The Salzburg Tales (52 page)

Henna admitted that she had taken a lover, Joce, a man of her own age, whom she had known when she was Cok's ward, and who had been entrusted to Cok to learn his business of goldsmith and silversmith. But that Cok had interrupted their love and had married Henna, and that after she had not been able to discipline her love for Joce. She said that the brothers, Leo and Meir, out of jealousy and natural evil, had discovered this love and had revealed it to Cok, who knew of it, but had not altered his will therefor: for the old man, in his weakness, had turned also against his sons, imagining they wanted his money.

Henna then accused Leo and Meir of a serious crime. She said that two months before the death of Cok she had discovered that she would bear a child, and had told this to her lover, making him believe it was Cok's child, and that her lover had gone away and stayed away until a few days before the death of Cok, when he had returned, out of love for her. And that the child was not her lover's child, nor yet Cok's child, but a child belonging either to Leo or Meir, for the two brothers had come into her room and forced her one night four months before the death of Cok, and she had not dared tell anyone because of the distress she was in, and the fear she had of Leo and Meir.

She affirmed that two months after the death of Cok, when Leo and Meir saw she was carrying a child, and she told them its
parentage, and they feared for the inheritance, they sent a servant to her with a false message and fixed a meeting, and when she was on her way to the arranged meeting-place, they met her in the street one night, shortly after nine o'clock, and took her and beat her and so maltreated her that she was ill and miscarried of her infant: and she said that they took from her a fur mantle which Joce had given her, and a stole lined with ermine, and a buckle and seven gold rings with jewels to the value of two thousand schillings, given her by Cok, her husband: and Henna said that all this she would swear to.

And Joce gave evidence agreeing with all that Henna said, except in respect of the infant she said she had miscarried of, but he said he knew she had been ill, for she had come home to his house and he had attended to her, and he explained the circumstances.

Leo and Meir came then, and denied all that was laid to their charge, and affirmed that the child that miscarried was an adulterine child of Joce, or an unknown, for Henna was light in her behaviour, and her word could not be taken: and that whereas they themselves had only entered into possession of the things specially named in their father's will as theirs, Henna and Joce had stolen a great number of things, and that the buckle, fur mantle and other things were so stolen and were not gifts of Cok: and they said that Leo's betrothed, Lilias, was passing through the town, and the said Henna came with Joce and others, and took Lilias and beat her and maltreated her and bit her nose and ears and scratched her eyes: in consequence whereof Leo and Meir came and, two against ten, succoured Lilias, and laid no hand, notwithstanding, on Henna, divining her evil intention of blackening their name before the town and the judges: but they said, in addition, that after the incident described, Henna, aided by Joce, went home to Joce's house and lay down on a couch, and smearing herself with the blood of a chicken or other animal, caused blood likewise to be spilled round her bed, and cried out and pretended to have been hurt, but that no doctor came and no one could say what hurt she had received: and they said they likewise found on this day in her house four spoons marked with their father's initials, C.H. for
Cok Huld, his name, which she pretended belonged to her mother's cousin, Cata Hastrafe.

Evidence was then taken on the death of Cok, and also on the death of the said first infant, named Prima, said to have been sent overseas and to have returned and died either at Bourrask, Valentino's town, or a village, named Venticello; touching the inheritance nothing was done till the first two issues should have been decided.

The inquest was by twelve jurors and two judges, and the testimony was given by twelve witnesses at first.

Benedictus
, a merchant, sworn by himself, testified that by the day Cok was murdered, or died, about Mid-Lent in last year, Cok had had three sons, Leo and Meir by his first wife, Elena, and Prima, a son born in the first year of his marriage with Henna, and whose age would have been about seven years when the said Cok died. And the said Prima was kept overseas at the house of a man named Giacomo in Turin; and afterwards, following the death of Cok, he had heard it said that Henna had sent for Prima, her son, to have her right to the inheritance acknowledged, but that she had no friend to send for the boy, and that then he, Benedictus, went abroad himself for a year, and had just returned and knew no more about it, except that he had heard it said in the last few days that the son, Prima, had come home in the care of a merchant named Valentino and had died when he reached land before ever he came to his mother's house.

