Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / July 30, 1908, edition 1 / Page 10
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CHARLOTTE: DAILY OBSERVER, . - 1903. im ! . .. . ,. , ' - t ' " t ;-'-' ''- r--! i : ; J i r If j. fel V;s At ?l - Ufur Vv 5P 'k'ff-i m u 1 m .-: s " Y n i i Isin " J . .- II . -v.-- ' f ' V -; , . ;i f The Mysteries of Paris" was writ o ten by Sue after he had tried his hand at novels based on his career la Uit French navy. These early " stories, practically forgotten now, had , made him the Idol of France, when he changed his method entirely and began to spread on Immense can . 'Vases his eplsodal stories with a pur poseThe Mysteries of Paris" and ' "The Wandering Jew." which latter ' novel appeared soon after the fame - f the former had made Sue's name i known through the world. The Wandering Jew" is by far the greater -as concerns literary style, ad sweeping Imagination In concep- ! tlonjuidtrvatment. The present novel excels It, nbweyer. in vatlcty and rapidity of "action." The reader of to-day must remem ber that he Is reading a novel writ ten by a close student of sociology od society, who deals with a time When the galleys were fed with crlm- Inals only to disgorge them again! many times more wicked than when; h,n " to they went In. inia anowieoge is nevessary prevent the assumption that "The Mysteries nf Pam'-ia .merely audi v i '.J a v.. v. . . liiaq iiic-ic u rf 1 1 ucui lilt ti in ijuiiv: i Impossible to-day, was a legitimate fruitage of the galleys and the pris on. 1 i In , the beginning of the second quarter of the nineteenth century the most brilliant and admired amongst)! sovereigns of Kurope was the UranJ Duke of Gerolstein, UuMavu Ru dolph. Clever, handsome, a man of .lingu lar strength both mental ;ind phni ruler of one of the rl. hem sut'- of the Germanic Federation, hi l"t eemed so happy that to num him was to envy. Even hie court looked upon him . isr mortal hHjijiv berond iloutit ()t,: ne man, old Sir Walter Murphy, ;ui Knglish baron' t who had traiiK-d hi ' In boyhood and had been bis aiiilfcr nd friend ever xlnee, km-rt tin- r--morse that preyed nn tli Grand Duke continually. To man of pir ruliiil and oiil the fault for whl h Rmlolph r Ger olstein suffered ml)it hiie neeinel light, etipcclally III 1 hoveieign. I'Ut the Grand Dji. e. ruril ituilng all his youth in the i-irnple puivults or wood and field abd trained to.tiie clearest possible yen oi prlv.ite hon or and royal 'duty by He- honest, imple English ma n, ni.nli his life one X expiation fir h inl.ileeil thai had been forgotten by the world. It had oicurinl when he wa 18 rir Walter bad none temp'M arily to Jvngland and Kuuolp,) was placed un der the oare of a c. lebiale.1 man, r. Caesar Polidor I, Mi. ItaiUu. uk un crupulous as ue was ! ario.l Rent (ill attaining riches ami p er Polldorl knew that lioih t'oiyiij Tic traordlnary hooked nose ajid a single more readily gained under a corrupt ! round green eye which had earned .rule than under a strict, grave court, j her the most appropriate name of organized with typically Grmn pro- j Screech Owl. Jjriety such as GcrHlMteln then was) Hardly had the woman entered be under Rudolph s father He set ' fore slip spied l,a (loual. usc-, and about the work of corrupting the sprang at her with a cry. ' Why. 1 eir wnn sucn cunning mat i;a loph i Insensibly fell under his spell Hefore Sir Walter returned Tolldorl had made such progress that h be gan to sep In himself the futur.- Rich elieu to the young I'rite i AS If to play into his hands, a beau- I1U1 Kcotcriwoman arrived at court, ene -was Itdy arah M i i . i egor -u I a gigantic coal heaver entered tin woman who to tare charms of person pia.ee. hurled the ruflian to one aid. dded a mind that was as ambitious and pclled Rudolph away. Hifnie and cold as that of I'.lidou himself the Schoolmaster could Interpose the fhe had come to Gerolstein with tnei t,w, vanished with the girl , The determination to become the wife of: mul leaver was sir Walter. V. .... ..A .:.1Br,.ln., ..CiuUi. W ith the ken scent of one adv en turer for another, the Italian per. eiv -ed her plan and resolved to aid h"r With all his arts of suggestion and Intrigue he helped her arts of allure ment. Within a few months Rudolph wa floundering In the net. over Whelmed by an Infatuation that the y ountry-bred young Prime imagined to be