Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1875 — Two Curious Stories. [ARTICLE]

Two Curious Stories.

A Paris correspondent of the New York -Times writes: The Figaro tells a great many curious stories about Americans in Europe and now and then I feel like translating them. Here are two that will be found of interest: “We have just heard,” says Figaro, “a. frightful story, the hero of which is now in Paris. Three months ago a rivalry in love existed between two merchants of New York—Mr. Fergus MacClellan, domiciled at No. 43 Broad street, and Samuel O’Deary living at No. 49 Wall street. Both were paying attention to a young girl whose name we feel bound to suppress. One day, without notifying either of her lovers, she suddenly left New’ York. Despair united the two enemies, w’ho resolved to set out together in search of the fugitive and to have an explanation with revolvers when she was found. One started for Europe, the other searched in America. Six weeks ago tlie former learned that Miss was with her father in Calcutta. He loyally advised his rival by telegraph and proposed to him the following arrangement, which was accepted: They would play a game of checkers by’ sending the moves by* Atlantic cable, the stakes to be the life of one of the players. The game was begun and 'lasted nine days. Mr. McClellan, who remained in America, has just lost the game. Day* before yesterday a dispatch informed Mr. O’Deary that McClellan had blown his brains out. Mr. O’Deary leaves , for Calcutta to-day. It remains to be seen whether tlie girl, the stakes in this mortal game, wifi have anything to do with the victor.” The writer gives the very number of the houses in which these two merchants lived, and how could he have done that, a French lady’ asked me last night, if the story were not true ? The other story can be summed up in a few words. A very enonnously-rich young son of a Yankee—l translate literally—who has been residing three years in Paris, has a great horror of wearing new clothes’ This is the combination devised" for obviating the disagreeable necessity: As he cannot well buy his clothing in a second hand shop he has them made by the most fashionable and most extravagant tailor in the city* and then hires a workman of hj«j exact size to wear them for him for two weeks. The writer says that he can personally vouch' for this story, as he hdh-seen the workingman who gets paid for wearing the eccentric Yankee’s coats to a proper degree of dirtiness. ' —Gen. Hazen says the upper Missouri for about 2,000 miles is merely standing pools or petty rivulets in the summer. He pronounces the country practically a barren, plagued with insects and sterility.