;MgMOIKS OF A VET-SEAT. DETECTIVE.

CHAPTER XLIII.
.[SE ABDCCTION OF A CHILD.
. o,k era of national self-glorification over a
Nation assumed to have been unknown be-
cl.ilizauu istian er8) lt ia pamf ul to be com-
^J admit that the judicial records of the
1 trenturv show the worship of the golden
So be still as widely spread as in the days of
lheiifr,.ie'1thefflaring sins of the present day is
inwin" tendency to worship success for its
a - re and wealth for its external glitter.
7 The end justifies the means " is a maxim
often quoted and admired in every class of
toooi      h          mn-inritv of men. talent  clnrv
1U.IW rr" ""'       - - y-j    ^...^   u.
fo the majority of men, talent, glory
liave become, nay, perhaps have ever
h en empty phrases useful only in the hands of
?c ' to work upon the sensibilities of fools.
nne natural instinct only has escaped in general
,i,. calculations of cupidity and preserved the
and veneration of even the most de-
Sdnamely, that of maternal love, which so
ften rises to tbe sublime of self-abnegation.
tad Years had elapsed since justice had heard
peal for protection against the machina-
tions of those who would speculate on this sacred
Ming, when a heartless Englishman named
Williams, resident in Paris, appeared before the
oublie to show how fiendishly he was prepared
to push the calculations of selfish aggrandize-
...
Young, handsome, ttnd insinuating; so highly
-J as to make him an accomplished citi-
urucu ri.3 " _. -   -----------r-'-"'* ^.".
zen of the world he frequented the best society
of Paris, spent his winters in the saloons of the
Faubourg Saint-Germain and the Chausse
d'Antin, his summers at Baden-Baden, Hom-
lurg, or Spa; everywhere in the character of a
fell-born, opulent gentleman, whom it would
be dishonor to suspect. And yet he possessed
neither lands, palaces, nor funds. He had no
connection with commerce, no capital in trade;
in short, he was an adventurer, a Greek, who
lived by gambling with packed cards, and accu-
mulated every summer a supply of gold which
enabled him to display a princely prodigality
during the winter months.
He had remarked, in the distinguished society
in which he moved, a certain Countess L-----, a
wealthy lady connected with a noble family of
the Netherlands, who had lost her husband not
long before, and who had one daughter five
years of age, on whom she lavished all the de-
votion of a heart aching under an intolerable
grief, He resolved to speculate on her mater-
nal idolatry, saying to himself: " If I can suc-
ceed in carrying off this child, its mother will
submit to every sacrifice to regain it, and my
fortune is assured." And from the moment that
Hie project entered bis imagination he began to
we heaven and earth to accomplish his de-
sign.
To gain a confederate within the defenses,
and to obtain a knowledge of every circum-
stance favorable to his scheme, he began by
mataglovetoMme. L-----'s femme de chambre;
y , n?s t0 lus personal advantages and his
arts of money, he soon succeeded in
inning her entire confidence.    From her he
areed that she was in the habit of going at
'tt^rv Monday with the child to
1  v*   ?!7lnoh she was a PPil. and that
2   t? ouSh certain streets which she
f .i,- e Englishman resolved to avail him-
lo TPPrtunhy to seize the little girl,
L?6 aPPmted day stationed a carriage
2 Mm^c?nvenient for the abduction he
i th wl ,Althe time flxed he threw himself
lefZ\oi "V? want, and offered to take
rZ 'tV11.1^116 rest of the way m his
and m in T?7oollsh girl accepted the offer,
outanasL. if paces further on> he pointed
"W Cter \Shop> and fivinS the serv-
4-Sfl & *anSer asked her to go and
irhadfltt7httlf Sirl and herself. No
%set off a.entere<? the sll0P than the car-
comino. Z 7 ? raPld trot, and on the girl
'^rwerf7 if"1' neither carriage, child, nor
tocSJSSeen' 8tuPehed with fear, and
?lc tarried in !IIe . TUve for this conduct,
l she hadI in! I  her mistress and related
f-%flewtott I Cl.arge- The distracted
er*nghter?i^ SC}* and on learning that
l_art^ t.tur'-i6611 brouSht there, her
*^be n li ?lth the Presentiment that
*the est (i en for crimillal ends. A prey
^CSre*^',8116 next lurried to my
"4' Wrl    mE.ke mtairies, but nothing
^*%S^da week later the despair-
Umet0 tell me that her daughter
47
h^m,  .,.. __.._ I.                      was m good , lance, and proved to be a lonely house, standino-
'- on an island in the Seine, near Paris. The En-
glishman was its only occupant. Such a place
ol rendezvous, selected by such a man, justified
the gravest suspicions of his intentions.
