RECOLLECTIONS OF A LONDON DETECTIVE.-(Contined.)

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 21 May 1891, Page 4

RE COLLECTIONS OF A LONDON DE-TECTIVE.-(Contined.)

-IV "Have you heard him sing ?" I eagerly ' tsked at that stage of the story. •■ ■ , " No, nor any one else," was the scornful reply. " The manager kept as close is pos> Bible about that, but I heard that he \vr. i picked up off the street with scarcely a slioj to his feet, or a rag on his back. A great credit to the Company he'll be !" I asked if the new singer was a 'German, but of the man's nationality the other knew nothing. The clue was good enough to work on, especially when it only involved the^hfert journjby lrom Sheffield -to Leeds. I This was in the afternoon. I was in • Leeds beforoii*ht o'clock, and went direct to the hall iiJLwhich the "niggers" wcreti perform. I*an go into any place of amirecmcat free if I choose, Tiut when you are after any one it> best to keep quiet, and I paid with the crowd, and got a good seat .nea; 1 the front. In a minute or two there was ?. -clatter of bells and bones at the side, and the niggers came marching on and took their places in a semi-circle of chairs set ready, for them. I scanned them all closely, lor I had a portrait of'Hans in "my [pocket, but the burnt cork and horsehair f wiga make such a change on the expression of the face that I could not pick ou^: any man. The comir men at the ends were fantastically got up. and I did not look for himamong them. Near the centre there -were. three or four . more quietly dressed, and I scanned them with great interest.^ They were all stout but one, and he looted as if the bones we.ro coming through his cheeks, while the pig eyes in his head had shiny, ghoul-like lustre, which gave an unearthly look to the ayHolcface. The expression was "also horribly comical, which effect was increased by tho_ fixed solemnity of the man wearing it. The great eyes wandered over the sea of faces before him in listless apathy.-.and, never /i. smile appeared on that iace when even theji men at his side gave way with the convulsed audience. I could not convince myself that this strange face belonged to Hans, yet. I could not help watching it with a kind' of 'horrible fascination. At first I laughed at it ; then a revulsion came, and I was as little inclined for merriment as if I had been, standing alone in a churchyard where all that was dear to me lie buried. At length it came to the part of the programme in which the "only worthy r successor of the Swedish Nightingale" was to sinj, and I saw the strange, . gaunt face; stirred slightly. In a moment more there was pealing from his lips' a rich, "pure gushof sweet sound such as I never heard, from any human bciiu'. It swelled through that great hall and instantly thrilled every one into breathless stillness. When the sound ceased every one seemed to awake as from. a dream, and instantly the whole place resounded with a rapturous applause which put every other greeting completely irr the shade. The singer rose and bowed politely, but the uproar was renewed and continued. The audience were not to be put off ; they were determined to have another song. J could see some consultation on the platform, and then with a word or two to the harpplayer behind him the singer began a song in a foreign tongue. I had an idea that the words were German, but only learned the correctness of my surmise when I heard the word " Vaterland" in the chorus. . '.. „. It is impossible for me to describe that singing. The whole soul of the singer seemed poured into it. The pure, rich tones of his voice swelled out fill they seemed to strike the roof and come pealing back as sounds from above. The singev himself was moved. His utterance became choked ; the tears crept out of his eyes and rolled down his sooty checks. With a grand burst he finished, and the hall shook wfith the deafening applause which rewarded his effort. But I . noticed that something' was wrong with the singer. He coughed violently ; appeared to be almost choking ; then pressed his hand on his mouth and feebly staggered to his feet to leave the platform. Then I saw something come through the fingers clenched so hard on his mouth. That something was blood. The conductor, noticing the illness of the singer, led him hastily off the platform, and then, resuming his place, gave the name of the next song ; and at once the comic man at the end dashed into a ditty about " Sally" and "corn-tubs," which brcu.Jit grins ot delight to every face. I did not wait for the rest ol the song, but passed round to the back, where I found the singer in the arms of ra-property-man. who had stopped making a great basin of soap-suds for the farce, to attend to the disabled singer. The worrfan who cleaned the hall was there also, and a boy had been sent off for a doctor. The woman was- crying. The singer, though letting out his life in mouthfuls, was smiling sweetly. I gave him my name ; ; and toL' him my business", when he roused himsel. and said with fearful energy — " Innocent 1 by ze Great Gott, I am innocent I" . " " >r "i: He then, in broken snatches, declared that he had quarrelled with his wife, stripped off all she had ever given him, and left her, saying he wonfd never see her jmore. She screamed after him, and declared that if he left her she would kill herself, but he did not believe that she meant it, and left her. He had' heard of the "murder," and that he was suspected, and wished only to get to his own country for "one little day," and then : he would not have cared who caught him, or what they did to him. While he had been gasping out these statements the comic song on the platform in front had finished; and a-senti-mental ballad begun in its place. I have no idea what it was about, but I remember that the choir started with the soloist singing the word, " 'Tis a voice in the air," and the others joining in a" mass with the same. words. Hans appeared to have sunk into a lethargy .«till the burst of that harmony reached his eatr. He feebly struggled 2 .tt)r raise himself and open his eyes, r though' it was 'evident that he saw none, of us who were supporting him. " 'Tis a voice in the air 1" he murmured, with his ghastly, black face brightening into a bright smile ; " a voice in the air ! I hear it now. It is mine heart's delight ! mine little vrow ! She calls to mevrom Himmel, and she forgives me!" . ■ He sank back as he forced out the words ; the chorus died away in a soft murmur, and with that receding sound the spirit of Hans appeared to pass gently frem his wasted frame. So gently did he die that we thought he still slept when the doctor came, and said so, that he might not be disturbed. He slept indeed, but it was the steep which knows no awakening to sorrow or tears. When the minstrels came trooping in to dress for the second part they saw a long form covered with sacks, and were told that their best singer was gone. Pity and Horror sat on evety sooty face, but it would never do for the public to be disappointed, and in a few moments they were all in front again, ! busy with the burlesque comidalities of a side-splitting farce. I returned : t6' "town next day without my prisoner. The state- ' m«nt of Hans was speedily confirmed in some of its details, and it was generally accepted that the death of thn actress had been ■■ caused by her own'hariS'in S'-fit of lreuzy r and passion. ■ (To be Continued.)