Melbourne every one said, 'The hansom cab tragedy is at an end, and the
murderer will never be discovered.' I ventured to disagree with the
wiseacres who made such a remark, and asked myself, 'Who was this woman
who died at Mother Guttersnipe's?' Receiving no satisfactory answer
from myself, I determined to find out, and took steps accordingly. In
the first place, I learned from Roger Moreland, who, if you remember,
was a witness against you at the trial, that Whyte and Rosanna Moore
had come out to Sydney in the JOHN ELDER about a year ago as Mr. and
Mrs. Whyte. I need hardly say that they did not think it needful to go
through the formality of marriage, as such a tie might have been found
inconvenient on some future occasion. Moreland knew nothing about
Rosanna Moore, and advised me to give up the search, as, coming from a
city like London, it would be difficult to find anyone that knew her
there. Notwithstanding this, I telegraphed home to a friend of mine,
who is a bit of an amateur detective, 'Find out the name and all about
the woman who left England in the JOHN ELDER on the 21st day of August,
18--, as wife of Oliver Whyte.' MIRABILE DICTU, he found out all about
her, and knowing, as you do, what a maelstrom of humanity London is,
you must admit my friend was clever. It appears, however, that the task
I set him was easier than he expected, for the so-called Mrs. Whyte was
rather a notorious individual in her own way. She was a burlesque
actress at the Frivolity Theatre in London, and, being a very handsome
woman, had been photographed innumerable times. Consequently, when she
very foolishly went with Whyte to choose a berth on board the boat, she
was recognised by the clerks in the office as Rosanna Moore, better
known as Musette of the Frivolity. Why she ran away with Whyte I cannot
tell you. With reference to men understanding women, I refer you to
Balzac's remark anent the same. Perhaps Musette got weary of St. John's
Wood and champagne suppers, and longed for the purer air of her native
land. Ah! you open your eyes at this latter statement--you are
surprised--no, on second thoughts you are not, because she told you
herself that she was a native of Sydney, and had gone home in 1858,
after a triumphant career of acting in Melbourne. And why did she leave
the applauding Melbourne public and the flesh-pots of Egypt? You know
this also. She ran away with a rich young squatter, with more money
than morals, who happened to be in Melbourne at the time. She seems to
have had a weakness for running away. But why she chose Whyte to go
with this time puzzles me. He was not rich, not particularly
good-looking, had no position, and a bad temper. How do I know all
these traits of Mr. Whyte's character, morally and socially? Easily
enough; my omniscient friend found them all out. Mr. Oliver Whyte was
the son of a London tailor, and his father being well off, retired into
a private life, and ultimately went the way of all flesh. His son,