The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-09-06 00:00:00

VISIBLE SPIRITS.
Strange Was of Apparitions sows relate us.
What Apparition, lave with Apparatus t—Punoli.
A DELICATE POINT OF LAW.

" Our own Correspowdent" of Qs Daily Non writing from
Pula, up :

A delicste point, involving • large inheritance, was
decided • few days ago by the Civil Tribunal of Rennes.
It 11/0110 out of the tragic occurrence which took place
in October, 1871,13 n the rock of Penmarch, in Finnis-
terre. Tins rock of gigantic dimensions, overhangs
the Atlantic, and, being one of the most picturesque
feature. of the Brittany owe, is much visited by
tourists and marine painters. It juts out at • great
height over the sea, and the abyss beneath is known to
the aborginal fishers as Tall•au Bern, or the Mouth of
HelL An Evil Spirit, these primitive people believe,
is constantly lying in wait at the foot of the rock to
entrap unwary mortals, and cut them off from among
the living in the midst of their mina This ides, founded,
like most local superstitions, on lent, is not always
sufficiently present to the mfinle of ancursiordsts to
PrmarOu.

- 7.. The victims of the Tall-an-Ifern demon in October,
1871, were Madame Levabiville, the wife of a Brittany
Prefect, her daughter, Mdlle. Gabrielle Levainville, a
beautiful young girl a eighteen, her nephew and niece,
M. Georges and -Mdlle. Eugenie Dresoh, and
Bonnemain, the fiauctie of Georges. They had been
staying on • visit at the romantic chAtesu of
Ken2uz, the seat of M. Madras du Chatellier, and
had driven over on the Bth October with their
boat's son, K Paul Manfrea du Clintellier, a
marine painter of some repute, to visit his studio
overlooking Penmarch. After inspecting some paint-
ings, they went to compare them with the sites
they represented. Madame Levainville proposed that
before returning to the chateau of Kerma she and her
young relations nhould pass hall-an-hour on the plat-
form watching the effects of an angry sunset. The
sky was meancing, the horsion in • blase, the atmos-
phere close and charged with electricity, and the sea
smooth as glass. The tide was full in, and nothing
indicated the presence of the legendary demon of Tall.
au-Ifern. M. Paul du Chatellier, while his friends
were admiring the superb effects of colour, returned
to his studio to fix them on canvas.
As the positions taken up by the two groups into
which the excursionists split was the chief element in
the cue the Rennes Tribunal had to decide, it is well
to state that Madame Levainville and M. and Mdlle.
Breech were sitting together on the most northern
point of the rock, under • sort of natural parapet.
Mill., Gabrielle Levainville and hidile. Bonnemain
were standing at • distance of about two yards be-
hind them. Suddenly • vela wave arose, gather-
ing in height as it advanced, and, before the five
persons on the platform had time to perceive the
danger, waahed them intothe yawning Bern. The
foremost group was taken first, dashed against the
parapet, and preaipated violently into the sea. The
half spent wave then gently lifted the two young girls,
and sent them to rejoin their relative..
Now Madame Levainville was the owner of large
estates, and Mlle. Gabrielle her only child. The
question the Tribunal of Rennes had to decide was
who should Inherit this fortune, which was claimgcl by
Madame Dresch, the sister of Madame Levainville, as
the heiress of this lady, and by hi. Levainville, as the
heir of Gabrielle. If it could be proved that the wife
died last, the property would go to the-sister; and if
not, to the husband, as the daughter's heir.

M. Paul du Chateflier, who was sketching the rack
at the moment of the accident, was the principal wit-
ness. He stated that the foremost group, oorn,rising
Madame Levainville and Georges and Eugenie Breech,
must have been killed at once by the violent collision
Into which they were brought with the lateral
When they were flung into the sea
Er ret sight of two of the bodies. That of
Georges, which remained floating some momenta,
seemed to him an inert mangled meas. When the wave
carried the two girls into the Tallau-Ifern, they must
have been in fall the possession of their faculties, and
physically unhurt. There was, in M. du Uhatillier'e
opinion, more than • fair presumption that Gabrielle
survived her mother for perhaps • minute, or at all
events, as long a time as it takes to die from snbmer-
sion. Madame Breech admitted herself that she saw
her sister dashed headforemost against a rock and
flung into the sea ere the wave had reached the niece.
The state of four out of five of the bodies that were
found confirmed M. du Chatellier's evidence. Those
of Aladazue Levainville and 111. Breach were all
mangled, whilst that of Mdllo. Leveinville did not
present a mingle contusion. It had the sleeping ap-
pearance which M. James Bertrand gave to the
drowned Virginia in a beautiful picture he exhibited
four er live summers back.

The Court held that Gabrielle mast have survived
her mother for at levet a few seconds, and accordingly
decided that the fortune she inherited from her goes to
her father, and not to Mme. Levainville's sister.