Page 4 Advertisements Column 5

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 6 October 1891, Page 4

A Poisoned Flower of Death. (Concluded.) here with that thing," I cried. " The odour is terrible." I V Not so very bad after you get accustomed to it," he replied, hesitatingly. "Indeed, if you are not directly above it yon will Hoi notice the odour at all after a time." J " It is the strangest thing I ever saw or \ heard of," I declared. "It actually fills me with horror Why, I should dump the thing out, of doors.". I He shook liis head, a look of alarm on his { face. ! "No, no," he cried, "I would not part, with it for anything." That day when I parted with Claude Mortimer I felt fully convinced that there was a terrible secret locked fast in the man's breast, and that in some way the black lily was connected with the secret. How this could be I could not imagine ; yet something seemed to tell me that it was so. From that day I shunned Claude Mori timer, for I felt that iherfe was a 1 dreadful stain upon his hands. Of this I had no proof ; yet in an unexplained manner I was convinced that it was true. Two months passed, and one night a terrible thuhderstorm passed over Upington. The morning came, bright ahdbfcatit.iful, and at an early hour Claude Mortiiiier'S fcegro 1 servant brought a sealed envelope to my door and delivered it into my hands. He said that his master had aroused him in the night and given him the envelope, with the request that he bring it to me the first thing in the m'orriingi With shaking hands and a strange presentiment that some terrible event had happened, I tore open the envelope. This is what I read : AN AWFUL CONFESSION'. 11 1 am a murderer I I have resolved to make this confession to the world, and tomorrow 1 will be found dead in the room where I am now writing, while the thunder bellows in the heavens and the jagged lightning rends the darkness asunder. Tlie" brand of Cain is on my brow, for I slew my own brother. I will make the confession .is brief as possible, and then comes — death ! On the day preceding the fatal night when Victor Mortimer was murdered he and 1 quarrelled concerning our father's will. In a rage 1 left the house and departed, nounted on the horse which was given me by my father some years ago. Twelve miles away I stopped for the night, putting up at a sleepy little hotel. When I had retired lo my room that night i sat at my window until all was still about the house. Then a terrible impulse seized me. Beneath my window was a low, sloping shed. With but little trouble I climbed ■nut upon it and reached the ground. I had neen a horse feeding in the neighbouring pasture, and by the aid of an occasional gleam of moonlight .vhich stole through the clouds I succeeded in finding and capturing that horse As I led him out of the pasture I noticed a long iron pin by which ihe gate was fastened. This I took with me. Within the hour I rang at the door of Mortimer Hall. There were no servants in the house at the time, and Victor came to ihe door. He asked who was there and I answered. Unsuspecting, he opened the door and I ;lepped in. He was holding a light in his aand. As he turned to close the door I Uruck him with the iron pin fairly on the back of the head, putting all the force I ■:ould into the blow. He fell dead at my ieet ! Then, in order lo make it appear :.hat the crime was committed by a robber, i took his jewellery and money. I hid the iron pin in a safe place, and on the horse's back fled away through the night like the crime-stained thing that I was. What followed is well known. I was recalled to the scene of my terrible crime. I played my part well, and no one suspected me. A STRANGE BURIAL. The iron pin with which I committed the murder troubled me the most. I feared that it would be found, and finally buried it in the very bottom of a large pot in which stood a lily in full bloom. Then I had the lily placed in my room, so that I might j always stand guard over it. Two days I later I noticed a change in the appearance jof the flower. I thought it was dying, but il was not. Slowly it turned black, and the small tongue in the centre became blood red. I watched the chinge with a leeling of horror that cannot be described. It seemed to me that the thing was trying to tell of my terrible crime. Hundreds of times I have been tempted to destroy it, but something always kept me from doing so. I hoped that it would die, but week alter week, month J after month, it stood there accusingly before my eyes. The odour which comes from the hly when inhaled from a distance is pleasant, but makes one deadly sick when breathed from just above it. I believe that enough of this will cause death, and to-night 1 shall test my belief. If this fails, I have a little vial of poison which will do the work. lam lired of life. I murdered my brother that I might obtain this grand estate, which I fancied had been unjustly given to him, and since then the curse of God has been upon me. My will will be found leaving the property to charitable institutions, and with a final petition for God to have mercy on my guilty soul, I write my name for the last time on earth. Claude Mortimer." He was found quite dead on the floor beside the black lily, an untasted vi >1 of poison grasped in his hand. The strange flower that had always stood erect drooped until it almost touched his white cheek, and from I the crimson tongue a few scarlet drops, which looked like blood, had fallen upon his face. The iron pin was found in the pot, and the roots of the lily were tightly twined around it. — Cincinnati Enquirer. SAM JONES AND THE LOVER. When Sam Jones, the American revivalist, was preaching in a western town some lime ago, he was annoyed by a young man who was whispering to his girl. Finally, the preacher could stand the interruption no longer, so he looked straight at the young man and said '. " I will pause till the young man in the back of the room gets through his talking." The silence was intense, and every eye was on the young man, who was still whispering to his girl. He had been so busy that he had not caught the preacher's censure. Mr. Jones repeated his remarks, and this time the young man heard him. Not an instant did he hesitate. While every one was watching him, he looked squarelv at the preacher and said : "Gb right ahead, lAx. Jones, you are not bothering me." DR. JOHNSON REVISED. Perquisites — What you can obtain from your employer without being found out. Cheating — When others get the best o! you in a bargain. Good financial management — When yov get the better of others in a bargain. Fools — Those who let others interfere ir their business. Men of sound judgment — Those who lei you manage their business. A soulless corporation — The rich company in which you are not interested, A beneficent co-operative scheme — Tht rich company in which you are the principa shareholder. Rash speculation — When men lose h stocks. Able financiering— When men wid ii stocks. Villainous ring- The scheme you are no in.