The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-01-19 00:00:00

THE RECENT OUTRAGE IN VIENNA.

The Vienna correspondent of The Times gives the
following particulars of the recent outrage at the
establishment of a money changer in the Vienna
suburb of Martelllf

At the corner of an open square, before a
church, in a mush•freqn.nted locality of that
district, is the exchange office of Herr EWA. At
6.80 p.m., the gas being lit, two men, one tall,
fair, and burly, the other dark and of smaller size,
entered the office and asked the value of rouble.. Herr
EWA named the current price, on whisk one of the
strangers put his hand into his side pocket as If he
were about to take out his purse. Herr Eisen looked
at him, and the man suddenly threw a handful of dust
and sand into his facie, which blinded him. He cried
"Robber.," and ran to a glass door, leading to a
smaller room, where an old Frenchwoman, nearly 80
years of age, was giving lessons in French to his
young sons. One of the men rushed after him and
caught him when he had passed through the door and
reached the entrance into the oourtyard. Here the
robber struck him with a hammer, first on the temple
and then on the skull, The victim, whose left eye was
destroyed, after vain erten of "Murder," fell down. The
villain left him groaning on the stones and hastened to
the small room, looking the door. Here he struck like
a madman at the children and the old woman. One
little boy of nine received a blow on the head which
shattered his skull, and he fell down dead. The other,
an older boy, was also struck, and his injuries may
prove fatal, but he afterwards succeeded In unfasten,
Ing the &or and tottering out to his unfortunate
father. The old teasher suffers from the effects ol
a blow on the forehead, which stunned her for a
time.

The money.changer had a short time before sent a
domestic servant to the cellar for a chest In which to
send away come candied fruit, On returning she first
tried to help her master, who muttered "The pocket.
bock," and felt about, leaving the marks of his blood.
tamed fingers on the wall. She was not strong
enough to raise him, and she called the
commissionaire from outside. At the same time
the manager of a neighbouring business and a
man in the employment of Herr Eisert came in,
They saw what had been done, and through the glue
door could perceive the two robbers. One of them had
packed up the gold and silver coin and bank notes,
while the other had torn out some sheets from the
books, no doubt to destroy the evidenee as to the
numbere of the notes, The new.comers tried to get in,
but tb door was locked, and the murderers tramped
throu the main entrance. A workman, while passing
the Exchange Office, saw a man hasten forth, and with
his bet drawn down run towards the end of the suburb,
but suspecting nothing wrong, he proceeded on bit
way. Afterwards. on entering a neighbouring coffee.
house, he heard of these fearful crimes, and at once
went to describe what he had observed to the police.
Both the father and his eldest son are alive., and
are better. A blow on the head has laid bare the
father's brain, and he is not able, even if he were
allowed, to give a complete and coherent account of
what oceurred. 2,000E1. in notes and some smaller
sums in coin were taken. The thieves had not time
to try the safe, and were satisfied with robbing the
counter,