"Will the Times-Star please publish that I am not dead, so that my son, if he be alive, may see it and return to me before I die.  He now believes me dead, many of my friends do because in some strange manner they have been told so, and if he learns that I am living he will come home."
    This was the request of Mrs. Johanna Stokes, 83, of 626 Union street, Mt. Auburn, through whose life run the story of a mysterious vendetta, to be crowned in its twilight with a sorrow she can scarcely bear.  Mrs. Stokes has been separated form her husband, aged 96, for years by a contract of mutual consent.  He is a retired police station house keeper, and wealthy.  Four attempts have been made upon her life within the past few years.  No motive can be ascribed to the strange attempts, one of which so injured her that she was confined for a year at the Presbyterian hospital.  Until within a few months past detectives of the Pennsylvania railroad have exercised a supervision of her under the direction of company officials, who became cognizant of one attempt upon her life while she was in the employ of the company.  While living on Montgomery road, in Norwood, Mrs. Stokes received a postal card, which read as follows:
    "You are particularly invited to be present at the church social to-morrow evening. Sec. S. Circle."

    "I did not belong to the sewing circle of the church that I then attended." Said Mrs. Stokes, "and I believe the postal card was fraudulent, and did not heed it, but gave it instead to the police.  They found that no meeting was held at the church that evening, and believing that an attempt had been made to decoy me from home for a purpose, watched the house for days."

    A few weeks later Mrs. Stokes was attacked while crossing the canal bridge at Twelfth and Plum streets.  Two men seized her and bore her toward the railing.  She cried out for help and the answering cries of youths in bathing beneath the bridge caused the men to release her and flee.  Despite the darkness, Mrs. Stokes believes she recognized both men.  The next attack upon her was made at her home on Willow street, Norwood.  A man concealed himself behind a doorway in a hall leading to her room, and as she passed struck her.  She fell unconscious and was discovered some hours later.  A blood vessel in her head had been ruptured by the blow and death was near to her for a year.  A short time later, while Mrs. Stokes was employed as caretaker of the C., L. & N. station in Norwood, a young man who had been loitering around the station for several days gave her a warning that an attempt was to be made upon her life and that two men had approached him with an offer to commit a murder.  He then gave his name as Ralph Howard.  On the night following as Mrs. Stokes prepared to retire, she discovered that the lock to her bedroom door had been removed.  She sat up for hours with a revolver in hand and finally heard footsteps creeping up the stairway.  She opened the door in the face of the unknown intruder and leveled her revolver.  The man fled, and in his flight dropped a heavy slungshot which was found by Pennsylvania detectives, who were summoned.  Their investigation of the case resulted only in the discovery of the identity of the youth who had given the warning to Mrs. Stokes.  He proved to be Clarence Dickhoff, a lad who had run away form his home in the South, and whose father was a minister.  Undaunted by these attempts was Mrs. Stokes, but her spirit broke when she last week met an old acquaintance in the Sixth street market who greeted her with astonishment and declared that she believed her dead and had, in fact been told so.  Then it was that Mrs. Stokes learned that her son also believes her dead.  The friend told her that she had met Harry Woodruff, the son in Middletown, months before and that he had spoken of his mother's death and declared he would never return to Cincinnati.  Mrs. Stokes believes that those who were responsible for the attempts upon her life have circulated the false story of her death and she sought its correction in the hope that it may reunite her and her son.  Mrs. Stokes was formerly the wife of J. B. Woodruff, who was the editor of the old Evening Times, and influential friends have tried in vain to find trace of her son and to solve the mystery of the vendetta that has followed her life for the past few years.

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