Louisiana capitolian., 1880-03-06

What followed can be readily cenceiv-
ed. Young vandcrbecken lived for q
time on the credit his past extravaganza
procured for him. Then lie drifted, ~
other adventures drift, to Paris. OF
his life there, the least said the better.
It was tho criminal success Of o man
whose perverted talents made him a
first-class scoundrcl. In the course Of
his operation Vanderbccken was thrown
into contact with Laplace, famous
forger, now serving long sentence at
the galleyS. BY this master he was ini-
tiated into the business of making and
circulating queer money.
Among his many attainmcnts was q
skill in etching, which, had he adopted
art as profession, would undoubtedly
have made him in time rs famous as IL
rendered him Infamous. He put this to
use in creating counterfeit money. The
operations Of the gang were 80 extensive
that Paris became too hot to hold them.
In this emergency, Vanderbecken be-
thought him of Antwerp, and the aban-
doned house of evil memory which was
about all that was left to him of the dis
sipated past.
Accompanied by mistress, Span
lard, whom he had picked up somewhere
in his wanderings, he located himself
unknown, and unsuspectcd, under the
roof which had witnessed his fathers
desperate end. There he worked, in
company with the woman, meeting his
accomplices, when necessary, away from
his strange home. None Of the gang to
which he belonged even were aware OF
his place of residence. The woman was
his only companion and coniidant, and
his assistant in printing tho counterfeit
bills.
She was true Spaniard, passionately
fond of her lover, and blindly jealous of
him. Vanderbecken on his part was
somewhat of libertine, and neglected
no opportunity to vary the monotony Of
his connection by an outside amour.
The discovery Of these love passages led
to frequent quarrels between him and
his mistress, which usually ended in
blows. In the course of their residence
in Antwerp, they had several differences.
The last and fatal one grew out of the
woman's discovery of some gallant at
tentions her lover was paying toa young
female at the hotel. At last she discov.
cred the pair in Gagrante dclicta. Instead
of exploding on them at once, she bot
tlcd her wrath till she was alone with
her lover that night. Then she burst
out.
A dreadful row followed and ended by
the woman's threatening in the event OF
any future iniidclitics, to give her lover
up to the police.
wf cannot have you no other wo-
man shall w she screamed. whave given
up all for you, and it is but just to swear
to mo now that you will be true to me
hereafter"
"pll do nothing of the sort. Go tt
bed, and you will feel better in the
morning."
81 shall not leave you till you prom
isc ~
"Thcn You will remain here all night
"No | will not"
"Whyp
"Because l will throw open window
and summon the police"
And, mad with fury, she sprang to one
of the windows as if to execute hel
threat. Vanderbeckcn scized her, whcr
she wronched herself free. She was M
longer responsible for her actions, ant
had her hand on the shutter when he
snatchcd the poker as the most convcni
ent weapon, and struck her down. Tht
single blow of tho ponderous rod did th'
work. Her skull crushed under it lik,
; an cggshcll.
Then great horror of his deed came
over him. Alone in the house in which
his father had taken his own life, witt
the corpse of the woman he had murder
ed, the whole self-wrecked life came
back to the miserable man to drive bin
mad. Scarcely knowing what he did
he tossed the corpse which might have
mouldcred to dust where it was undis
covered ont into the alley, where i
would be found. He appreciated hi
mistake tho minute he had committed
it. But it was too late. He heard TIN
old woman in the tenement house come
to tl>S window, and dared not vcntur,
out to bring the body in. Hastily clean
sing his hands, he packed up his engrav
ing tools and all tho money and valua
bles in the place, and two days later hi
was in England.
Is There business became from bad t.
worse, till he was forced to raise none,
with which he intended to make hi
way to America. The old house wa
the only collateral he possessed, and HI
ventured the desperate chance of sellin,
it to find himself sold.
Before he was brought to trial, Ernes
Vanderbecken managed to open one o
tho veins in his arm with his teeth, ant
when found was Oh tho brink of death
He persistehtly refused nourishmcnt
and died of starvation and exhaustion.
Vanderbecken's Tomb was torn dOwl
and built over, and tho crimes it hat
witnessed would been forgotten with i
if q claimant to the property had no
turned up last year in the person of