;MgMOIKS OF A VET-SEAT. DETECTIVE. CHAPTER XLIII. .[SE ABDCCTION OF A CHILD. . o,k era of national self-glorification over a •Nation assumed to have been unknown be- cl.ilizauu istian er8) lt ia pamf ul to be com- ^Jïî admit that the judicial records of the 1 trenturv show the worship of the golden So be still as widely spread as in the days of lheiifr,.ie'1the°fflaring sins of the present day is inwin" tendency to worship success for its a - «re and wealth for its external glitter. 7 The end justifies the means " is a maxim often quoted and admired in every class of toooi h mn-inritv of men. talent clnrv 1U.IW rr"»» «»•»""'— — - - y-j ^...^ u. fo the majority of men, talent, glory liave become, nay, perhaps have ever h en empty phrases useful only in the hands of ?c ' to work upon the sensibilities of fools. nne natural instinct only has escaped in general ,i,. calculations of cupidity and preserved the and veneration of even the most de- Sd—namely, that of maternal love, which so ften rises to tbe sublime of self-abnegation. tad Years had elapsed since justice had heard peal for protection against the machina- tions of those who would speculate on this sacred Ming, when a heartless Englishman named Williams, resident in Paris, appeared before the oublie to show how fiendishly he was prepared to push the calculations of selfish aggrandize- ... Young, handsome, ttnd insinuating; so highly -J as to make him an accomplished citi- urucu ri.3 »" »»»_»»»». —-— ——-----------—r-—'¦-"'* ^.". zen of the world he frequented the best society of Paris, spent his winters in the saloons of the Faubourg Saint-Germain and the Chaussée d'Antin, his summers at Baden-Baden, Hom- lurg, or Spa; everywhere in the character of a fell-born, opulent gentleman, whom it would be dishonor to suspect. And yet he possessed neither lands, palaces, nor funds. He had no connection with commerce, no capital in trade; in short, he was an adventurer, a Greek, who lived by gambling with packed cards, and accu- mulated every summer a supply of gold which enabled him to display a princely prodigality during the winter months. He had remarked, in the distinguished society in which he moved, a certain Countess L-----, a wealthy lady connected with a noble family of the Netherlands, who had lost her husband not long before, and who had one daughter five years of age, on whom she lavished all the de- votion of a heart aching under an intolerable grief, He resolved to speculate on her mater- nal idolatry, saying to himself: " If I can suc- ceed in carrying off this child, its mother will submit to every sacrifice to regain it, and my fortune is assured." And from the moment that Hie project entered bis imagination he began to we heaven and earth to accomplish his de- sign. To gain a confederate within the defenses, and to obtain a knowledge of every circum- stance favorable to his scheme, he began by mataglovetoMme. L-----'s femme de chambre; y , n?s t0 lus personal advantages and his arts of money, he soon succeeded in inning her entire confidence. From her he areed that she was in the habit of going at 'tt^rv Monday with the child to 1 v* ?!7lnoh she was a P«Pil. and that 2 t? °£ouSh certain streets which she éf .i,- e Englishman resolved to avail him- lo„ T°PP°rtunhy to seize the little girl, L?6 aPP°mted day stationed a carriage 2 Mm^c?nvenient for the abduction he i th wl ,Althe time flxed he threw himself lefZ\oi "V? «want, and offered to take «rZ 'tV11.1^116 rest of the way m his and m in T?7oollsh girl accepted the offer, outanasL. if paces further on> he pointed "W Cter \Shop> and fivinS the serv- 4-Sfl & *anSer asked her to go and irhadfltt7httlf Sirl and herself. No %set off a.entere I dispatched ff\yf ? !nte ligent police agent to seek for Wdhams, with the assistance of the London police But neither the French agent nor his English colleagues had the slightest success. Not ong after, the mother came again to tell me that a letter Had been received from London by her femme de chambre, probably from Will- iams; but that she had been unable to obtain any satisfactory answers from the girl I begged Mme. L-----to retire fôr a few moments into the adjoining room, and rent for the love-sick damsel, to whom I made the fol- lowing brusque address: " You have received a letter from Williams w y l4, for T am certain of what I say " ' Well, sir, since I cannot affirm the contrarv here is the letter. Make the most of it." The villain requested her, among ether things to keep lnm informed of the measures taken bv her mistress, and to write him to a certain ad- dress. " Do you know," said I, " that I eould very ' I, eager £tb1£e & °f Sm'ICe' madame?" S&id time of its abduction the child was under your "My name .Z— Mv h™h*nA i« special care; this letter, in which the writer \ honoraileTnd honored merchant^ and i nos treats you as an ally, communicates to you his sessed of a handsome^fortune^^ and eve sW plans, and demands information. Nothing can our marriage some years a"o has f en.fP=¦ 11 exempt you from punishment, except an °abso- ; frankly^ lavished upon mf the t'endere t and boutTo dPemSand r,COmPilance with what 1 am iP°Bt arduous carl Las' year,1n tounfaib duoutto aemana. I mg desire to give me every possible haoniness bursW Stotea? SP6ak' CXCklmed ^ «"' !he seflt me to foass the threeUmiZ^Xwla: » y, 4iii -Y a t i my mother, who has a country-house in the ¦wv S? . Writ? .t0 