My Memoirs Part 44

"She looked her interlocutor straight in the face.

"'_Swear to me_,' she said, '_swear on the head of your children that you will never say a word of what I have told you to-night._'

"The oath was given, but, last night, thinking of the innocent persons whom fatal coincidences might ruin, and frightened by the terrible responsibility of keeping silent, Mme. Steinheil's interlocutor confided the secret to us.

"We have faithfully repeated the narrative of the interlocutor without naming the culprit.

"It was our duty.

"Now let the law do its duty."

Can any reader wonder, after this, that public opinion was fearfully excited against me!

I need hardly add that not one of those statements was true, but the harm they did me may well be realised! There is unfortunately no Law for Contempt of Court in France.... And now, for the edification of the reader, and in accordance with my plan of submitting the actual evidence given by the witnesses, I will quote from the Dossier the various facts about this scandalous Ghirelli-Rosselli-Sauerwein affair....

"January 19th, 1909; before us, Andre, examining magistrate, &c.... has appeared Mme. Alphonsi, born Alba Ghirelli, thirty-six years of age....

_Question._ "We have summoned you here on account of a letter dated January 12th, 1909, which reached us two days later, on the 14th, and _which the day before had appeared in the_ Matin."

_Answer._ "My counsel advised me to send you the letter. Mme. Steinheil entered our cell (Ghirelli's and Rosselli's) on Thursday, November 26th, 1908, late at night.... She declared 'I am here because I have told untruths, but it will be nothing. It will all be arranged in a few days'

time.' She went to bed. All night she seemed very restless; she cried.... The next morning she wrote letters. At 10.30 A.M. she said she had been maddened by the necessity of finding proof of guilt against some one, that she had first placed the pearl in her cousin's pocket-book, that she had then had a violent 'scene' with her cousin's wife... and that she had afterwards placed the pearl in her valet's pocket-book.... She also spoke about a M. Bdl. of whom she was fond....

During the following night, she was again very restless and cried. She sat on her bed and spoke in an incoherent way. She mentioned a certain Wolff, and I asked her whether she was sure she had recognised him.

'Yes,' she replied, 'I thought I recognised him!'... During the night of Sat.u.r.day-Sunday, I heard her wailing.... She said: 'I suffer so much, I am losing my reason.' She sighed and wept.... On the next morning, she was very weak. At 11 A.M. she seized my hands and said: 'The only thing is suicide; that suicide must and shall take place....' In the afternoon, she was taken to another cell. Before leaving, she said to me: 'Swear that we two shall meet again.' Her last words were '_a bientot_' (so long).... A few days later I met her on the Boulevard of the Cells and she said: 'I miss you so much. I have asked the Director to allow us to be in the same cell. He may grant me that favour....'"(!)

_Question._ "We ask the witness about certain newspaper articles published from January 5th, in which are related declarations attributed to the witness."

_Answer._ "My statements have often been misinterpreted by the Press....

I remember that the day of my release (Dec. 28th, 1908), Mme. Steinheil asked me to send her regards to a gentleman friend of hers...."

_Question._ "Tell us his name."

_Answer._ "I tore up his name and address, and I have forgotten them.... Mme. Steinheil never asked me to take a letter to any one....

According to the newspapers, I took a letter to Mme. Prevost, by motor-car, in great secrecy. _That is wild romance.... As regards the confession of her guilt, which according to the_ Matin _of Sunday January 17th, Madame Steinheil had made since her imprisonment, I know nothing whatever about it. I have not spoken a word to the Matin about that.... I have myself read the article in the Matin to which you refer and have found it fantastic...._"

(_Dossier_ Cote 3010)

Marguerite Rosselli made statements very similar to those of Alba Ghirelli, but concerning the pearl, she merely said: "She spoke about a cousin that lived in the house, she said something about that pearl, either that she had thought of putting it in the cousin's pocket-book or that she had done so...." She also stated: "On January 15th or 16th, Marie Jacq, who at night shares Mme. Steinheil's cell... came and told me that Mme. Steinheil had spent an awful night and that she had written to the Director so that the latter might send for me and recommend me not to repeat anything of what she had said in her moments of frenzy...."

