The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1874-08-07
AN OLD LAWYERS STORY.

A eat many years ago, while 1 was
comparatively young man, and still
unmarried, 1 II sided in a certain city OF
Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the reputa-
ton Of being the cleverest lawyer ever
known there. Tt is not Fc~ ne TO say
the praise was nerlted, 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 I was a
thorough student of the lew, There
was no mystery about It, but among
the 1iore ignorant classes had gained
eputstionOfor more than human
knowledge. Perhaps it was not polite
for them to say that the devil helped,
but they did.
However, I began to tell yon about
Nine. MatteaE
little house ID he suburbs Of the city.
She herself was of American birth, but
her husband had been a Freedman,
and so the title m.da1ae mad been be-
slowed upon her. Size was now a
widow, and her daughter Gabrielle and
her son Henri were her only living rel
atives. Her income was but slender,
and she eked It 0ut by taking a few
boarders, generally steady old people
who had known her for many years.
These respected and liked her but the
city generally had a prejudice against
her. There had been two sudden deaths
IN her house. Each time the victim
was q 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 u terrible thing that two such
deaths should have occurred beneath
her roof. Madame's friends pittied her.
The rest of the little world limited that
tlfese were strangers. and their trunks,
With no one knew how much money and
other valuable property, remained in
madame's 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 second death had
visited Nine Matteau.
myself-perhaps because / had adj
mired her great deal, and her daugh-
ter much mOre-had always insisted
that it was merely a coincidence, and
that in a world in which apoplexy and
heart disease were so common, it was
no such marvel that two men should
have met such sudden deaths IN the
same house. Put my faith in this theC-
~ was shaken when one morning it was
published over the city that another
transient bOarder had been found dead
IN Nine. Matteau's house, and that she
was arrested on suspicion of having
IL L. rr-oAoh oo1 ~ hofr
having been found IN her possession.
Before I had recovered from the
shock of thisA a errible piece of news, a
message cam Ito me from Nine. Mat
teau. She dtSired to see me. OF course
I went to her at once.
She had been taken to prison and
found her in a little room with barred
window, and an insufficient fire upon
the hearth. She logs had burnt in two
upon the audTrons, and the white ashes
were scat cred over the hearth. Almost
in them sat Nine. Matteau, in hel
widows dress Of sombre black.
She was chilly with grief and excite
ment, and had drawn her chair close tC
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 comet
she said /; 81 know you can save me
Is il not horrible ? How could kill
a man? Why should /? Why do peo
pleAome to my house TO die? To die
hoeibly, with black faces and starting
ewes, as if somebody had chOked them;
Ugh land he was pretty young mar
the night before. Oh, good heaven.
how horriblel"
I sat down behind her. 1 took hel
hand.
Nine. Matteau, 1 said, Z" be calm
collect yourself. As your lawyer
must know all. Tell me, from first tc
last, what happened-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. saw
that she had not. Unless she was the
best actress who ever lived, Nine. Mat
teau was innocent of any crime.
''If you have any suspicious / ad
ded, 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 cid
H Qnah, the cook Mr.. and Mrs. Beau.
champ, friends of my poor dear hus-
band in his boyhood-the best, kindest
people; Mr. Gray, very old man, toe
feeble to leave the house; poor, de
formed Miss German. a. d the librarian,
Mr.. Bassford. None of these would
murder a 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 ?"
g And this man who" began.
Yes" said Nine. Matteau. 81 will
tell you; he was fair, young, hand
somely dressed be asked Mr.. Bassford
at the depot if he knew of any one who
could accoNmodate him. Mr.. Bass
ford brought him home. My only
empty room was the one In which those
other two strangers died. / could not
bear to put him there, but Mr.. Bass
ford laughed at me. We had supper
afterward. Me talked long while tC
Gabrielle. L was late when he retired
late for Iuiet household. HANNAH
had made his fire. She cane and tolc
us that she had done so. He said goot
night.
s'After he had gone we found that b,
had left his watch on the table. H,
wore it only with bunch of seals
and he had been setting it by the clock
and showing it to us as something
to restore it to him. He had not lef
us but fifteen minutes before; but h
must have been asleep already, for Ii
made no answer. So kept it for tn
night, and wore it down to breakfas