THE NOVELIST.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3133, 13 August 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE NOVELIST.

' THE ADVENTURES OF THE NOBLEBACHELOR. ' Br A. Conan Doyle, Author of "The White Company," "The Captain of the Pole Star," &c. CHAPTEE I. Lord Kobeut St. Simon's marriage and its curious termination have long ceased to be a subject of interest in those exalted circles in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves. Fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more piguant details have drawn the gossips away froin this four-year-old drama. As I have reason to believe, however, that the full facts have never been revealed to the general public, and as my friend, Sherlock Holmes, had a considerable share in clearing the matter up I feel tdat no memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of this remarkable episode. , It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Ibikor-sfreet. that ho came home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table waiting for him. I hud remained indoors all day, for the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds, and the Jozail bullet which I had brought back in one of my limb? as a relic of my Afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistency. With my body in one easy chair and my legs upon another, I it ad surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers, until at last saturated with the news of the day, I tossed them all aside and lay watching the huge crest and monogram upon the envelope upon the table, and Avondering lazily who my friend's noble correspondent could be. " Here is a very fashionable epistle," I remarked as he entered. " Your morning letters, if I remember right, were from a fishmonger and a tide waiter." " Yes, my correspondence has certainly the charm of variety," he answered smiling. " And the humbler are usually the more interesting. This looks like one of those unwelcome social summons which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie." Ho broke the seal and glanced over the contents. " Oh, comq, it may prove to be something of interest, after all." " Not social then ?" " No, distinctly professional." " And from a noble client ?" " One of the highest in England." " My dear fellow, I congratulate you." " I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the status of my client is a matter of less moment to me than the interest of this case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be wanting in this new investigation. You have been reading the papers diligently of.late, have you not?" "It looks like it," said I, ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in the corner. "I have had nothing else to do." "It is fortunate, for you will perhaps be able to post me up. I read nothing except the criminal news, and the agony column. The latter is always instructive. But jf you have followed recent events so closely you must have read about Lord Eobert St. Simon and his wedding." " Oh yes, with the deepest interest." " That is well. The letter which I hold is from Lord Eobert St. Simon. I will read it to you, and in return, you must turn over these papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter. This is what he says: My Dear Mr Sherlock Holmes.— Lnrd Eackwater tells me that I may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion, I have determined therefore to call upon you. and tn consult you in reference to the very painfnl event which has occurred in connection with my wedding. Mr Lestrade. of Scotland Yard, is acting already in the matter, but ha assures mo that he has no objection to your co-opera-tion, and that he even thinks that it might bs of so>ne assistance. I will call at four ■ o'clock in the afternoon, and should you have any other engagement at that time, I hope that you will postpone it, as this i matter is of paramount importance.—Yours ' faithfully, ; Robert St. Simon. "It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink upon i upon the outer side of his right ; little finger," remarked Holmes as j he folded up the epistle. t "He says 4 o'clock. It is 3 now, , He will be here in an hour." : "Then I have just time, with 5 your assistance to get clear upon the subject. Turn ovei thoso papers 1 and arrange the extracts in their r order of time, while I take a glance * as to who our client is." He picked > a red-covered volume from a line of j booka of reference beside the mana telpiece. " Here he is," said he, a sitting and flattening it out upon r his knee. " Lord Eobert Walsingr ham de Yere St. Simon, second son y of the Duke of Balmoral—Hum ! y Arms: Azure, three caltrops in i, chief over a, fess sable. Born in lS '46. He's 41 years of age, which is . mature for marriage. Was ,1 Under Secretary for the Colonies ;o in a late Administration. The v Duke, his father, was at one time Secretary for Foreign Affairs. J They inherit the Plantagenet blood by direct descent, aud Tudor on the distaff side. Ha! Well, there is nothing very instructive in all this. I think that I must turn to you Watson, ior something more solid." ) "I have very little difficulty in ' finding what I want," said I, "for

