The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-09-24
FROM DARKNESS INTO LIGHT,


was a chance Of finding the man Of whom was
in search My quest was interrupted for time
by a letter from my sister, summonng mo home,
My father was very illi and no hope was held out
of his recovery. when all was over, the medical
man suggested that might be more successful
in finding my cousins murderer If / went on the
Continent I thought he was right went to
Paris, thence to Baden, and through ell the Ger
man wateringpaccs. From Berlin / went 70
Vienna, and from that city 10 Venice, having
been drawn to the latter place by paragraph in
a newspaper stating that the city was throngcd
with foreigners.
] was always well supplied with letters Of in.
PRODUCTION TO persons in every place ! visited.
The first presented on the morning atter my
arrival in Venice was TO Count Frasini, who, be-
fore We parted, gave me an invitation 10 ball to
come oh in the evening. The Count occupied
palace facing the square Of st. Mark, very large
building, which on this evening was crowded
with visitors. i had seated myself on q balcony
outside the ballroom, from whence could sec all
who approached the Countess to pay their re-
spCcts. / dare say It was close upon midnight
when / saw two gentlemen making their way
towards the spot where the Countess was seated
CouYersing with the young Archduke Maximilian
and the commander of the Austrian troops.
The taller OF the two bent his head so fre-
quontly that was unable 70 get a distinct view
Of his face; but the partial glimpse got Of IL
from time to time convinced me that had at last
found the man had been SO long seeking. / re-
entered the room; but just as 1 did so he seemed
TO think it would be hopeless to attempt TO reach
the Countess, for he turned suddenly to the right,
passed through a doorway, and disappeared.
Little as | needed who l thrust aside in crossing
the room, 10 took me so long to make my way
through the crowd Of visitors that when reached
The staircase the man Of whom l was IN pursuit
had reached the street. ! rushed down the stairs,
and found that they led me to a small door, which
Likewise opened into the squares but it was not
that by which had entered which was at some
distance, and surrounded by servants and boat
men. looked eagerly about the square, unCer-
tain which way to pursue, when suddenly ! saw
bright flash at the further corner Of the square,
| though somebody was lighting a cigar The dis
| tanCe between Us was so great that / could only
| imagine IL TO he the man / was seeking.
| Nevertheless, l rushed across the square as fast
| as / could run towards him. ! overlook him as
| he was leaning over a bridge which crossed one
| of the canals, looking down at the water. l
| seized him by the arm with my left hand, and
| with my right grasped handful of his clothes,
! l could not speak for the moment, so great was
| my excitement; and Just as l was about to raise
| my voice for help l felt sharp pain, and a de-
| scent through the air, followed by sensation of
| extreme cold. After this was half conscious of
cry than an assassin was In the water, and then
| / seemed to fall asleep.
A long cop il must have been, for il was five
weeks afterwards before knew that had been
| thrown into canal, from whence | had been
| taken by some bOatmen who were close to me
| with their gondOlas where l had fallen. As soon
| as / had recovered my strength sufficiently to
| move about my room (tOr the wound had re-
| Ceyed was more painful than dangCrOus) was
| told that must consider myself in custody, the
| boatmen who gave me over TO the police officials
| having told them that was attempting TO commit
| a robbery on n gentleman when his two servants
| seized me, and in the sCuille wounded me, and
| jumped into the canal.
| l sent for Count Frasini and told him Of
| what had happened. He soon settled the matter
with the police, but, although showed him the
| portrait of the guest he was unable TO identify
the original, which, said he, is not surprising,
considering the number Of strangers who are
here, and that any of my friends are privileged
to bring as many OF their friends to our parties
as they choose, without the ceremony Of an
Introduction.
die not lose courage even under this disap-
pOintment; on the contrary, the conviction that
must one day discover the murderer grew
stronger than ever. The first use / made of my
renewed strength was to resume my search in
| Venice, but TO no purpose; and when all hope of
| finding him here was gone Travelled to Rome.
| At this city / found an accumulation Of letters
from my sister They spoke of the satisfactory
way in which the butf, who had served my
father for many years, managed the estate, Of a
| great many matters Of less importance, and urged
| me strongly to return home The strongest mo-
tive she had for desiring my return she said
very little about; nor did |, in my then state Of
mind, feel greatly interested in it.
She wanted to consult me respecting an Oiier of
| marriage she had received from Fanny's brother,
who had returned % England and become recon-
| cled to his aunt. l answered her letter, telling
| her, that if she liked TO accept him as her hus-
| band, could have no reason for Obiecdng to
him ; that she had better act in the way most
cable 10 her iuclinatiOns subject TO her aunts
| approval, and that l would endeavor to reach
| England in time to be present at her wedding.
| Having written thus, dismissed the matter from
| my mind, and continued my wanderings. | shall
| not weary you by specifying any more of the
| cities | visited. had heard that my sister was
married and was very happy; and in utter
WEAKNESS and almost despair of succeeding in
| again meeting with Fanny's murderer l resolved
| to come back here a short time.
| i left London, and on reaching the station
| where my journey ended, / told the porter to put
my luggage in a safe place till ] should send for
ii. ! had not taken the trouble to write to my
sister to say on what day / should come, so, as
was not expected, | walked across TO the old oak
tree beneath which the body Lad been found. sat
here buried in tbough@ for a long time, and soon
after turning into the lane on my way 10 the house
| L met n wOodman with whom / had spent many
days in telling trees. He was so anxious that
i should go to his cottage to see his wife, who
had been nursemad in our family when was
child, that walked with him there. l stayed
| there some time, listening to what they had &c
say of cdanges about the estate, and of persons
had once known, but whose names had ther
almost forgotten. On leaving them found it was
so late that pushed my way through hedge &c
| get to the house by shorter way than by follow
ing the carriege road. By going this way haC
TO pass through q wood and directly i stepped
field, about stones throw distant from me,
man carrying gun.
I stepped out quickly to Overtake him. The Lane
had been newly plOughed, so that he did not seen
to hear my steps till / was close to him, when hj
turned round, aud we stood face TO face. Tht
sun was gong down, and he had TO bend his heat
a little to look az me, because Of the rays whicl
shonc di ectly into his eyes Ny heart for an in
stant ceased 10 beat. There before me-his face
inclined exactly as II was in the Photograph
stood the murderer / had been seeking for 81
many years. lie, no doubt, recognized me fo
| he looked as inanimate as though he had beer
: ! suddenly turned TO stone. As soon as the shocl
bad passed, rushed at bin, ana seized him Will
both hands. Murderer" i said, "yOu do no
escape as at Ncniccw He offered no resist
! ance at first, and l looked around to SCI
if there was any body near / could send 10 tn
police station to bid the cOnstablgs come an,
fetch him away. He may have understood VIII
: / withdrew my eyes irGm him for ne recOyere
his strength instautaueOusly and seized me b.
the throat. lie was far stronger than /, and
felt myself tossed hther and thifher; but / cun
10 him Notwithstanding. / tried, as | wrestlc
with him, TO throw him but could get no foot
hold ON uneven ground, and 10 was he who sue
CcCded in forcing me backwards % the earth
Sill, held him but ne could now press m
throat with fun force, and 10 was ] now who ha
TO struggle 70 save my own life. My hCa
seemed to he swelling 10 a mOnstus size, an
this was the last thing ! remember.
lay in field all that night. In the momin