love. Infatuated though he was, he wa rot blind enough to imagine that the Grand Duke would permit a mar- rlage. He lent a ready ear. there fore, to Pnlldorl's sui.xestion that there he a private wedding. Sarah consent.! willingly. Th Grand Duke was ojd and intlrm an 1 ! avenue wlili plate and money so ar he expected that It would not be ranged mar windows that the Sla-df-r long before she would be able to ap- was able lo snow it to the Hchuol pear as the Grand Duchess and take 1 must r. The Schoolmaster decided her place among the sovereigns or, t" tub the place that night and the vKurope. ' Slash, r. who had conceived a dog- But the old ruler did not die as 1 '" affection for " M . Itudolph." lost he had hoped. She became more ' no tnnp ln notifying htm at an sp- nd more Impatient. At last her tlx- '".'"'ed rendezvous, ed ambition to ascend a throne be- j 1 he vermin entered the trap and csme overpowering and destroyed.1 J'" closed nn them. Hefore he even her cool Judgment. i She betrayed her secret purposely to the court. The Grand Duke, fu rious at the revelation of what struck hltn ss little short of disgrace, swore that he would place her in the pil lory. Rudolph, carried away by rage, drew his sword and attacked his fath er, being prevented from patricide only by the opportune arrival of Sir Walter, who disarmed him. He as Imprisoned secretly. Poll dorl, arrested at the same time, cou- fessed and furnished proofs that the j inamage naa taeen a mock one, ar- ranged xy himself so that he should I nave aouuje power. He gsve up fisrah's letters In which she spoke wun icy duwlaln of the Prince, dis closing her real character and making no concealment of the fact that she lured him Into marriage merely to satisfy her ambition. 1 The venerable Grand Duke without a word of reproach showed his son the letters. Rudolph fell on his knees and asked uardon Llk ..bond by a Madame Seraphlne. who udden flame the disclosure awoke ! nis soul and effaced from It what he .Dad thought was love. He consented at once to the annulment of the mar riage and left Germany with Sir Wal ter on a long voyage. . Then began an expiation a original as it was ambitious. Cnaoie to for glve himself for having embittered his .father's last years, he vowed to give VP bis whole life to personal efforts to 'help he needy, succor the suf fering, save the persecuted snd pun ish the guilty. 7 - Hs had been on the throne far more than twelve years wnen one of these errands brought him to Paris. It was to seek for the son of Mrs. George, a kinswoman of the Marquis 4'Harrilie, whom Rudolph loved sin-, cerebj. . . - 5he hsd bee m8rrt4 to a member ef the National Assembly. Anselm Du Vesnel, who .squsndered her estate s wH as bis own. and finally com rented a forgery lor which be was sentenced -to' fifteen years fn the (al leys. - In order to extract more mon ey 'from his -wife be arranged with a convict who- was a boot to be . liber ated to kidnap his infant son. 8ince then the unhappy woman, who had assumed the name of Madame George, had not been able to find a trace of him. Rudolph, bent on knowing the poor and the criminal an they really were, took a personal part In the search. Clad a an artisan he went Into the low quarters of Paris and mingled with the people in their wine shops and dives. So It happened that one storm) night in the autumn if lJ-ttrnd 1 him voting SS "aTtan painter In the Whlte Rabbit., one of .the worst of the thieve" refuges that lined the nar row streets between the Palace of Justice and Notre Dame Cathedral. I He sat be.Mde a former convict i known an Slasher, because the crime , " ' "uvru """" K. i of some' .whl e he was In : "- " m'-'" ' """'"" rrv , ,,' hi. nih .hi. ..f . mini , tT,,, u.. seemed amaring to any stranjrer rare waf a perfect oval and almost I nngeiic In expremion vr I rJ'i 1 l.-t"hes half veiled a pair of beautl- , ' . . "Anu ? I ful. melancholy blue eyes. Her ! f ivlllzatlon reach a grade of in- ! nmiil!. toiirhlngly sd mouth was like t -llisence where the treatment of a r.e Splendidly shining auburn ' r,mlnal" wu'l 'nnlst In making ' luiir crowned her Kven in her I"1'"' Impotent to do harm, while still Hh.il. !. ugly clothes Khe looked al- ' '"',vlng them opportunity for repent ! mot royal. 