RECOLLECTIONS OF A LONDON DETECTIVE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 16 May 1891, Page 4

RECOLLECTIONS OF A LONDON DETECTIVE.

T tt was in one of those quiet streets running down from the Strand to the Embankment that „the murder of the nctress took place. The place was one of the bet ter sort 'oflodging-houses; ia which the young artist bad two apartments engaged, and in which she bad lived, with one ihort interval, for nearly a year. Her real name was Helen ■Plnberte ; her professionaljßameneed not be ipat down here. Sh6 Vjls a^bep.ntifnlfwpinan,' a dashing actress, and a- fine singer, qedded to which she had a private income sufficient 'to have supported her : 6ff£l}e stage, had she been so inclined! I^ut' she was not, so in- , clined. She had confessed to many that 'she could not live ont of a theatrical atmosbbdi, and that flattery, applause, and admiring eyes were as necessary to her existence as food. She Ijad been married /or. six'&onths to a German, and when she was discovered dead her husband was the ' 'first who was missed. He:, was also known jtobe the last who had been in her company, and then they had been quarrelling. ', Theatrical people keep late hours, and 'so the true state of matters was not discovered till morning, though Karl Hans, as the husband was named, had been heard to leave the house after midnight. .There ha^l bean no screaming or alaoiuu^ spuncjs|<iffei" that: time, and, the .gas^b&in^Salitfhf v an- hoitr later, it was thought that all was right.. The landlady, going in in the early mojrfiin* to light the fire and clean the sitting-room, stumbled across, . the^odw iiuthc.dark, and' gave it a great deal of scolding for being there instead of in be:l, before she got a light. Then she screamed out and flapped down in a faint beside the bodjv and^was .found, there by her servMtf ?\<3|ptjafif <%;td"tlie" street shouting outyhlf**aCabli&le "murder " 'had been dons. When the crcnyd^ and- a T policeman entered the room the landlady. ,was recovering, but the marblerlikc ' -face of 'the actress shaw^d^at-'sh^'wHs bsyohd aid. She lay on. 'her: side- 05i;-the carpst, and not far from her was found the weapon which had evidently let her life ont. • . It was a strange dagger, with no edge to speak of, but with a point thin and sharp enough to reach her heart. Tliere \va3 agreatdealof blood 'about, but it'did not, show much, as the. ; carpet- was pretty nearit in colour. • The body lay thus,, undisturbed, when. the : medical inspector and I arrived an",liour or two later. Of- coofsfr' the visit 'of my Companion was a mere form, as it was known already that the woman was dead, 'and pretty apparent what means had been WMd to that end, but while the doctor was going through his work I passed into the kitchen and questioned the servant .and landlady, and got some queer information. Neither of these women could understand how a quiet, soft man like Karl Hans could turn on his great, strapping wife and j slaughter her ; indeed, though they did not say so, my impression is that they did not believe Hans to be the murderer at all. As is usual with their sex, nearly ali their symwas with the absent Hans,-' arid scarcely any with the dead wife. The story , of that marriage was ftgtrange one, for it all <■ csnie of Hans havingi a flfeh.i'clear. Voice, delicate as a woman's? and'clear'as a Siate. . Tbejre had been a strike among the working tailors in the metropolis, anjt a ; drqye of r Germans came over to take their piace'. ' Among the German tailors was one fair, ba^^some fellow named Hans. He /was • described to me as gentle as a woman, and dot robust in health, and not being able to frorfi very hard at his trade, he sought an 6niage.ment i" tae chorus at one of the large theatres. The quality of his voice ; its pinging freshness and Bute-like clearness at' oqqe attracted the notice of the mauagemjjbt,' and as all Germans seem to understand music, Hans was given an important solo in a musical piece then being produced. In tifytt piece Miss Pimberte played the leading part, and the great, massive actress ; was speedily attracted by the quiet and delicate-looking German. He gave her no encouragement, and shrank from her on evelry occasion, but she, imperious and masculine in all things, bore down all his reluctance, and finally induced him to marry her. At least it was in that form that the information was given to me by those two women, and it vyas. probably neatL [the truth. . N ''■■ "\ ': " The marriage had no^been a very happy one for the poor German, .thojigh hejAvajs !now removed from the necessity of working (at his tailoring, and advanced to a good ►post in the theatre He had always a sad .^•'and pensive look, and t!i2 culmination came with the receipt of a letter from Germany — a " death letter; 0 ? a^fi§*caflgc£ft in his imperfect English. Hans was ill for some time after getting •this letter, and gpa^e^^|t^e^bshimrand fhis dashing wire were more frequent. •Listening at the door one day during a burst of this kind the landlady (heard him say — " She 'died — mine little vrow she haff died for me — while you, you great pig ! haff stole me vrom her. I shall never be happy no more." „,.,,. To this the actres3[V|torted that;she"hacl' * picked him out of the gutter, and given him money, and a position, and everything that 'the heart of man could desire, but Jhen the German got feaMl^^ex^ifedjrf arid cried, with.heart-rending energy— I "Take your riches, and giff me back mine true heart ; give me mine poverty and imy happiness— givte h\3 njy! heart's- Jove ! my little vrow— but she is dead, "and I haft killed her!" This unexpected revelation sent me huntlag through the room-for—letters addressed to Karl Hans, and in a locked drawer, which we had to break open, we found one of these which appeared to have been over^ looked,^ It wasMthe -|wfkß^Fket<af (p|f of tfte coats of the rafcsm#r!u£rM^.mrid^ contained beside the letter a flattened bunch of wild-roses. The letter juas written in Vtey poor German,-pnd fvfd|ntlj|- jby a girl having little education, ltfutithe" love and devotion so plaintively breathed in the epistle would have melted the stoutest heart. The letter bore! tfife)<atffir£ssi6f *a largt tailoring firm, and had evidently, been written before Hans had left that place for the stage. The simple contents of that letter are too sacred to be"p"ufdown here for all the world to gaze on, but I may say that the gentleman who was called in to translate the letter, though r anytfei9g; ? but jfcsofthearted man, shed tears'as he read the contents aloud. The most soL.nn plighting of roth had taken place;- away in the father[land, between Hans and the trusting young girl and before Godthjj^tbsgnt, s kJver.fcQi|Jd2 not look upon her but as his maiden wife. Had the girl been still ajiye, indeed, a plausible reason might>h'atvfe' bSen^suggested (for the murder and fligh t ; but . s heY death, 3«nd the mild, gentle; 9/ sHips. [were all against that. My own expectation ! was that Hans had rushed from the house {Only to seek death in- the- river by a leap [from the adjoining embankment, and that :his body would be.recpveredJn feday or two. This idea waif strengthened^ by the discovery that in escaping he had left behind him his watch— a L valff'a&le gold one— Ibis well-filled purse, and several other 'jewels and trinkets he had.-worit habitually, (He had even changed his clothing for a ■shabby old suit which hung in a. closet off (To be Continued.)