Year: 1876

A great many years ago, when L was
comparatively young man, and still
unmarried, resided in certain city in
Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the reputa-
ton of being the cleverest lawyer known
there. It is not for me to say the praise
was merited, but L certainly found my
self able to discover loopholes of escape
for those whom I defended which sur
prised even my fellow-lawyers. L pos
sessed hy nature those qualities which
would have made an excellent detective,
and [ was thorough student of the law.
There was no mystery about it, but
among the most ignorant classes gain
ed reputation for more than human
knowledge Perhaps it was not polite
for them to say that the devil helped,
but they did. -. .-. ---. s.-- =


However, I began to tell you about
Madame Matteau. She was an old lady
who owned little house ID the suburbs
of the city. She herself was of Ameri-
can birth, but her husband had been a
Frenchman, and so the title of Madame
had been bestowed upon her. She was
widow, and her daughter Gabrielle
and her son Henri were her only living
relatives. Her income was but small,
and she elzed it out by taking a few
boarders, generally steady old people
who had known her for 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
stranger who came at night and was
found dead in the morning. Each time
the jury was divided !; some believed
that strangulation was the cause of
death, some that the man had died III O
fit


1t was terrible thing that two such
deaths should have occurred beneath her
roof. Madame's friends pitied her. The
rest of the little world limited that these
were strangers, and their trunks, which
contained no one knew what amount of
valuable property, remained in Madame's
possession. No one said she was a muir
deress, but every one said it was very
''st range" in an odd tone, and no one
since that second death had visited Ma
dame Matteau. .E .ttEs. g :


1 mysef-perhaps because I admired
her n great deal, and her daughter much
more-had always insisted that it was
merely coincidence that, in world
in which apoplexy and heart disease
were so common, it was not such mar
vel that two men should have met sud-
den deaths in the same house. But my
faith in the theory was shaken when,
one morning, it was published over the
city that another transient boarder had
been found dead in Madame Matteau's
house and that she was arrest
ed on suspicion of having murdered
him, his watch and chain having been
found in her possession. 50


Before i had recovered from the shock
of this terrible piece of news, messen-
ger came to me from Madame. She de
sired to see me. OF course I went to
her at once. g.=--.. --...-


She had been taken to prison, and
found her in little room with q barred
window, and an insufficient fire upon
the hearth. The logs had barnt In two
upon the andirons, and the ashes were
scattered o-er the hearth. Almost in
them sat Madame Matteau, in her Wild
ows dress of sombre blue


She was chilled with grief and excite
ment, and had drawn her chair close to
the low fire


She shook violently from head to
foot, and her face was deadly pale as she