The Story Teller.

Wairoa Bell, Volume IV, Issue 156, 29 July 1892, Page 6

The Story Teller.

A WOMAN’S NERVE ,

[a COMrLEXE STOUT.] fcjjjHE following episode in fcbe career of Ijjli Madame Vestris, the celebrated actress, happened in the winter of 1847, when the star of her genius was still in the ascendant, in spite of her fifty years. She had married the famous Charles Mathews the younger only a short time before, and was visiting Paris in lirs company. The chief object of their visit Was to secure a ballot troupe for a spectacle the preparations for which were then in progress at one of the large London theatres at the time under their united management. But it so happened that, the selection of the Lillet foil principally upon Matthews, be—-o-iisfi his wife was temporarily disabled by htcfcj pram of the ankle. She was • ■mined to the hotel in the Rue Saint Honore, where, of course, she could console herself by giving receptions to her aemirers. who were quite as numerous in France as in Engl ami. One night she was alone in the small ail l e gant saioon adjoining her apartment. Her waiting maids were within call, and she could now and then bear front one of the farther rooms the playful bark of her spaniels, Flock and Floss, which always accompanied her on her travels. Taking up a morning newspaper, her attention became absorbed by the first article on which her glance alighted, for it was upon a subject that had excited all Paris for a number of days. A number of robberies had taken place in quick succession, whose perpetrator had not been discovered It was evident, from certain characteristics common to all crimes, they were the work of one man. Ilis favorite, and only method, had been to secrele himself in close proximity to some fashionable and wealthy lady’s sleeping apartment, and then to possess himself of her jewels and other valuables after she had fallen asleep. When his victim happened to awake he had not hesitated to use violence to prevent her giving an alarm, The only clue to the villain as yet lay in the knowledge that he had but two fingers on his left hand—a circumstance that had been noted by one lady who had had the nerve to simulate unconsciousness while secietly observing his felonious operations in the subdued half light of her boudoir. A panic of fear was said to be existing among such ladies as were noted for the number and value of their existing jewels ; and sarcastic remarks were passed upon the ineffectiveness of the police authorities. Madame Vestris was a woman of exceptionally strong nerve, but she could not restrain a little timorous thrill when, having finished the article, she limped across the room to the door of her boudoir, intending to summon her maids Sand retire for the uight. Before entering her boudoir, however, she turned to extinguish the wax lights of a candelabra that had been left burning in <• 'o the small shaded lamp by which eii. reading. The candelabra . ■icker, and cast a strong’, , ~ v up n floor, thiowing out th. im-t- \. ni1!.,.: i Fees t furniture, espeei,!,;l\ of roe I i • -<• t.'iOle at v\ deb she had been ' lie., inasmuch as . . .. i aditig lamp in the middle of tne table shed its lesser lustre in a small eircumferenccd circle. As she cast a final glance over the room she was suddenly filled with fear on perceiving, east upon the floor, directly across her footstool, the unmistakeable shadow of a man crouching under the table at which she had been sitting. She remained perfectly quiet, but her terror was increased a hundredfold as she saw, or thought she saw, the image of a hand that possessed but two fingers. She •" as convinced that the mysterious erimim J whose deeds had so excited the city .ras lying concealed there, and had so lain, probably in contact with the very folds of her dress, the entire evening. Having come to this conviction, through a swift and dreadful train of reasoning, which every woman can understand, Madame Vertris remained for a moment almost petrified. Her jewels were noted for their splendour and costliness, and she was known to always have them in a casket at her bedside upon retiring ; and since her arrival in Paris it had also become pretty well juiowa that she was in the habit of retiring