'a nee and reform. ! Yet (.'be h only a poor waif of He came to a fearful renohltIon. ' the dfii a girl of unknown paren- At a signal a man entej-ed whom lae, taught to beg in her childhood Rudolph, addressed an doctor. He bv an old har and thief, seized and ' lintened to some whispered words. put Int. i a reformatory while still hiU'llv more than nn Infant and turn ed loose when she had become 1 without advice or guarding hand to save her from the sin of a great rlty. Wretrhia who found tueir profit In It bad met her even nt the refor- ued he, turning to the trembling prts matory door. Hnd lured her Into their ,,n,.r, -j wjjl paralyze that strength, low iiirter She hail been there j y0 n;ive made the weak tremble f.r some weeks when Rudolph met j y(l jirii tremble before them You her by chance and Inquired Into her 1 have plunged your victim Into night. lllH",r'' i I shall plunge you into night. But I. "La Goua lease," hs they called her, I shall leave your life for repentance, because of her sweet voire, win still I When you go from here, punished, telling her stoiy when she stopped joU shall go with enough to support suddenly with a little cry of terror. i you for the re.t of your existence In Two truly frightful creature had a retired pot. Th"ie may you re entered, one u a man whose pem an, m,d forglve.-iesg before God every motion betokened a vast j ere you die." hi length. That even the mont reck less ruffian in the place feared him 1 was evident front the haste wllli'l whh h iill made room for him. a: th j whisper ran around the den; "The Schoolmaster!" Rudolph Hhu'ldered when hn saw this crealuri's face. It was scarred, furrowed and eaten away In every di rection as I'v some frightful burn. The woman -with him waa an old. skinny, bony wretch, with an ex- should recognize vou! To be sure! I'ome! Vou must go with me! 1 think that I shall be able to find who To your pa rents w ere! ' i.iouuleuse shrank behind Ru- dolph. The S. hoolnuiHt. r reached over to grasp hi r. R jdolph sprang j up lo ppo.se him. At that moment ! 1 he lien! lj. .. 1 j ( 1 , , i i j I , , ulill iinaginiiig Kud'.lph lo b I i-hii. was tak'-n bv hln u poor aril- U a mod.-l farm whicn n,. had started near I'ails under the management of .Ma. la George. That good woman took the gill g .i llv into her keeping on learn ing tor slory, and poor little Uou.t-leu.-. bewildered at h-r res, a., f- It a if she h.1,1 been taken to heaven. The Grand lluke immediately set his asent.s to work to ilnd out from tne v rcei ji owl and tue Schoolmaster j what th'v kn. w of the girls pareiu I age. but the old thief was tou cun i niiig. Rudolph d. i idol to trap him. He baited a house in a retired "' I' 'be richoolmiijtrr was seix- "i uy rour great teiiowsrtlirust Into a big chair and bound fast after he had be.-n searched. A large pocgetbook full of papers was taken to Itudolph, who waited In an adjoining room. They startled him. He hid made a wonderfully lucky capture. The Mr-d document that he picked up showed that he had caught no bss a vllllsn than Anselm Duresnel, the husband of Madame George. The Slasher had already told him that the S.-hoolmaster was known to be an escaped convict from the aal- ley who had burned his face with vitriol to defy identification a pro cess successful beyond hla ueslre, since he had practically obliterated his entire face. The next bundle of papers furnish ed evidence that Duresnel hsd com mitted no . lets than three murders since- his escape. The came the papers concerning La Goualeuse. They, showed that the giri nan been delivered to a vaga bad theti been and still was house. Keeper lor a prominent snd respected lawyer, jaques ferrana. The vag abond had turned the ilttle one over to the Screech Owl. who had learn ed of Madame Seraphlne's connection with the case only recently and was laving plans, with the Schoolmaster's help, to blackmail Ferrand. Lastly he-found - thai the kidnap ped son of Madame Oeorge had been brought up In the family of a banker at Nantes under the name of Francois Germain. With disgust, and horror )n his face, Rudolph gave a signal. The bound wretch was wheeled in and placed opposite a table covered with blark cloth. He gave a start ef surprise when h recoa-nlsed the artlwn of. the. White Rabbit In the tail figure clad In a black velvet dress ing gown. A door' opened noiselessly. Two men armed with rifles iwera disclos4 standing at attention. I t'tterty. rawed, the glint eolUpM ! ith abject fear of death.. Unable I