W
THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, JULY 23, 1955.
THE FORTUNE-TELLER
IIEN frst came up to London, dressed in a te brown corduroy
very'.
suit all over pockets like i gamekeeper, Was lucky in that I immediately placed my first short story with the English Review, and that my old nurse, who only had £100 a year of her own, hd made me a present of £50 to start life with.
This enabled me to take #basement-room, in which
118
hung my clothes in a packing-case not as tall they were and slept in a packing-case 'not as long as
I was.
Going blind
With the money that 1 had been given for my first short story, went at ee to spend a long week-end
with my eld
Burse at Weston-super-Mare, for she was that going blind and
I felt responsible for her.
Nan was living Ett a Little
the boarding-house, and on evening my arrival we went down together to the dining room For the high-lea
1
The curtain was drawn back and bumped into a man who was coming out.
whom I had met at Weston- super-Mare,
My Bessio
Sho had been Bessie, the only Besele of my acquaintance, but Mrs Wil- she had been called llams. Then suddenly I heard the Counsel for the Crown say- ing: "She met the prisoner while he was posing as Henry Wi- llams... they went through a ceremony of marriage at a re- gister vilce on the 26th August and were known as Mr and Mrs Williams."
Good gracious! Then this was my Bessie... that poor wo- de-
•hied man whose husband
she bad serted her... whom forgiven and so happily rejoin- ed when he found her again.
Nan had told me all about it at Worthing. more something mind
Worthing? Once elleked in my
that was where had run into the seedy vulpine- looking man coming out from a little fortune-telling booth
a traveller the man who was
DID
HAPPEN
Saturday story to est you puzzilag. The answer will be published on
Monday.
met; of Miss Lofly, whom I had not met; of those horrible baths: of those little offerings of exs tomatoes this man hnd in antics," whose life-accord- and
to hlo ing to the fortune-teller was to brought solicitously
of my poor drowned brides have "a sudden and unfortun-
who had was acquaintance Bessie, nte talrmination." That
in escaped lightly once, only to be where I had seen the face nothing had the dock
at Worthing on caught gain, and whose roman- "Is that not the pler.
ticism had been the death of her.
מזח !
her, and she received it monthly young girl-that
--except for the accumulation of happened to me.
which nearly £150,
she had right?" he asked. been able to give to her dear
à War "Except that husband on their marriage. "But if I die," she said, "It has to go Correspondent," said I, loftly, from the war... hack to my family; unless there "Just Eack which
ot what you say might be correct," is some way of getting out that. I would much like iny Poor My Omega looked down- cast and, feeling rather, guilty husband to have it ally"
"But you I said:
inust get some very interesting people here I am sure."
"Indeed 1 do," he said. "Did see the gentleman who you passed you going oul?"
him
was the last meal of the day.
On my other side, at the same Jong table, sat somehotly called affectionately "Bessie" by the boarding-house keeper, and we exchanged a smile and a few words,
She seemed elderly to me but then 1912 anyune over 20
1:1 seemed to me to have left youth behind and I thought she must be 30 at least,
There was nothing naturally striking in her appearance and no one made up in those days, I assumed, since she had come
atone and fron
her general ap- pearance
in c
manner, that she
wus
lady.
મ maiden
But, pas
gionulely inter- ested as 1 was in human beings, It did not occur to me that people' lived in Who boarding houses might be dull, 1 was pleased that she had obviously taken a king to me and I waited ulong the sea- front with her two afternoons rumming while Nan was resting. She AVAN dying to talk to some- body and I like being talked to,
"They are all rather dreadful people i this boarding
tilis
house,
·
Interesting
Like Allee, I thought this was curiouser and curiouser. All life, I felt, was my province, for was not a writer? And people like this were as interesting to ne us royalty.
I liked to Nan about bor fellow-boarder before I le
"Yes. "Married?" said Nan. she's told me that, and she calls herself Mrs Williams, But how I don't believe a word of it. And no man
by
F. Tennyson Jesse The parly interest in. crima of F. Tennyton Jasse, Creat-niace of poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, has flowered in books like A Pin to Sae the. Peep-show-her study of the Thomson-Bywaters murder case, which she and her hus band (H. M. Harwood) Ister made into a play. The Har woods are denizens of St. John's Wood
hos
some-
ever Come
"Well, I can't say I saw exnelly, but I did calch glipse of him. Why?"
Antica
a
"He's a dealer in anties, re ken," said Mr Omega, who was very obviously from North of the werd, and he comes here and aulic tiles
see if I have any here after her. The poor thing for him. Seemingly he does is so lonely and very well with his aufics."
it thai
that's not all on his useless
hand." I said. "What have you her 10
marked on be seen married. that's, hand?" what 1 think.
helps
pretend ไอ
Talking of 23 husband
"Now.
that is
his
mu-
"I cunna see much. except
** and he paused secret nakes her feel ment, "that his life has a sud- toiminta- less of a failure den and unfortunate
tion." in life."
