Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1901-02-28
Ia dame 4 Ii CLEF. .
RV Walter Iittlefeld.
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" Charles p LebOn. Instructor OF
French. who. By the way. Is Hrtera-
teur OF some little note. and myself
1he conversation after various 1uctu-
ztiouS- had assumed 4 story telling
diff II BI0uet had just related an
amusfnz anectIO1e Of his Boston so
5ourn- and we were silently pufHlg IN
that agreeable LznzuOr tEat arises from
4 coed weed and a coed story
On drawing his cardcase from his
POCKET II LeboH brought forth 2 small
bright object thzt gIlsJened a second n
tie EmpI5zht a. IL fell TO the floor He
=raare1 for il with rather Undue haste
wfrh 50 much haste n fact that he
called our attention 10 4 movement that
Otherwise would have passed IN
noticed
What = TcS- f1qufretI u BIoue1
WT-hauz word Leton handed him
the ob5eet he had dropped but eyed
hzna carefully as f vas examired-
~ Esy- remarked u B5ouet1 "A Key
AMI evidently of -5Id-r and he passed
Tr 10 me-
held N aIT hand a key of perhaps
Al inch IN Iene1h aad ha1s as wide
TNera wa 1srafng pascse1Earty' reS
uIsssadIss aiouu Il uHIsss q vera rlle.
aIscerisiI % waiet 81 WIS conDosssi..
1lia1 appeared 70 bss a5ld- Suddenly
11r esrs earasir siu.ir % a DIRE a1d aI
Inscription u1au r.ie rtag 81 t-ie ksg-
Ter J1fTu. 1sslS. l5srnisnres na.ft'
- s,lrffgIss Esse, sslazs.ssiss,t as . re-
elrr1fsl II 10 n 1ssiiau. -'.1ssu Us about
IT.
Bfe sa1ie lsts.s.si TI,rffLsl ass; tftIfprlss
suf a anmerrt caf two sis ale r7vltf'ist -lire
mysterious isey I5stwsep afis luts;fgpEer
and -clrunib. dr1t Iiie rmatie no rs1jis.
--tClome. cpme. said NJ. H;luuea as Inc
1eazied forward N,tcb interest, there
must i,e something TO tel about a key
like that. Why not Jet US haNe lftz'
-'.BOu are eight, gentlemen. There is q
curious story concerning -tifis key. and
since you desire il ] VIII tell 1t TO you,
for truly. gentlemen. without aeAaggeta-
.tion. tits little bit Of metal that j hold
IN my hand has one Of the most re
maflzable Of histories"
Tell it, Tel it," we both exclaimed
in q breath.
Fresh cigarettes were lighted, and.
still holding the key in his hand as if
4,-rr=-rv-ftr1--s v-tIr1t tTv rzEivi, --'r.
Lebon began his story.
1T was in 1911. just after the surren-
der of Paris. The second empire had
fallen. NJ. Thiers and his party held
the government. Evidences of the ter
rible commune were on every hand,
still the city was beginning to look like
the habita4ion of q civilized people.
One morning LIE Journal des Debats
announced the death at Versailles of a
Russian lacy who for more than 20
years had kept all the gossips of the
Paris salons busy concerning mystery
that seemed to surround her. For rea-
sons that l shall presently explain she
became known as La Dame a Ia Clef.'
Now, a nickname in Paris means a
great deal more than it does here.
When one is nicknamed there, one car
ries that name to the grave.
1.-The notice in LIE Journal des Debats
mentioned La Dame a la Clef est
morte.' 1t did not give her own name.
That would have signified nothing. The
paper concluded by saying that she
died, aged 45, in complete solitude. 1t
seems that her husband, who was much
older than she, had visited her regular
ly every six months during the past ten
years and then had disappeared no one
knew where. All was mysterious about
this Lady of the Key One day came
to her the news Of her husbands death.
She survived him but short time, and
it was whispered that she had allowed
herself TO die from hunger. That was
all the notice of her death had to say
about the matter. The mystery still
remained unexplained, and the interest
concerning her grew less and less and
gradually died away altogether"
M. Lebon paused to relight his ciga-
rette, which he had allowed to go out.
After doing this, he settled back in his
chair, puffed once or twice, but did not
seem at all inclined to continue the
story
"Well,' calculated. ego on. That Is
no story. Why, you haven't even said
what the mystery was or why she was
called La Dame la Cleft"
"Ah, yes" he replied pensively,
'quite right. 1 had forgotten. Gentle
men, I have not said that she was
beautiful, yet such was the case. Her
face was one of the loveliest that l
have ever seen, her figure was perfect,
and'-
"Well?" interrupted NJ. Blouet some
what impatiently.
Gentlemen, L will not bore you"
continued NJ. Lebon smiling. "Simply
imagine her beautiful in face and form;
then, gentlemen, around her neck.
which was of the purest mold, was
riveted a golden chain to which was
attached this key. And, gentlemen,
from the LIST of June, 1913, to the day
of her death the chain never left her
neck, nor the key"
He paused again aud once more
seemed disinclined to go on.
"Well' said NJ. Blouet, 4" we have the
mystery; now for the solving of it."
Gentlemen" continued NJ. Lebon,
smiling sagely as he tipped off the
ashes of his cigarette, Il have told you
all that anybody but myself knows.
Is that not enough? You now know
what all Paris knew. Are you not salts
fied?' and he laughed quietly to him
self.
We smoked for u few moments in
silence, both NJ. Blouet and myself sur
missing that the best way to hear the
rest of the story was to leave the mar
rator completely to himself In a mo-
ment the latter began again, speaking
rapidly and in short sentences.
I'm 1S4S her husband owned a
country house near Passy. She was
then young and gay. No chain or key
adorned her neck then. one day she
was surprised by her lord, shutting
somebody in the wardrobe. \ servant
had betrayed her The Muscovite
Othello turned the key twice in the
wardrobe. took it out, then told his
wife to follow him. 4 travelling
brieska stood a few PAGES from the
villa More dead than alive, the un-