to use his strength, his craven nature assumed command. He answered Rudolph's questions slavishly,' striving to rain mercy. He confettaed the murders and then confessed that his object in having the boy kidnapped had been to bring him up as a thief. By chance he had come Into the hands of the bank er at Nantes and had been, brought up to honor and rectitude. After Duresnel had escaped from the gal ley he found that his son held an In fluential position In the bank. He had gone to him, disclosed to him that he was his father and had tried to make him rob the bank. The young man. horrified' -an heartbroken, had refused. He had been unable to force himself to de nounce his own father to the authori ties; therefore he had fled .from Nantes, leaving a letter to warn the banker of the conspiracy. If Rudolph had viewed the man with horror before he looked on him ! 't "not T"n. wT,' i "".."h. nt WTZZ. I now as a monster. When he set the at It would d to let the rinlnal go free after getting; what InfDrmnilon he oould Now he Teallit- I ed that it would be a wicked thing i" mill inn Mf'r oil y kkiijii. ! 11 """T . " ""- 1 "" ib4,iiiiik ir mh-ii'h n rrmcuj, inc K. I J .. . stepped back as if In fear, then recov erej himself and bowed, saying: "As Your Highness wishes." "May God forgive me If I do wrong," said Rudolph. "You have abused your great strength." contln- Two servants advancrd silently at a sign Swiftly they gagged the ."choolniasler at the doctor's orders, and wheeled him away. Half an hour afterward he was led from the liuu", gnashing his teeth and soblijnK He was blind. The Grand Duke at once set his agents on the track of Franco! Ger main They traced him to lodgings la So. 17 Rue de Temple; but they found that he had been followed there by suspicious characters, no doubt his father's emissaries, and to escape them had fled again. They were unable to pick' up the thread.- but reported that a young seamstress. Ml... Hlgolelte, knew his address and refused to divulge it. Rudolph deci l, , to take lodging there a.s M Rudolph, fan painter. He bad been th"re only a few days be fore he found what mankind has al- w .i a found and is forever tlmllnir i out anew to iis ev er nerennlal sur- : pi is".' ,at nlthough the world seems s.i large, the threads of human life cross and Intercross at a bewildering niultitnd" of points II" bad not occupied his -room lonar before be learn. -d that a poor family, th,. Mor.-ls. living in the attic of the bouse. J) v, I,,., n cruelly oppressed by the respected .launes Ferrand. who 1 had ruined the daughter, ns a result of which the girl was in prison, while h.r lather h.tti gone mad He soon gained Mile Rigolette's ac quaintance. When the prettv, hard ' working little thing felt iissu.-ed that he was actuated bv good motives she confided to him that he rould And I Francois Germ iln at F. mind's house, 'where he had obtained employment. Hefore he could act on this Infor mation the seamstress received a let- : Quick I. quick! , 111 ISSB I ! I II II S ISSSSBSSSSSSSSBSSSSsaSSIiliaJBBBIililBBJBSSBaVSBBIi ter from Germain telling, her that the notary had caused Ms arrest on the trumped-up charge of stealing 13,000 francs. ' .,) 7 At this news Rudolph began to wonder If Jaquea -Ferrand did lot have a more or less guilty hand In t affair of La Gouateuse, for whom he was feeling an ever-growing in terest, as Madame George'a reports told him that she was winning the love of all about her, while, ihe old abbe of the village swore that-at heart she was as pure and Innocent as a child, despite the ugly life Into which she bad been thrown by an evil fate, - Aet4ng-on-Ihe suspicion gained as the artisan M. Rudolph, the Grand 1 Duke Rudolph surrounded .the no tary with skilful watchers and spies. They discovered that while Ferrand had won a reputation for great, piety and virtue by his outward life, his career .'had been marked by the ruin of those who had trusted him, al though In each case the notary had posed as the grief -stricken friend of his unfortunate clients- and had shown them that their disasters ap parently had bin caused by others with whom he had struggled in vain. Among other victims they found a starving woman, the Countess Fer niont, who had entrusted 100,000 crowns to him. Shortly afterward her brother was found dead, shot through the heud. In a letter he confessed that ha had drawn