The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-08-26

WRITTEN FOX THE SUNDAY tsft blu
Wise old craftsman, he who first fashioned
his fiddle in the sphinx form of an interro-
cation mark, For a fiddle has ever been a
riddle and a mystery. like a woman. and.
womanlike. the motive of fierce passions
and ofttimes the cause of much sorrow and
many tears.
A riddle as yet unanswered is the famous
old Stradivarius which for five years lay
hidden under the horsehair sofa of Mrs.
Springer's stuffy little parlor at No. S55 Jay
street. Brooklyn.
Woven into the riddle of this violin is a
tragedy covering eight long, heartbreaking
years-a tragedy that broke The heart OF one
man and blasted the honor and reputation
of another.
The tragedy began with the theft Of the
most precious violin in all tie world. 1t be-
longed to Professor Jean Joseph Bot. and
was stolen from the boarding house of Mrs.
Fitzgerald, at No. 35 West Thirty-tirst
street, New York, on March 2. 1892. The
tragedy ended with the recovery of the old
fiddle in the house Of a Brooklyn shop
keeper a week ago last Friday.
For many, many years Nicolini, the hus-
band of Adelina Patti. coveted the peerless
Stradivarius that was the treasure OF Jean
Joseph Bolts very soul. in order that he
might lay it at the feet of the song queen.
For years Nicolini hoped and dreamed that
one day the poverty-stricken old violin
teacher would have the wisdom and gooa
sense to exchange his rare old nddle for the
money which he needed 50 sorely. That ia;
did come at last, and when Nicoiini ana
Patti visited this country in the winter oil
1892 Victor Fiechter, the musical instrument
dealer at No. % Union square, confidential
friend OF all the parties concerned, was
given an option on the sale of the violin
Tor the sum of 5000. Nicolini never re-
turned a word at the price. and waited pa
t;ently for the delivery of the instrument: ),
"Just let ne keep it one day longer.
pleaded the poor old violinist, and then l
Will take It down TO you and receive my
money"
Day after day Nicolini watched in vain for
his prize; but no, the old music master
would deliver it to him on the day he sailed
for England.
Fifteen minutes before the steamer sailed
that gloomy February day a white-haired
old man, with a violin case pressed close TO
his heart, rushed up the gangway in search
OF Nicolini. He was frightened, as he feared
he had lost his customer, and, love his fiddle
as he did, he needed money desperately.
Yes. Nicolini's offer was still open.
He handed the old man his check for So.VN.
Jean Bott looked at the slip OF paper, then
at his violin. Whether ne feared the Genu-
1neness of the value represented on the slip
of paper, or whether his heart failed him at
the last moment, none but Jean Bot ever
knew. but when Nicolini and the diva sailed
1t was without the Stradivarius. and an old
man. poor, but supremacy happy, foue hy-
town in a cable car, and he held his fiddle
case closer than ever to his triumphant
heart.
week later, to a day. the violin was stolen
from the clearinghouse where the old pro-
fessor and his wife made their home. Who
stole 1t is to this day a mystery. but for
five years Victor Fletcher has been branded
with the stigma.
Grief for the loss of his treasure, COM
bined with disappointment and chagrin that
he had refused a Kings ransom for IL, lit
orally broke Professor Bolts heart. and he
died in less than six months afterwards.
1t was not until after Jean Bolts death
that SO much as a suspicion attached TO
Victor Fletcher. Had his old friend lived.
so declares Mr.. Flechter. the terrible accu-
sation would never have been made. Hand
some rewards were offered for the return of
the stolen instrument, but nothing was
One day in June, 1895. a customer entered
s Mr. Fl T1eo chit S,o, sstaS bith a niss and d asked SIX a,, to
chase. 1t was a good pattern of a Stradi-
varius, but not a genuine instrument, which
the expert showed his customer, The would
be purchaser was delighted with the tone
OF the violin, but he wanted to hear it in a
parlor: Would Professor Flechter agree to
a rial in the drawing-room of a private
mouse. Certainly, why not?" replied Mr..
Flechter,. and hastily putting the fiddle in
its case he hurried to a mansion in Gram
Under the magic touch of Mr.. F1echter's
bow the violin burst forth in a Hood Of melo-
the door of an adjoining room was thrown
open and the audience that had listened to
MIN IN secret now accused him Of openly
Stradivarius.
The secret audience was composed of Mrs.
Bott. the widow of the professor; Detective
Harry p. burden and Pierre Joseph. a violin
expert. The violin which Mr.. Flechter had
been playing they declared 10 be the stolen
Stradivarius. and Mr.. Flechter was instant
ly placed under arrest.
The news of the arrest OF Mr.. Flechter
came like a bolt from the blue. The whole
violin world of this country and Europe
looked on with amaZerent. Mr.. Flechter's
wise his enemies for offense. The case was
tried in Magistrate Hammers court on
June rs. 1895. from which Mr.. Flechter was
discharged for want of evidence that the
only to be again hailed into the Court of
General Sessions on April 10. 1896. The trial,
which was then held before Recorder Geff,
and which lasted four weeks. has not yet
and the Vaccinations of his enemies COM
btned to bring in a verdict of guilty. and
MIR. Flechter was sentenced to a years i'm
prisonment.
BY sufferance. the accused man has been
out of jail all these years. pending the APP
peal of his case, and in the meantime he has
less search for the lost Stradivarius.
Three weeks ago last Sunday there APP
peared In the Personal" column Of n New
York paper an offer of a reward of 1000
recovery and Identification of the lost Strad-
ivarius. That was the only one of the
many such offers that Mr.. Flechter has
made in the last five years. His hopes had
ternateiy by false information Every
body who had any sort of a cracked old
fiddle wrote to him.
Two years ago Mr.. Flechter heard of a
wonderful timely old violin owned by Mrs.
Springer, who keeps a small shop at No. as