"That might be said of any
A year or two of us in wartime. I suppose." Inter, I was again said laughingly, And I paid Mr visiting Nan, who Omegn, took in his milk bottle had moved
to which had been deposited out- Worthing. The side the curtain and presented 1914-18 war had it to him.
begun and I tra- In 1915, the following year, velled with diff my Tennyson blood becoming culty because of more insistent with me, I began
interest in murder.
Old
troop movements, to take a stronger and stronger I, myself, had been to France and Belgium and my spare time was limited, but Nan was the Inst
A trial came on at the Bailey which I was all ager to
aren't they?" she began, "except person who could be neglected.
your dear old friend,
I mean.
we talked as usual.
500.
IE WDS
Prospered
Page
NO ONE ASKED
ME FOR ME
HELP SAYS MR ONASSIS
PARIS NEWSLETTER BY WILLIAM ROLAND
Paris,
ment apokesman thero said: "If However, there is a reassurance
7HEN Greek-born ship Mr Onaus whats to makeu
gift that is his affair."
owner. Mr Aristotle
Onassis arrived
nb
THE NEAR EAST
1
Mr Onnesin ham rince boarded
a
from the Municipal Council. The
Orly Airport from America there were many hore who linked his visit with the his yacht anal mile to the difficulties of the Monaco Near EEL banking and precious metals company.
He and his British-born wife Tine age on their way to Jod- dah. There an inaugural cer- n many is to take place aboard a He giant tankar owned by one of Mr Onasive companies which
under the Saudi
For Mr Onassis has large stake in Monaco. and his friends control the Societe des Bains de, Mer, Ambian flag. which owns the Casino. He
is to sail
*Since Ontesis and his friends
affairs have taken a turn
was even hailed in some have gained control of the quarters as the potential Monte Carlo Canins Company saviour of the bank, which its has a deficit estimated at four $700,000 sterling."
LESS DRAMATIC
The
it the better. Last year modo a profit for the first time for many you.
But
molatiemo
bolw.con
air, of Paris would have to be Avo times RS toxic before any harm would come to Parisions.
THE
HAND-PICKED
Duke of Windsor la Thaving trouble ting, gar- deners for his country home, Moulin Aubert, in the Valley of the Chevreuse. He hand- picks them. For the moment he is without any. He and of the Prines Dimitrl-nephew Jast Tsar of Russia who repre- stats a whisky firm, have been weeding the paths fogether.
A
WHICH WAR?
MEDAL has just beTY Awarded for war service 19. Strophin Pruvost of Arras.
Ormuts and Prince Rainier, the Which war? The Franco-Prus- ruler of Monaco, are somewhat at Mr Pmavoct is 100. cool; they seldom meet socially.
SMOKELESS WEEK ·
truth is los daumatic. If I had ever seen Mr Omegn He told me at his home in the again I should have liked to tell | Avenue Foch: "I do not know him how apt was his euphem- where people got the idea from ism for an execution by hong-that I am in any way concern- M. DUBOIS, the Paris Pets
I have to admit that though Mr Omega told me nothing, he
Mr ing was entirely correct about Georga Joseph Smith..
A more fout murderer never Hved. He believed he had found the perfect murder and indeed he had prospered by his system. wilh He chose his murderces care ,women who were no cure longer young, who wanted to be married, who were above him socially
and had a little nest- cug or an income to convert women whom he could fascin- ate.
The death sentence is a hor- and I did rible thing to hear not like hearing it. Nevertheless I could not help thinking Miss Burnham, whom I had not
trial. an interesting and the whole panoply of justice, new to me, absorbed my
it is such a comfort to see you. "Do you remember Bessie?" attention. I looked at the man she asked, "who always said she in the dock. He had a sort of
One misses one's own kind. 1 have known much better things and sometimes it makes me very discontented."
murmured something to the effect that I was very sorry.
After talking a little of her childhood and comfortable up- bringing.
she proceeded to tell me that she had had affair really great love affair -two years ago, iler family had
u love
had been married and got excited about it?"
I nodded.
NO
"Well, it was true after all, 1 had never believed her, but the husband turned up one day. She fell into his arms and they went away together.
Happily
thought her a failure because "That's something; that has
she had never married. "But ended happily anyway." I said.
you see." she said, "when I did "Looks, Nan, there's a fortune- marry, they didn't like that teller. What a funny name he either,"
calls himself... Omega, Shall
Wonderful
"You did marry?" "But then...
course
and but his face,
flashy good looks, with its extraur-
10x.
dinarily low-set cars, seemed to me to be an ignoble mixture, of the vulture and the That he was suspected of cap- tivating and murdering so many women struck me as amazing. I could understand their taste. But his face was vaguely fumi- llar to me. Where. I asked my- self-who had seen so many now faces in the last few years'
had I seen him before?
