Dupin，sittingsteadilyinhisaccustomedarm-chair，wastheembodimentofrespectfulattention。Heworespectacles，duringthewholeinterview；andanoccasionalsignalglancebeneaththeirgreenglasses，sufficedtoconvincemethathesleptnotthelesssoundly，becausesilently，throughoutthesevenoreightleaden-footedhourswhichimmediatelyprecededthedepartureofthePrefect。
　　Inthemorning，Iprocured，atthePrefecture，afullreportofalltheevidenceelicited，and，atthevariousnewspaperoffices，acopyofeverypaperinwhich，fromfirsttolast，hadbeenpublishedanydecisiveinformationinregardtothissadaffair。Freedfromallthatwaspositivelydisproved，thismassofinformationstoodthus：
　　MarieRog阾lefttheresidenceofhermother，intheRuePav閑St。
　　Andr閑，aboutnineo’clockinthemorningofSundayJunethetwenty-second，18。Ingoingout，shegavenoticetoaMonsieurJacquesSt。Eustache，{*7}andtohimonly，ofherintentintentiontospendthedaywithanauntwhoresidedintheRuedesDr鬽es。TheRuedesDr鬽esisashortandnarrowbutpopulousthoroughfare，notfarfromthebanksoftheriver，andatadistanceofsometwomiles，inthemostdirectcoursepossible，fromthepensionofMadameRog阾。
　　St。EustachewastheacceptedsuitorofMarie，andlodged，aswellastookhismeals，atthepension。Hewastohavegoneforhisbetrothedatdusk，andtohaveescortedherhome。Intheafternoon，however，itcameontorainheavily；and，supposingthatshewouldremainallnightatheraunt’s，asshehaddoneundersimilarcircumstancesbefore，hedidnotthinkitnecessarytokeephispromise。Asnightdrewon，MadameRog阾whowasaninfirmoldlady，seventyyearsofage，washeardtoexpressafear“thatsheshouldneverseeMarieagain；“butthisobservationattractedlittleattentionatthetime。
　　OnMonday，itwasascertainedthatthegirlhadnotbeentotheRuedesDr鬽es；andwhenthedayelapsedwithouttidingsofher，atardysearchwasinstitutedatseveralpointsinthecity，anditsenvirons。Itwasnot，howeveruntilthefourthdayfromtheperiodofdisappearancethatanythingsatisfactorywasascertainedrespectingher。Onthisday，Wednesday，thetwenty-fifthofJune，aMonsieurBeauvais，{*8}who，withafriend，hadbeenmakinginquiriesforMarieneartheBarri鑢eduRoule，ontheshoreoftheSeinewhichisoppositetheRuePav閑St。Andr閑，wasinformedthatacorpsehadjustbeentowedashorebysomefishermen，whohadfounditfloatingintheriver。Uponseeingthebody，Beauvais，aftersomehesitation，identifieditasthatoftheperfumery-girl。Hisfriendrecognizeditmorepromptly。
　　Thefacewassuffusedwithdarkblood，someofwhichissuedfromthemouth。Nofoamwasseen，asinthecaseofthemerelydrowned。Therewasnodiscolorationinthecellulartissue。Aboutthethroatwerebruisesandimpressionsoffingers。Thearmswerebentoveronthechestandwererigid。Therighthandwasclenched；theleftpartiallyopen。Ontheleftwristweretwocircularexcoriations，apparentlytheeffectofropes，orofaropeinmorethanonevolution。Apartoftherightwrist，also，wasmuchchafed，aswellasthebackthroughoutitsextent，butmoreespeciallyattheshoulder-blades。Inbringingthebodytotheshorethefishermenhadattachedtoitarope；butnoneoftheexcoriationshadbeeneffectedbythis。Thefleshoftheneckwasmuchswollen。Therewerenocutsapparent，orbruiseswhichappearedtheeffectofblows。Apieceoflacewasfoundtiedsotightlyaroundtheneckastobehiddenfromsight；itwascompletelyburiedintheflesh，andwasfastedbyaknotwhichlayjustundertheleftear。Thisalonewouldhavesufficedtoproducedeath。Themedicaltestimonyspokeconfidentlyofthevirtuouscharacterofthedeceased。Shehadbeensubjected，itsaid，tobrutalviolence。Thecorpsewasinsuchconditionwhenfound，thattherecouldhavebeennodifficultyinitsrecognitionbyfriends。
　　Thedresswasmuchtornandotherwisedisordered。Intheoutergarment，aslip，aboutafootwide，hadbeentornupwardfromthebottomhemtothewaist，butnottornoff。Itwaswoundthreetimesaroundthewaist，andsecuredbyasortofhitchintheback。Thedressimmediatelybeneaththefrockwasoffinemuslin；andfromthisaslipeighteenincheswidehadbeentornentirelyout-tornveryevenlyandwithgreatcare。Itwasfoundaroundherneck，fittingloosely，andsecuredwithahardknot。Overthismuslinslipandtheslipoflace，thestringsofabonnetwereattached；thebonnetbeingappended。Theknotbywhichthestringsofthebonnetwerefastened，wasnotalady’s，butasliporsailor’sknot。