Theodorus
, a merchant, was sworn and testified, and in all matters agreed with Benedictus, except that he did not know whether or no Valentino brought the boy back from overseas, or whether Prima died in the house of Giacomo, nor had he seen or known anything of Giacomo except what he had heard in connection with this case, nor had he ever seen the boy, Prima. Benedictus, questioned, said the same. And both Benedictus and Theodorus admitted that they were old friends of Henna and Cok and knew only what had been told them by these two: and they did not know the reason for the boy being sent overseas.

Gamaliel
testified that the said Cok had only two sons, Leo and Meir by his first wife, Elena, and that if Henna miscarried of an infant two months after the death of Cok it could not have been Cok's child, for reasons that he knew and which he gave.

Dieudonné's
testimony was taken: he said that Cok had only two sons, Leo and Meir, and he agreed with Gamaliel in all respects.

Bonengfaunt
said that Cok had only two sons and in all respects agreed with Dieudonné and Gamaliel, and testified that he was at Turin at the house of Giacomo, merchant, being in the same business, silkweaving machines, during the time that Prima the infant was said to have been in the house, and that he had not seen nor heard speak of any child, nor even of Cok, Henna or Valentino: and that he had been told that Henna had had an illegitimate child before her marriage to Cok and that the child had died just before her marriage to Cok of a mysterious stomach ailment.

Dives
testified that he had only known two sons of Cok, Leo and Meir, but that he had heard a boy spoken of as being in the care of a merchant overseas, but he thought it to be an adopted child of Cok, taken in by charity, or else a misdemeanour of Henna before her marriage to Cok, magnanimously accepted by Cok, and he had believed it was to be educated in the house of a merchant abroad: he thought the child still lived, but he did not know.

Vivat
said that he knew Leo and Meir, and had known them since they were children, but he had seen about the house of Cok during the absence of the older sons on a voyage, a child of three or four, who had afterwards vanished: and that Valentino was a distant relative of his wife, and he knew he had brought back a child from overseas, about two years ago, and he, Vivat, had supposed the child to be a natural child of Valentino: he had asked no questions, but he had heard later that the child had died, and Valentino was now dead himself, having been stricken by smallpox and died three weeks before the inquest. He believed that Henna and Cok had been on a journey during the first year of their marriage, and he thought
Cok had intended to break up thereby a childish sentiment existing between Henna and Joce.

Adriaticus
would only testify that Cok had two sons, and when he was asked to be more particular in his testimony, he would not answer.

Captain Sirius
, a cousin of Cok, was overseas all the time, had only just returned from Trichinopoli and did not know how many sons Cok had.

Ananias
gave evidence that Cok had three sons, Leo and Meir, and a third son, whose name he did not know, who had been taken overseas in babyhood and had fallen overboard crossing the Adriatic and was dead: and he believed that all three were the children of Elena the first wife, a distant relative of his.

Mr Jenkins
, a visitor to Cok's house, said that he was in London all the time and did not know whether Cok had three sons or not, nor anything else, because he was a foreigner.

Walther
testified that the said Cok had three sons, Leo and Meir, and a third who was taken overseas in his infancy, before the said Cok's death, and that he lived till about six months ago overseas, he believed, and died there. And asked how he knew, he said, that it was by hearsay, from his servant, for he did not know Leo, Meir, nor the third son: but that he had once ordered a gold loving cup of Cok.

Of the other persons involved, the nurse supposed to have lent a child to Henna could not be found, Giacomo of Turin was in exile and could not be found, Valentino's wife was likewise abroad, mourning for her husband, and avoiding infection, Cok's servant, an apprentice, had fled the country to avoid persecution on account of his religion, and Leo's alleged fiancée, a stupid country girl, said everything that Leo had said; Doctor Glujas, who had attended to Cok, came forward and said that he was not aware that Cok died from an overdose of arsenic, for the recognised treatment for his disease was arsenic and he might have a great deal in his body, but that he was sure the child Henna had been carrying at the time of Cok's death could not have been Cok's child, and that being a regular visitor to Cok's house he had reason to suspect that it was Joce's child:
but that it might well not be. He said he had often examined Henna professionally and casually, as a friend, and that she was irresponsible, turbulent, lightminded and nervous, and ignorant of her duties as a wife and stepmother. That he could only add that she had spoken to him most bitterly of Cok and had said, “I wish he would free me: I would give anything to be free,” and that she had said, Cok had been wicked in his life and she would pray Heaven to avert from him his just punishment, and likewise, she had often asked him, Doctor Glujas, if Cok would die quickly. He testified that she knew what was the treatment given Cok, had access to his room at all times, spent many hours alone with him, served and often cooked his food herself.