y°-Ur- l0^er' here at their env:TOUS of Lyons. With dwellers in the countrv loss ofbeS7reS f ? deSpair Tr tlleas you kno^' Monsieur Canler Lfghborhood oss of her child, and ready to sacrifice her en- soon leads to acquaintance and friendship and tire fortune to regain t. And you will urge these to intimacy3 Neu^y motlSsta e lived him to persevere m his scheme, and promise a wealthy lady of title, wByCJite CHAPTER XLIV. MADAME Z--------. There exist certain privileged beings whom .nature has gifted with such potent charms- eyes of such childlike innocence, features of such chiseled beauty, figures so exquisite- ly rounded, complexions so transparent- in short, possessed of a combination of attrac- tions so alluring-that our illogical male sex is J ready to forgive, nay, often to admire and ap- plaud m these what we are quick to regard as sins of the deepest dye in those to whom nature has denied the magical spell of beauty. One day a lady, whose beauty entitled her to a high rank in the list of these rarely gifted creatures, was shown into my office, and re- to keep him fully informed of everything com ing to your knowledge." When the letter had been written and di- rected, I had it mailed, and then sent away the in a cavalry regiment, was spending a two- months' leave at home." ' ' Ernest—his name is Ernest, sir—is young and very handsome, skillful in every manly accom- aWn\ ^d thet miStreSSr AS ~ST- ^r1 TS ! ^â^T^^lTx^lS^^taSZ. alone, I wrote to my police agent m London ner. In short, we met constantly, and his atten- OntTL^ Af: i «- ti tions Srew so marked that I could not fail to no- t„ t? TP' hl5 3!î.ter' lhf agent went at once tice and be touched bythem. If his lips had never to the lodgings of the abductor, accompanied breathed a syllable of love, his eyes alone would by a force of London police. The villain him- have betrayed his feelings. Though I saw the self was out; but the door was forced, the child J peril before me, I was lif ht enough to laugh at found, and immediately taken possession of by \ it as imaginary. Flattered by the passion! in- the agent, who set off for Pans without loss of spired, and fearless of danger through an undue time, arriving there at ten o'clock the following confidence in my own strength, I took a wicked evening. Assured of the happiness with which I was so soon to fill the mother's heart, I hastened at once to Mme. L-----'s hotel. She was in bed. Her maid announced the Chief of the Secret Service, with her child. "My child! my child!" she shrieked, and half frantic with delight, and quite unconscious of my presence, she sprung from her bed, snatched the child from my arms, and fell fainting at my feet. Two weeks afterward she came again to my office to demand assistance and protection. "Yesterday," said she, "I fancied I saw through my blinds the horrible Williams pass my house. This morning I am sure I saw him, walking with another man. I tremble, sir, lest he should make another effort to rob me of my child." ''Take courage, madame. Your persecutor believes that you are helpless and unprotected. He shall be taught his mistake. Till I can ef- fect the arrest of the scoundrel, I will give you one of my subordinates as a guard. He will accompany you wherever you go, and at night will sleep in your antechamber. Under his protection, you may feel perfectly secure." The Englishman soon ascertained the constant presence of the agent. He had the insolence, notwithstanding, to send the Countess a letter, in which he threatened to steal her child a second time, unless she consented to meet him pleasure in fanning his ardor, and vanity led me to stimulate his jealousy. An incident brought this jealousy to its climax. My mother's birth-day came, and mv husband came from Paris to spend a few days in my company. At the moment of his arrival, Ernest and his mother were calling at the house, and, on my husband being presented, he thanked them both most cordially for all they had done to render my stay agreeable. " I watched Ernest's face while my husband was speaking. He grew so deadly pale that his mother noticed it, and asked if he were ill. ' No, madame,' he answered, ' not ill, but I have a racking headache, and must beg per- mission to withdraw.' ' ' He did not return during the day, and to every inquiry as to his health, it was answered that he was better, but could not leave his room. The suddenness of his illness affected me, and I fancied I understood its cause. As long as my husband lingered in the country, Ernest refused to appear. On his returning to Paris, my lover came with his mother the same evening to invite us to dinner on the fol- lowing day. "We went, and were greeted with distinction. After dinner, a stroll was suggested through a small forest, ten minutes' walk from the house, and, as usual, Ernest offered me his arm. Our mothers followed us, but at a slower pace, and we were soon far in advance. Ernest now vent- seeona time, unless she consented to meet mm we were soon tar m advance, lirnest now vent- alone at a certain specified place with a sum of ured for the first time to speak to me of his mnrrev TTe nrlrlprl lhat lip wrrnld tnke A. fen.r- arlrtratln-n anil crrTifpfl.prl tlrnt flip pnnsp rtf hia money. He added that he would take a fear- ful vengeance, if she betrayed him to a third person. adoration, and confessed that the cause of his illness was the jealousy inspired by my hus- band's visit.