Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-03-12
showed her the Handkerchief, remarkips iu.

r noi Sue hsEokerchief, remarking H.
nocently at tie same time, If M.Sams A.
drecht were in town, and Hanne s,iII r;,h
her, we should know what IL meant. TI. Rin.
Dragon had been courting again. and Iost
his hsBdkerchief." His wife took n sns
pointed to one corner in which N ID werc
marked. Neither Of them thought Of the or
cumstance during the following days, till tho
discovery of the robbery called il to my mind.
Suspicion consequently rested on the Blue
Dragon, ard another circumstance materially
confirmed it. On the first examination of tie
house, a partly burnt spill had been found on
the fOor near the escritoire. Had Madame
Andrecht or her servants used the paper 10
light ascandle, il would not have been thrown
on the floor, for their cleanliness was nOtori-
GUS. No other person had entered the house
lately. and, had it been so, they would not
nave dared to transgress in such a way. Tho
ponce had not smoked, and therefore the
thieves could be the only persons who had
thrown the spill on this spot On unfolding
the rest OF the paper, it was found to be a
declaration or receipt for the town for dues on
spirits that had been imported When the
spirits had been once carried home, this re-
ceipt was OF no furti er use, and the papers
we're not generally preserved by the Landlords.
The greater portion Of the receipt found in tho
house was burnt, the name Of the landlord
was gone, but the lower part was in good coz
dition, and upon il was the signature Of the
exciseman and the date. 1t was easy, with
these indications, to find out what landlord
had declared spirits on that day. The books
showed that Nicholas D. had received
many kegs of Geneva This, in connection
with the wool spinner's statement, determined
the police 10 arrest the Blue Dragon, as we'll
as bis family, consisting Of his wife, her father
and brother, who lived with him. An exami-
nation Of the house led to the discovery Of
souvenir" behind the shutter of the tap-room
window, which undoubtedly belonged ~ Mad
ame Andrecht, tor two letters addressed to h,r
were found in it.
While the whelc town was busying itself in
forming coDjectures on the sui ject, a respect
able tradesmsn made his appearance before
the police and gave the following statement:
lie was wool merchant, and among his cus-
TONERS was a carpenter, Isaac Van c., who
was always in srrear with his payments The
merchant pressed him, and at length COM
menced legal proceedings. A few days be-
fore the discovery of the robbery the carpen-
ter came to his house aud begged him not to
proceed further, or he should be q ruined
man. "See how / am paid :" be exclaimed,
as he placed basket on the table and pro-
duced from il pair Of silver candls ssticks
and a cofee-pot. Il had sixty forms to Ie-
ceiye OF party, but he begged me 10 take
this silver in part payment, and did go, as
saw should not get my money in any other
nay. L did not like to sell it 70 the silver
smiths here, as / should not get half the
valae, but waited till 1 went to Amsterdam,
where L could dispose of them. / will leave
the silver in pledge with you till receive my
money" The wood merchant hesitsted at
first, but at length consented. The silver was
In my hands. When he heard of the robbery
at Madame Andrecht's and read the list Cf
things stolen, he had no doubt that those OBJ
jects formed part Of them. he did not wish
TO throw any suspicion on the carpenter, he
could no doubt explain whence be obtained
them, and he was surprised he had not done
50 already, to prove the landlord guilt or in
nOcence. The police Immediately sent for the
silver and the carpenter, Isaac Van C
The carpenter arrived breathlessly. He
seemed perfectly prepared, and before they
proceeded to question him, he volunteered
the following statement He had been pressed
by the wood merchant, and was consequently
forced to press bis debtors. Among them was
Nicholas D, who owed him sixty fiOrins for
work done In his house. Nicholas had conc
to him some twelve days before and begged
him TO wait little longer. When the car
penter declared il was impossible, he had Of
fered him some old silver in part payment.
The carpenter suspected nothing wrong, but
asked him accidentally how be had got it?
The Blue Dragon replied that il had be-
been left by an old lady, whose coachmsn he
had been for several years. They agreed that
it should be taken for a certain price, and the
landlord brought K to him the same eyeciag
in a covered basket! At the same time hs
requested him not to dispose of il in the town,
for he would only get half its value and BE-
sides, he, the landlord, had reasons for desir-
ing it.
The Blue Dragon was now examined; AID
his statement tailed with that If the carpen-
ter to a certain extent He allowed that 10
owed him sixty aoriEs, but he had Lot yet
been able to pay him any part. He, how
ever, denied any knowledge of the silver
The rest Of the family made the samo state
ment, but all declared that Nicholas had,
In their presence, three months previously,
counted out twenty forms, which, he said,
were intended for the carpenter. The Blue
Dragon, on further examination, confessed
that this was the fact, but be had used the
money to pay some cid gambling debts, and
that be had told his wife he intended them for
the carpenter. This was the first instance in
which any of the accused nad been convicted
of falsehood; and, although it referred to an
immaterial circumstances, il threw an unfavOr-
able light on their other statements, and his
assurance that he had paid the carpenter no
part Of the debt by means Of the silver, found
no credence. The carpenter, moreover, did not
rest in his endeavor TO convict the landlord VI
fslsehoOd; be produced species Of ledger, ia
which an entry was made that, on the 23d
y 2ne, TIE ianulOIu, NlCnotdS - IdQ lsiu
thirty forms on account in old silver. The car
penter's housekeeper and apprentice both
gave their testimony that they were present
when the Blue Dragon had spoken win their
master on the subject, and swore TO the truth
of the statement. In consideration of all this,
and as the landlord persisted in asserting his
innocence, the authorities determined to bring
him to confess by means of torture. All pre-
parations were made, and the torture would
be applied the following day, when a letter
reached the authorities by the Rotterdam post.
" Before quit the country, and reach a
spot where neither the authorities Of M
nor the court martial can touch me will save
four innocent persons who are now imprisoned
in M. Care must be taken not to punish
them for a crime of which they cannot be
guilty How the carpenter is connected with
them I cannot conjecture. and heard of It
with great surprise. However, the carpenter
may not be perfectly innocent May the judges
pay attention to this hint! They may alter
wards bitterly repent neglecting II. They