Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1874-08-08
An Old Lawyers Story.

"A SIcdC many years ago, Wnll6 was
comparatively young man, and still
unmarried, I resided in certain city of
Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the reputa-
ton of being the cleverest lawyer ever
known there. 1t is not for me to say the
praise was merited, but I certainly
found myself able to discover loop
holes of escaps for those whom de-
Tended, which surprised even my fell
low lawyers. possessed by nature
those qualities which would have made
an excellent detective, and I was thor
ough student of the law There was no
mystery about it, but among the more
ignorant classes had gained reputa-
ton for more than human knowledge.
Perhaps it was not polite for them to
say the devil helped, but they did.
However, began to tell you about
Madame Matteau.
She was an old lady, who owned a
little house i'll the suburbs of the city.
She herself was of American birth, but
her husband had been Frenchman,
and so the title Madame had been be-
slowed upon her. She was now wild
ow, and her daughter Gabrielle and son
Henri were her only living relatives.
Her income was but slender, and she
eked it out by taking few boarders,
generally steady old people who had
known her for many years. These re-
spected and liked her; but the city gen.
orally had prejudice against her.
her house. Each time the victim was
stranger who came at night, and was
found dead in his bed in the morning
Each time the jury was divided-some
believing that strangulation was the
cause of death, some that the man had
died in q fit.
1t was terrible thing that two such
deaths should have occurred beneath
her roof. Madames friends pitied her.
The rest of the little world limited that
these were strangers, and their trunks,
with no one knew what amount of mon
ey and other valuable property, re-
manned in Madames possession. No
one said she was a murderess, but every
one said it was every strange in an
odd tone, and no one since that sec
ond death had visited Madame Mat
teau.
myself--perhaps because had ad-
mired her a great deal, and her daugh-
ter much more-had always insisted
that it was merely II coincidence, and
that in Il world in which apoplexy and
heart disease were so common, it was
no such marvel that two men should
have met sudden deaths in the same
house. But my faith in this theory was
shaken when one morning it was pub
lisled over the city that another tran
sient boarder had been found dead in
Madame Matteau's house, aud that she
was arrested on suspicion of having
murdered him, his watch and chain
having been found in her possession.
Before / had recovered from the
shock of this terrible piece of news,
message came to me from Madame Mat
teau. She desired to see me. Of
course l went at once.
She had been taken to prison, and
found her in little room with n
barred window, and an insufficient fire
on the hearth. The logs had burned in
two upon the andirons, and the white
ashes were scattered over the hearth.
Almost in them sat Madame 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
her hand.
go, thank Heaven, you have come!'
she said; 81 know you can save me.
Is it not horrible? How could kill
man? Why should I? Why do peo-
pie come to my house to die? To die
horribly. with black faces and staring
eyes, as if some one had choked them
Ugh! and he was pretty young man
the night before. Oh, good Heaven,
how horrible!'
sat down beside her. 1 took her
hand.
Madame Matteau," 1 said, "be
calm; collect yourself. As your law
yer, must know all. Tell me, from
first to last, what happened-what was
said, what was done. If you-"
paused; her black eyes had flashed
upon me. 1 could not ask her wheth-
er she had any confession to make. I
saw that she had not. Unless she was
the best actress that ever lived, Mad
anne Matteau was innocent of any
crime.
eff you have any suspicious" I add
ed, "tell them all to me-"
"There is no one to suspect, sobbed
the poor woman.
"In the house were Gabrielle, my
daughter, whom you have seen; old
Hannah, the cook; Mr. and Mrs. Beau
champ, friends of my poor, dear hus-
band in his boyhood-the best, kind
est people; Mr.. Gray, very old man,
too feeble to leave the house: poor.
deformed Miss Norman, and the libra
rian, Mr.. Bassford. None of these
would murder a nouSo Goo hox,, Lind