The Express.
London, England, 1857-01-31 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

OF VERGER.

(raox ova owx

PARIS, FRIDAY ETTNIIIO._

The assassin Verger expiated his crime at eight
o'clock this morning, in front of the prison of la
Roquette. It is long since any execution drew
tcgcther so great a crowd. The unusual assemblage
is to be attributed not so much to the extraordinary
excitement which the murder of the Archbishop of
Faris has produced in the public mind, as to the fact
that secresy with regard to the moment fixed for the
infliction of capital punishment was not so well kept
as it generally is. The Court of Cessation sat till nearly
eight o'clock last night before the judgment respect-
ing Verger's appeal was delivered. The judges hadbeen
in deliberation nearly three hours, a fact which shows
that the objections of form urged by the prisoner's coun-
el were very serious. The crowds in waiting about
the court learned that preparations were making for
the execution by break of day, and the news spread
through the city in the course of the evening. There
happened to be carnival masked balls at the Prado,
Jordin d'Hiver, and other places, and very many
poetics were made up among the maskers to break-
kat in the neighbourhood of the Roquette and see
the execution. They might as well have
pone to bed for anything that there wss
b be seen by the general public. The
scaffold was erected in an oblong square, Banked on
either side by the walls of the Roquette prison and
the opposite prison for juvenile offenders. At either
cod of this square there were four lines of troops, of
which two were cavalry ; and it was impossible to see
serer their heads anything but the upper frame-
work of the guillotine. There were not, however,
less than from 15,000 to 20,000 people assembled,
luny of whom waited for hours in the hoar frost
o! about the coldest morning that we have
had this winter. The wine shops in the
neighbourhood made an immense barren.
Verger was extremely agitated all day yesterday,
end frequently expressed fears that his appeal
would be rejected. In the evening, however, having

no news from the Peals de Justice, he became more
hopeful, and frequently asked how much time was
allowed a man under sentence of death after the
overruling of his appeal in Caseation. No answer
was given to the question. In tho early part of the
night he slept badly, and was frequently seized with
paroxysms of fear. Towards two o'clock he fell into
a sound sleep, which lasted until half-put seven
o'clock, when the prison authorities roused him,
communicated the news that his appeal to
the Court of Cessation, and his petition
to the Emperor for pardon, had both been rejected,
and that ho must prepam for execution imme-
diately. Verger on this became extremely violent.
He exclaimed, " It is impossible !—it is impossible
and, on the chaplain (the Abbi Ilugon) telling him
that the news was unfortunately too true, and that
he hod nothing to hope for in this world, he cried
furiously, " I will not die !—you have no right to
take my life. I will defend myself—you may kill

me here—l will not move r' After this the
wretched being rolled himself in the bed clothes and
refused to get up. The executioner was then sent
for to the bed-side, Verger threatened to kick him.
The executioner said, " Chimes volts ; e's n'ira quo
mieux." Verger replied violently, " Big and strong
as you are, you will not conquer me ; you will see."
The officer of the law said calmly that he had means
to repress any extent of violence, and then asked
Verger whether ho did not mean to die as a
Christian. A change then seemed to come over the
prisoner. Ile answered softly " Yes" (oh! gee n),
and suffered himself to be dressed quietly. During
the operations of the " toilette" he repeatedly asked
the governor, in a tone of heart-rending supplica-
tion, to grant him a respite of only an hour, and
was as often told that it was impossible.
An eye-witness tells me that the prison authorities
remember no instance of a criminal appearing so
utterly horror-struck by the fear of death as Verger.
He seemed, it is reported, to have grown twenty
years older in ten minutes. On his way to the
scaffold ho appeared more resigned but terribly
depressed. He embraced the Abbe Hugon, con-
fessed himself in the usual form, and muttered fre-
quently that he asked pardon. On arriving at the
foot of the scaffold his confessor told him to look
to Heaven. Ho turned up his eyes and saw the
fatal knife and then seemed to lose all consciousness.
He was assisted up the ladder by the executioner
and the chaplain, was strapped to the fatal plank,
and all was over in a few seconds.
The Bourse opened with rather favourable dis-
positions, owing to a variety of financial news of
favourable augury. The situation of the Bank of
France is understood to be continually improving.
The bullion at the present moment is only three
millions less than at the period of last month's es-
turns, and considerably more than last week ; and as
but comparatively little gold is now purchased from
abroad, the precious metals arc received in a more
regular way. At the same time despatches from
London announce that the Bank of England has not
raised its discount, and the Bank of Amsterdam has
reduced its discount from 61 to 6. The report of the
governor of the Bank of France for 1858 was con-
sidered very favourable, and Bank of France shares
were in demand at a rise of 15fr. Nevertheless,
the Eente, after the first quarter of an hour, was
weak, and fell ultimately 30e. for cash, and 20e. for
account, closing at ftlfr. 30g., and 67fr. 30c. Mobilier
fell 13fr. The Orleans railway fell lOfr., and other
lines from 3fr. to 7fr. It was announced that seve-
ral new securities will be quoted officially in the

parquet next week.
At a late hour this evening the Court of Cana-
tioa, maintaining its former judgment, as might
love been expected, overruled the decision of the
Inferior Court of Lyons, and decided that the cir-
culation of the electoral bulletins is not to be free.
The Unions publishes a decree of the Holy In-
quisition condemning a pastoral letter of certain
bishops of Holland against the doctrine of the Im-
maculate Conception.

ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF AN
ARCHBISHOP IN NAPLES.

(ROM OVA PAWS CORRISPONDIRT)
A despatch from Naples, dated January 26th, has
just been received here.
A Neapolitan priest at Meters, in the province of
Lecce, has made an attempt to assassinate his
archbishop.

The prelate was wounded, andone of the Cllll4
*U killed whilst interposing to defend him.