tr.4Y? TS- arr?stcd. and sentenced to a long
*i?yt ^Pnsonment, on the expiration of
which he was banished from France? I believe
he ne ver returned.
m?nT^an?thatfie^Turd^store her on pay
as follows   rge SUm f mney' His letter ended
so-
" Address your answer to Monsieur-
to^nl1.^ Cn-ef ,?-f the Prefect> I dispatched
ff\yf ?          !nte ligent police agent to seek
for Wdhams, with the assistance of the London
police But neither the French agent nor his
English colleagues had the slightest success.
Not ong after, the mother came again to tell
me that a letter Had been received from London
by her femme de chambre, probably from Will-
iams; but that she had been unable to obtain
any satisfactory answers from the girl
I begged Mme. L-----to retire fr a few
moments into the adjoining room, and rent for
the love-sick damsel, to whom I made the fol-
lowing brusque address:
" You have received a letter from Williams
w       y l4, for T am certain of what I say "
' Well, sir, since I cannot affirm the contrarv
here is the letter.    Make the most of it."
The villain requested her, among ether things
to keep lnm informed of the measures taken bv
her mistress, and to write him to a certain ad-
dress.
" Do you know," said I, " that I eould very ' I, eager tb1e    & f Sm'ICe' madame?" S&id
time of its abduction the child was under your "My name .Z Mv hh*nA i
special care; this letter, in which the writer \ honoraileTnd honored merchant^ and i nos
treats you as an ally, communicates to you his sessed of a handsome^fortune^^ and eve sW
plans, and demands information. Nothing can our marriage some years a"o has f en.fP= 11
exempt you from punishment, except an abso- ; frankly^ lavished upon mf the t'endere t and
boutTo dPemSand r,COmPilance with what 1 am iPBt arduous carl Las' year,1n tounfaib
duoutto aemana.                                             I mg desire to give me every possible haoniness
bursW Stotea? SP6ak'    CXCklmed ^ "' !he seflt me to foass the threeUmiZ^Xwla:
 y, 4iii     -Y a            t                            i my mother, who has a country-house in the
wv S? .       Writ? .t0 y-Ur- l0^er' here at their  env:TOUS of Lyons. With dwellers in the countrv
loss ofbeS7reS f ? deSpair Tr tlleas you kno^' Monsieur Canler Lfghborhood
oss of her child, and ready to sacrifice her en- soon leads to acquaintance and friendship and
tire fortune to regain t. And you will urge these to intimacy3 Neu^y motlSsta e lived
him to persevere m his scheme, and promise   a wealthy lady of title, wByCJite
CHAPTER  XLIV.
MADAME  Z--------.
There exist certain privileged beings whom
.nature has gifted with such potent charms-
eyes of such childlike innocence,  features of
such chiseled   beauty,   figures   so    exquisite-
ly   rounded,   complexions   so  transparent-   in
short,  possessed of a combination   of   attrac-
tions so alluring-that our illogical male sex is
J ready to forgive, nay, often to admire and ap-
plaud m these what we are quick to regard as
sins of the deepest dye in those to whom nature
has denied the magical spell of beauty.
One day a lady, whose beauty entitled her to
a high rank in the list of these rarely gifted
creatures,  was shown into my office, and re-
to keep him fully informed of everything com
ing to your knowledge."