Impressed
I go and have my fortune told?" The handsome sliver head of "Do, darling, said Nan. "Marshall Hall, doing his beat will sit here and wait for you." for an impossible client, *fas- cinated me. I was impressed by
I tucked her coat firmly round the dignity of Mr Justice
I asked, her and knocked at Mr Omega's Scrution, the Brat Judge of the
door, but on the same instant King's Bench I had ever seen. the curtain was drawn back and tried to take in everything at "He had to leave me, quite I bumped into a man who was once. The accused was being It was evidently tried for the murder of woman soon after... there were rea- coming out. sons...but he was wonderful, not Mr Omega, for he called me who believed herself to be his had My family do not approve and to come in. It was a previous wife. Apparently he
I supposed, a seedy drowned hor in her bath. He but client, forgiven me. luckily they can't take
with a vulpine had been most unfortunate with my looking person money away from me. For as expression. I was glad to leave baths, for two other women
**married" the whom he had long as I live I shall have my the curtain open and air
£100 a year."
In their also drowned Mr Omega read my palm, and Alice Burnhom exclaimed
have never
"How lovely," sincerely.
I
little room.
hod
baths. and Margaret
Lafly. I found as I always do, that if you say nothing to a fortune- This was permitted to be said
In the course of our walks teller he can say nothing to you, in Court as evidence of system,
only she told me that her father had Only from the things you let though he was
on trial died some years before. She had out can they guess the right surt "because he of his malice afore-.
and had feloniously for any oc- of. thing to say about you, but thought not been trained
for the If you keep
"IL" cupation or profession,
killed no spirit wilfully
and murdered had been a gentleman. a bank sooma willing to come to their Bessie Constance Annie Mundy." manager, and she understood aid.
Omega told me Beagle, I thought. Bessie? No. nothing at all of money matters, nothing. He explained that this I don't know any Bessic.
A sum had been left her and was because I had led the than 1-remembered that strange, had been turned into a trust for ordinary sheltered
of a romantic, over-intense
She Solves
Mr
Blo
Airmen's Problems
Molceworth, England. was sent by the Air Ministry as names of every Britis
And
women
king
And you but throughout the country, and a litle rostarch Pat came up
two assistants are so service has become so with tho: answers, being paid £10 a week to popular that the America Moot of the questions asked solve the off-duty problems have asked for 12 more dust of her are simple jonės, such as
wherd alalcat estable can of 2,000 American airmen at like her. an airbase rear here,'
One of her biggest problems hoard of where one goes to And Patricia Smyllie, leader now is trying to find 1,000 most a girl' in mich and such a
brown trout for airmen who elty,
of the trio, has been busy have found a flooded gravel pit ontwerking questions wirich
¢
be
For all this Put üdinite that
ren from the use of the dancy, a bit of coglie where somely ranking rill 2,000 Brithera Health Servico by Amb of British angling alm Antierican Wives to queries about quotation are busty trying to
board
Fint and botany,
lodging. -box, find thaken › for? bare s
* Patuncifiolasy, known as: à 3 Another Community Relations Officer me i wazidich
have no time arAnd fof my
01
WORLD COPYRIGHT RESERVED
DID IT REALLY HAPPEN?
YES
NO
Put your tick in the space above and keep this panel by you an Monday when the answer will be given with another story in this series by...
Angus Wilson
• Old yesterday's story — Magicians Are Born by jahn Buckmaster — actually happen? The answer is YES.
pc in the ustairs of the bunk!”
"It has nothing to do with IC. though, naturally as one with businese in Monaco I should be glad to see a settle ment of the bank's affairs. If I were asked for help I would could have a comicur what I
A
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
CAPTAIN of a Paris Bateau
told that Mouche,
Elsa Maxwell was bringing a party on board: Elsa to part, her guests to starboard,
Author Arthur Kocatier: Adam and Eve must surely have been
were Soviet citizens they naked. The fruit that they abo boo was forbidden but nevertheless
fect of Police, announces a "smokeless week for Paris.
follows This
"generosity week" and a "courtesy week When M. Dubois put his pro-
amokeless week be feet for fore the Paris Municipal Coun cil it was stated that the air of Paris is saturated with all kinds of chemicals caused by
a
do. But I have not been ask many cars and too many chim- they thought they were in part-
od,"
And no move to ask the help of Mr Onassis has been deteel- cel in Monaco, where the report of the committee of investiga- tion to expleted getin. A govern-
• псув
So
dise.
much 50, that the M. Henri Soum, new head of red, white and blue dags on the tho Monaco Government, on the various town halls became a bank crisis I have a horror of being at financial matters. At home my universal black after the mast-head for a few days, wite keeps all the accounts,
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