THRILLS OF HISTORY

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 1577, 23 February 1927, Page 7

THRILLS OF HISTORY

STUDIES IN ROMANCE / To, arrange in direbj and unambiguous narrative the details of any historical incidents is a much.more difficult literary task than the average reader may guess. He, who 1 would perform, the job successfully must ; have- • a clear - mind, a sense of order, and,,a grasp of . essentials. One fancies that the readers; of \John o' London's Weekly' will be eager' to admit' (says thatjournal) that .all these qualities are possessed by Mr H. Greenhbiigh: Smith, the editor of, the ' Strand Magazine,', who/ has for years past entertained them With a series of admirable romances; from history,, iriauriy. from that of the French Revolution. They will; agree also that Mr Smith adds to the attractions of accuracy and order the charriis . of {picturesque phrasing; and romantic sentiment. And. they will, finally, he delighted to know that in 'Stranger' Than Fiction or Thrills-of History' he has assembled these studies. , OLD FRIENDS. , ; Here, then, are! a .number of old friends.. Here are. the .heroes,of high, ■ legend, Bayard arid Loclriel; here the Italians, so different in their picturesque ways. Alfieri and Marino Faliero, Doge : of Venice, /Then the strange puppets of. the Revolution—peorge. Grieve,' who stole Du Barry's jewels; and offered her up as a'sacrifice to the guillotine; Baptiste Renard, the valet, who" snatched -.; victory out of the fire at-Jcinapes and, : rose to fame, but; to fall to obscurity; ,9.; Jenny Savalete', w'lioiniay have been : Louis the .Seventeenth, ison of Marie Antoinette; and •: the: rest. of. them, a, motley but fascinating company. ; Mr Smith, however j has particularly fascinated! us with a; problem in criminal. {, psychology that ■ will bo hoAV to most ; readers—-the amazing {case; : M< iArmarid Peltzer, who returne'd.to Antwerp from Brieribs Aires/rto, clear :hjs icbrothers, James and Leon, from, a charge ;of embezzlement: fell in love with the wife of Bernnys, tiic advocate lie had employed, and, to rid himself of ;.tlie inconvenient hnsbnrid, thought out what tras nearly a masterpiece' of jmilfder. ; THE...INCONVENIENT. ; HIfSBAND. ' The'necessity for, murder arose out !of the scruples v of> Juliefßertiays. She | was unhappy with hijr' husband,' ; ! "If Armarid looked, upori his task as easy,:he was soon to learn:his error. •Julie's love was very far; from j his. In ''spirit she was vestal; virgiI nal." '■'!" :■ ' ;■■ .'."-."■■ s '■'•'■■■ . •;' '-'-.l'-rr '■•':; ,■ ' He sought a duel with Bernays, but his challenge was, refased, and, at last : i he thrned to the amazing notion of ! employing as his, murderous agent .his { brother Leon, who since the trial had - ■ been wandering in Am6ricai By secret f arrangement they met in Paris. ] "There they passed three j days ui ~,; consultation. ArmaHd explained J his i scheme in detail. It was; his design - 'to call to; being an assassin, as a I wizard summons up ah {imp, whoshould j commit the murder arid then vanish I like a, dream. Leon. Tvas put/ off his ' own identity, to dissippear and cease to ' be, and i» his place there, was td come to uife a new and wholly'different i being, by the name of Henry Vaughan. The creatibri of Henry Vaughan was really an admirable: piece of work; ; , guaranteed to make, the teeth' of Mr : Clarkson Water. L»°n Peltzer " made up" so well that he passed unrecognised in the shop where, a fewhours before, he had bought his disguise. Thus there ' emerged. Henry ■ Vaughan— '• • ""agent of the firm of Murray and j Company of AiistraUa, serit to Europe to j oifxanise a great' h?w Ihjio of{ steamsaips j between Amsterdatn and Sydney.''. ! ELABORATE PLANS. '"-':" : I It was a very thorough job. ' lu , search of the perfect weapon, a revolver' "that shot hard:with little rioise," the brothers carried out elaborate tests ; until they found, satisfaction in a puruliaso from a ~-, London .gjiiimaker. WhoreupoH it was easy for Henry Vaughan! l to{ inake himself a •faiuiijar figure about the North Sea ports or, Germany, Holland, aud Belgium, and ; finally to take an office An Brussels—which he made nearly ,sound-probr. And then iup advocate, Bernays. was invited to call and give legal advice to the agent of Murray); and Company. I From that interview he never returned. He was brutally shot from behindv through .the. neck. Nor was , Henry: Vaughan.ever{seen agaiii. His , Wig and beard ,went into the fire, Ins make-up was washed off in a trice. Leon Peltzer reappeared—then ,dis-.•■•>.' ''appeared.i A Jew days later, the coroner of Brussels received a letter Bieued "Henry Vaughan," explaining who ' by, accident Bernays had been shot in the flat at 159, Rue de la Loi. THE ' FATAL {{SLIP. . ■ ,But Leon Peltzer had niade one mis- : take. It was part of the scheme that the body; of Bernays, to; suggest accident arid to justify the angle of the wound, should b« propped up in a chair; and Leon had forgotten that detail in his excitement. When the i bpdy was found, it actually., had been propped up thus—two days after death, said the doctors!. ./ 'lt was the, letter from Basle that was the undoing of> the Peltzers. It rijerchant; the 'handwriting of Pezzer, ■,. {'and., as,HMr Smitft , says, "the police put two and two together." : A {footprir/t in:{blopd had beeriicarefully preserved on the sceno of the mrifder—-arid the foot.of Axmand fitted it exactly. Tt was he who had •■ sought to correct a botched job by propping ug the body. : It:was a pity that the/penalty of death; was not in force in Belgium at the time; .-.{;-■ ", { This' grim story of the Peltzers gave '•' Paul Bourget the plot : of 'Andre i Corhelis.' Mr Smith's more direct i examination of the case makes one or i the moat intoresting features of a very • entertaining Tiook. , .■■ •