the money from Ferrand by virtue of his-trusteeship of the funds and that he had lost It In speculation aiyl was about to kill himself in despair. The mass of proof convinced the Grand Duke that he had come by chance on the track of, a man who had done immense wrongs and had left misery and wretchedness in his path through many years. He de termined to punish him by Btrlking at hat for which he had committed all his crimes his wealth. Ignorant of the powerful hand that was preparing to grip him, JaqUeS Ferrand was gloating Just then over his realized ambitions. At last he .iad amassed a million f caries and he was preparing to leave Paris and en Joy his fortune In the vices and dissi pations that he longed for all the more fiercely for having been forced tonJoy them sparely and In secret t-o many ysivra. At this juncture Lady Sarah arriv ed on the scene again. She had married 'a Scotch nobleman after the annulment of the mock marriage to the heir of Gerolstein. Her husband had died, and as soon as she was a widow the old eager dreams of becoming the wife of a reigning monarch came to her. She resolved on a desperata expe dient to induce Rudolph to marry her. As a ffrsf' sfef in. her-plot she call ed on Jaques Ferrand. They had a long, secret conversation, from which she retired baffled. But after she had gone he was white and trembling. Her next step was against La Goiiuleuse. Her spies had told her of the beautiful girl whom Rudolph had taken to his model farm. They had no trouble In finding out her past, and Sarah immediately assumed that the Grand Duke was In love with her. She resolved to remove her from him and thrust her back Into the lnf,amy from which she had been reseueVl. Hy strange chance she picked on Screech Owl to do the work. That charmjng woman went to the farm with an accomplice and the two lay I In walttsja road whici the girl used i r-i y eieiniiK oil nei way lo ine OiU abbe. The Scrceh-Owl lured her. to the place of concealment hy loud cries of distress. They seized her with ease and bore her off. They made her swear not to com municate with the people at the farm again or to tell any one of the kid napping, the Screech-Owl threaten ing to burn her face with vitriol if 'he refused. This hideous menace succeeded In iloing what the threat u vould have failed in t mere death doini La. Dictate Willi I nrr. Goualeuse swore that she would obey them when they Hold her that all rhey demanded In addition would be that she remain, away from Rudolph and the farm. --1 ' ' . They turned her Ioo.se In Paris; but they did it-cunningly, in a district where under the police rules then tn force she was promptly arrested as a vagabond and put Into the prison of Saint Lazare. . ' Having watchea until she was thus safely disposed" of. Screech-Owl pro ceeded to , Jaques Ferrand. to tell him that the girl whom'. Mm Seraphlne had turned over to th vagabond long ago was now in Saint Lazare un der the name xf La Goualeuse. She declared that 'if .she. did not get lO.sOO francs. In three days-she would tell La Goualeuse 'all she krfew. The notary, according to his wont, boldly denied . everything and drove the hag from his house. The ScrecchOwt then ' hurried to Lady Sarah to report the success of her mission. She knocked according to previous arrangement at a little door in the rear, which Sarah opened herself, permitting her to enter secretly- . : "k Is well," said fearah when the old woman had recounted what had been done. "I now want another serv ice for which I shall pay you well. You must find for me a handsome girl, not more than .17, Whose par ents died very early. She must have bine eves, like the little girl in this picture." Lady Sc. rah hastily opened a cas ket, tossed jewels out heedlessly, and brought forth a meuatllon portrait. The Screech-Owl paid little atten tion to what Sarah said after she saw the Jewels. She felt Tor her dagger and was devoting her mind to the task of getting behind the woman. Hut even in her fierce desire for boo ty she was checked when she saw the picture. , "Why." she cried, before she could stop herself, "that Is the little girl who was given to me to take care of. She Is the one now known as La Goua leuse " ' Sarah leaped to her feet, her face pale with surprise and excitement. "What do you? mean?" she asked, almost breathlessly. "I mean." said the Screech-Owl, yidling slowly