of the man. To those who were curious to know his history , he would explain that he had been in the service of the King of Oudh before its absorp tion in the British dominions , and had risen to high distinction in that state. On the death of his royal employer , Mr. Hunt , owing to difficulties with his successor ( as he explained ) , was obliged to leave the country , and started to make his fortune over again in London. It was here that he met the millionaire , Whom he won over by promises of in struction in the occult sciences. Hunt in time became a permanency In Mr. Gully's household , much to the disgust of the other members of the family , who neither bplieved in his pro fessional powers , nor liked the color of his skin. In fact , none of the family sympathized with their parent's re searches into the unknown , regarding them as indication of childishness in his old age. There was one exception to this atti tude , and that was in the case of his youngest daughter. Florence , who , at the time of her father's death , had just turned twenty-one. She had been edu cated at Xewnhamwhere she had at tained the highest honor granted to women by a not too generous alma mater. Florence had been a favorite of her father's from her childhood , and although hhe could not participate in his ( rusting belief in all Stavely Hunt taught , she still showed a considerable ] interest in physologlcal research in deed , it had been her pet subject * t , college. I A word or two here as to the com position of the Gully household , may not be amiss. Besides Florence , thtv were four other daughters , two H whom were married. The two sons practically earned on the business ; the elder , John , editing the newspaper , and the younger , Peter , attending to the1 publishing department. John Gully in herited his father's capacity for busi ness , juid surpassed him in ability to make a good bargain and showed an j even stronger spirit of miserliness , and | la morose nature prevented him from enjoying the money he so easily gained. Anna , Mr. William Gully's second wife , had originally been Florence's governess. She had been Mrs. Gully some three years before becoming a. widow. There was no love in the con tract , aaid among her friends and ac quaintances it was hinted , if not open- Jy stated , that she would before very long marry a former suitor of hers who was considerately waiting till the old man's death should Set her free. Mr. Gully died quite naturally , sud denly indeed , but with no such attend ant circumstances as to justify an in quest After the funeral it was found that his testamentary dispositions were arranged with due respect to the vari ous needs of the members of his fam ily , and every one was satisfied , or fair ly so , with the exception of Mr Stavely Hunt who seemed to consider thatis past services justified a more substan tial legacy than five hundred pounds. The will had then to be proved , a proc ess which , owing to the eagerness of the inheritors to obtain possession of their legacies , was finished in less than & fortnight During the interval be tween the reading of the will and the proving , John Gully occupied himself Trith arranging his late father's papers , assisted by Stavely Hunt On opening his father's private desk he found , lying on the top of the other papers , this peculiar document addressed to himself : "My Dear Son Of past years , as you are aware , I have devotefl myself al most exclusively to the study of East- rn science , assisted by my secretary , Stavely Hunt I believe that I have made a most wonderful discovery , aamely. the art of suspending con sciousness at will for a prolonged per iod. This art is practiced by the Hindoo yogis , and perhaps others , but the se cret of it has never yet been known to Europeans. As it would not be wise * to make the secretknown until its truth is assured. I shall carry on my experiments privately , in hopes of be ing able alone to perfect this grand dis covery. There is a fear , however , that while doing so I may throw myself into the cataleptic state without having pre viously given warning of it to any one. This state closely resembles death , so xmucn so tnat no doctor , on a cursory examination , would imagine it to be anything else , and my living body might thus be unwittingly consigned to the tomb. In the event of my death , or supposed death. I enjoin you , therefore , to keep my body for a period above ground in a secure place , and if no decomposition sets in to apply j it the method of restoring life known to Stavely Hunt , which must be done with in three months after my apparent death " The letter stopped here , as if the writer , being suddenly called away , had hurriedly placed what be had been writing in the. desk for safety. The reader will not , perhaps , be surprised to learn that John Gully dismissed this