the facts are recent, and the matter struck me as remarkable. I feared . to refer them to you, however, as I I knew you had an enquiry on haud, and that you disliked the intrusion of other matters." " Oh you mean the little problem B of the Grosvecoi' Square furniture van. That is quite cleared up now—though, indeed, it was obvious from the first. Pray give me the result of your newspaper selec- ' fcions." ' " Here is the first notice which i I can find. It is in the personal i column of the Morning Post, and , dates, as you see, some weeks back. 'A marriage has been arranged,' it says, ' and will, if rumour is cor--1 rect, vary shortly take place between Lord Eobert Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral, and 1 Miss Hattv Doran, the only daughter of Aloysius Doran, Esq,, of San Francisco, Oal., U.S.A.' That is all." "Terse and to the point," remarked Holmes, stretchiug his long thin legs toward the fire. " There was a paragraph amplifying this in one of the society papers of the same week. Ah, hore it is! "There will soon be a call for protection iu the marriage market, for the present principle appears to tell heavily against our home product.' One by one the management of the noble houses of Great Britain is passing into the hands of our fair cousins from across the Atlantic. An important addition has been made during the last week to the list of the prizes which have been borne away by these charming invaders. Lord Eobert St. Simon who has been for over twenty years proof against the little god's arrow, has now definitely announced his approaching marriage with Miss Hatty Doran, the fascinating daughter of a Oali.. fornian millionaire. Miss Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much attention at the Westbury House festivities, is an only child, and it is currently reported that her dowry will run considerably over the six figures, with expectancies for the future. As it is an open secret that the Duke of Balmoral has been compelled to sell his pictures, and as Lord Eobert St; Simon has no property of his own save the small estate of Birchmoor, it is obvious that the Californian heiress is not the only gainer by an alliance which would enable her to tuake the easy and common transition from a republican lady to a British peeress." " Anything else 1" asked Holmes, yawning. " Oh, yes, plenty. Then there is another note in tho Morning Post to say that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet or.e, that it would be at St. George's, Hanover Square, that only half-a-dozen intimate friends would be invited, and that the party would return to the furnished house at Lancaster Gate, which has been taken by Aloysius Doran. Two days later, that is on Wednesday last, there is a curt announcement that the wedding had taken place and that the honeymoon would be spent at Lord Backwater's place near Petersfield. These are all the notices which appeared before the disappearance of the bride." "Before what?" asked Holmes with a start. " The vanishing of the lady." " When did she vanish then?" "At the wedding breakfast." "Indeed! This is more interesting than it promised to be—quite dramatic, in fact." "Yes, it struck me as a little out of the common." " They often vanish before the ceremony, and occasionally during i the honeymoon, but I cannot call to ■ mind anything quite so prompt as i this. Pray let me havo the details." " I warn you they are very incomplete." I "Perhaps we may make them ' less so." "Such as, they are they are set forth in a single article of a morn- : ing paper of yesterday, which I will ! read to you. It is headed ' Singular i occurrence at a fashionable wed- ; ding."' [ " ' The family of Lord Robert St. J Simon has been thrown into the greatest consternation by the strange and painful episodes which r have taken place in connection with , his wedding. The ceremony, as ■ shortly announced in the papers of i yesterday, occurred upon the pret vious morning, but it is only now 3 that it has been possible to confirm the strange rumours which have • been so persistently floating about. In spite of the attempts of the 1 friends to hush the matter up, so 1 much public attention has now been 3 drawn to it that no good purpose r can be served by affecting to disregard what is common subject for ' conversation. The ceremony, which was performed at St. George's, Hanover Square, was a very quiet ' one, no one being present save the father of,the bride, Aloysius Doran, the Duchess of Balmoral, Lord Backwater, Lord Eustace and Lady Clara St. Simon, the younger brother and sister of the bridegroom, and Lady Alicia Whittington. The g whole party proceedsd afterwards to s the house of Aloysius Doran at Lme caster Gate, where the breakfast 0 had been prepared. It appears that some little trouble was caused by a woman, whose name has not been e ascertained, who endeavoured to a force her way into the house after !. the bridal party, alleging that she ii had some claim upon Lord Robert " St. Simon. It was only after a n painful and prolonged scene that ir she was ejected by the butler and

■ footmen. The bride, who had fortunately entered the house before this unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast with the rest, when she suddenly complained of a sudden indisposition, and retired to her room. Her proonged absence having caused some comment, her father followed her, but learnt from her maid that she had only come up to her chamber for an instant, caught up an ulster imd bonnet, and hurried down the passage. One of tho footmi'.n declared that he had seen a lady leave the house thus apparelled, bit had refused to credit that it was his mistress, believing her to be with the company. On ascertaining that his daughter had disappeared, Aloysius Doran, in conjunction with the bridegroom, instantly put themselves into communication with the police, and very energetic enquiries are being made, which will probably result in a speedy clearing up of this very singular business. Up to a late hour last night, however, nothing had transpired as to the whereabouts of the missing lady. There are rumours of foul play in the matter, and is said that the police have caused the arrest of the woman who had created the original