The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-24 00:00:00

A FRENCH TRIAL FOR MU.R.LiEk

to the /horning of the 29th of August last Dr.
Bardout, physician of the Palate of Fontainebleau,
and his wife, both of an advanced age, Were found
murdered in one of the dependencies of the palace,
and a robbery of money and other objects had been
effected. Suspicion fell on a matt named Faugeras,
formerly in their service, but who had been dis-
missed, partly because he was suspected of having
stolen some small sums of money, partly because he
had entered in the middle of the night of the 25th
of May the chamber of the cook, a girl named Tal-
bot. He was Sought for, and some days after was
arrested in a house of ill fame in Paris. He had
been living, it appeared, in the grossest debauchery,
and when taken bad in his possession a gold watch
and chain belonging to the deceased physician, and
two shirts marked " A. 8.," belonging to his son.
On being conveyed to Fontainebleau he made a full
confession of his crime. He had, he said, entered
the palace by a back-door, accidentally left unfas-
tened; had locked the doors by which the two ser-
vants (a man named Barbat and the girl Talbot)
might, on hearing cries, have gone to the chambers
of their master and mistress; had then murdered
Madame Bardout by a blow on the head from a
chopper, and had afterwards, though not without
a desperate struggle, murdered Dr. Bardout, who
occupied the chamber next that of his wife ;
after which he had stolen 1,044 f in money
and several objects of value., He added that
he had planned the murder with the greatest
deliberation, and had even contemplated perpetrat-
ing it the night before ; also, that he had actually
taken with him two towels to wipe the blood of
his victims from his hands ! He afterwards in.
sinuated that the two servants had been privy to
his crime, but on investigation no proof of com-
plicity could be obtained. On Saturday he was
brought to trial before the Court of Assizes of
Seine-et-Marne. Being interrogated by the pre-
sident, after stating that he was formerly a soldier
and had been condemned to five years' imprison-
ment for robbery, he declared that very shortly
after the cook Talbot entered the service of Dr.
Bardout he had formed an intimate connection with
her ; that it was by previous arrangement with her
that he had entered her chamber on the night of
the 25th of May, but that having suddenly awak-
ened her, she had cried out, and that Madame
Bardout having heard the cry, she had, to save
herself, accused him of being there without her
knowledge, which accusation had led to his dis-
charge. He then made this extraordinary state-
ment :—" On the evening of the 28th of August
I saw the girl, and she took me to her chain.
ber. We there talked together and came to an
understanding to murder Madame Bardout. We
had no thought of killing Dr. Bardout, only Ma-
dame, because we wanted to get the keys to rob.
In the dead of night we entered her chamber. She
was awakened by the light and noise, and cried out
Who is there ?' I gave her two blows on the head
with my chopper. Dr. Bardout, hearing his wife
cry out, got up, and I was obliged to murder him in
order not to be taken. I threw him on the bed and
struggled with him. I gave him some blows with
the chopper, but they did not cause death. Seeing
that he would not die, the woman Talbot came to
my assistance. She held him, and I then killed
him by pressing my chopper forcibly on his throat
to produce suffocation. I then effected the robbery
of money and other things, and walked to Melun
to take a train up to Paris. At Paris I fell in with
one Bruant, a friend of mine, and we went to
theatres, houses of ill fame, and restaurants ; but I
was not very gay, because I knew that what I had
done was not quite right." The president adjured
him to tell nothing but the truth, and he said, with
bears streaming from his eyes, "At this moment I
am nothing at all on earth, and can think only of
God. Of what use is it to me to lie ? I say that I
told the girl that as I was without money I must
rob the doctor, and she consented ; that, as it was
necessary, to pass through Madame Bardout's
chamber in order to get at the money, we agreed to
murder her, and the girl held the doctor's hands
while I murdered him.!" "In the name of God,"
cried the public prosecutor, "think of what you say.
If you falsely accuse the girl from vengeance,
admit it—it is not too late." " I have nothing
now to hope for on earth," said the prisoner. " I
have spoken in the presence of God, and what I
have said is true." " You persist in asserting that
you have told the truth ?" asked the president. " I
have told the truth. Yes, yes !" " You understand
your position ; you must know that your simple
declaration will hardly suffice to cause justice to
proceed against a,person whom it has hitherto sup-
posed to be innocent." " What I have said is the
truth—the whole truth. I told it yesterdsy to my
confessor, and he said that to clear my conscience
I ought to reveal it to justice. That is why
speak this day. Yes, she was my accomplice. If
it were not true I would not say ao. She took part
in the murders, and of her own will. too. I did not
force her." All this extraordinary scene produced
great agitation in court, and when the President,
after examining a witness who deposed to the state
in which the bodies of the victims were found, and
expresSed the opinion that the two murders could
not have been committed by one person, directed
the woman Talbot to be called, the agitation was
increased. The woman is 27 years of age, tall,
and rather good looking. In answer to the Pre-
sident, she admttted that she had seen the man
in the house on the night of the murder. "He
came into the kitchen where I was," said she, " but
Ido not know how he got into the house. He said
that he wanted to talk to me about his portmanteau
and his papers which he had left behind. In a few
seconds he asked for a candle to go to his old room
to- look for them. I gave him one. In a short time
he came back and said, ' Madame Bardout is dead!'
" What! he said so calmly—as you speak now ?"
" Yes, sir !" " And what did you Elo—what did
you think ?" "Nothing !" (The answer and the
calm manner in which it was givex drew forth
marks of astonishment from the auditory.) "And
while he was absent you heard nothing ?" " No,
sir; I went to'my own chamber." " Had you inti-
mate relations with the man ?" " Never." "He
says that it was you who let him into the house."
" That is false." " That you consented to the mur-
der of your mistress," "It is false !" " That you
held the:hands of your mistress." "It is false !"
" That you held the hands of the doctor while he
killed him." "It is false." The Procureur Impe-
rial once more, in the name of God, solemnly ad-
jured the man to retract what he had said if it were
not the truth. The man, with the greatest calm-
ness, repeated his statement, and the woman from
time to time interrupted him by exclaiming, "It is
false." The Court, m consequence of the man's re-
velation, decided that the hearing of the case should
be postponed for a month to enable a new investi
gation to be made, and that in the meantime the
woman should not be taken into custody, but should
remain under surveillance in the hospital. On
hearing this decision she fell on her seat in great
agitation.—Gaagnani's Messenger.

I,T ERATU _R E.

Lost and !Van. Bp Georgiana Craik, author of

"Riverston:" Smith and Elder.

This is an exciting story, that is very ably nar-
rated. It cannot be called pleasing, but belongs to
the powerful style of fiction. The chief character
is Hildred Kane, who is delineated with consider-
able skill. She was possessed of great talents, and
was of a feeling disposition ; but all her great and
good qualities were rendered valueless by her in-
domitable self-will and inordinate desire for admi-
ration. The gradual but certain course to ruin
which such natures ever pursue is sketched with a
truthful earnestness and a sad reality. The home
of her aunt was Hildred's refuge ; there she re-
ceived a warm welcome, kind sympathy, and true
protection ; to that home she brought wretched-
ness, dismay, and life-long suffering. Mrs. Graham,
her aunt, was a well-meaning woman, but rather
domineering. However, she had no control over
her wilful niece, who was unmanageable by en-
treaties or threats. Guy, the son of Mrs. Graham,
was rather a weak character, or he would
not have so devoted himself to a woman like
Hildred, who did not treat him with the commonest
respect. This infatuation, to which he blindly
yielded, cost him very dear, for Miss Kane at last
consented to their engagement when' under the
most facile of her varying moods. Before that
engagement was ratified, however, she met Lord
Carstairs. This nobleman was possessed of the
most fascinating manners, and his social talents
were of the most brilliant order. He was exactly
the sort of man who would obtain a dangerous
influence over a girl like Hildred, and in vain did
the distracted Graham endeavour to stop the per-
nicious acquaintance. Circumstances seemed to
conspire against him, for the whole party were
staying at Oaklands, the country place of some
friends, when it suddenly took• fire in the night,
and Lord Carstairs was instrumental in saving the
life of Hildred. Afterwards the family from
Oaklands removed to Mrs. Graham's, and
Lord Carstairs was a constant visitor. The
next few weeks were passed in a state of frenzied
uncertainty, and stormy discussions, which were at
last put an end to by Hildred Kane's departure
with Lord Carstairs. The unfortunate Graham had
more to endure than her desertion of himself, for
her good name was forfeited, and he felt that the
hopes of his life were extinguished for ever. After
her false lover had left her, the ill-fated woman
became an actress, for which profession she had.
always entertained a vehement desire. Hope
Graham, another niece of Mrs. Graham, was of a
very different style: she was inferior in talents, and
not to be compared in personal attractions to the
brilliant Hildred, but far superior in everything
really worth admiring and respecting. What little
appears of her, is a relief after the fitful fever of
the heroine's career. There are some striking pas-
sages met with in this little story : the scene of the
fire at Oaklands is very forcibly sketched.