nearer to Sarah, ."that a former convict named Tournemlne brought that child to me with a thousand francs, to get rid of her. She had been turned over to him by the housekeeper of-Jaques Ferrand." "Quick! Quick! Dictate while I write.''' said Lady Sarah. She sat down at her desk, snatched a pen and the Screech-Owl came close to her. "I declare," said she, while Sarah wrote, "that In February, 1827, Pierre Tournemlne placed in my hands a child who had been confided to him by the housekee'poT of "jaques Fer rand " The pen fell to the floor and Lady Sarah dropped face down over the desk The Screech-Owl had driven, a dagger between her shoulders;- Quickly she gathered the jewels and U.-H through the little door with out perceiving that her victim still breathed. Kven while the hag was on her way to hr haunts with her booty Jaques Ferrand was arranging with one of the Seine river pfrates and assassins to get rid of La Goualeuse. The next day Madame Seraphlne obtained the girl s release from the prison, and un der pretense of taking her to friends, embarked with her In a rowhoat, bound ostensibly for a small Island. Ferrand had told Madame Sera ptiine that the boat would be upset In t lie middle of the Utream, where the current ran Its swiftest, and that she would be rescued at once by another boat which would be near-by, leaving La Goualeuse to drown under cir cumstances that would permit no sus picion. In truth, however, this murderous errand was' destined to be the last of the manv that the housekeeper had done for Ferrand. He had decided that the time had come to get rid of her. o when the assassin upset the "Jad Iadyaw. boat the other" one approached only to pick him up and both women were left' to whirl down the tide. , being watched cold-bloodedly by the mur derers until they sank. Ferrand had taken effective pre cautions to prevent the assassins from knowing wbo he was. The death of Madams Seraphlne-. removed his ac complice, who might have turned on him Mini day. Now there remained only one other being who .had guilty knowledge of his crimes, and him he did . not fear, since betrayal would mean his own destruction. That, accomplice .was Dr. Pcdldorl. Yet even while- he, was rubbing his hands with satisfaction. Dr. Polldorl. tracked by- Rudolph's spies who had seen him with Ferrand, was In their hands. They had caught him in the very commission of a crime the pois oning of a rlchTnan at the orders of hla young wife. Once In the power of Rudolph, and rn llvlno- that lh. uaffnlj taln if the Grand Duke chose to give him up Ho justice, he surrendered Ferrand without hesitation. He confessed that the -brother of the fli.ni.H u.a . mi nea suiciae, dui naa been mur dered by Kerrand and himself Jhat they might appropriate the fortune in the notary's hands. He furnished proof ' that Ferrand's charge against Germain had been made solely to hide snother embexzlement of trust funds. With these confessions and with documents that he surrendered, he gave the Grand- Duke enough evi dence to assure the conviction of the lawyer on capital charges. But this was not Rudolph's design. Imbued as he was with the determin ation to punish criminals and crime in his own way. Holding the fear of death over Pol ldorl. he made him the instrument. Taking elaborate precautllns against his escape, he sent the Italian into r errands house to begin a novel and effective punishment. Meantlme he had learned of the!,nK Rood deeds ana gaining no credit kidnapping of La Goualeuse. His sgents traced her to Saint Lezare. There they- lerned that Mme. Sera phlne had taken her away, and al most simultaneously with their report came the news of her drowning. The Grand Duke was stricken with grief. He realized with surprise that L,b?Ut!f"ant! OUnK had grow n very dear lo him an emo tion that he could not analyze further than to mourn as if he had lost a be loved child. i While he was still overcome he re ceived the news of the attack on saran. Aitnough she was alive still. Ferrand's coat. Suddenly he scream it was certain that she was (loomed. ed annalllriBl-. Reason returned to j and she begged Rudolph to fulfill a dying request and grant her an In terview. , lie went at once, deeply as he hat ed her. , Lady Sarah was determined to mi' flll her ambition .before she died. In the past months it had slowly become a mania with her to -wear a crown. Now that