　　Aftertherecognitionofthecorpse，itwasnot，asusual，takentotheMorgue，thisformalitybeingsuperfluous，buthastilyinterrednotfarfrontthespotatwhichitwasbroughtashore。ThroughtheexertionsofBeauvais，thematterwasindustriouslyhushedup，asfaraspossible；andseveraldayshadelapsedbeforeanypublicemotionresulted。Aweeklypaper，{*9}however，atlengthtookupthetheme；
　　thecorpsewasdisinterred，andare-examinationinstituted；butnothingwaselicitedbeyondwhathasbeenalreadynoted。Theclothes，however，werenowsubmittedtothemotherandfriendsofthedeceased，andfullyidentifiedasthosewornbythegirluponleavinghome。
　　Meantime，theexcitementincreasedhourly。Severalindividualswerearrestedanddischarged。St。Eustachefellespeciallyundersuspicion；andhefailed，atfirst，togiveanintelligibleaccountofhiswhereaboutsduringtheSundayonwhichMarielefthome。
　　Subsequently，however，hesubmittedtoMonsieurG，affidavits，accountingsatisfactorilyforeveryhourofthedayinquestion。Astimepassedandnodiscoveryensued，athousandcontradictoryrumorswerecirculated，andjournalistsbusiedthemselvesinsuggestions。
　　Amongthese，theonewhichattractedthemostnotice，wastheideathatMarieRog阾stilllived-thatthecorpsefoundintheSeinewasthatofsomeotherunfortunate。ItwillbeproperthatIsubmittothereadersomepassageswhichembodythesuggestionalludedto。
　　ThesepassagesareliteraltranslationsfromL’Etoile，{*10}apaperconducted，ingeneral，withmuchability。
　　“MademoiselleRog阾lefthermother’shouseonSundaymorning，Junethetwenty-second，18，withtheostensiblepurposeofgoingtoseeheraunt，orsomeotherconnexion，intheRuedesDr鬽es。Fromthathour，nobodyisprovedtohaveseenher。Thereisnotraceortidingsofheratall……Therehasnoperson，whatever，comeforward，sofar，whosawheratall，onthatday，aftershelefthermother’sdoor……Now，thoughwehavenoevidencethatMarieRog阾wasinthelandofthelivingafternineo’clockonSunday，Junethetwenty-second，wehaveproofthat，uptothathour，shewasalive。OnWednesdaynoon，attwelve，afemalebodywasdiscoveredafloatontheshoreoftheBarri鑢edeRoule。Thiswas，evenifwepresumethatMarieRog阾wasthrownintotheriverwithinthreehoursaftershelefthermother’shouse，onlythreedaysfromthetimesheleftherhome-threedaystoanhour。Butitisfollytosupposethatthemurder，ifmurderwascommittedonherbody，couldhavebeenconsummatedsoonenoughtohaveenabledhermurdererstothrowthebodyintotheriverbeforemidnight。Thosewhoareguiltyofsuchhorridcrimes，choosedarknessratherthe；light……ThusweseethatifthebodyfoundintheriverwasthatofMarieRog阾，itcouldonlyhavebeeninthewatertwoandahalfdays，orthreeattheoutside。Allexperiencehasshownthatdrownedbodies，orbodiesthrownintothewaterimmediatelyafterdeathbyviolence，requirefromsixtotendaysfordecompositiontotakeplacetobringthemtothetopofthewater。Evenwhereacannonisfiredoveracorpse，anditrisesbeforeatleastfiveorsixdays’immersion，itsinksagain，ifletalone。Now，weask，whatwasthereinthiscavetocauseadeparturefromtheordinarycourseofnature？……IfthebodyhadbeenkeptinitsmangledstateonshoreuntilTuesdaynight，sometracewouldbefoundonshoreofthemurderers。Itisadoubtfulpoint，also，whetherthebodywouldbesosoonafloat，evenwereitthrowninafterhavingbeendeadtwodays。And，furthermore，itisexceedinglyimprobablethatanyvillainswhohadcommittedsuchamurderasisheresupposed，wouldhavethrowthebodyinwithoutweighttosinkit，whensuchaprecautioncouldhavesoeasilybeentaken。”
　　Theeditorhereproceedstoarguethatthebodymusthavebeeninthewater“notthreedaysmerely，but，atleast，fivetimesthreedays。”
　　becauseitwassofardecomposedthatBeauvaishadgreatdifficultyinrecognizingit。Thislatterpoint，however，wasfullydisproved。I
　　continuethetranslation：
