The Express.
London, England, 1847-10-08 00:00:00

MURDER OF THE COUNTESS OF GOERLITZ.

The following report of an atrocity which is re-
garded as in some respects a reproduction of the Praslin crime
is taken from the German journal called the Spectator. The
crime seems to have been kept quiet, as the intelligence has
not appeared in Roy of the chief German papers. In the
not very clear or coherent report of the Spectator com-
parisons are made between the publicity given to the pro-
ceedings in such cases by constitutional governments
and tee very different system pursued in Germany ,•
after which it proceeds as follows : —The tragical
death of the Countess of Goerlitz, burnt to death
at Darmstadt, has recently thrown all the higher
classes of the German aristocracy into deep consterna-
tion. This event has given rise to the strangest as well as
the most contradictory conjectures; many persons were of 1
opinion that the countess had committed suicide, but this
was not generally believed, as the circumstances rendered
such a supposition highly improbable. Even supposing the
countess to have been desirous of committing the rash act,
it was not to be believed that she would choose the most
painful, and till now unprecedented means, and the bare
attempt of which would, one would suppose, be enough to
arrest her in the act. Some persons, and among others one
of her intimate friends, M. Tamp, at first supposed that her
' death was caused by accident, but all concur in reject-
ing this opinion. The countess has been buret to death
near her secretary, close to a bell rope! Thus it is
quite impossible for death to have seized her so suddenly as
not to have left her time to pull the bell and procure assist-
ance. But the supposition either of suicide or accident, has
given way to that of assassination ; and, from the result of
the first investigations, this version acuuires a greater degree
of probability. The Juge d'lnstruction, M. Purgold, has
found twenty-six very important evidences of culpability, and
has requested the court to have the affair thoroughly investi-
gated ; but the tribunal, after a private conference, has de-
clared the evidence to be insufficient, and has rejected, in
consequence, the continuation of the inquiry. This decision
appeared strange, and excited general discontent. We
have it in our power to make known some of this evidence,
collected in the course of the preliminary inquiry. It is
well known that for some time past, though living under
the same roof, the count and his wife never saw each
other. On the evening before the event, a gentlemen
passing before the count's house perceived a smell of
smoke. lie, however, went on without paying further
attention to the circumstance ; though, on his arrival
at the house whither he was goinghe mentioned
it to several persons. Thus, since the smell of fire was per-
ceived in the street at five o'clock, it is more than probable
that M. Goerlits, who was at home, must have smelt it be-
fore ten. Count Goerlitz, who was not in the habit of
thinking much about his wife, was in very great apparent
uneasiness about her. lie said, and his servants have re-
peated it, that the countess was in the habit of shutting her-
self up in her own room every evening. Notwithstanding,
at half past eight, he sent the only domestic present to find
another, to inquire of him if he Lad no news of the countess.
When the servant acquitted himself of his errand, the wife
of the latter exclaimed :—'s Great God! is the countess
burnt ?" What a singular event ; what a singular coincidence
between the exclamation of the woman and the explanation
of the event, which, according to the count, took place
about an hour and a half afterwards, and was discovered
by him ! How explain the affirmation of the count that at
this hour the countess always shut herself up in her own
room, when she could be nowhere found, if he had not him-
self looked into his wife's room ? Did it require the interval
from half-past eight till ten to make up his mind to force
open the door—sinca he had two servants with him, the
wife of one of whom had even expressed her fear the countess
might be bunt?—When the fire was discovered at ten
o'clock, the count sent for the physician Stegmaur, and, at
ten, the door was opened in the presence of several persons,
when every one was obliged to draw back on account of the
smoke and vapour which came forth, the count alone ex-
cepted, who cried out: " There is my wife !" Love has quick
eyes. The autopsy has not taken place, because the court for-
bade it. He hastened to obtain leave to have his wife interred.
The instruction has not ascertained whether the door was fast-
ened on the inside or on the outside. No key has been found.
If the door was closed on the outside, no doubt can be en-
tertained of the cause of the death, and, unfortunately, this
fact is too well proved ; if closed on the outside, the absence
of the key is explained; if on the inside, what has become
of it ? This evidence gives birth to so many conjectures that
it alone necessitates on inquiry. The cause of the fire
has not been discovered. There was neither stove nor candle •
stick in the room. If it be supposed that somebody ignited
the fire and then left the room with the candlestick, the fact
is still more easily explained. The countess had been burnt
by the flames, before her secretary. No other article of fur-
niture has been burnt. The head, neck, and part of the
arm, were carbonised. It is supposed the unhappy woman,
after having been murdered, was placed over a email
stove, where she remained for some hours. Before
the door was opened, the stove had been taken
away, another position given to the victim, and the
event assumed the colour of an accident. From
the preliminary inquest it is conjectured that the fire
was ignited to bide a murder by strangulation. If the
tribunal of the court wishes to maintain public trust in its
decisions, the evidonce given in must be made public. It is
remarked that Count Goerlitz, who lived on very bad terms
with his wife, has now assumed a very different sentiment
he often visits her grave, and covers it with flowers. We
are ignorant whether he is desirous of influencing public
opinion or whether he really yields to a feeling of sympathy
which has declared itself very late—but time will unfold the
mystery which now envelops this affair.