communication with a sneer of unbe lief , and threw it to Hunt with the following scornful words : "Some more of my ' father's tom- foolery. How mad he must have been' before he died ! As you encouraged him in this folly , this may be of more inter est to you than to' me. " Hunt took the letter , carefully folded it without a word , and , putting it into his pocket proceeded with the work of sorting the deceased's papers. The let- tQr , though , was destined to be an agent of destruction to John Gully's peace of mind in the future. The will was proved and all the leg acies distributed. Stavely Hunt , as soon as he had obtained his , disappear ed. He was seen one day , about a week afterwards , magnificently attired and three parts drunk , lounging out of a low public house near the Strand , and so appeared to be making haste to en joy his five hundred pounds after his own approved fashion. Nor was it long before he came on the scene again. About five weeks after his father's death John Gully was sitting in his of fice when in walked Stavely Hunt , un announced. "Well , what do you want ? I hoped to have seen you for the last time ! Hunt , " said the man he thus intruded upon. "I want some assistance , Mr. Gully. The legacy I had from your father has all gone. " "Oh. it has , has it ? Well , you'll not get a penny from me , so you'd best clear out sharp , my good fellow , and not-waste your time. ' ' "Yes but I think you will help me. " "Theu you think very wrongly , " re plied John Gully , angrily , as he reached for the bell. "Good-day. Or must I send for some one to sliinv you outV" ' -Stay ! " said Hunt , producing a pi- po. : "do you recognize this letter ? " C ully recognized it as the document ! * had found among his father's pa pers. "A"ell , " Hunt continued , "evorythiirj you father said in it is true , and yon havo buried a live man. " "Vlwt nonsense is this ? " broke in Gully. " > one whatever , " replied Hum ; "aur. if I do not obtain pecuniary help frui you , I shall liud means to pro- cu. a the exhumation of your father's bo'rty and then prove the truth of my stale uent When he comes to life tigaii. I think your position will be ma terial y altered , Mr. John Gully. " Gul y desisted from his plan of call ing ft messenger , reflected for a while , and t'.en said : "Well , Hunt , I've been thinking over your ipsition. Of course I don't be lieve i word of your ridiculous asser tion , bjt considering the comfort you were t my father's declining years , perhaps , the money you received by his will was hardly an adaquate com- pensafir.n for your devotion. I will write yt-u a cheque now for two hun- derd pounds , and if you do not trouble me in a-y way , or attempt to force yourself jn any other members of the family , I will give you another tor eight hundred pounds at the end of three mouths. Of course. I must have that pan r though. I do not wish tny father's sveakness made public. " A glaiii-e of intelligence passed be tween thii twot men , and Hunt inti mated by a. gesture that he agreed to the terms. He took the cheque and bowed hinjsflf out leaving the letter in John Gull.7s posPession. That night , instead of returning di rect to his home , John Gully hailed a cab ajid drove to Emperor's Gate , where his stepmother resided. A long conference took place between them. They both professed entire disbelief in Hunt's assertions , and pronounced the lateVilliam Gully's letter a piece of nonsense. But like most people out wardly skeptical , they were not thor- jughly convinced in their own minds as to the impossibility of the thing de scribed. Besides , their fears as to the consequences. If it were true , made them all the more anxious to guard igainst the possibility of its being veri fied. Both agreed in the ° nd that noth ing more could be done to make the matter safe than what John Gully had already doue , j I X It would be impossible to obtain i : , mission from the authorities to hnv * the body exhumed without good rea sons for doing so. and then , 'supposing Stavely Hunt's story were true , such a course would bo worse than leaving things as they were. If Hunt could be kept quiet until the three months ex pired , it would not matter what lie did after that , as by then the late Mr. Gully would be dead indeed , no matter how successful his experiments had been. So they resolved to say nothing to any one about the business. But now comes the most wonderful part of the story. Florence , the young est daughter , who since her father's death had been residing with her step mother , one day disappeared without leaving any message behind her. Some efforts were made to trace her , but when it was found that she had realized all the property accruing to her under the will , and had drawn out all the money standing to her credit in the bank , her nearest relations con cluded that she had