The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-18 00:00:00

CRIME IN FRANCE.

The Court of Assizes of the Gironde has this week
tried a woman named Ithier, aged 40, charged with
the murder of her husband, a farmer, residing at
Massugas. On the 24th February last, the body of
the deceased was found dreadfully mangled with:
some heavy cutting instrument, in a wood by the
road side, a short distance from his dwelling house.
The deceased had left home on the preceding day
with the intention of consulting a professional .man
in a neighbouring village about swellings in bis
legs, but he never went, nor was he seen by any per-
son after his departure from home. Suspicion im-
mediately fell on the prisoner and a neighbouring
farmer named Rousseau, with whom she was known
to entertain an illicit intercourse, and both were
arrested, but Rousseau, having been able to prove
in alibi, was dischat ged and admitted as a witness;
for the prosecution. The ill-treatment which the'
deceased, who was an easy good-natured man, but
weak in mind and infirm in body, had experienced.
for years from his wife and her mother, who lived
with them, was proved by numerous witnesses,
as was also the wife's shameless conduct with.
Rousseau. The evidence left little doubt that;
the prisoner followed her husband when he
left the house, and came up with him in the wood,
where she felled him to the ground with a bill-hook,
repeated her blows until he was quite tad, and then
dragged the body into a thicket. She was seen to
return home from that direction in great haste about
in hour after her husband's departure, and was occu-
pied all the rest of the day in washing her clothes,'
on which, nevertheless, the chemists found traces,
of human blood. When Rousseau gave his evidence
in court and stated that she had confessed her crime
to him before the body was found, she exclaimed,,
" You lie ! It was you that killed him, and confessed.
it to me !" The falsehood of this assertion Was,
however, demonstrated by the evidence of the wit-
❑esses, who proved Rousseau's alibi. The prisoner,
nevertheless, adhered to it throughout the trial, and.
her counsel maintained that the crime could never•
have been committed by her alone. The jury, how-
ever, deemed the evidence conclusive, for they
brought in a verdict of guilty, but admitted ex-
tenuating circumstances, and the Court conse-
quently sentenced the prisoner to hard labour for
life.

Another similar case has been tried at the Couxt.
of Assizes of the Sarthe, sitting at Le Mans, where?
a woman named Beranger, aged 45, was charged
with the murder of her husband, Francois Bellan-
ger, a day labourer at Luche, by mixing arsenic
in his food. It appeared from the evidence that
on the morning of the 12th of June last
the prisoner carried some soup and an omelet
to her husband, who was at work in the
fields, and that three hours after he was seized:
with violent vomitings, which continued with little
intermission until the morning of the 14th, when he
expired. During these 48 hours the prisoner ex-0
hibited the utmost indifference to her husband's
sufferings, and even prevented him from taking
several antidotes that were recommended. She was
therefore arrested and committed for trial. From\
the very first, none of the villagers had any doubt
that Ballanger had been poisoned by his wife, who
had for some time been leading a most immoral life,
and kept up an adulterous intercourse with her
brother-in-law, a man named Cador. A great num-
ber of witnesses were examined, several of whom
stated that Bellanger had complained to them of his
wife having previously attempted to poison him,
and one deposed that on the day preceding the
crime she had overheard the prisoner say to her
husband, " You jealous old fool, you shall die like
a dog!" The analysis of the contents of the de—
ceased man's stomach clearly proved that ho had
died from the effects of arsenic, which he could only
have taken in the food carried to him by his wife.
In her defence the prisoner protested her innocence,,
but could not produce a single fact calculated to
invalidate the evidence against her. The jury,
therefore, after a short deliberation, brought in
a verdict of guilty, but allowed the prisot:er the
benefit of extenuating circumstances, and the o.out
sentenced her to hard labour for life.

Lord Clyde has arrived from London in Paris,.
and alighted at the Hotel Mirabeau.

A RELIC OF THE PAST IN HYDE•PARB. Perhaps
few of the many who visit this park are aware that on dm
right-hand side of the carriage drive, between the Receiving
house and the bridge, there still remains an interesting relict
of the Stuart period. It is a tree, one of two planted by
Charles IL from acorns taken from the Boscobel oak in.
Somersetshire, in which his father successfully sought re—
fuge, and were planted here to commemorate the event..
They have both been dead some years, and one, much de-
cayed, was removed in 1864 ; the other, beautifully clothed
with ivy, which gives it the appearance of life, still remains.
In common with all the other old trees in the park, it is
protected by a fence of iron hurdles, but surely a relic lace
this deserves a handsome and appropriate railing, with
descriptive brass plate affixed to point out to strangers Ns
historical antiquity, now known only to local historians.
MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF A GENTLEMAN AT NOR—
woon.—Yesterday morning a report was current in the
under the following circumstances.
village of Norwood that a gentlemansloama de bpeeerns fnosu npda
passing
d
through the wood observed a gentleman on the ground in a
quite
ere
extinct, medical aid dt
death
havinga s p r procured,
übreeedn,
had him conveyed to
pool of blood, and, calling the police,
butth e
lifeßeulahwas Spafu found
dTavern,issued
nne by
in
the thepbool
police
. _TA
.hbeu
uf following lsoswyi ne ga r
s u de-
scriptionf
caused by a: deep
ght, grey hair, grey eyes ; wound in the
agesix feet has
inbelienei
body
dark coat, tweed waistcoat, white
shirt, boots,ng; white stockings. On his person
were
Wellington
lo
of steel spectacles, 3±d. in copper, powder
fourwfound i inches
desk, four bullets, a duelling pistol loaded with ball, and a
dagger in a sheath.Vrhe name of the deceased is supposed
to be Hurley.