Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-03
LEGAL METAMORPHOSES.
a "REMINISCENCES OF POLICE OF
FICER.
BY CHARLES DICKENS.

BY CHARLES DICKENS.
The respectable agent Of a rather emf
| nent French house arrived one morning
IN great apparent distress at Scotland
! I ard, and Informed the Superintendent
that he had Just sustained a great, almost
rmnous, loss In notes of the Bank of
England and commercial bills of ex-
change, besides a considerable sum in
gold.
He had, it appeared, been absent in
Paris about ten days, and on his return,
put lew hours previously, discovered
that his iron chest had been completely
ritled during his absence. False KEYS
must have been used, as the empty chest
was found locked, and no sign of violence
could be observed. He handed in full
written details of the property carried
off, the numbers of the notes, and every
other essential particular.
The first step taken was to ascertain if
any OF the nOJes had been rendered at the
bank. Not one had been presented; pay
ment was OF course stopped, and adver-
7 easements descriptive of the bills Of eX-
change, as well as of the notes, were in
serted in the evening and following morn
ing papers. A day or two afterWard a
considerable reward was offered for such
Information as might lead to the appre-
henSlOn OF the offenders. No result fol-
lowed; and spite Of the active eXertions
oil the officers employed, nOt the slightest
cleW could be obtained to the perpetra-
tors of the robbery. The Junior partner
in the firm, Mr.. BellebOn, in the mean
time arrived in England to assist in the
investigation, and was naturally eXterme-
ly urgent in his inquiries; but the mystic
ry which envelOped the affair remained
impenetrable.
AT last letter, bearing the st. Martin
lie Grand postmark, was received by the
agent, NJ. Alexandra lie Breton, which con-
tanned an offer to surrender the whole of
the plumber, with the exception of the
gold, for the sum of $1,000. The property
which had been distracted was more than
ten times that sum, and had been des-
tined by the French house to meet some
heavy liabilities falling due in London
very shortly. lie Breton had been order
ed to deposit the whole amount to the ac-
count of the firm, and had indeed been
severely blamed for not having done so as
he received the different notes and bills:
and 1t was on going TO the chest immedi-
ately ON his return from Paris, for the
purpose of fulfilling the peremptory in
structiOn he had received, that NJ. lie Bre-
ton discovered the robbery.
The letter went on to state that should
the offer be acceeded to, a 5mvsticaIly
Worded adVertisement-Of which COPY
was lnclosed-was TO be inserted in the
ItneS, and then mode would be sug-
gested for sa!ely-in the interests of the
thieves Of cOurse-carrying the agree
ment into effect. NJ. BellebOn was half
inclined to close with this proposal, in
order to save the credit of the house
which would be destroyed unless its ac-
ceptance, now due in about fourteen DAYS.
could be met; and without the stolen
moneys and bills of EXCHANGE, this was.
he feared, impossible. The Superinten-
n nh II IL
letter, would not hear Of compliance with
such demand, and threatened prose-
cutlOn for compromising felony if NJ. Belle
bon persisted in doing so.
The advertisement was, however. in
serted, and an immediate reply directed
that LIE Breton, the agent, should present
himself at the Old Manor House, Green
Lanes, NewingtOn, unattended, at
O'Clock on the following afternoon, bring
ing with him of course the stipulated sum
in gold. 1t was added, that to prevent
any treason (tfdbtSOn, the letter was
written in French lie Breton would ind
note for him at the tavern, informing him
of the spOt-a solitary one, and far away
from any place where an ambush could
be cOncealed-where the business would
be concluded, and to which he must pro-
coed unaccompanied and on foot.
This proposal was certainly quite as in
gehlous as it was cool, and the chance of
OutWltting such cunning rascals seemed
exceedingly doubtful. A very tolerable
scheme was, however, hit upon, and M.
lie Breton proceeded at the appointed hour
to the Old Manor House. No letter nor
message had been left for him. and no.
body obnoxious to the slightest suspicion
could be seen near or about the tavern.
On the following day another missive ar
rived, which stated that the writer was
quite aware Of the trick which the police
had intended playing him, and he assured
NJ. BellebOn that such line of conduct
was as unwise as it would be fruitIess,
inasmuch as, if good faith" was not OBJ
served, the securities and notes would be
ineXorably destroyed or otherwise dis
posed of, and the house of BellebOn q Co.
be consequently exposed to the shame and
ruin of bankruptcy.
just at this crisis of the affair / arrived
in town and was welcomed by the Super
intendent.
81 have been wishing for your re-
turn" said he, Sin order to intrust you with
a most tangled affair. You know French,
too, which is fortunate, for the gentleman
who has been plundered understands lit
tie or no English"
He then related the foregoing particu-
lars, with other apparently slight circum-
stances, and after long conversation
with him | retired to think the matter
over, and decide upon the likeliest mode
of action. After much cogitatiOn | de-
termined to see Nj. BellebOn alone; and
for this purpose | dispatched the waiter of
a tavern adjacent to his lodgings with a
note expressive of my wish to see him in
stantly on pressing business. He was at
home, and Immediately acceded to my re-
quest. l easily introduced myself, and af-
ter about a quarter of an hours confer
ence said carelessly-fOr | saw he was too
needless of speech, too quick and frank,
to be intrusted with the dim suspicion
which certain trifiing induces had sug-
gested to me-"Is Monsieur lie Breton at
the office where the robbery was commit
ted?0
''No, he is gone to Greenwich on bust
ness, and Will not return till late in the
evening. But if you wish to re-eXamine
the place, | can of course enable you to
do So"
''It will, think, be advisable; and you
will, if you please" | added, as we
emerged into the street, ''permit me to
take you by the arm, in order that the Of
fetal character of my visit may not be sus-
pected by any one there"
He laughingly replied, and we arrived
at the house arm in arm. We were adj
mitted by an elderly woman; and there
was young mana moustached clerk
seated at desk in an inner room writing.
He eyed me for a moment, somewhat
aSkance, JnOugnC, out gave him no OPP
portunity for distinct view of my feau-
lures; and presently handed NJ Bellebon
a card on which had cOntrived to write,
unobserved, "Send away the clerk This
was more naturally done than l antici-
pated; and in answer to NJ. Bellebon's
glance of inquiry, / merely said that, as /
did not wish to be known there as police
officer, it was essential that the minute
search | was about to make should be
without witnesses. He agreed; and the
woman was also sent away upon distant
errand.
Every conceivable place did | ran
sack; every scrap of paper that had writ
ing on it | eagerly perused. AT length
the search was over, apparently without
result.
'You are quite sure, Monsieur Belle
bon, as you informed the Superinten-
dent, that Monsieur lie Breton has no fe-
male relations or acquaintance in this
countryY"
positive" he replied. 81 have made the
most explicit inquiries on the subject both
of the clerk Dubarle and of the woman
servant.'
just then the clerk returned (out of
breath with haste 1 noticed) and / took
my leave without even now affOrding
the young gentleman so clear a view Of
my face as he was evidently anxious to
obtain.
sENO female acuuaintancaW thouQht