I heard the low, melancholy wailings of his violin, and knew that he was still

pondering over the strange problem which he had set himself to unravel.

 

CHAPTER VI.

 

TOBIAS GREGSON SHOWS WHAT HE CAN DO.

 

The papers next day were full of the “Brixton Mystery,” as they termed it. Each

had a long account of the affair, and some had leaders upon it in addition.

There was some information in them which was new to me. I still retain in my

scrap-book numerous clippings and extracts bearing upon the case. Here is a

condensation of a few of them:—

 

The _Daily Telegraph_ remarked that in the history of crime there had seldom

been a tragedy which presented stranger features. The German name of the victim,

the absence of all other motive, and the sinister inscription on the wall, all

pointed to its perpetration by political refugees and revolutionists. The

Socialists had many branches in America, and the deceased had, no doubt,

infringed their unwritten laws, and been tracked down by them. After alluding

airily to the Vehmgericht, aqua tofana, Carbonari, the Marchioness de

Brinvilliers, the Darwinian theory, the principles of Malthus, and the Ratcliff

Highway murders, the article concluded by admonishing the Government and

advocating a closer watch over foreigners in England.

 

The _Standard_ commented upon the fact that lawless outrages of the sort usually