Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1869-03-13
A Life OF Crime.
A DETECTIVES EXPERIENCE,


enee was that of lucille Dutton
She Was, in every respect, woman
ofthe world. Fascinating, brilliant
dashing, possessing an exquisite
grace OF manner aud rare converse
tional powers, that charmed evory
ono who came within tho sphere OF
hor iniicnce. Until her crimes were
known aud her arrest attempted,
she rcigncd here an acknowledged
belle. Even the most jcalously onvi'
ons of her own sex admitted the
wondrous spell exercised by her
singular and surprising beauty,
An actress, q vocalist, il would have
bcon no extravagant oulosy 10 have
called her u prima donna. Tall be-
yond the average women, her slcn'
der, graceful form was modelled into
an exquisite symmety that would
have been sculptor's IDEAL. Cur
ling, silky trcsscs ofnut brown hair,
shaded face fair and delicate rs n
child. Great luminous black eyes
flashed from beneath the lashCs with
u strange and mesmcric powor, that
few indeed had the power to resist.
This expression, combined with
her rare intellectual gifts, made her
rcgnant over many heart that had
never before felt tho spell Of u wo-
mans charms. She had come TO
New Orleans as n vocalist. Hor en-
gagcmcnt was attended with sue
cess never before equalcd by tho
most accomplished professional
Night after night the theatre was
crowded with her admirers. Her
appearance was over tho signal Of
an enthusiasm all but wild. As the
weird light Of the proscenium fash
cd on jewel and gem, and tho queen
ly singer, radiant with beauty, stood
before tho gazing multitude, who
swsyed to the magic charm and i'm
pulse OF tone and voice, | have often
iancied her supernatural. Youthand
age alike felt its influences. There
wass thrill in the low utterance, that
trsmbled on the air like the soft Vi
bration Of a harp whose strings the
wind had struck, and rising in full
ness and strength Of tone until a
rich, delicious harmony filled the
vast building with magical ca
donce, which no ear attuned to mu-
sic could resist. Her namo was On
every window along the fashionable
thoroughfare. Before the charm Of
that strange, wondrous beauty, fash
ion forgot eXclusiveness, society
opened its doors. Petted and Ca
resscd in every circle, admired and
loved, her heart remained insensi-
Bile to SO much flattery, and tho
homage Of men and women was ro
ceived as if were her due.
1t was at q time when her fame
was greatest, and her success in
fashionable life most assured, that
an event occurred which changed
it all and precipitated catastrophe
which i cannot even now reflect
upon without sense of pain. A
few months before her advent here,
series of tho most startling t,'ge-
dies had occurred in Montreal. An
entire family had been poisoned by
a governess. The papers were
never weary of the episode Of hor-
rors the recital furnished. The in
strumont ofthis wickedness had fled,
and with such consummate skill
had her fight been contrived, that
not even trace of her was left. 1t
appeared that her beauty and ac-
complishmcnts had won the affec-
tions of youth, whose marriage
with ber his parent opposed. Driv-
en- to desperation, Harlow Vincent
had, in moment of frenzy, perish
ed by his own hand. Over the
corpse of her lover the governess
had sworn dire revenge. How
faithfully she had adhered to her
guilty oath, the rapid decrease of
his relatives full well attested. T.
The story of the Canadian homi-
cides had long since reached us, but
had left but little impression, as q
matter with which we had nothing
to do. F'.n.a sf }''isI-'
One night q gentleman returning
from the theatre entered our Office.
His look was disturbed, and his face
wore an expression ofprofound agi-
tation.9t f3f' ID 'lil ."' "' i''.
Mr.. l. handed him q chair,
and after moments hesitation, he
inquired if / had heard Of the TRACE
dy at Montreal. 3 ~ n'A2 I'i
replied that l had.
a7"Have you no suspicion of the ac-
tor in that fearful dramaT 35l
t'Tbe govcrncss, of course" 'y'
eyes; bot have you no suspicion
of who the governcss is 2" '' a
% "Certainly not" 2 li y lh
3r'Would you like me to point her
out toCyou 2"oiineiro, '.e'in @ h''o
's"Most certainly I would'F ioro2
"ADd would you arrest her if L
did 7i'fl1B hrr lH3mHTs7oD 9hi Dr.
sd"Certainly."auo 7no 10 s'nda'
i'Then, sir, your task is easy; the
woman who is setting your city
wild at present, the facinating Iu-
ellie Dutton, is the person"
~wbatr' ] exclaimed, ."you are
r,adg,t 1flt Hargllt lrFa I"QN
"Not I; I speak adyisedly-I
know the woman; / am a resident
of Montreal and have known her
for years, a-s- - -
The telegraph wasat once put in
requisition, and in less than an hour
all the information sought for was
obtained There was no longer q
doubt; the enchantress Of the thea
tre vas the mnrderess Of Montreal
We we're warranted in taking her
into custody at once; but as there
was no probability ofescapes We de
layed until morning. lconfsssl felt
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