(_Dossier_ Cote 3011)

Marie Anne Jacq (_Dossier_ Cote 3026) made statements to the same effect, but with fewer details.

And now we come to two curious doc.u.ments, which will no doubt enlighten the reader.

On January 23rd, Alba Ghirelli was again summoned before M. Andre.

"I maintain my previous statements, made on January 19th," she said at once, after having taken the oath.

_Question._ "There is a contradiction between those statements and the contents of the facsimile of a letter, which appears to be in your handwriting, is dated January 19th, and which was published by the _Matin_ on the 20th--we hand you the facsimile."

_Answer._ "The letter of which this is a facsimile was written by me, but _was extorted from me_. When, on January 19th, I left this room, I was literally besieged by journalists, then taken in a motor-car to a cafe where numerous newspaper men were gathered who wanted to hear from me the statements I had made to you. I answered vaguely, declaring that I considered myself as morally unable to supply them with the requested information.

"I was then invited to dinner at Maire's by M. Charles Sauerwein, whose card I hand to you. M. Sauerwein insisted that I should confirm a fict.i.tious mission--to Mme. Prevost--with which I was supposed to have been entrusted by Mme. Steinheil, and which I was supposed to have carried out; he also asked me to confirm the letter from Mme. Steinheil which I was supposed to have handed to Mme. Prevost. I told him that there was nothing true in all that.

"In the cafe and during the dinner at Maire's Mme. Sellier--who lives with me--was with me.

"After the dinner, M. Sauerwein persuaded that lady to leave me, and he asked me to come with him to the _Matin_ offices. There, M. Vallier and M. Bourse joined M. Sauerwein, and I was literally laid siege to. I wanted to withdraw, but they opposed that.

"These gentlemen then explained to me that since my mission to Mme.

Prevost was going to be contradicted by the whole Press the next morning, they would find themselves in a false position with their Director, M. Bunau-Varilla, that they wanted at all costs to put themselves right with the Director, and that I could easily get them out of their trouble by handing to them a letter for him. They added that this would not compromise me in any way, that they would merely show my letter to their Director--who was in the next room--and that immediately afterwards they would hand the letter back to me.

"I did not think I could refuse, and, under the dictation of M.

Sauerwein and M. Bourse, I wrote the letter.

"When it was written, M. Sauerwein took it, and walked away, saying that he was going to show it to M. Bunau-Varilla.

"One hour elapsed without M. Sauerwein reappearing. M. Vallier and M.

Bourse were still with me.

"When M. Sauerwein returned, he held in his hands sc.r.a.ps of paper, and he said: 'That is all that remains of your letter. We tore it up, you can feel quite safe.'

"The next day, I was greatly surprised to see in the _Matin_ the facsimile of the letter which you show me.

"I realised that M. Sauerwein had had the letter photographed during the hour that he was away.

"In the morning, I went to the _Matin_ offices, where, protesting against such methods, I made a great scene.

"M. Sauerwein, and then M. Bourse, tried to calm me.

"Previously M. Sauerwein had promised to publish my '_Memoirs_' in the _Matin_, and I was to be paid 200 for them; but during the scene at the _Matin_ offices, on Wednesday January 20th, I demanded that the ma.n.u.script of my memoirs should be handed back to me, and, after raising some objections, M. Sauerwein returned the ma.n.u.script to me.

"Besides, I sent you by an express letter (_pneumatique_), dated January 21st, a denial of the articles published in the _Matin_ about me."

_Question._ "Since we received the _pneumatique_, the _Matin_ in its issue of January 22nd, has published another letter from you, still bearing the date of January 19th, 1909, and in its issue of this very day, the same newspaper speaks of persons who exercise a certain pressure on you. Give us some explanation about this."

_Answer._ "During the evening of January 19th, at the _Matin_ offices, M. Sauerwein and M. Bourse, in the presence of M. Vallier, made me write (still under the pretext of putting themselves right with their Director, M. Bunau-Varilla)--besides the letter published the next morning in facsimile--two other letters:

"Firstly: the letter published in the _Matin_ of January 22nd.

"Secondly: a letter declaring that I had, on December 31st, 1908, taken a letter written by Mme. Steinheil, to M. Leydet, examining magistrate.