M. CHARLES SAUERWEIN AND THE ROSSIGNOL AFFAIR
The next day M. de Labruyère came with a gentleman I had never seen
before. "This is M. Charles Sauerwein, who is a relation of yours and
who knows you very well...."
M. Sauerwein, whom I did not know at all, interrupted his colleague: "I
have often met you in Society, Madame. I married Mlle. K., who is a
cousin of yours." He spoke in a tone which very much displeased me.
I told him he was mistaken: "Mlle. K. is not my cousin; she is only a
close friend of my sister, Mme. Seyrig."
"Had I not been ill recently," said M. Sauerwein, "I would have called
on you sooner to tell you all I know about the so-called mystery of the
Impasse Ronsin."
"I have seen many journalists," I said, "but I never saw you before. So
you have left the Prince of Monaco, whose orderly officer you were, I
have been told. You are now on the staff of the _Matin_.... Will you
tell me in what way the Impasse Ronsin mystery interests you?"
M. Sauerwein told me that he had been "passionately interested in the
Steinheil affair" from the outset, that he had spoken to M.
Bunau-Varilla about the mystery....
To my great surprise, M. de Labruyère said to me: "I prefer to leave you
together. What M. Sauerwein has to tell you is no concern of mine."
I refused to let him go. "I beg you to remember, M. de Labruyère, that I
have nothing to conceal. Whether M. Sauerwein has made some startling
discovery or has merely an interesting fact to disclose, let him speak
before you."
I had seldom seen any one look so scornful as M. Sauerwein did then. I
pointed out a chair to him, and, sitting down, he began in a
melodramatic tone, which, I suppose, was intended to frighten me.
"Since you wish it, let M. de Labruyère remain in the room, but you will
regret it when you have heard what I have to say, Madame."
"Come to the point."
"Just as you please. What I have to say is this. I know the murderers of
your husband and mother." Then, looking me straight in the eyes, he
added: "And you know them too."
"My position is rather awkward," said M. de Labruyère, but M. Sauerwein
silenced him with a gesture, and went on:
"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I must say what I have to say
without mincing matters. One of the assassins has fully confessed to me.
He is your lover."
I was so indignant and dumbfounded that I could not speak. M. Sauerwein
continued: "Two or three years ago, there was an attempt at burglary in
this very house. You don't deny it, do you?"
"No!... Were I a man," I exclaimed angrily, "I would treat you as you
deserve, for daring to say to me things which are false and which you
know are false."
Taken aback, but still insolent, he said: "We will still get the whole
truth out of you. Your husband went to the police commissary of this
district, and an inspector was sent here to guard the house for a
fortnight. The inspector was a tall, handsome and intelligent man. His
name is Rossignol. After a good meal, he has confessed to me that he had
relations with you, but they lasted only a short time. He was dismissed
from the force for various reasons. It is no use denying that he was
your lover. Rossignol is in our hands. If you confess the truth, we'll
manage to arrest the two men and the woman who assisted him. They're all
in Paris, and I know the haunt where they meet. Come now, admit the
truth...."
I could not move, I could hardly breathe... I clutched my chair so as
not to fall.... All I could do then was to listen, to listen intently.
And the words M. Sauerwein spoke engraved themselves deeply on my mind.
They are still there, and I repeat them to-day with _absolute_ accuracy.
M. de Labruyère himself will not contradict me.
The man went on: "Confess, I tell you!... You are safe enough.... Those
men will never mention you. We will arrange everything. The two men and
the woman, who did not know you, will be sentenced. Rossignol will go to
prison, but as a reward for his discretion, we will see that he is not
kept there very long."
Once more, I ordered the man to leave my house.... It was all in vain.
He defied me, and remained.
"It is useless for you to deny anything," he continued, relentlessly. "I
know you well.... I know everything about the murder, I tell you....
Don't attempt to deny anything. Listen: I followed you from Bellevue;
when you went to meet your lover Rossignol, I saw you. You took the
train and reached the Saint-Lazare Station. I was in the same train; I
did not lose sight of you; I watched you at the station while you walked
about, in the 'Hall of the Lost Steps.'
"Rossignol arrived, saw you, rushed to you and you kissed him. Together
you went to a restaurant in the Rue du Hâvre, outside the station. You
talked very softly, but I sat at the table just behind you, and I
overheard the conversation. You two were talking about the crime. Then
you gave each other a _rendez-vous_.... Is that enough? Do you realise
now the futility of a denial? Speak, speak...!"
I summoned whatever strength I had left, and said: "I have nothing to
tell you, Monsieur." I turned to M. de Labruyère: "You must tell M.
Bunau-Varilla that I insist upon his sending one of his men here
to-morrow morning, to go with me to the Police Commissary of this
district.... And then this infamous plot will recoil on the heads of
those who have conceived it."
M. de Labruyère did his best to calm me, and kept on saying in the most
apologetic and kindly manner: "Don't be angry.... I don't know anything
about this fantastic affair.... I am sure now there must be some awful
mistake."
M. Sauerwein had not done yet: "I have spoken the truth. The facts I
stated are undeniable."... Then abruptly changing his tone, he remarked
with hypocritical sympathy: "Oh! I quite understand how painful it is
for you to confess.... It must be hard for a society woman to admit that
she once had a 'weakness' for a man of low origin."
This was more than I could stand. I walked up to M. Sauerwein: "If you
do not leave this house instantly, I shall send for the police."
The two journalists beat a hasty retreat.
Hardly had I heard the gate shut behind them, than Mariette came to tell
me that M. de Labruyère had returned. Before I could say that I refused
to see him again, he came in himself.
"Madame," he began, "I beg you not to mention this painful incident to
any one; above all, not a word to other newspapers. You know I have
always done my best for you. Surely you have some confidence in me....
Well, tell _me_ the truth. Will you not admit that this Sauerwein story
is true?"
"What, you too!" I exclaimed, bitterly hurt, for I trusted M. de
Labruyère, and believed him incapable of insulting a woman, wantonly or
otherwise. "How can you place the least credence in that vile story!"
M. de Labruyère murmured, reluctantly: "Sauerwein, I understand, has
_all_ the proofs. M. Bunau-Varilla knows all about this affair, but he
may help you, if you tell us everything. Briand (the Minister of
Justice) will help us... the whole matter will be arranged. Those men
and the woman will not mention you. Certain promises will be made to
them.... Remember the _Matin_ is almighty...."
I stopped M. de Labruyère: "I have heard enough. I have no one and
nothing to fear. The _Matin_ does not frighten me in the least. I shall
come to the office and demand apologies for your colleague's vile
insults, and, if necessary, I shall speak to M. Bunau-Varilla himself.
Now, go, and remember that to-morrow morning some one on the staff of
your journal will accompany me to the Police Commissary."
Need I say that after this new shock I passed such a night of anguish
that my weary, harassed brain tottered one step further towards the
brink of madness.
The next morning, quite early, M. Barby, of the _Matin_, called and
said: "We are all indignant, Madame, at the way M. Sauerwein has treated
you. I am ready to go with you to prove the absurdity of that
accusation."
With Marthe and M. Barby I went to the Police Commissary. I told him
what had happened, and he said: "This accusation against you is
shameful...." He remembered the attempted burglary and the fact that M.
Steinheil had requested him to have his house guarded by an inspector,
but that his wife was to know nothing about it. The inspector had
watched the house for about a fortnight, from outside, in the Impasse.
As a matter of fact, I had only heard of this attempted burglary by
accident. A man came from the police to inform me that the house would
no longer be watched. As I knew nothing more about the matter, I
expressed surprise and asked a few questions, and it was then that I
heard of the attempt. (Men had been seen climbing over the wall of our
garden, by some compositors at the printing works at the end of the
Impasse Ronsin, and an alarm being raised, the burglars hurriedly
escaped.) I spoke to my husband on the matter, and asked why he had not
warned me. Somewhat embarrassed, he replied: "I did not want to alarm
you, and gave orders that you should not be told about it."
* * * * *
Meanwhile, newspapers published articles in which it was said that a
former police inspector was suspected of being the author of the Impasse
Ronsin murders, and that it was rumoured that he had been my lover!...
The reader can imagine the sensation such "revelations" caused, and the
amount of harm it did me, with the public! Anonymous letters reached me
in greater numbers than ever, I was dragged in the mire, and when I left
or entered the Impasse, there were loud cries of: "Death to her" or
"Look at the murderess." It was enough to drive any one mad--and it did
drive me mad.
I went to the _Matin_ offices, and M. Sauerwein apologised. Then he and
M. de Labruyère begged me to accompany them both, with some detectives
in the pay of the journal, to some awful cut-throat place, at one in the
morning, where they would show me the two men and the woman they had
mentioned, so that I might state whether they looked like the persons I
had seen on the fatal night.
I refused: "Since," I said, "those men have confessed their guilt, as
you have said, and that Rossignol, the 'chief' murderer is in your
hands, all you have to do is to inform the Law, and have them arrested.
When they stand before M. Leydet, or before M. Hamard, I will come and
identify them."
I heard no more of this sensational story, and the _Matin_ turned to
other clues and theories. "Confess," I was told one day, "confess that
it is a political crime.... Don't think we are fools! If the Rossignol
clue is worth nothing, then there are other clues!... Help us...."
I had not quite lost my reason yet, but I was blind enough not to
realise that to the _Matin_, I was merely a useful, nay, a capital
sensation-purveyor, a news-supplying machine that meant a valuable
increase in the circulation of the paper. They only had one idea; to
make as much as possible out of the "Steinheil Affair" and its wretched
heroine, whether she had any news to give them or not!
True, most newspapers looked upon me in very much the same manner, but a
great number of them were fair and human, and drew the line at certain
"methods."
I called on Maître Aubin, to whom I told all that had taken place. He
shook his head, and said, "Be careful.... Don't make an enemy of the
_Matin_.... At the same time, I am sorry you sought the assistance of
the Press.... The newspapers are exasperating the authorities."
I was stupefied. Whom was I to trust? Whom was I to believe?... Here was
I become the sport of every wind that blew....
* * * * *
_Not a word_ about the Rossignol affair was said at my trial. But, in
prison, when the _Dossier_ of the "Steinheil Affair" was at last handed
to me, I discovered among the 4500 documents and the 15,000 pages
composing it, some sixty pages dealing with the Rossignol clue. Below, I
give the essential parts of those sixty pages, quoting accurately from
the _Dossier_:
[Report]
PARIS, _November_ 14, 1908.
Yesterday and to-day certain newspapers have indicated as having
possibly taken a part in the crime of the Impasse Ronsin, M. Rossignol,
a former police inspector. It is true that a M. Rossignol was inspector
in the Saint Lambert district, and that he had a bad reputation. I
believe he was dismissed in May last.... I was told that Rossignol is
now a traveller for a firm that sells coffee.... The examining
magistrate will be at liberty to decide whether it would be useful to
make an inquiry, in order to establish how the man spent his time on the
night of May 30-31, 1908.
The Chief of the _Sûreté_
(Signed) HAMARD.
(_Dossier_ Cote 909)
[Official Report.]
_November 23rd_, 1908.
We, Octave Hamard, Chief of the _Sûreté_, &c., have this day summoned to
our Cabinet M. Rossignol... thirty-eight years old... who made the
following statements:
"It is difficult for me to say exactly how I spent my time in May last.
I left the police at the beginning of that month and remained without
occupation till June 1st.... On May 30th, in the evening, I met my
friend Thiret, a chauffeur; with him and another chauffeur we dined at
Zimmer's, in the rue Blondel. We left the restaurant towards 10.30 P.M.,
and went to various cafés.... In one of the places where we called (the
address was given), people are sure to remember my presence that night.
At 2.30 A.M. we were in the Faubourg Montmartre. It was 4 A.M. when I
returned home to my wife and children.... On June 1st, I was engaged as
a broker by a coffee firm. Later I was sent to Arras (in the North)....
Then, I was suddenly called back to Paris. Certain newspapers,
principally the _Matin_, were shown to me.... I was told that I was
suspected of being one of the authors or the instigator of the Steinheil
Affair, and that I had refused to be confronted with the widow of the
painter, I was then dismissed from the firm....
(Signed) ROSSIGNOL
HAMARD."
(_Dossier_, Cote 910)
PARIS, _December 5th, 1908_.
Report from the Commissary of Police, Chief of the "Mobile brigade" to
the Chief of the _Sûreté_:
In reply to your demand for details concerning a certain Cavellier (a
friend of Rossignol), who once belonged to the "Mobile Brigade" as
inspector, I have the honour to supply the following information:
"Cavellier was appointed Inspector on January 1st, 1906, and was ordered
to resign on August 31st of the same year... (on account of various
robberies, mentioned in this document).
The Commissary of Police.
(Signed) VALLET.
(_Dossier_ Cote 921)
[Report.]
PARIS, _December 15th, 1908_.
...The inquiry made among the _entourage_ of Mme. Steinheil about
Rossignol has established that the latter _is unknown in the house, that
he has never been seen here, even at the time when he was inspector in
this district_....
(Signed) INSPECTOR DECHET.
(_Dossier_ Cote 911)
_January 4th, 1909._
Before us, André, examining magistrate &c.,... at the Palace of
Justice... has appeared... M. Maurey, thirty-seven years old, Inspector,
of the _Sûreté_.
_Question._ "We have heard a rumour according to which you are supposed
to know of several meetings between the ex-inspector Rossignol and Mme.
Steinheil, before and since May 31st, 1908?"
_Answer._ "I can tell you of a number of facts which may explain the
murder. Rossignol, whom I only met in circumstances which I may
describe, was an Inspector, attached first to the Vaugirard, then to the
Epinettes 'commissariat' of police. In March and April 1908, I tried to
trace a gang of burglars, but did not succeed.... In April 1908, I
became convinced that Rossignol was connected, most suspiciously, with
this gang of burglars, and whilst searching for them, I came across
Rossignol. In the middle of April 1908, one evening, towards seven
o'clock, I saw Rossignol, after visiting a bar in the Avenue de Clichy,
join at a bus station, opposite the Saint-Lazare Station, an elegantly
dressed woman, of about thirty, tall and stout, with a long face.
Rossignol and the woman went to dine in a restaurant opposite that
station.... They parted, after kissing, at the corner of the Rue de Rome
and the Boulevard des Batignolles, at about 11 P.M. That was the only
time I saw the woman with Rossignol.
"Later, Inspector Dechet having heard that Rossignol might have had
something to do with the Affair, it was agreed that when Mme. Steinheil
returned--she was then at the seaside (Louvières, in Normandy)--she
should be pointed out to me so that I might say whether she was or was
not the woman whom I had seen dining with Rossignol, near the
Saint-Lazare Station. This was agreed, not only with Inspector Dechet,
but also with Chief-Inspector Dol.
"Now, between that time and the time I was able to see Mme. Steinheil
this is what happened.
"In August 1908, being in the company of a colleague, I met several
times a certain Cavellier, who for a year, a few years ago, was my
colleague, though I did not know that he was an Inspector. I believe he
is attached, officially at least, to the detective department of the
Ministry of the Interior.
"In August, during our first meetings, Cavellier spoke to me about the
Steinheil affair.... _He told me that he was working in that affair for
M. Sauerwein, adding that this gentleman was a Special Police Commissary
at the Ministry of the Interior._ He also said he was shadowing
Rossignol, that he believed Rossignol was Mme. Steinheil's lover, that
he thought she might have 'done the deed' (_fait le coup_), and that, in
any case, he was certain that Rossignol and Mme. Steinheil had met,
once before May 30th, 1908, and once since then, and both times in a
restaurant or a hotel close to the Saint-Lazare Station.... Cavellier
told me all this at the end of August....
"Cavellier has always impressed me as a man who, having discovered--I
don't know how--that I had been concerned with Rossignol, was trying to
'bait' me in order to find out what I knew about Rossignol. _I have
never believed one word of what he told me about Madame Steinheil and
Rossignol._ I told Chief-Inspector Dol, however, of my conversations
with Cavellier. Chief-Inspector Dol gave no more credence than I did to
Cavellier's statements.
"In September or October, I went to Bellevue with Inspector Dechet.... I
saw Mme. Steinheil. I then found that Mme. Steinheil had far more
refined features and a much rounder face than the woman whom I had seen
with Rossignol, in April 1908, and further that Mme. Steinheil was far
slimmer and not so tall as the other woman. To make quite clear my
absolute conviction that Mme. Steinheil and the other woman were not the
same person, I told all this to Inspector Dechet, the moment we left
Vert-Logis.
"A fortnight later, I told Cavellier, whom I happened to meet, of my
conviction. He made no remark.
"Since then I have met Cavellier once or twice, but we never talked
again about the Steinheil Affair.
(Signed) MAIRET, The Inspector.
ANDRÉ, The Examining Magistrate.
SIMON, His Clerk."
(_Dossier_ Cote 918)
[Report.]
PARIS, _January 5th, 1909_.
In the absence of M. Cape, Chief of staff at the _Sûreté Générale_, M.
Sébille, Director of the Investigations Department, declared that M.
Sauerwein was unknown as a special Police Commissary, and had never
belonged in any capacity whatever to the _Sûreté Générale_.
(Signed) INSPECTOR MAIREY.