Another doctor, named Lili, said that he had examined the body after exhumation, and had discovered traces of arsenic throughout the body, but a large quantity in the stomach: the earth of the graveyard, however, which he had analysed, contained a great deal of arsenic, and rain might have carried it down into the coffin and the body: and the arsenic given as a medicament might account for the amount in the stomach, but he thought that a great deal had been given. Another doctor definitely opined that Cok had been poisoned, or had taken poison.

Henna, questioned about her remarks to Doctor Giujas, said that she might have said those words or words like them, but she had said them in the extremity of her dolor, for she had suffered from the jealousy of Leo and Meir, and the suspicion of Cok and the absence of her child Prima, and her love for Joce, and she begged that these words would not be taken as evidence against her: and she said, that in any case, Joce was entirely innocent, even of such harmless thoughts as these against Cok, and had been content to wait all his life, if she should not be free.

The evidence was weighed, and all the circumstances considered, but she and Joce were found guilty and sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment: the death sentence was not pronounced on account of the conflicting evidence and the bad characters of the brothers. Henna and Joce had already served five years when I came upon the
case, and studying it, found it unique and fascinating. I said to myself immediately, “Injustice was committed here,” and the first thing I did was to go to the brothers Leo and Meir and ask them if they wished me to take up for them the question of the inheritance which was still hanging over. The brothers, slow to speak, were moved by cupidity, and hoped evidently to get part of Henna's money. I said, boldly:

“In presenting the case, we must be careful about one thing: we must cover up all mention of the child Prima, said to have been in Turin, for it is clear, on a maturer reading of the evidence, that the case was not properly conducted, and it is clear that the child could be shown to have existed.”

At that the brothers became furious and refused to speak to me any more! I went to see Doctor Glujas and found that he had been imprisoned two years before in a neighbouring country for supplying poisons at a high price to peasant wives who had formed a witches' league to get rid of their husbands. Time also brings its evidence!

I next asked to see Henna in prison, and asked her what nurse had attended her in her confinement in Turin, and she told me, at length, that it had been a nurse engaged by Giacomo, Cok's friend, an Italian woman named Emilia, but that that was all she knew. I went to Turin and after three months found the nurse Emilia, who swore that she had attended Henna in childbirth and that a child was born, whom she had seen afterwards at Giacomo's house, and its name was Prima, and she said the child's father was given as Cok, Henna's husband.

I then made enquiries in the neighbourhood, among the children aged twelve, thirteen and fourteen, to know if they remembered a foreign boy called Prima, who had lived with Giacomo, and had then gone away overseas, and some said, Yes, they had had such a playmate, and he had gone away to his home which was somewhere beyond the sea. All Giacomo's family had fled, so I could find nothing else out there, but I went to the shipping companies and at length found a passenger list showing that a Valentino had taken a boy of seven named Prima towards Trieste.

Then I visited Dr Glujas in his gaol and told him that all was discovered, but that if he would tell me the truth about the business of Cok's poisoning, I would see what I could do for him and be his advocate, or rather I gave him to understand that this was true: but he was sullen and cautious, and I suppose recognised in my face some trait of enterprise which put him on his guard. He was a wise old bird! Then I went back to our city and questioned Henna and Joce again, and at last an important piece of news awaited me: Joce told me that, silent among the men as he always was, and very few knowing his story, he was able to listen freely to all their stories, and that he listened every day, at every rest-hour, and late at night when men made confidences from bed to bed, hoping to hear something some day that would clear him, for, he reasoned, being an exceedingly upright man, vicious men of the character of Leo, Meir and Dr Glujas, so successfully upheld in their crimes, would be sure to commit evil and to perjure themselves and lie for the rest of their lives, and they could not always, he thought, go free. Now, that same week a man had come into the prison who, in his rambling reminiscences, had said that a friend of his kept out of prison solely because he blackmailed two rich merchants, brothers, respected citizens of the town, who had employed him in some affair of assault at night, and were constantly in fear of him. The prisoner, garrulous and weak and shameless, had said: