Chapter IX

Ragazzini sent off—Proposal of Mr. Mills—Offers to Cooper—His
Account—His Disgust—His Calumnies—My Vindication—Decision of
the Arbitrators—Fresh Quibbles—Divers Sentences.

To all my outside troubles were added a host of domestic misfortunes, for the most part caused by the unworthy confidant to whom my husband had, so to speak, handed me over. I mean M. Ragazzini, who, proud of the authority the Baron had conferred on him, became day by day more arrogant, and now took no trouble to conceal his hateful vices.

No longer able to endure his presence, I made up my mind to dismiss him ignominiously.

Being now alone and needing some diversion, Mr. Mills offered me one of his sisters-in-law, whom he described as a real _miracle_ of nature. I thanked him for his kindness, but gave an equivocal answer. He returned to the charge, but I still made only complimentary rejoinders.

At last he spoke with such warmth, whether of the dangers of my solitary state, or of the rare qualifications of the young person, that I consented to take her as my _dame de compagnie_.

She came, and I very soon found her to be an insipid creature, to say the least of it, whose wardrobe stood in much more need of my help than I did of her society. The tradesmen’s invoices can bear witness to the zeal I displayed on her behalf as well as on that of her sisters and brother-in-law. But what would I not have done for a family whom I considered as my only resource for getting out of the hands of the infamous Cooper?

When the second arbitration concerning the agreement as to the management of the larger affairs took place, I asked for the cancelling of that agreement, offering to make good Cooper’s disbursements and fees, deducting only the bills handed over by me on April 1, 1828.

At the invitation of the arbitrators he produced his account, in which a sum of 6,526 francs was placed to my credit.

My counsel, astonished at this, since he had reclaimed only the bills of £75 sterling each, asked for explanations, and it turned out that besides those two bills, Cooper had received another for 5000 francs which, among the many deeds and bills of exchange he had successively extorted from me, I had forgotten. In consequence, I amended my plea, and asked for the deduction of this new amount.

It would be impossible to imagine the disgust of our _honest man_ when he realized that he might have hidden for all eternity the existence and the payment of my bill. According to him it was not just that a fit of absence of mind should make him lose £200 sterling.

Unluckily he could not do away with what was written in his account by his own hand; but to evade the consequences of his _fatal_ admission he had recourse to calumny.

According to him, every one in Geneva had been alarmed at the first hint of my approaching departure, my debts were so numerous, and my reputation for laxity so well known! Upholsterers and tradesmen had come in crowds, and I had all at once found myself in the toils of Rabelais’ terrible quarter of an hour.

Having nothing with which to pay off my debts, I had vainly implored the help of M. Hentsch, a banker of Geneva; but he himself, _poor Cooper_, touched with compassion, had at once handed over to me 5000 francs which he had in his purse, etc.[14]

I should disgust my readers too greatly if I repeated here the vile abuse with which he spiced this heap of inventions.

Anxious to undeceive a public that did not know me, I wrote to Geneva, and found no difficulty in obtaining a large number of excellent testimonials, of which I will quote but three.

1st. “Milady, we have received the letter your ladyship was
kind enough to write to us, and have been much grieved at the
lies which wickedness and calumny have dared to invent about
you; only a consummate scoundrel could be capable of it.

“Messrs. Hentsch have told me that they will write to you at
once, so as to undeceive the small number of persons who could
have believed this tissue of falsehoods. The Cramers will do
the same; and I can assure your ladyship that every one in
Geneva who had the pleasure of your acquaintance is indignant
at what you must have gone through.

“But we trust the culprit will speedily be punished, and that
we shall soon have the pleasure of having you amongst us again,
which we look forward to greatly.

“Madame Galiffe asks me to give you her respects, and to assure
you of the sincere pleasure it will be to see you again.

“Accept the assurance of my profound respect, and of the great
esteem with which I have the honour to be your ladyship’s very
humble and obedient servant.

“GALIFFE,

“Colonel.”

2nd. “Madame, I was less surprised than deeply grieved at the
contents of your letter to Colonel Galiffe; for my wife and I
felt only too much anxiety as to the result of your journey. M.
Cooper has quite justified the opinion of him we formed when we
saw him at your house, for we feared just what has happened.

“Good God! into what hands you have fallen! And how could so
fine and spotless a character as yours be blackened by calumny?

“But I have no doubt that you have speedily turned aside the
shafts of malice. As to what is said about your debts, I can
certify that I have known you to be most scrupulous in paying
all your accounts; that I have never heard of your being in
arrears with any creditor, and that I am in a good position to
judge, having had several conversations about your concerns
with M. Hentsch, who, I have no doubt, will testify to the same.

“But what need is there, madame, to continue in this strain, or
to undertake to clear so unjustly attacked a reputation?

“Many other better-known persons than I will come to your aid,
and in a little while you will receive from all sides documents
wherewith to crush your vile calumniators.

“I will conclude, madame, by sending you my most sincere wishes
that your enemies may get what they deserve, and may their
punishment be as certain as all I have said is true.

“My wife asks me to give you all kind messages, and I beg you,
Madame la Baronne, to accept the expression of my respect and
my sincere attachment.

“J. L. CRAMER,

“Lt.-Colonel.”

