The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-20 00:00:00

ROBBERY Ar THE CLUNY MUSEUM.

The Court of Assizes yesterday tried the man
Gaudichal, a Belgian, who attempted to rob the
Hotel Cluny on the night of the 31st of January
last, and was caught in the fact. The table of the
court was covered with articles which the prisoner
had taken from their eases and packed up ready for
removal. They consisted of-1. The " Rose of
Baste," containing 305 grammes of pure gold, and
having a large sapphire in the middle, which was
presented by Pope Clement V. to the Prince Bishop
of Basle in the 14th century ; 2. A large gold book
binding and clasp of the same period, set with 40
precious stones ; 3. A bishop's crosier of the 13th
century, made of ivory and boxwood, and richly
jewelled ; 4. An antique girdle of massive gold, of
the Celtic period, weighing 400 grammes ; 5. A
number of gold bracelets, chains, and girdles ; and
6. Two abbots' crosiers, of geld filagree, set with
jewels, both of which the prisoner had broken from
their staves. As the circumstances of the crime
must be fresh in the memory of our readers, it will
suffice to say that the prisoner entered the Museum
in the afternoon of the 31st of January, carefully
noticed the position of the articles which he thought
most valuable and most easily removed, and then
concealed himself in a large chest in the chapel,
where he remained until dark. He then issued.
from his concealment, and with the aid of a dia-
mond broke the glass cases, and packed up his
booty ready for removal. When the guardians made
their usual round at 9 o'clock the robbery was dis-
covered, and the prisoner found concealed in the
chapel, with all the stolen articles in his possession.
Before the examining magistrate, and again in
court, the prisoner confessed that, having been un-
fortunate in business, and obliged to separate from
his wife, he conceived the project of retrieving his
circumstances by robbing the Museum of the riches
which he had observed when on his wedding tour
some years before. He came to Paris in January,
visited the Museum several times, matured his plans,
and at last attempted. their execution, tut was
baffled by the vigilance of the guardians. Among
the witnesses examined was M. Dusommerard, the
director of the Museum, who, after deposing to the
circumstances of the robbery and the prisoner's
arrest, stated, in answer to the question of the Pre-
sident, that the prisoner had shown some judgment
in making his choice, as he had not selected the
most valuable articles, but those which could be
most easily sold. Ho might, for instance, have
taken the golden altar of Basle and the crowns of
the Gothic Kings, but they were all so well known
that, had he offered them for sale, discovery would
have been certain. In answer to a question as to
the value of the articles taken by the prisoner, M.
Court sew.
'a
prisoner h
Dusommerard said that intrinsically they were .
°lure was i
it thne el sr s ersaand counsel
worth at least 50,000 f., but
cal and artistical point of view
extenuating circumstances, fcoarl in-
calculable. bdl
eef. e
nAcef,
t After ejsurriyn gfotuhies,
five years' imprisonment.— Galtg.
thatdwt hei
andn
the
withtented him to
tram'.

Double Attempt at Suicide.
ayraYfternoon Dr. Lankester held an in-
I relativequestE on tarSata:toturhcf E
deatha s t n o r
0C a s tle
1 -,----
floor-cloth worker, who ;aye:Union-street,
Jamescommitted
JitLtffeedresuyise,iadge,edaf6t7er, aa
second s
It
attempt, under the following melancholy
circumstance
appeared that the deceased had
suffered for
years from chronic asthma, and for the
last four months had been unable to lie in a bed.
been medically attended, and within the
last ten days he had shown signs of derangement.
He repeatedly
prayed to the Lord to deliver him,
and had desired his wife to
remove his razors from
a drawer. On Thursday morning last he was left
alone for a few minutes, and on the return of the
wife she found something prevented her turning the
handle and opening the door. She tried to force the
door, when she heard something tall, and, on getting
into the room, she found her husband on the floor in
a crouching position, with his black silk handker-
chief round his neck, with which he appeared to have
strangled himself by attaching it to the. room doer
handle. Mr. Pearse, surgeon, was immediately
called in, and found life extinct.
k nonexthe neck,
the body there were some slight maiorn
sof the heart
and on the left side near the redgweeeds,
one very
there were three or four punctured
with a pair of
deep, which deceased
badd
covered with blood on
scissors, which were fhadun
been taken from a drawer
the table. The scissors
examination after death
by the deceased. The.ase
of the lungs and heart,
showed extensive
.dise
sist an attempt at strangu-
which would readily as .
d d h - s ro
Certain internal sign p ve eat to have
lation. A verdict of " Bull •
ulation. icide by
been by strang . .
strangulation while in an unsound state of mind"
was ultimately returned.