　　“What，then，arethefactsonwhichM。BeauvaissaysthathehasnodoubtthebodywasthatofMarieRog阾？Herippedupthegownsleeve，andsayshefoundmarkswhichsatisfiedhimoftheidentity。Thepublicgenerallysupposedthosemarkstohaveconsistedofsomedescriptionofscars。Herubbedthearmandfoundhairuponit-
　　somethingasindefinite，wethink，ascanreadilybeimagined-aslittleconclusiveasfindinganarminthesleeve。M。Beauvaisdidnotreturnthatnight，butsentwordtoMadameRog阾，atseveno’clock，onWednesdayevening，thataninvestigationwasstillinprogressrespectingherdaughter。IfweallowthatMadameRog阾，fromherageandgrief，couldnotgoover，whichisallowingagreatdeal，therecertainlymusthavebeensomeonewhowouldhavethoughtitworthwhiletogooverandattendtheinvestigation，iftheythoughtthebodywasthatofMarie。Nobodywentover。TherewasnothingsaidorheardaboutthematterintheRuePav閑St。Andr閑，thatreachedeventheoccupantsofthesamebuilding。M。St。
　　Eustache，theloverandintendedhusbandofMarie，whoboardedinhermother’shouse，deposesthathedidnothearofthediscoveryofthebodyofhisintendeduntilthenextmorning，whenM。Beauvaiscameintohischamberandtoldhimofit。Foranitemofnewslikethis，itstrikesusitwasverycoollyreceived。”
　　InthiswaythejournalendeavoredtocreatetheimpressionofanapathyonthepartoftherelativesofMarie，inconsistentwiththesuppositionthattheserelativesbelievedthecorpsetobehers。Itsinsinuationsamounttothis：-thatMarie，withtheconnivanceofherfriends，hadabsentedherselffromthecityforreasonsinvolvingachargeagainstherchastity；andthatthesefriends，uponthediscoveryofacorpseintheSeine，somewhatresemblingthatofthegirl，hadavailedthemselvesoftheopportunitytoimpresspressthepublicwiththebeliefofherdeath。ButL’Etoilewasagainover-hasty。Itwasdistinctlyprovedthatnoapathy，suchaswasimagined，existed；thattheoldladywasexceedinglyfeeble，andsoagitatedastobeunabletoattendtoanyduty，thatSt。Eustache，sofarfromreceivingthenewscoolly，wasdistractedwithgrief，andborehimselfsofrantically，thatM。Beauvaisprevaileduponafriendandrelativetotakechargeofhim，andpreventhisattendingtheexaminationatthedisinterment。Moreover，althoughitwasstatedbyL’Etoile，thatthecorpsewasre-interredatthepublicexpense-
　　thatanadvantageousofferofprivatesculpturewasabsolutelydeclinedbythefamily-andthatnomemberofthefamilyattendedtheceremonial：-although，Isay，allthiswasassertedbyL’Etoileinfurtheranceoftheimpressionitdesignedtoconvey-yetallthiswassatisfactorilydisproved。Inasubsequentnumberofthepaper，anattemptwasmadetothrowsuspicionuponBeauvaishimself。Theeditorsays：
　　“Now，then，achangecomesoverthematter。Wearetoldthatononeoccasion，whileaMadameBwasatMadameRog阾’shouse，M。
　　Beauvais，whowasgoingout，toldherthatagendarmewasexpectedthere，andshe，MadameB。，mustnotsayanythingtothegendarmeuntilhereturned，butletthematterbeforhim……Inthepresentpostureofaffairs，M。Beauvaisappearstohavethewholematterlookedupinhishead。AsinglestepcannotbetakenwithoutM。Beauvais；for，gowhichwayyouwill，yourunagainsthim……
　　Forsomereason，hedeterminedthatnobodyshallhaveanythingtodowiththeproceedingsbuthimself，andhehaselbowedthemalerelativesoutoftheway，accordingtotheirrepresentations，inaverysingularmanner。Heseemstohavebeenverymuchaversetopermittingtherelativestoseethebody。”
　　Bythefollowingfact，somecolorwasgiventothesuspicionthusthrownuponBeauvais。Avisiterathisoffice，afewdayspriortothegirl’sdisappearance，andduringtheabsenceofitsoccupant，hadobservedaroseinthekey-holeofthedoor，andthename“Marie“
　　inscribeduponaslatewhichhungnearathand。
　　Thegeneralimpression，sofaraswewereenabledtogleanitfromthenewspapers，seemedtobe，thatMariehadbeenthevictimofagangofdesperadoes-thatbytheseshehadbeenborneacrosstheriver，maltreatedandmurdered。LeCommerciel，{*11}however，aprintofextensiveinfluence，wasearnestincombatingthispopularidea。I
　　quoteapassageortwofromitscolumns：