3rd. “Madame, and respected friend; what! there are villains in
the world who, not content with having taken advantage of your
ignorance of business, venture to attack the reputation of one
whose private life it seems to us ought to have been more than
safe from the tongue of calumny.

“We are shocked at it, and ready to send you voluminous
testimonials as to the high reputation you left behind you here.

“If necessary, we will state in Court that we know you to have
been held in constant affection and respect by all around you;
that benevolence was your especial virtue, and that your steps
were followed by actions recorded in the book of heaven, when
unnoticed or unfelt by men.

“We can say that you gave happiness to many here; we can say
(though it is impossible that such a question should be put
to us), we can say that it is false, absolutely false, that
you left debts behind, and that, on the contrary, before you
left, you had the forethought to leave 2000 francs on deposit
to pay the rent of your country house in case of its not being
sub-let; which event happened.

“We can say that your charming son gave the highest hopes of
inheriting the striking virtues that distinguish you, and which
he could have gained only in the bosom of a mother worthy of
all honour and best formed for an example of all that society
loves and welcomes.

“Speak, Madame la Baronne, only speak! What can we do to
communicate to your judges the feelings of the highest esteem
which we have for you?

“Your very humble servant,

“H. HENTSCH, FILS.”

It needed nothing more to obliterate the disastrous impressions my audacious calumniator’s lies might have made.

I was summoned to declare if I had, or had not, received from him the amount of my bill; and on my formal answer in the negative, the arbitrators of course said to us—

“Since you disagree as to facts, we cannot pronounce for one or the other; we must give our decision according to the wording of the bill. If it was endorsed, ‘Sum received in cash,’ Mr. Cooper is right; if not, he is wrong. Therefore, produce this bill.”

I wrote at once to my London banker to get an authentic copy; but before it arrived, the extension of time for the arbitration expired, and the arbitrators gave their decision. They cancelled the agreement concerning the larger interests, fixed Mr. Cooper’s disbursements at 4,169 francs 51; assigned him 3000 francs for his trouble,[15] and ended by making this order—

“We declare and decree that on Mr. Cooper returning the deeds, papers and all other effects, the Lady de Sternberg shall be under the obligation to pay him the sum of 7,169 francs 51; that Mr. Cooper, on payment of the said sum, shall return to her the two bills of £75 sterling each, unless their worth is deducted from the 7,169 francs 51.

“We reserve to both parties their respective rights as to the deduction, claimed by the Lady de Sternberg, of £200 sterling, the amount of the third bill received by Mr. Cooper.

“On the fulfilment by Lady de Sternberg of the above directions, we declare that she shall be freed from all obligations to Mr. Cooper arising out of the agreement of April 27, 1828.”

The execution of this judgment could present no difficulties except for that concerning the bill for £200 sterling, with which it could not deal.

A few days later the bill arrived; it was endorsed: “Sum received on my account from the testamentary executors of the late Lord Newborough”; and Cooper had sworn that it was endorsed, “Sum received in cash.”

The 5000 francs therefore ought to be deducted from the 7,169 francs 51. Cooper refused to deduct them; I proposed to him to submit this difficulty anew to the arbitrators, who, knowing the business in all its details, could decide on it at once.

An honest man would have gladly accepted this expeditious settlement; but our scoundrel, who had already seen his way to take advantage of his position, absolutely refused.

Having extra-judicially called upon him to name his arbitrator, and on his failing to respond to this summons, I applied to the President of the Court, who assigned me one.

On the day appointed for the meeting of the “friendly arbitrators,” Driver-Cooper sent word to them that he opposed their proceeding until after the cancelling of the bills; and they thought themselves bound to abstain from a decision until there had been legal enactment on this opposition.

At the same time my rascal sent me orders to pay him the full sum of 7,169 francs 51, which he must receive at once, so depriving me by his frivolous objections of the power of previously effecting the deduction of the 5000 francs, which had nevertheless been so expressly reserved for me by the decree of the arbitrators. But I knew my man too well not to foresee that after obtaining the payment he demanded, he would take every means to refuse my demand, even to the declinatory plea of the French Courts.

In consequence I made him an actual offer of the sum of 2,169 francs 51, and as to the 5000 francs representing the value of my bill of £200 sterling, I proposed to deposit it in the _Caisse de Consignations_, not to be withdrawn by Mr. Cooper until it was decided that the aforesaid deduction could not be made.

Moreover, I summoned Mr. Cooper to make a declaration of my available effects, and to be ordered to return to me all my deeds, under pain of damages to the amount of 100 francs for each day’s delay.

Even this did not stop him, and I was obliged to make an application to the President to make him cease his persecution.

The President having made an order entirely agreeing with my wishes, Cooper appeared disconcerted, and did not dare to appeal against it.

It was in this condition that the case was brought into Court. There my rascal once more took up his rôle, and, as usual, bristled with objections and quibbles which prolonged the disgusting dispute till October 8. All his cunning and ingenuity could not save him from the condemnation he deserved.

But, alas! my triumphs were but funeral honours, and my gains nothing but actual losses.

Yes, my over-great belief in so unworthy a man had cost me more than 28,000 francs, my peace of mind, and my health.