When the letter had been written and di-
rected, I had it mailed, and then sent away the
in   a   cavalry regiment, was spending a two-
months' leave at home."
' ' Ernesthis name is Ernest, siris young and
very handsome, skillful in every manly accom-
aWn\ ^d thet miStreSSr AS ~ST- ^r1 TS ! ^^T^^lTx^lS^^taSZ.
alone, I wrote to my police agent m London  ner.    In short, we met constantly, and his atten-
OntTL^ Af: i -     ti                                tions Srew so marked that I could not fail to no-
t t? TP' hl5 3!.ter' lhf agent went at once tice and be touched bythem. If his lips had never
to the lodgings of the abductor, accompanied breathed a syllable of love, his eyes alone would
by a force of London police. The villain him- have betrayed his feelings. Though I saw the
self was out; but the door was forced, the child J peril before me, I was lif ht enough to laugh at
found, and immediately taken possession of by \ it as imaginary. Flattered by the passion! in-
the agent, who set off for Pans without loss of spired, and fearless of danger through an undue
time, arriving there at ten o'clock the following  confidence in my own strength, I took a wicked
evening.
Assured of the happiness with which I was
so soon to fill the mother's heart, I hastened at
once to Mme. L-----'s hotel.    She was in bed.
Her maid announced the Chief of the Secret
Service, with her child.
"My child! my child!" she shrieked, and
half frantic with delight, and quite unconscious
of my presence, she sprung from her bed,
snatched the child from my arms, and fell
fainting at my feet.
Two weeks afterward she came again to my
office to demand assistance and protection.
"Yesterday," said she, "I fancied I saw
through my blinds the horrible Williams pass
my house. This morning I am sure I saw him,
walking with another man. I tremble, sir, lest
he should make another effort to rob me of my
child."
''Take courage, madame. Your persecutor
believes that you are helpless and unprotected.
He shall be taught his mistake. Till I can ef-
fect the arrest of the scoundrel, I will give you
one of my subordinates as a guard. He will
accompany you wherever you go, and at night
will sleep in your antechamber. Under his
protection, you may feel perfectly secure."
The Englishman soon ascertained the constant
presence of the agent. He had the insolence,
notwithstanding, to send the Countess a letter,
in which he threatened to steal her child a
second time, unless she consented to meet him
pleasure in fanning his ardor, and vanity led
me to stimulate his jealousy. An incident
brought this jealousy to its climax. My
mother's birth-day came, and mv husband
came from Paris to spend a few days in my
company. At the moment of his arrival,
Ernest and his mother were calling at the house,
and, on my husband being presented, he thanked
them both most cordially for all they had done
to render my stay agreeable.
" I watched Ernest's face while my husband
was speaking. He grew so deadly pale that his
mother noticed it, and asked if he were ill.
' No, madame,' he answered, ' not ill, but I
have a racking headache, and must beg per-
mission to withdraw.'
' ' He did not return during the day, and to
every inquiry as to his health, it was answered
that he was better, but could not leave his
room. The suddenness of his illness affected
me, and I fancied I understood its cause. As
long as my husband lingered in the country,
Ernest refused to appear. On his returning
to Paris, my lover came with his mother the
same evening to invite us to dinner on the fol-
lowing day.
"We went, and were greeted with distinction.
After dinner, a stroll was suggested through a
small forest, ten minutes' walk from the house,
and, as usual, Ernest offered me his arm. Our
mothers followed us, but at a slower pace, and
we were soon far in advance.  Ernest now vent-
seeona time, unless she consented to meet mm  we were soon tar m advance,  lirnest now vent-
alone at a certain specified place with a sum of  ured for the first time to speak to me of his
mnrrev       TTe   nrlrlprl   lhat   lip   wrrnld tnke A. fen.r-    arlrtratln-n    anil   crrTifpfl.prl   tlrnt   flip  pnnsp rtf  hia

money. He added that he would take a fear-
ful vengeance, if she betrayed him to a third
person.
adoration, and confessed that the cause of his
illness was the jealousy inspired by my hus-
band's visit.