Fatality Of A Name

V liters of flction havo no monopoly of the strange or supernatural. There are thiiigg taking place every day in Chicago wbioh are as devoid of rational explanation as the mysterious coinings of the novelist's brain. Newspaper aicu hear of them, hut iu the rush for cold, hard facts, demanded both by city editors and newspaper readers, the "pipe stories," as queer and unexplainable ïappenings are called iu journalistic circles, are at a discount. Were it not for his the following incident, which can De verified by the word of several repuable men, would long ago have regeived the spaoe aud attention it rnerits nstead of being consigned to the wasteDasket as the "pipe dream" of an opium devotee : One cold wintry night not so long dgo Dr. L. T. Potter, now connected with the Chicago health department, and a number of his companions were sitting iu the office of the Oakland hotel, at Drexel and Oakwood boulevards, when a strauger of diffident raanner en;ered. His clothes and jewelry marked lim a person of means, but he seemed downhearted and worried, and when ie asked permission of the clerk to sit in the office awhile, Dr. Potter and his companions at once sized hirn up as a man who had been out on a spree, was without ready cash to pay for a bed, and took this means of getting refuge from the winter's blasts. The stranger, who was young and intelligent, grew uncomfortable under the ill disguised scrutiuy of the crowd and finally said : "Gentlemen, I would like to explain my presence here and why I sit up in ;he office in preference to taking a bed. [n the first place, let me assure yon it is not a matter of money, ' ' drawing out a goodly sized roll of bilis. "For some years my father, who is a resident of ïïew York, has had trouble with his 'amily and has been a wanderer. He was at one time worth considerable money, but this has been lost, and a number of letters which I have of late received from him show me he is despondent. This afternoon I got a letter 'rom him, dated in Detroit, saying he would arrive iu Chicago tonight, take a room at this hotel and end his lii'e by turning on the gas. He added that in the event of the gas failing he had a aistol with him, with which he would send a bullet througn his brain. Father aad no idea I wou ld get this letter today, as I have been out of town, and it was only au vmexpected case of sickness in niy faniily which bronght me back. [ arn sitting up here to iutercept hiin when he comes iu aud prevent the suicide which he contemplates. Fortunately I have means enough for both and can relieve his anxiety in this respect. ' ' Dr. Potter and his friends were at once interested. They congratulated the stranger on his good luck in having received his father 's letter in time and tendered their services in any way in which they might be desired. Two or three times an effort was made to fhid out the inan's name, but he parried the qnestions on the ground that, as his father 's plans would be frustrated, he did not care to have his identity disclosed. "You may, however, cali me Melchior, as it is awkward to address a man with out a nam', and Melchior is as good as anything, barring the right one. " The evening sped along, and about midnight the stranger, being assured no more trains would arrive before morning, took his departure, saying he thought his father must have been detained or perhaps havehappilychauged his mind. The occurreuce was so much out of the ordinary that Dr. Potter aud his friends sat up for an hour or more talking it over. At 1 o'clock they went to bed, and a few minutes later the night clerk retired, leaving an assistaut who had not heard the story in charge of the office. About 1.30 in came an old gentleman with a traveling bag in hand, who registered as "George C. Melchior," and was assigned to a room. In the morning the chambermaid reported a streng smell of gas on that floor. The door of the newcomer's room was broken in, and he was found dead, with a pistol in his right hand and a bullet wound in his head. He had turned on the gas and then shot hiinself. By this time everybody in the house had heard the story and of the young nian's visit the night before, and all were positive that the old gentleman who had killed himself was his father. The afternoon papers had a report of the suicide and before night the young man was back at the house asking to , see the body. "I don 't uuderstand how father coula have registered as 'Melchior,' f-or it is not his name, and I only used it last uight to conceal our own," the stranger said. "It must have been a case of mental telepathy. " On reaching the room where the boay lay a much more peculiar episode oocurred. The moment the young man saw the face of the corpse he said : "That's not father. I never saw this man before. He is not known to me. " Nor was he. A search of the dead mau's effects brought out papers proving his identity as George C. Melchior and giving reasons for suicide somewhat similar to those advanced by the young stranger when he was telling his story the night before. Within a week Dr. Potter heard from the young man, who said his father was alive and well, haviug recovered from his despondency and abiuidoned his intention of taking his life, but the mystery of how a man giving the same name should appear at the hotel selected by the strauger]s father, on the same night, and commit suicide in the same rnanner outlined by him has never been explained. -Chicago 1 Tribune.