The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-28 00:00:00

ATROCIOUS MURDER IN FRANCE

A threefold attempt at murder fatal ho-w-e-ver, in one
instance only, was made on Sunday morning last, about
five o'clock, at Perigueux, in the Loire. M. Desplat, who
kept a public•house in the town, had sold his house and
good-will, and was believed to have received a day or two
before B,ooof, or 10,000 f. in part of the purchase money.
This tempted the avidity of some villains, who deter-
mined to obtain it at any sacrifice of life. Having
armed themselves with a pick-axe, which they procured
from the yard of a neighbouring house, by scaling
.the
wall, they in like manner, got into the back premises
of Desplat's house, which they entered by the yard
door. Their first object was to silence a young man
named Regnaud, the only lodger in the house, and pre-
vent his coming to the assistance of Desplat and his
wife. They entered Regnaud's room on the second
floor, and, finding him asleep, struck him on the fore-
head with the pickaxe, and opened his skull. The
poor youth was killed at once, without uttering a cry;
but, to make assurance doubly sure, they cut his throat
with his own razor. Desplat and his wife slept together on
the first floor, and, to execute their project with greater
security, they enticed the husband up stairs, by imitating
the voice of Regnaud, as if in pain, calling for a light.
Desplat got up and came out of his room, but had
not ascended more than three or four stairs when he
was felled by two violent blows on the head, which
stunned him, and covered him with blood. Believing
him to be dead, the assassins went into the room, and
attacked the wife ; but her cries brought Desplat's
senses back, and, rallying all his powers, ha went to her
rescue, calling out for assistance. Hearing this, the
murderers took the alarm, and fled with no other booty
than the watch of the unfortunate Regnaud, and, even if
they had fully accomplished their murderous design, they
would have gained but little more, for M. Desplat had
not received any part of the sum they expected
to find. Some neighbours came in at the crisis, and
brought the guard. They found the house deluged with
blood. Desplat and his wife were 'both dreadfully
wounded, but are not in absolute danger ; the body of
Regnaud, with the head nearly severed from it, had been
covered with his own mattress and bedclotheS. It was
taken to the hospital to be submitted to an autopsy
under the eye of justice, in order to obtain and preserve
legal evidence of the cause of his death. Several per-
sons have been arrested on suspicion, and every hope is
entertained by the magistrates of bringing the perpetra-
tors of this brutal crime to condign putushment.—Ga-
zette des Tribunaux.

ertiya, wel-
LIEUT.-COL. NAPIER'S " WILD SPORTS.
Col. Napier, the author of ‘‘Scenes and Sports in Foreign
nd
Lands," and other popular productions, has just published a
Anefwriea,w,o,rlski,ileehntwitilleldne,t‘ leVnlildbSf.lecornetnisvneidnwlituhroapeh, As a
come by every sportsman, but e
be f d not less attractive to
the general reader. The scenes of the gallant author's ex-
ploits, as may be imagined from the title of his work, are
sufficiently diversified. He takes us from Madras to the
Mauritius, the Cape, St. Helps, Gibraltar, Tarifa, Tangiers,
Malta, Gazo, Syria , Grand Cairo, Alexandria, the Desart,
&c. ; and the list of sports described is equally comprehen-
sive : in shooting, from the wild pigeon and quail, to the
hawk and eagle ; in hunting, from the fox to the wild boar
and bull ; besides numerous piscatorial adventures. Inde-
pendently, however, of the sporting details, the many amus-
ing personal anecdotes and sketches of the Colonel's brother
officers and associates give extraordinary vivacity to his
pages. The work is illustrated with some capital en-
gravings.
BANK OF MANCHESTER--The Committee ap-
pointed at the annual meeting in October last to investigate
e assets, whether in
assets,
they had
the affairs of the Bank have presented their report to the
proprietors. Having exercised the; utmost discretion in the
feosrtmima,t)fesrepalalcesdeeuo:.ltin tehseervaplueresoonfal oth
arrived at so near an approximation to the statements
contained in the report as to justify them in
pronouncing the balance-sheet exhibited to the share-
holders on the 29th of October, 1843, to have been (as far
as could be ascertained) a true and accurate statement
andaialiccoensequent reduction ofsheet showed a con-
siderable the position of the bank on the 30th of June in that year.
The Committee had also examined the balance-sheet for the
half-year ending the 31st of December, 1843, and had the ba-
stiisdfearcatbir
realisationofrertin
liabilities, from 440,9361. to 314,778/., during the halt-year,
and justified the hope that no further loss would result to the
shareholders of this unfortunate concern than what would be
provided for by the payment of 014:4 Second call,—.Local paper,
gofthassatetthsi,s balance-sheet