Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1859-04-13


demoiselle Jeborouski 1or so my mistress is
called) will be not little pleased, and will re-
ward You for it," ssNo, by my faith,'' replied
L'Eveille, 81 shall not bandage my eyes. My
| father expressly forbid me ever to do so.''-
swell, then, let US proceed said the woman,
| sswithout it, since your papa has forbidden
You. 1 shall explain that to mademoiselle."
| They walked forward, the old woman few
PAGES in advance of L'Eveillc, and the police
agents following at cautious distance. They
| traversed the Rue de PArbesec, de la Monnaie,
| and after various windings, those of Betezy,
| Lavandieres, Mauvaises Paroles, Deux Boules,
Jean Lambert, and at length stopped in the
Rue des Orfevres, not the least hideous street
of that infected and black undiscovered quar-
ter of Paris. There near the chapel of st. Elio,
| and opposite tolerably good looking house,
the old woman halted, and said ssmy dear sir,
my mistress does not reside in this poor place,
but the house belongs to her, and it was her,
wish to receive you here first. l shall go up
and let her know You are here"
The old demoness entered the house, leav
ing L'Eyeille at the door. His father to en-
courage bim-though he trembled himself
crossed the street and squeezed his hand. He
had scarcely moved away when the old woman
| reappeared, and after again endeavorirg, but
in vain, to persuade l. Eveile to let bis eyes be
bandaged, conducted him into the fatal house.
l. L'Eveille, though armed, felt no little misgiv
| ings and fears of being attacked as he follow
X
long passage and up some flights of stairs.
However, he met no obstacles OF the kind land
was, after some time, ,ushered into room light
ed with wax tapers and richly furnished. AT
one end Of the room, upon a crimsOn-colored
sofa, fringed with gold lace, reclined, in most
| seductive dshabile. tic daughter of the Po-
| lish prince, Mademoiselle Jaborouski. At the
| sight of the stranger, her hand sparkled with
| brillants, (no doubt from the Polish mines,)
| readjusted over her half disclosed bosom the
two open folds of her robe, and after saluting
! her visitor with an encouraging smile, she
made signal to her duenna to retire.
! The young man forgetful for the moment of
| the object of his mission, felt as if under the
| spell of enchantment, and fascinated by the
| beautiful person before him, he had scarcely
| power to speak or move She, seeing his en-
| baraSsment, arose from the sofa and held out
| her hand which he eagerly seized and kissed.
! This but served to put more completely to
! flight his presence of mind and, though con-
scious of the infamous and dangerous nature
of the place where he was, he could not resist
| taking q seat on the sofa near SO charming an
| object. So that it might have been said of
| him that be had completely fallen into the
| power of her whom he had come to surprise,
and deliver into the hand of justice.
| The elder Lecoq, who with the police agents
were impatiently waiting in the street, not
| hearing thessignal agreed upon with his son,
! put whistle to his mouth, and blew it loudly.
The shrill sound reached the ears of young Le-
| cog and put his illusions instantly to flight.
| He started from the sofa, and the siren under
whose fascinations he had been, under pre-
| tence of giving directions to her old suirante,
went into an adjoining chamber. L'Eveille,
| profiting by her absence, made an inspection
| of the room, in one corner of which stood what
| apperaed to be kind of Indian screen. WISH
| ing to see what was behind this, he endeavor
| ed to close up its folds, but finding them i'm
| movable, he shook them with some violence,
| when he heard a click like that of spring CIV
| Ing way, and one of the folds descended into
| the floor, and left unmasked deep and ample
| recess or cupboard, upon the shelves of which
were rangad twenty-SiX silver dishes, and In
| each human head, the flesh of which had
| been preserved by some embalming process.
| A sthed cry of horror burst from the youths
| lips. which, but a moment before had been
| breathing the accents of admiration and pas
| sion. But his agony of terror was still far
| ther increased, when looking toward one of
| the windows of the room, he thought he saw
| several other cadaverous faces fixing upon him
| through the panes their glazed but fiery CLAN
! ces. He grasped at the back OF chair, to
keep from falling, his hair stood on end, drops
of cool perspiration covered his forehead, his
| cheeks became paler and more liyid than the
| faces of the dead that confronted him, and his
nerves at length giving way, he sank upon his
knees, and clasped his hands in delrium of
| terror and despair.
| AT this moment the window was burst in,
and his father, followed by the police agents,
jumped into the apartment, for the elder
| Lccoq, alarmed by the silence of his son, and
| dreading that he might be assassinated, had
| bravey mounted to the assault of the house,
which he was enabled to do by means of lad
| ders, which the agents procured from neigh
| boring house-builder's yard. This fortunate
and daring act of Lecoq's did in fact save his
| sons life for Immediately after the noise made
by Lecoq and his police agents breaking into
| the apartment, MadamOiSelle Jabrouski, fol-
| lowed by four armed ruffans, rushed from the
| adjoining chamber but the police agents be-
| ing superior in number, and equally we'll
| armed, resistance was in vain. and the fair
! murderess and her four accomplices were Sc
/ cured, and, after being manaced, were carri-
ed off to prison. A close examination of the
| house led to no other discovery worth MOTTO
| ing.
! Thus far in the words of Peuchet, whose
| explanation of this strange history is as fol-
! lows A number of the most desperate male
| factors, whose crimes had often merited the
gibbet and the galleys, had formed an associa-
| ton under the command of an experienced
| and daring chief. This arch villain had in the
course of his wanderings fallen in with rich
but most profigate Englishwoman-a modern
Messalina She lent herself to serve as de-
coy, by means of which young men who had
| the appearance of wealth were lured to the
den where young Lecoq had had SO miracu
| lous an escape. They were murdered, anu
| their heads separated from their bodies. The
latter were disposed of to the surgical stu
| dents for anatomical purposes; and the heads,
after being dried and embalmed, were kept un-
| til safe opportunity offered OF senuing them- /
| to Germany, where high price was gwen LOT
them by the secret amateurs OF science ,nen
| in its infancy, but which has since made a
| noise in the world under the name OF pber-
! noIoov. or the system OF Gall and SpurZheim.