what is the significance of the newspaper article about the escaped wolf

Stoker places the newspaper article before the narrative of Lucy's memorandum, even though the dates show that the article came afterward. This move helps to create suspense, as the reader wonders about the significance of the escaped and returned wolf. Stoker's order also gives the events of the memorandum the climactic positioning in the chapter. The article reports that when the wolf returns, its head is covered in glass; this clue establishes that the wolf is the same animal Dracula uses to get to Lucy. In one move, Dracula causes the death of Mrs. Westenra, rids the room of the flowers (as Lucy covers her mother's body with them), and creates an opening through which he can enter. He uses the more common tactic of drugging the wine to put the maids out of the way.