disturbance, in the belief that from jealousy or some other motive she may have been coneerned in the strange disappearance of the bride.' " " And is that all T' " Only one little item in another of thp morning papers, but it is a suggestive one." " And it is- ?" " That Miss Flora Miller, the lady who had caused the disturbance, has actually been arrested. It appears that she was formerly a danseuse at the Allegro, and that she had known the bridegroom for some years. Thgre are no further particulars, and the whole case is in your hands now —an far as it has "been set forth in the public press." " And an exceedingly interesting case it seems to be. I would not have missed it for worlds. But there is a ring at the bell, Watson, and as the clock makes it a few minutes after 4, I have no doubt that this will prove to be our noble client. Do not dream of going, Waston, for I very much prefer having a witness, if only as a check to my own memory. "Lord Robert St. Simon," announced our page boy throwing open the door. A gentleman entered with a pleasant, cultured face, high-nosed and pale, with something perhaps of petulance about the mouth, and with the steady, well-opened eye of a man whose pleasant lot it had ever been to command and to be obeyed. His manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an undue impression of age, for he had a slight forward stoop, and a little bend of the knee as he walked ; his curly hair, too, as he swept oS his brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges and thin upon the top. As to his dress, it was careful to the verge of foppishness, with high collar, black frock coat, white waistcoat, yellow gloves, patent leather shoes, and light coloured gaiters. He advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from right to left, and swinging in his right hand the cord which held his golden eyeglasses. " Good day, Lord Eobert," said Holmes, rising and bowing, " pray take the basket chair. This is my friend and colleague, Dr. Watson. Draw up a little to the fire and we shall talk this matter over." " A most painful matter to me, as you cau most readily imagine, Mr Holmes. I liave been cut to the quick. I understand that yon have already managed several delicate cases of this sort, sir, though I presume that they were hardly from the same class of society." "No, I am descending." " I beg pardon !" " My last client of the sort was a king." " Oh, really ! I had no idea! What king?" "The King of Scandinavia," " What! Had he lost his wife ?" "You oan understand," said Holmes, suavely. " that I extend to the affairs of my other clients the same secrecy which I promise to you in yours " 'Of course! Very right! Very right! I am sure I beg pardon. As to my own case, I am ready to give you any information which may assist you in forming an opinion." " Thank you. I have already learned all that is in the public prints; nothing more. I presume that I may take it as correct—this article, for example, as to the disappearance of the bride." Lord Eobert glanced over it. "Yes, it is correct as far as it goes." "But it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could offer an opinion. I think that I may arrive at my facts most directly by questioning youi" " Pray do so." " When did you first meet Miss Doran ?" " In San Francisco, a year ago." "You were travelling in the States?" " Yes." " Did you become engaged then ?" "No." "But you were on a friendly footing ?" ; "I was amused by her society, and she could see that I was amused." II " Her father is very rich ?"

"He is said to bo the richest man on the Pacific elope." " And how did he make his money ?" "In mining. He had nothing a few yea/s ago. Then bo struck gold, invested it, and came up by leaps and bounds." "Now, what is your impression as to the young lady's—your wife's —character ?" The nobleman swung his glasses a little faster and stared down into the fire. "You see, Mr Holmes," said he, "my wife was twenty before her father became a rich man. During that time she ran free in a mining camp, and wandered through woods or mountains, so that her education ha 3 come from nature rather than from the schoolmaster. She is what we call in England a tomboy, with a strong nature wild and free, unfettered by any sort of traditions. She is impetuous—volcanic, I was about to say. She is swift, in making up her mind, and fearless in carrying out her resolutions. On the other hand,- 1 would not have given her the name which 1 'nave the honour to bear"—lie gave a little stately cough—" had I not thought her to bo at bottom a noble woman. I believe that she is capable of selfsacrifice, and that anything dishonourable would be dishonourable to her." " Have you her photograph ?" " I brought this with me." Ho /opened a locket and showed ns the full face of a very lovely woman. It was not a photograph, but an ivory miniature, and the artist had brought out the full effect of the lustrous black hair, the large dark eyes, and the exquisite mouth. Holmes gazed long and earnesely at it. Then he closed the locket and handed it back to Lord Robert. " The young lady came to London then, and you renewed your acquaintance ? " •' Yes, her father brought her over for this last London season. I met her several times, became engaged to her, and have now married her." " She brought, I understand, a considerable dowry ? " " A fair dowry. Not more than is usual in my family." " And this, of course, remains to you, since the marriage is a 'fait accomplis ? " " 1 really have made no enquiries on the subject." "Very natnrally not. Did you see Miss Doran on the day before the wedding ?" "Yes." " Was she in good spirits ?" " Never better. She kept talking of what we should do in