The Experiences of a Barrister, and Confessions of an AttorneyWarren, Samuel
General
The Experiences of a Barrister, and Confessions of an Attorney
Warren, Samuel
Detective and mystery stories, English; Legal stories, English
La Houssaye, finding that M. de Tourville had by some means discovered
the secret of his previous marriage, and that consequently all hope of
obtaining the hand of Eugénie, whom he loved with all the passion of his
fiery nature, would be gone unless De Tourville could be prevented from
communicating with his daughter, resolved to compass the old man's
instant destruction. The chevalier persuaded himself that, as he should
manage it, death would be attributed to the affection of the heart, from
which M. de Tourville had so long suffered. He procured the distilled
laurel-water--how and from whom was minutely explained--colored, flavored
it to resemble as nearly as possible the cordial which he knew M. de
Tourville--and he only--was in the habit of frequently taking. A
precisely-similar bottle he also procured--the shop at which it was
purchased was described--and when he called in King Street, he found no
difficulty, in an unobserved moment, of substituting one bottle for the
other. That containing the real cordial he was still in possession of,
and it would be found in his valise The unexpected arrival of
Mademoiselle de Tourville frustrated his design, and he rushed in fury
and dismay from the house. A few hours afterwards, he heard of the sudden
death of M. de Tourville, and attributing it to his having taken a
portion of the simulated cordial, he, La Houssaye, fearful of
consequences, hastily and secretly changed his abode. He had subsequently
kept silence till the conviction of Eugénie left him no other
alternative, if he would not see her perish on the scaffold, than a full
and unreserved confession. This done--Eugénie saved, but lost to him--he
had nothing more to live for in the world, and should leave it.
This was the essence of the document; and all the parts of it which were
capable of corroborative proof having been substantiated, a free pardon
issued from the crown--the technical mode of quashing an unjust criminal
verdict--and Mademoiselle de Tourville was restored to liberty.
She did not return to France. Something more perhaps than a year after
the demonstration of her innocence, she was married to Arthur Rushton in
the Sardinian Catholic Chapel, London, the bridegroom having by her
influence been induced to embrace the faith of Rome. The establishments
in Harley Street and Mayfair were broken up; and the newly-espoused pair
settled in the county of Galway, Ireland, where Mr. Rushton made
extensive landed purchases. They have lived very happily a long life,
have been blessed with a large and amiable family, and are now--for they
are both yet alive--surrounded with grandchildren innumerable.
EXPERIENCES OF A BARRISTER.
THE LIFE POLICY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account