she was dying it was her one flaming desire a madness that kept her alive and gave her strength . ...... V. . .. l" ",OJ B'r"1 v'u' .even more oeauinui iruin wnen she first lured "the young Prince, sne i fare.l Hlldolnh with a llht of HI. V. i j l. umph in hei- dark eyes. "Rudolph!" -she cried almost as soon as he entered. "Our child Is not dead!' The Grand Duke leaped to his feet' and said with a trembling voice: "You are trying to deceive me!" "There! Th'e proofs! Stained" with my blood!" said Sarah, pointing to tha fragmentary confession of the Screech Owl. Rudolph turned white. He stag gered and the paper dropped from his hands. He looked at Sarah with a growing horror. "I wrote to you that our child was dead," said Sarah, "because I wished to revenge myself on you. When she. was 4 years old I gave her lo Mine. Seraphine, the widow of an old ser- vant, to bring up. I placed 1 00.000 ot believe; but they brought the francs with a lawyer, Jacques Fer- beautiful young girl to him. and ten rand, for her support. At the end of dcrlv, gently, with tears and laushter. a year iney wroie to me mat sno was aeaa. Kecentty, wnen my nusnana died and, almost at the same time, you became a widower, I determined to produce a young girl and decle.ro that she was our daughter, knowing that you would legitimatize her by " . . '. , .:. I n,i o,h r-i t ti.nn..4 - this picture. She recognised it as that of a girt given to her by a convict,) who had obtained her from Mme. Seraphlne." i Rudolnh stared at the olcture.' There could ibe no mistake. Twelve years, though they were twelve years Diessea .with the passionate love .of of unthinkable suffering, had only her father, life did its ibest to umltf emphasised the beauty of the child. I the wrongs Jt had done her. and for He began to sob terrible sobs that tune offered cure and forget fulness. shook him as an epochal tempest shakes rocks. "The Goualeuse our child and they have killed her!" gasped he at last. ' Sarsh looked at him with lips apart and a stony face. ."Tea, accursed woman," said he, forcing himself to speak connectedly, although his brain was a-whlrl. "they have killed her. Good and provident mother, do you know what this child was?" In a flood of passionate words he poured out the story of poor La Goualeuse. "Die, wretch, die!" he. creamed, frightful with rage, when he had ended. "Die!" and rushed from the room, leaving Sarah lnsen alble. Overwhelmed with -fury, he drove straight to the house of Jacques Fer rand, meaning to. kill the lawyer with his own hand. It was no longer the Grand Dudce of Gerolstein doing Jus tice, v it was a rather seeking the life of a wretch who had killed his child's soul and body. But the colder. sterner and far more Impressive justice that he had set into motion against the villain was before him. For Jacques Ferrand- aU the torture and anguish that he had caused his victims through many years had been compressed for him Into few day by a terrible In genuity. " . , - v - . Polldorl had been granted a relieve by the Grand Duke on condition that he go to Ferrand. tell, him how he had been betrayed and Inform him that be could saVe his life only by doing .minutely what the Grand Duke nsd planned for him. Ferrand went almost mad when he immi nu tne cenaiuoBs. -. out ea toe - other side was the scaffold. He"con-IV tented. The tery next day he sent for noble old priest and Announced that he had decided to give his whole great wealth to charity. , Actually writhing, feeling as if the ' words would truly choke him, as if they were ropes fastened around his throat and being drawn taut, he de clared first that he would settle two thousand franca a year on Morel, who had come from the asylum cured, this "Income to be revertabte to the , daughter at the father's death. With a hideous face Ferrand. lis tened to the Innocent priest' pralsaN of. his generosity. . - - Having signed this paper, he signed another In which he declared that there had come to him through an anonymous source .100,000 crowns, which the giver wished to offer to the Countess Fermont as restitution. " Then came the meet important gift of all. Polldorl, posing as the sym- Pathetic friend, had to use alt his i foc to sustain the wretched lawyer while he read the deed and sighed It. ' " ave . h r.emalndr. of ..nl fortune, wun me strict conauion mat the donor's name be left unknown,, to