onr future lives." " Indeed. That is very interesting. Aud on the morning of the wedding——" " She was as bright as possible— at least until after the eeremony." " And did you observe any change ill her then ?" " Well, to tell the truth, I saw then the first signs that I had ever seen that her temper was just a little sharp. The incident, however, was too trivial to relate, and can have no possible bearing upon the case." " Pray let us have it for all that." " Oh, it is childish. She dropped her bouquet as we went towards the vestry. She was passing the front pew at the time, and it fell oyer info the pew. There was a moment's delay, but the gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again and it did not appear to be the worse for the fall. Yet when I spoke to her of the matier she answered me abruptly, and in the carriage on the way home she seemed absurdly agitated over this trifling cause." " Indeed. You say that there was a gentleman in the pew. Some of the general public were present then ?" " Oh, yes. It is impossible to exclude them when the church is open." " This gentleman was not one of your wife's friends." " No, no ; I call him a gentleman by courtesy, but he was quite a common-looking person. I hardly noticed his appearance, but really I think we are wandering rather far from the point." " Lady Eobert, then, returned from the wedding in a less cheerful frame of mind than she had gone to it. What did she do on re-enter-ing her father's house ?" " I saw her in conversation with her maid." " Who is her maid ?" " Alice is her name. She is an American, and came from California with her." " A confidential servant ?" " A little too much so. It seemed to me that her mistress allowed her to take great liberties. Still, of course, in America they look upon those things in a different way." " How long did she speak to this Alice?" "Oh, a few minutes. I had something else to think of." " You did not overhear what they said ?" " Lady Eobert said something about jumping a claim. She was accustomed to use slang of the kind. I have no idea of what/he meant." " Americau slang is very expressive sometimes. And what did your wife do when she had finished speaking to her maid ?" "She walked into the breakfast room." " On your arm " No, uloue. She was very independent in little matters like that. Then after we had sat down for ten minutes or so, she rose hurriedly, muttered some words of apology, , anil left the room. She never came I baok."

; " But this maid Alice, as I understand, deposes that she went to her room, coverod her bride's dress with a leng ulster, put on a bonnet, and went out." " Quite so. And she was afterwards seen walking into Hyde Park in company with Flora Miller, a woman who is now in custody, who had already made a disturbance at Mr Doran's house that morning." "Ah, yes. I should like a few particulars as to this young lady and your relations to her." Lord Eobert shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows. " We have been on a friendly footing for some years—l may say on a very friendly footing. She used to be at the Allegro. I have not treated her ungenerously, and she has no cause of complaint against me, but you know what women are, Mr Holmes. Flora was a dear little thing, but exceedingly hotheaded. and devotedly attached to me- She wrot6 me dreadful letters when she heard that I was about to be married, and to tell the truth the reason why I had the marriage so quietly was that I feared lest there might be a scandal tn the church. She came to Mr Doran's door, just after we returned, and she endeavoured to push her way in, uttering very abusive expressions toward my wife and even threatening her, but I had foreseon the possibility of something of the sort, and I had two police fellows there in private clothes, who soon pushed hor out' again. She was quiet when she saw that there was no good in making a row." " Did your wife hear all this ?" " No, thank goodness she did not." " And she was seen walking with this very woman afterwards?" "Yes, that is what Mr Lestrade of Scotland Yard looks upon as so serious. It is thought that Flora decoyed my wife out and laid some terrible trap for her." i . " Well, it is a possible supposition." "Yon think so, too." ,( I did not say a probable one. But yon do not yourself look upon this as likely." " I do not think Flora would hurt i a fly." ; "Still, jealousy is a strange transfoimer of characters. Pray i what is your own theory as to what took place ? " l " Well, really I came to seek a , theory, uot to propound one. I have given you all the facts. Since you ask me, however, I may say that it has occurred to me as possi ble that the excitement of this affair, the consciousness that she ' had made so immense a social stride had the effect of causing some little nervous disturbance in ' my wife." "In short, that she had becomo suddenly deranged." " Well, really, when I considor ! that she has turned her back—l will not say upon me. but' upon so ' much that many have aspired to " without success, I cau hardly ex- ! plain it iu any other fashion." ? f Well, certainly, that is also a > conceivable hypothesis," replied Holmes, smiling. "And now, ' Lord Eobert, I think that I have 1 nearly all my data. May I ask 3 whether you were seated at the t breakfast table so that you could > see out of the window ?" 5 "We could see the other side of r the road and the park." j " Quite so. Then Ido not think j- that I need detain you. I shall f communicate with you." j " Should you be fortunate j enough to solve this problem " ■, said our clienc, rising. " I have solved it." 3 " Where, then, is my wife ?" a " That is a detail I shall speedily t supply." (To be concluded next weeh).