vanished of her own free will. As she was of age and fully competent to manage her own af fairs , they were content with putting an advertisement in the agony columns of the daily papers , and troubled them selves no furtier. * * * * * * * The time came round for Stavely Hunt to receive his second check. On the appointed day he presented him self at Mr. Gully's office , and on being ushered in , said : "Well , Mr. Gully , the three months is up , I believe. " "I don't know what you mean. Hunt. " "Why. you surely have not forgotten your promise to give me eight hundred pounds on this day if I kept quiet as to the circumstances of your father's death. " "Look here. Hunt You may not know the law about obtaining money under false pretenses , but if you don't leave this room pretty sharp , I'll soon show you. " Hunt saw the game was up , and de parted , vowing vengeance. Not long after this meeting a letter came from Florence , bearing the post mark of a village in the south of France , saying that her father was alive , and in her care. This put John Gully and his stepmother into a mild fever , for they saw they were in dan ger of being called to account for their suppression of the old man's letter. Still their anxiety grew less as time wore on and they heard nothing more. The reason of this silence was given by Florence when she finally rejoined her family. The following is a con densed form of her strange story : As soon as Stavely Hunt had obtain ed the check for two hundred pounds from Gully he repaired to Florence and told her the whole story , at the same time proposing , with her assistance , to rescue her father from his living grave. She readily consented , for her previous studies induced her to credit his story. She made her preparations for a jour ney. The next thing was to obtain the services of some trustworthy person to assist in recovering the body. Acting on the .advice of Hunt , she told the secret to a young army doctor named .lansen , who had for some time been paying her attentions. After a lit tle not unnatural hesitation , he agreed to assist them to steal the body. This was done safely , and through Hunt's knowledge of the necessary process they managed to restore Mr. William foully to life again , and at once made the best of their way to the south of France. , There were good reasons for this last step in their knowledge of John Gully's character. But Mr. William Gully might have been better left whero lie was. The "experk nee" had been too much for him. The il-fe attended upon him with untiring eu-e , but his state gradually grew WQJSO and worse until , before many days Lad elapsed , Mr. Willijun Gullj u\vas evidently on the point of death in earnest. He begged Florence to reward the young doctor for his kindness by be stowing on him her hand , and then passed away. They buried the old man In the village graveyard , and Florence lost no time in obeying her father's last wishes by marrying Dr. Janscr. Stavely Hunt , whom she handsomely rewarded , ap parently returned to India , for he was never seen again. SP < h sv.-is the story that Florence told to her brother and stepmother. It is only fair to supplement the above by the account of the matter 2jiven by John Gully. According to his version , he never believed his sister's story , any more than he did Hunt's , ro confirm his disbelief , ai'ter much trouble , he obtained an order for the exhumation of his father's body in the jrave to which it had been originally consigned. He declares that he has iinple evidence to prove that the body svas there as he expected , and in just ; uch a condition as a corpse , interred 'or that length of time , would be likely : o be. His opinion , he added , of Klor- ? nce's story was that she invented it : o explain the indecent haste with ivhicb she left a house of mourning to aiarry Dr. Jansen. Waverley. Philoprogenitivenesa. Dog Seller ( with huge uiastliTi--Bet- : er buy him. boss ; he's very fot > d of . hildren. Mr. Schermerhorn No ; he KLan't lave any of my children. Brooklyn 3agle. Diiiuity. Edith Our butler is dignified enough o be Lord Mayor of London ! Ethel Is that all ? Why. our butler s dignified enough to be the Lord ilayor of London's butler ! Puck. Every boss thinks the boss system s the best. Neglect chances to get even. TEASING A YOUNG SOLDIER. Commander of a Military Inatituta Frightens a Small Cadet. In the "Personal Recollections * ' of Capt. James Dinlciiis is an account of a little cadet who suffered a severe "scare" at the North Carolina Military Institute. When , he entered the school , he reported at once to the president , Maj. Hill. "Well , sir , what is your name ? " asked Maj. Hill. "James Bleecker. " "Well , what is your middle name ? " "I have no middle name. Just James. " The examination proceeded rather disastrously , but the cauet was finally dismissed , and told to answer to his name at reveille the next morning. The little fellow lay awake nearly all night , fearing he might not near the drum-beat ; and when It sounded he was promptly in line. The roll was called , and each boy answered ; but when it came to "Bleecker , " there proved to be several : H. H. , H. B. and J. J. When the last-named was called , no one answered , and the little new comer felt that he had been forgotten. After breakfast , when the boys had gone to their rooms for st'.i.ly , litte Bleecker heard a tap outside. He threw open the door , and found there a ser geant and two men , with their guns at a carry. "I have orders , sir , " said the ser geant , "to arrest you and take you to Maj. Hill. " The boy started back in genuine hor ror and despair. He wondered if his father had any conception of the awful situation , and what he would say if he knew. But there was njthlng to do but to yield , and he walked away with his guard. As soon as they reached the Major's presence , that officer asked : "Why were you not at roll-call this morning ? " "I was there , " replied the boy. "Sergeant , did he answer to bla name ? " "No , sir. " "Well , sir , why did you not answer to your name ? " "He did not call my name , sir. I was there ! I declare I was there ! But did not hear my name called. " "Call the roll , sergeant ! " ordered the Major. The sergeant began , and went on un til he reached "Bleecker , J. J. " "Stop , sir ! " said the Major. "Is that your name ? " "No. sir , my name is James Bleecker. " "But you told me that your name was just James Bleecker. " "Yes , sir. " "Well , doesn't j stand for just ? " This was the Major's private joke , which he had concocted in secret , and at which he never smiled. WAR ON TUBERCULOSIS. Kin ? ? Ed-ward to Begin Campaign Ajraiiiat Dreadful Scourge. An active campaign against consump tion is soon to be started in Great Brit ain Mini no lo s : i personage than King Edward is to lead ilie crusade. His majesty has al ways manifested rhe deepest sympa- thy in the move- nent to lessen and ontrol the rav ages of this dre-id < I 5 s f a s P. Now t'omes the infor mation that Sir * - i > LKA..M t'At i i Ernest Cassel has plnced the sum of $1.000,000 at the King's disposal for ehari'able purposes. This money , by the King's direction , wjll be devoted to the erection of a san itarium for tuberculosis patients in England. This sanitarium is intended to accommodate 100 patients , male and female. Of the total number of beds will be reserved for eighty-eight per sons who can pay only a small amount for treatment. The Eyes of a Inon. One night , when some troopers wert encamped in South Africa , it came to the turn of Rennie Stevenson to go for water to the spring , which was about a thousand yards distant. He describes the experience in his book , "Through Rhodesia. " A comrade volunteered to accompany him. When they were near- ing the spring this manwhispered to Stevenson. "There's a lion skulking in the under growth on the right bank. " Yes , therewere its eyes , gleaming through the dark. "Shall I fire ? " whispered the soldier. "Yes , fire , but take good aim. If you only wound it , we are done for. " The trooper knelt and took a long , teady aim. Bang ! The sound of the shot rever berated through the surrounding trees and up the river. But there were the ayes , still gleaming. Stevenson asked for the rifle and crawled nearer , trying to get a better shot. Closer and closer went the two , their hearts in their mouths. Sudden ly , when they thought they were al most in the face of the "lion , " they found the "eyes" to be two glowworms. The alarmingly bright little creatures aad not felt it necessary to get out of ; he way. 1 He Was Not Unreasonable A young man with an impediment in ais speech went to a stammerers' in stitute and asked for a course of treat ment The professor , who , according 0 the Independent had an eye to the nain chance , asked him if he wanted 1 full or a partial course. "A p-p-partial c-c-course. " "How much of a partial course ? " "Enough s-so that wh-when I go to i f-f-fl-florist's and ask for a c-c-c-chr- ; hryssanthwhistle ( here ) e-m-mum , Jie th-thlng won't -w-wilt b-before I r-get It" NEW TAILOfi DRESSES THEY WILL SOON COME OUT IN LARGE NUMBhRS. Have Regained All Their Old-Time Popularity New IdeaH in Cut and - Triainiiiicr-Faahioiia from Gotham Pictured and Described. New York correspondence : ITII spring onee settled , a remarka- bli > display of tai loring will bejjin. Ladies' tailors have had a bit the worst of the fashions of late , but they'll make up in a few weeks this spring for much lost time. Their output so far is characterized by more complexity than is usual , ami by free use of trim mings. Skirts show closely fitted hip and habit backs. This is a revival of a stylo : een three years ago. and U a more graceful cut than the old skirt Usually the skirt is trimmed up the back Beam , without pleats or extra fullness at the waist line or di rectly below. It swings ont gracefully from this point , however , and flares gen erously around the feet All the new COMPARATIVELY SIMPLE NEW TAILORMADES. skirts in whatever manner they are cut or trimmed have this outline. Dressy tailor skirts have inside ilouncings of lace , chiffon or silk on the lower half further to accentuate the slinmess above. Everything that can tfive height and slenderness to the figure is to be seized u lion. All tailor gowns are freely trimmed in some form or other , the plain untrim- med skirt being now a hack number and rarely seen. Some skirts are nude with box-pleats , others with pleats all around , with spaces between stitched down Hat to the knees where the material flares out prettily. Stitching , tucking , satin folds , silk and velvet bunds , passementerie aul braid are all nst > d. A forare shown with linen trimmings , the linen in open SHOWIER TAILOItIN G AND A CLOAK. vork design or embroidered in self or ontrasting colors. Circular flounces are juite as popular as ever and are tucked , rimmed with bands and decorated in rarious ways with fancy braid or em- > roidery. An attractive skirt is made vith a hip yoke , the pleats in the skirt lelow pointing up into this all around ind boinr ; set on with an open stitch. C"his skirt has the effect of large pleats nade by a narrow inverted pleat on rhifh in the center is sewn flat , fancy iraid showing slichtly between the edges s the skirt swings. The joke idea will ind favor in all kinds of skirts this sea- tU. as it helps along so well the look of lose ht around the hips. Jackets are short , ending at the waist ine in the great majority of cases. Some iave short postilion ends at the back , a ew are finished with a short basque frill- haped to fit the hips , but the very short ackefs ending in a belt or semblance of belt , are the prevailing mode A Tew In the shown Louis models are dressy tailor suits , and these usually elaborately trimmed with fancy braid , of some embroidery stitched bands or of jackets are usual * kind. The fronts Moused , much or little , as may be most . In etnmine and becoming to the figure. the silks much used for tailor gowna tfte blouse effect is accomplished by two box- side of the front pleats , one on either double-breasted , - Some jackets are a little turning back in narrow revers when opeu The back is close fitting , quite plain-f tucks. with varied often one likes , but Sleeves vary somewhat , yet the cont flaring cnff sleeves with a proper fancy . More e aborate seems likely to prevail. and Loui.i iii basque sleeves are seen sleeve in the etoa coats. One dressy blouse is especially pretty. It is op the wrist up over tte at the back from elbow , where it rounds in shape and filled with a puff of lace , fastened wltt loops of braid and round crochet bnttoms extend to the end of at the wrist. These the opening , but do not fasten over th elbow. Collars are of all sorts and con with bra * ditions. They are trimmed and embroidery and are made of Bilk black , white and colors , moire hem * a favorite for this purpose , or of cloth * the delicate colors. Tailor gowns are made in many mate rials , both lightweight and heavyweight cloths being available. Scotch tweeds , fancy mixed goods , lightweight broad cloths , Venetians and cheviots are nsod for the less dressy suit. Etamine , wool cnnvas and silk and wool sublimes are for thin tailor suit and make up charm ingly. Soft silks in light tints and black and'white materials are to be wor * white fla > - throughout summer. Striped j ncls and mohairs in gray , blue , white and biscuit are also to be used. Linens and i madras arc for wash tailor suits , and BO i are piques and cotton canvas. I Seven examples of spring tailoring are j presented in the accompanying 'illustra tions. In the small picture id a suit of biscuit etamhie over white silk , trimmed with black lace and with white moiro sprinkled with French knots. At the left in the second sketch is a gray wool can vas , whose scant ornamentation consisted of flounces , tucking , herringbone stitch ing and gray velvet , the last in the belt , l.pside this is a light brown and green cheviot banded with brown and white velvet Last in this group is a summer model , n white flannel trimmed showily with black and white silk. The first gown I Of in , . ; vuc > lul uuu narrow. mj Spnp _ t.ne braid. Its sailor collar was heav black lace over white satin. " and revers. At the tr. of he other . -uite the color of the - kinof wine , T ? bf " - . It is of a delicate close mesh and the figures , while rather heavily done , ar so fine as not to in any wise mar the del icacy. These double-edged appliqnel while nsefol In many ? ways , are shown a a hat trimming.