the establishment of a bank .for workingmen, where they might bor row money without Interest when out of employment. It named as tperpet ual manager, with a salary of four thousand francs, Francois Germain (who had long since been liberated from prison by Ferrand's withdrawal of the charge against him, and re stored to his mother). The good priest, unab'e to control himself, broke forth In tearful praise and blessings. Every word uttered by him was as a dagger stroke lata Ferrand's black heart. Thus, with a refined torture, did the Grand Duke punish him. Cruel he was tormented by being forced to succor those whom he hated. . Covetous he was anguished by being i forced to part with 'all he loved. Hypocritical! He wss racked by'do- for them. Even while Rudolph was on hlr way to kill him his penance had been fulfilled. The priest had gone with the deeds and securities. Ferrand, penniless, had thrown himself to the floor, quivering as If In convulsions. Suddenly he arose with the fire of Jve the room, 'polidor.. who was madness in his eyes. He tried to responsible for him as a prisoner tilt the Grand Duke should declare him self satisfied, seized him. The law yer, temporarily Insane, struggled fiercely. The two fell to the floor. A poisoned dagger sMpped from htm. He hid felt himself pierced In the hand. In that moment he knew that fee must die. Even at that Instant Polldori, strug gling to his knees, pressed his leg on the weapon. A burning pain shot through him. A few 'minutes afterward doors crashed as - Rudolph burst Into tho house. "Jlrnster!" he cried, entering the room. He said no more. On the floor lay the two. close together, their limbs twisted, dead. . 1 ',x! '"".'' ."uuuipn T" U . . . - . 1 V. T" . . J 1 V. became the Grand Duke again, look- ,ng 80lemn,y up0 the decree that heaven had pronounced to cancel his earthly attemot at justice. Quiet, humbled and immersed now in. a pure and nolble sorrow for his child, he returned to his mansion to order an immediate departure for Gerolstein. There he was met with another wonderful act of 'Providence. If one had taught him the weakness of earthty designs of punishment, this second one was to teach him humble gratitude. La Goualeuse had been found alive In. a hospital near the Seine. The current had swept her near a shore, where rescuers seized her as she floated by. At first he was stunned and could ho told her who She was. Within an hour afterward he was nt the bedside of the dying Sara't. Before she closed her eyes forever u'.io had been made "Duchess of Qerolstclh. her rapt dream, for which she 1ed committed so much crime, mado true at last, 4ut only to come as a puo- tlshmenU for her breaking eyes saw the extent of her wickedness and the mockery of the prize. As Princess Amelia, the waif of tha jiums or rans entered tne Grand uueny or wcroistein. Hailed witn shouts of Joy, surrounded with porno. But the gentle Goualeuse entered her own only to shudder more and ' more at the past that had been thrust upon her. Daily she became more ' fragile, more mournful. The Grand Duke watched and understood. With a breaking heart ha yielded to the knowledge that none, however power- '' ful, might remedy. the past. The - monarch-bowed humbly - be- fore God. Without word of remon- . strance he assented when his daugh- ' ter asked him for permission to enter' a convent: ; , One day a splendid assemblage saw-. her robed In the black garments of-v the women who forswear the world. And as Sister' Amelia she died, still ' young, still surpassingly -beautiful, forgiving all the wrongs that carti had done to her, and surely forgiven -by heaven, xt Sunday's onev-page rlawdr will be The Virgin Una," by William Makepeace Thackeray. ' ' Sll Divinely Retentive. T . .V Lumberton Robesonlan. ' y ' ' -.--. 8ince you who know the charming young ladles of this town know that divine chances come to them whether they are tn an -attitude of receptivity ? or not. you may be like tho mas who looked steadily At the first giraffe Tie ever saw and turned away with the : contemptuous remark, "Bj there -ain't no Such animal!" . Maybe you say there ain't no such girt In Lum- berton. Well, to sVeak quite IrlshY you know, one guess, Is as good as auointr. ana far bettw. I
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 30, 1908, edition 1
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