The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-20 00:00:00

FROM THE FRENCH PAPERS

The Semaphore, of Marseilles, gives an account of
the arrival in that port of a bold and ingenious sailor,
who has constructed a boat formed to fit his own
body when laid at full length, in which he traver.es
the sea with a B,..iftness and security rivalling that
of fishes. His head and arms alone ar:pear from
without, and with the latter, holding a pair of
oars,
Ptrhouvsisihoensmaadree
and
recessesimpels
e himselfth) along,at
sto wecihln
voyages from Toulon 4:6 Nice and Leghorn, coming
to ?Marseilles by tlae islands of llyeres. On ar-
riving in port he complied with all the prescribed re-
gulati,-,ns, entering his own name, Malbec, and that
of ins vessel, and then darted across the harbour like
an arrow. On being examined when on shore, the
wonderful vessel was found to be a most perfect piece
o? mechanism. It is furnished with a small pump,
similar to that used in wine and beer-houses for
drawing the liquor from the casks in the cellar,
and by means of which any water the boat may
snake can be easily discharged. Having been
tisprived of his left leg, M. Malbec has converted
itA wooden substitute into a mast, upon which
he occasionally raises a sail suited for his light
bark, and which he can trim with ease, according
to the wind, and the course he wishes to steer. M.
Malboc's visit to Marseilles is said to be for the pur-
pose of having a vessel on his plan constructed of cast
iron, with various improvements, among which are to
be hollow; masts, admitting air into the body of the
boat, so that either in foul weather, or when requiring
sleep, he may lie down on the mattrass at the bottom,
close the hatchway and apertures for his head and
arms, without fear of being suffocated. He has given
his vessel the appropriate name of the Duck.
A young man of Rheims, named Bernier, having
received a sum of money for entering the army as a
substitute, determined, before his departure, to spend
a portion of it in licentious pleasures, and formed an
intimacy with a girl of the town. On the morning
of the 25th ultimo, after passing the night together
in a house of ill fame, they went down into the com-
mon room, and each called for a glass of brandy, but
before either of them had drunk, another paramour
of the girl came in, and she, in spite of the remon-
strance of Bernier, resolved to go away with him.
Upon this, Bernier, in his exasperation, took a pistol
from his pocket, and discharging it at the girl laid
her dead 'at his feet. He attempted to fly, but was
secured with the pistol in his hand.
A marriage took place lately at Blois between a
travelling dealer and an exceedingly pretty girl, who
some years back was a common street-singer. The
bridegroom saw her one evening weeping bitterly,
from being forced by her father, who was a cripple,
to sing when her strength was unequal to the task.
The honest dealer took compassion on the girl, then
about 14, and offered to put her to school. The fa-
ther gladly consented, particularly as he was himself
to be placed by the generous dealer in a small shop at
Tours, where he could make a comfortable subsistence.
Education brought out so many good qualities in the
young protege that the dealer thought he could not
do better than become the possessor of such a treasure.
Ile proposed and was accepted, and the marriage took
place as has been related.

In the afternoon of the 24th ult., a young man,
named Pierre Bastard, who had been for some time
at variance with his father, entered the house of the
latter, at Vaux, in the Charente, and finding him re-
posing on the ground, approached within three yards
of him, and discharged at him a gun loaded with shot
and slugs, a great portion of which lodged in the
thigh, and others in the shoulder and side of the victim,
who died shortly afterwards of the wounds. A
person named Roy, who was lying by the side of the
father, roused by the report, sprung up, and pursued
the parricide. On coming up with him, young Bas-
tard displayed a brace of pistols, and threatened to dis-
charge them at Roy if he did not desist. The mur-
derer having thus deterred Roy from following him,
went into a meadow opposite his fathers' house, and
committed suicide. He first discharged one of his
pistols into the region of his head, and, this not having
immediate effect, he reloaded his gun, and tying a
string to the trigger, placed the muzzle on the right
side of his head, and by a pull of the string, discharged
the contents, thereby causing instant death.
Three or four days ago, M. Fontaine, a farmer at
Teteghem, near Dunkirk, employed two of his men,
Decock and Eduwaele, in emptying the cess-pool of
the premises. Towards the conclusion of the task,
the latter went down into it, but was so overcome
by the effluvia, that he was obliged to ascend almost
immediately. Decock then went down, was affected
in like manner. M. Fontaine, undismayed, determined
to save his man, and descended with a rope. He got
him up to the mouth of the cess-pool, and Mme. Fon-
taine, who had come to his assistance, took the body
of Decock, and endeavoured to lift it out ; but the
weight was too great for her strength, and she let it
fall upon her husband, and both were precipitated to
the bottom, and suffocated in the remains of the
contents of the fosse. Other men were then em.
ployed to relieve them, and they were drawn ur by
ropes ; but all the applications of medical sin' Were
insufficient to restore them to life,
suf-
fered for some time, but ultimately
was '
convalescence.
e-
fir the Charente, a few
named Stonteau,
At the Court of Assiz
days ago, a female of ;7, restored to
farm-
servant, was, trie43_
for an attempt to poison another
female Sialre
it of the same farm, named Noel, by
a Putting
~eme verdigris, which she '
had scraped from a
b
.4s pump, into the
drinking. Noel was very
and proof having been obtained
girl Stonteau, she was arrested. It appeared from the
glassill, but uftr eventuallyowhich she was
_ the
gurecovered,ilguilt
of the
evidence that the only
motive for the deed was a de-
sire to remove Noel, who, according to the prisoner's
statement, caused additional labour to be imposed
upon her. Stonteau confessed having administered
would kill, and merely to make Noel so ill as
the poison, but declared that she had no idea that it
wished
to compel her to leave her place. The prisoner was