roken
evidence, and thus defeat my object. It must have been the Countess'
letter, and the brief, almost stenographic, signs of anxiety and
unhappiness on the leaf of the journal, that first beguiled me into a
commiseration, which the simple devotion and self-sacrifice of the poor,
toiling sister failed to neutralize. However, I detected the feeling at
this stage of the examination, and turned to the American records, in
order to get rid of it.

The principal paper was the list of addresses of which I have spoken. I
looked over it in vain, to find some indication of its purpose; yet it
had been carefully made out and much used. There was no name of a person
upon it,--only numbers and streets, one hundred and thirty-eight in all.
Finally, I took these, one by one, to ascertain if any of the houses
were known to me, and found three, out of the whole number, to be the
residences of persons whom I knew. One was a German gentleman, and the
other two were Americans who had visited Germany. The riddle was read!
During a former residence in New York, I had for a time been quite
overrun by destitute Germans,--men, apparently, of some culture, who
represented themselves as theological students, political refugees,
or unfortunate clerks and secretaries,--soliciting assistance. I found
that, when I gave to one, a dozen others came within the next fortnight;
when I refused, the persecution ceased for about the same length of
time. I became convinced, at last, that these persons were members of an
organized society of beggars, and the result proved it; for when I
made it an inviolable rule to give to no one who could not bring me an
indorsement of his need by some person whom I knew, the annoyance ceased
altogether.

The meaning of the list of addresses was now plain. My nascent
commiseration for the man was not only checked, but I was in danger of
changing my role from that of culprit's counsel to that of prosecuting
attorney.

When I took up again the fragment of the first draught of a letter
commencing, "Dog and villain!" and applied it to the words "Jean" or
"Johann Helm," the few lines which could be deciphered became full of
meaning. "Don't think," it began, "that I have forgotten you, or the
trick you played me! If I was drunk or drugged the last night, I know
how it happened, for all that. I left, but I shall go back. And if you
make use of" (here some words were entirely obliterated).... "is true.
He gave me the ring, an