AN OLD WOMAN’S ENDURANCE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2090, 27 May 1907, Page 4

AN OLD WOMAN’S ENDURANCE.

LIVING IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND.

Some children, while picking violets in the woods near Versailles, outside of Paris, a few weeks ago, head strange cries come from under file ground, and ran away frightened. They, related what "they bad heard to everyone they met, which’ led the police to make an enquiry. Two gendarmes, accompanied by a number of inliabitanats, wont to the placo pointed out by the children, and after a long search they finally eame across a hole near sorno bushes in a bank. One of the men was let down into tho hole, and discovered an old woman, more like a skeleton than a human being, without a tack el clothes on, stretched on a sort of shelf cut out of the earth. The woman was terrified when she saw the man, and screamed to him to go away. However, the gendarme thought it. best not to listen to her, and she was taken to the hospital at Versailles. As the poor woman was totally insane no information could be from lier as to who she was, or who kept her there. A watch was therefore kept in the vicinity of the hole, and in the evening, shortly laftJor dusk, an old man was seen stealing up the hole with a package,! which apparently contained some food. He was at onco recognised as

an individual who had long boon living with a woman in tho outskirts or tho town. Ho was at first arrested, hut has sinco boon roloasod, as it appears thoro was no criminal intontion in wlmt lie did. Tlio wo'man scorns to liavo lost lior mind, and was so afraid of boing takon to a hospital that sho boggod him to tako hor put to tho woods and hide hor. In complying with hor wishes ho imagined that ho was doing everything for tlio host. Tho strango part of tlio case is that tho woman was all tlio winter, during tho most intense cold, in that Role without a stitch of covering. How sho snrvivod is a mystery. Her clothes woro found concealed noar a bush, which was apparently considered hor wurdroho, and hor whole trousseau consisted of ono pair of old stockings, a wretched skirt, and a worn-out nightdress.

THE BRIDAL PARTY AND THE ’BUS.

Tho story of how a wedding party mot witli an accident when returning from tho coremony was told in the Shoreditch County Court, in tho caso of Silvorton v. Tillings, an notion brought by William Silvorton, a jobmaster, of Dalston, to recover £3B damages from Messrs. Thomas Tilling, Ltd. for injury dono to his horses and brougham. Mr. Drury, for the plaintiff, explained that on Sunday afternoon, August 20 last, Mr. Silvorton’s coachman was driving a pnir-liorso brougham down tho Hackney Road from tlio Synagogue jn Lcmaii-streot, with tho happy bridal party. Suddenly Messrs. Tillings’ omnibus which had boon on tho noar side .pulled out. Tho polo of tlio ‘bus struck ono of tlio horses, badly cutting it, and it had ovontually to bo sold. Naturally tlio wedding party was thrown into confusion.

Goorgo Konny, tlio coachman of tho brougham, having detailed tho accident, Mr. Compton Smith: You wero very happy, you woro out taking part in a wedding. Tho Witness: Not tho first. (Laughter). Mr. Smith: Tlio wodding was successfully over, and you wore fooling jovial as you wero off to the wedding breakfast, and in consequence wore travelling fast?—No; only five miles an hour.

Joseph Bryant said ho witnessed tlio accident, and lm considered tlio driver of tlio brougham was coining along at a nice quiet pace., Mr. Smith: You will admit there is a deal of difference between funerals and weddings?—Certainly; they run back from funerals, but tlioy come back slowly from -weddings to give them time to tliin'k it over, you know. Tlio jury found for tlio plaintiff for £3B and costs.