The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-08-07
AN OLD LAWYERS STORY.

\
4 great many years ago, while I was
comparatively a young man, and still
unmarried, I resided in a certain city of
Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the reputa-
ton of being the cieverest lawyer ever
known there. It Is not for me to say
the praise was merited, but I certainly
found myself able to discover loop
holes of escape for those whom I de-
Tended, which surprised even my
fellow lawyers. I possessed by nature
those qualities which would have made
an excellent detective, and was a
thorough student Of the law. There
was no mystery about it, but among
the more ignorant classes I had gained
a reputation for more than human
knowledge. Perhaps it was not polite
for them to say that the devil helped,
but they did. Q
However, I began to tell you about
Nine. Matteau.
She was an old lady, who owned q
little house in the suburbs Of the CITY,
She herself was of American birth, but
her husband had been q Frenchman,
and SO the title madame had been be-
slowed upon her. She was now a
widow, and her daughter Gabrielle and
AASA f5OA4 LACA4A1 FCAC 14C1 O444y 41N1n8 ICl-
atives. Her income was but slender,
and she eked it out by taking a few
bOarders, generally steady old people
who had known her for many years.
These respected and liked her ; bat the
city generally had a prejudice against
her. There had been two sudden deaths
in her house. Each time the victim
was a stranger who came at night and
was found dead in his bed IN the morn
ing. Each time the jury was divided
some believing that strangUlation
had been the causes of death, some
that the man had died in a fit.
It was q terrible thing that two such
deaths should have occurred beneath
her roof. Madame's friends pittied her
The rest of the little world hinted that
these were strangers, and their trunks,
with no one knew how much money and
other valuable property, remained in
madanne's possession. No one said she
was murderess, but every one said it
was very strange" IN an odd tone,
and no one since that second death had
visited Nine. Matteau.
I myself-perhaps because I had ad-
mired her a great deal, and her daugh-
ter much mOre-had always insisted
that it was merely a coincidence, and
heart disease were so common, it was
no such marvel that two men should
have met such sudden deaths in the
same house. But my faith in this theo-
ry was shaken when one morning it was
published over the city that another
transient bOarder had been found dead
in Nine. MRtteau's house, and that she
was arrested on suspicion of having
murdered him, his watch and chain
having been found in her possession.
Before I had recovered from the
shock of this terrible piece of news, a
message came to me from Nine. Mat
teau. She desired to see me. OF course
I went to her ab once.
She had been taken to prison and I
found her in little room with barred
window, and an insufficient fire upon
the hearth. The logs had burnt in two
upOn the andirons, and the white ashes
were scattered over the hearth. Almost
in them sat Nine. Matteau, in her
widows dress of sOmbre black.
She was chilly with grief and excite
ment, and had drawn her chair close to
the fire.
She shook violently from head to
foot, and her face was deadly pale as
she turned it toward me and held out
where hand.
Oh, thank heaven, you have come!'
she said 81 know you can save me.
Is it not horrible? How could I kill
q man ? Why should 1? Why do peo-
pie come to my house to die? To die
horribly, with black faces and starting
eyes, as if somebody had choked them?
Ugh land he was pretty young man
the night before. Oh, good heaven,
how horrible l"
I sat down behind her. I took her
hand.
Nine. Matteau, - I said. ssbe calm /;
collect yourself. As your lawyer /
must know all. Tell me, from first to
last, what happenei-what was said,
what was done. If you"
paused her black eyes had flashed
upon me. I could not ask her whether
she had any confession to make. I saw
that she had not Unless she was the
best actress who ever lived, Nine. Mat
teau was innocent of any crime.
6 If you have any suspicious" I ad-
ded. g tell them all to me-"
There Is no one to suspect, >" sobbed
the poor woman.
" In the house we're Gabrielle. nv
daughter, whom you have seen cid
Hannah, the cook; Mr.. and Mrs. Beau
champ, friends of my poor dear hus-
band in his boyhOod-the best, kindest
people; Mr.. Gray, a very old man, too
feeble to leave the house poor, de-
formed Miss German, AID the librarian,
Mr.. Bassford. None of these would
murder mouse. See how kind they
are; they remain in my house; they send
me word that they have no doubt of me.
Oh, how can anybody ?"
" And this man who" I began.
g Yes, said Nine. Natteau. "I will
tell You; he was fair, young, hand
somely dressed 4; be asked Mr.. Bassford
at the depot if he knew Of any one who
couid accommodate him. Mr.. Bass
ford brought him home. Ny only
empty room was the one IN which those
other two strangers died. I could not
bear to put him there, but Mr.. Bass
ford laughed at me. We had supper