(_Dossier_ Cote 920)
And here is the report of the examination, by M. André, of "Cavellier,
31 years old, private detective."
_Question._ "Do you know Mme. Steinheil by sight? If so, when did you
first see her?"
_Answer._ "I knew her by sight. I met her for the first time in August
1908, at Bellevue, near Vert-Logis. I recognised her with the help of a
description which I possessed. I have never spoken to her."
_Question._ "Do you know Rossignol?"
_Answer._ "Two or three days after my encounter with Mme. Steinheil, I
met him at the Saint-Lazare Station. Mme. Steinheil (whom I then saw for
the second time) was there and talked with him and another gentleman.
She lunched at Scossa's. During the early days of November 1908, an
inquiry which I was making brought me into contact with Rossignol, who
was then at Avesnes-le-Comte (in the North of France). I then recognised
in Rossignol the unknown man whom I had seen in August talking to Madame
Steinheil at the Saint-Lazare Station, and afterwards lunching with her
at Scossa's. I could not absolutely identify Rossignol; but I had the
impression, although Rossignol seemed to me about 20 livres (sic)
lighter, that he was the unknown man I had seen."
_Question._ "Tell us in what circumstances you came to make
investigations about Madame Steinheil and Rossignol?"
_Answer._ "I make personal inquiries for people.... As regards this
particular case, _I would rather not tell you the name of the person for
whom I made the investigations_, as I consider myself bound by
'professional secrecy.' _At first, the object of my inquiries was to
find out all that Madame Steinheil did--that is, in August 1908._ That
is how I took the necessary steps to see her, and did see her, at
Bellevue. It was also in these circumstances that I watched her two or
three days later at the Saint-Lazare Station, and saw her talk, then
lunch with the man I told you of. I found out nothing in particular
about Madame Steinheil's doings. In November I made inquiries about
Rossignol. This was after the publication in the Petit Parisien which
stated that Madame Steinheil had special relations with an
inspector--afterwards dismissed--who had had to make inquiries at her
house on the occasion of a burglary, which took place two years ago, I
believe. I found out that the only Inspector in the Vaugirard district
who had been recently dismissed was called Rossignol. I heard Rossignol
was at Avesnes-le-Comte, and I went there. I had made inquiries, and had
discovered that the man had a bad reputation, and had been connected
with burglars. At Avesnes-le-Comte.... I talked to Rossignol about the
article in the _Petit Parisien_; he said he had not seen it; I made him
read it, and he said afterwards: 'No, I don't believe they mean me in
that article, especially as _I have never known Mme. Steinheil, have
never seen her, and have only heard of her through the newspapers_.' I
then asked him whether he thought the murder in the Impasse Ronsin had
been committed by one of the Vaugirard gang. To this he replied: 'No;
there are no heads strong enough in Vaugirard to-day, to carry out such
a crime.' I concluded our interview by telling him: 'I am returning to
Paris to render an account of my mission to the person who sent me, and
it is possible that that person will contradict the article in the Petit
Parisien.' The contradiction appeared in the _Matin_ on November 17, but
I must tell you that it was not for this newspaper that I went to
Avesnes-le-Comte. Since my interview with Rossignol in that city, I have
seen him--the last time at Dijon, towards December 10. I went to Dijon
for the same person who had sent me to Avesnes-le-Comte. There Rossignol
merely confirmed what he had told me before.... I am not sure that the
woman whom I saw at the Saint-Lazare Station was really Mme. Steinheil.
Two or three days before I had seen her, or rather the person I thought
was Mme. Steinheil--for all I had was a description--near Vert-Logis,
without a hat, in ordinary dress. The woman I saw at the station wore a
full mourning and a thick veil, and it is quite possible I made a
mistake. Also when I saw Rossignol at Avesnes-le-Comte, I was not
absolutely certain that I was standing before the man I had seen at the
station with the lady I have just mentioned."
_Question._ "_To sum up your explanations, it appears that you are
unable to assert that in August last, at the Saint-Lazare Station and
at Scossa's, you really saw Rossignol and Mme. Steinheil._"
_Answer._ "_No, I cannot be positive on the point; besides that is
exactly what I have always told to the person for whom I made those
investigations._"...
(_Dossier_ Cote 923)
* * * * *
And it was on the strength of such "discoveries" that M. Sauerwein
thought fit to insult an unfortunate and innocent woman, and fiercely
accuse her, to her own face, of a ghastly crime!