comparatively early, while her husband’s duties kept him away from the hotel until a late hour Her maids slept at the further end of an outside corridor, and thus for a considerable time she was virtually alone upon the third floor of the hotel. Of course the robber had made himself acquainted with these circumstances, and was waiting his opportunity to enter upon his couase of pillage and violence, possibly to end in murder. These thoughts and conclusions flashed through Madame Vestris’s mind with terrible rapidity. Then by a tremulous effort of will power, she not only recovered her intrepidity and coolness, but also formed a plan to extricate herself and outwit the villain. Wi'.bout extinguishing the lights she began to carol a light operatic air, while resuming her seat, and touched the silverspring’ bell on the table with which she was in the habit of summoning' one or other of her maids. This ..otiou done cost her a great pang of fear ; for if the spaniels should accompany the maid, they would doubtless at once sniff out the presence of the concealed robber, who might then attack her without delay. Fortunately, how ever, the maid who responded to her call was not accompanied by tire dogs, which had romped themselves to sleep m one of the remote apartments. ‘ A dele,’ said Madame Vestris, * is the establishment of Monsieur Vernas the jeweller still open, think you ? ’ Oil, yes,- madam ! ’ replied the maid. 4 Jt is Saturday night, when all the shops keep open until twelve, and it is now but a little past ten ’ ‘ I shall then have to get yon to take a message to him. at once,’ said the actress, ‘ Fie has been repairing my costliest diamond necklace and my tiara of sapphires and brilliants,, which he promised to return this evening. I shall not sleep without having them at my bedside to-night. Whether repaired or not, lie shall send them with you or by one of his clerks. Br ing me the writing materials from my boudoir. Adele did as she was directed, and. still humming her song, Madame Vestris, with a firm hand, penned the following, which she sealed and directed to M. Vernac, the most fashionable jeweller of the Rue des Italiens : “ Monsieur, — The two-fingered villain is concealed under the very table at which I write, unsuspicious of my knowledge ®f his presence. Summon the police and lose not a moment in hastening to “ Madame Vestris.” ‘ There ! ’ said the heroic actress, handing the missive to her servant ; ‘ that I fancy, will bring me back my beloved jewels without an hour’s delay, and teach Monsieur Vernac a lesson at the same time. Here is some change, Adele. Take the first cab you find disengaged, and lose no time in returning.’ Adele was about quitting the room when her mistress was seized with a sudden hor - ror at the thought of being left alone with the desperado, and she called her back. 4 Before you go,’ said she. with a counterfeited carelessness. 4 tell Marie to come here and keep me company. I will see if she has made any improvement in that embroidery work I tried to teach her in London ’ 4 Alas, madame,’ said Adele, 4 Marie took the liberty of going to bed an hour ago. ’ 4 The lazy little minx 1 ’ cried the lady laughing. ‘ Bnt no matter, I will amuse myself during your absence by rehearsing my part of the new spectacle.’ Adele departed, and Madame Vestris was left alone—alone, save for that terrible presence, whom, perchance, an imprudent movement of her foot beneath the table, or a tell-tale quaver of her voice, might at any moment awaken into a capacity for evil and murderous purpose, the very thought of which caused the blood to curdle in her veins.

But she had set herself the play a part such as she had never played before, and nobly did she enact it to the close. She recited the lines of her forthcoming role over and oyer again ; she sang, she trilled she carolled in a manner that would have ravished the ears of thousands, and all to that single, deaefiy, lurking auditor, whose suppressed breathing she fancied she could sometimes detect between the pauses of her voice, and whom she felt to be within a hand’s breadth of her trembling limbs. During all this enforced gaiety she was a prey to such secret and mental anguish as can only be imagined by the most sensitive

of womanly natures. The seconds crept like minutes, the minutes seemed hoars and at last when she had pretty thoroughly exhausted her voice, she sank back with a sigh, and contented herself with humming musically and in a low voice. Presently, at the end of an hour, though it might well have seemed an eternity to lier, her heart gave a great leap as she heard the clatter of wheels in front of the botch A moment later Adele entered the room, but with such a demure look on her face that her mistress at first feared that her message had miscarried But Adele was something of on actress herself, and there were those lightly following- her up the staircase who brought the assurance of safety and release. She was almost instantly followed into the saloon by three police officers, who were in turn not only followed by M. Vernac, the jeweller, but also by Mr .Matthews, Madame Vestri’s husband, who had been picked up at one of the theatres on the way. As soon as the brave lady saw her husband she uttered an hysterical scream and flew into his arms, with a forgetfulness of her sprained ankle for which she could never afterwards account. At the same instant the officers overturned the table and pounced on the concealed ruffian beneath who made desperate defence being a powerful ruffian and armed, to the teeth, but was overcome alter a short struggle, and led away to prison, after the heroic lady had briefly related the stony of the detection of his presence and the stratagem by which ohe caught him in the toils. The criminal turned out to be Dufrense a galley slave from Toulon, who had made himself notorious in the south of France before breaking loose from prison and entering upon the series of crimes which led to the conclusion of his career. lie was a hardened and somewhat original wretch, and he is known to have remarked with much nonchalance, 1 I ought to forgive the stratagem by which 1 was ruined. Parbleu ! for a whole hour I was the soleauditor of the greatest singer and actress in Europe, who gave herself exceptional trouble to entertain me: