The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-26 00:00:00

CRIME IN FRANCE.

Tho Military Tribunal was occupied on Saturday
yg
and the day before in tr in a very painful case.
Adjutant Picolier and Sergeant-Major Rode, of the
2d Regiment of Lancers, in garrison at Provins,
spent a great part of the afternoon of the 25th
August in drinking and playing cards at a cafe in
the town ; they afterwards dined together and
took more drink ; they then went to the theatre ;
and on leaving entered a pastrycook's shop, where
they took some glasses of Madeira. They became
noisily drunk, and at last went to a house of ill-
fame called La Ferme. They knocked loudly at
the door, but from the lateness of the hour it was
not opened : they then began beating at it with
their swords, and shouted to the people inside to
open, but the door remained closed. At length
they got into a passion, and beat the door more
furiously than ever. The keeper of the place, one
Couvert, at last ordered his servant, a man named
Honore, to admit them. But no sooner had
this man opened the door than the- officer and the
sergeant-major rushed on him with their swords
drawn. In terror he fled into the court-yard,
but they followed, pushed him about, and abused
him. The man then ran into a corner, and Pico•
Tier followed him sword in hand. At this moment
Convert presented himself in the yard and Bode
raised his sword to strike, but two other officers of
the regiment, sub-lieutenants de Coetlogon and
Destafle, and the bandmaster Pontet, who hap-
pened to be in the house and were attracted to the
spot by the tumult, prevented him ; de Coetlogon
crying out, " Do not hurt him, he is a good fellow !"
Meanwhile Picolier with a violent blow with
his sword on the head had laid Honore bathed
in bloot at his feet. A woman named Eugenie,
servant in the house, who had also been attracted
to the syot, exclaimed, " Honore is murdered !"
On that Rode, catching hold of the woman, threw
her on the body, exclaiming, " There is a corpse,
and you shall make a second one !" He knocked
her down more than once, and would probably
have seriously injured her, if the women of the
house, who had rushed down stairs, had not
dragged her away. He then took up Honore, and
shaking him, said, " You are only pretending to
be dead ! But you know me ; lam Rode, and am
not to be deceived," and he let him fall heavily on
the ground. Again he raised him, and, with abu-
sive language, called on him not to pretend death,
and once more let him fall to the ground. At this
moment the gendarmes who had been sent for
arrived, and the two men were arrested.
Honore was conveyed to the hospital in a pitiable
plight, and ten days after he died. In consequence
of these circumstances the adjutant and the ser-
geant-major were accused of having inflicted
wounds which had caused death, without, how-
ever, intending to occasion it • and also of the
secondary charges of violation oidomicile and noc-
turnal disturbance. After the facts had been
stated, Picolier, having been interrogated, said
that, having taken considerable quantities of brandy,
absinthe, vermuth, bitters, and wine, he was so
drunk he did not know what he had done, and was
not aware, until told the next day, that he had
inflicted a severe wound on a man; even now he
declared he could not call to mind anything
that had taken place. Rode, in answer to ques-
tions put to him, also said that he was intoxi-
cated, but though he admitted that he might have
made a noise in the house, he denied that
he had done what was statedin the indictment. He
particularly denied that he had, as one of the wit-
nesses said, asserted in the preliminary examination,
'" Let ui kill everybody in the house, and then burn
it down !" Among the witnesses were bandmaster
Ponthouse, Sub-lieutenants Destafle, and de Coet-
logon. and they gave their evidence with such
The
t
the
prisoners,
presidenth
wrebukede
them.n
called on for his defence, stated that both of
them felt the sincerest regret at what had occurred.
Their excuse was certainly a deplorable one, since
intoxication was not to be pardoned. Still for
mcn of such admitted bravery as the prisoners,
both having greatly distinguished themselves in.
the Italian war, the supposition of any inten-
tion to basely kill an unarmed man could not
for a moment be entertained. There was no
feeling of anger or revenge in the case, and the
wound which occasioned death was given by acci-
dent, and in the dark. Only one blow had been
given, and that unfortunately fell on Honore's
head. As to Rode, he could not in an y way be
looked on as an accomplice, for everything had
taken place unexpectedly, and through inattention,
there being no malice in the case. The Court
having deliberated, declared by a majority of four to
three that neither prisoner had given blows with
an intention to cause death ; next, by a unanimous
decision, that Picolier had committed an involun-
tary homicide on the person of the man Honore,
but that Rode was not an accomplice in the said
act ; and lastly affirmed that doth were guilty of
nocturnal disturbance. The sentence of the Court
was that Picolier should be imprisoned for three
L months, and Rode for six days.

ME WEATHER.—Portsmouth and its neighbour-
hood were yesterday visited at 9 a.m. by a severe hail-storm
of about an hour's duration, from the north-east. The sub-
urbs of the town to the north-east felt the greatest effects
from the storm, the hail or ice falling in frozen irregular
masses, instead of the ordinary shape, the ground being
covered to the depth, in parts, of several inches. The baro-
meter at the time stood at 29.40 ; the thermometer out of
doors at 40 deg. Fahrenheit. The wind afterwards veered
round to S.E., and at noon began to freshen, with a hearfo
pouring rain, which continued the remainder of the
,!f•lf.tX:
the wind freshening to a perfect gale from S.E. tps-bf r_._
At 5 p.m. the barometer had fallen three -tent?) t
tem:
10 a.m., and there was every appearance of a m s.
lymivdinviidghatit
thb
e a heavy fall of
ipne sthhieo utoswnniganhtdinitsthveicCiaihantyndelinlg'he cosllasd htiandfocbwoeennsdaidyins:treaanbnselie
on the previous forenoon there had_
sneown
rain accompanied by large flakes of
p.m. until
the
quantities.lightning,
accompanied by low rumbling thunder.
Infothrkeedevaennidngsh,
times,