The Sun.
London, England, 1820-12-26 00:00:00

EDINBURGH, DEC. 23.

•lntat
coal.

CALEDONIAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
We understand, that at the Meeting of this So-
ciety on the 7th instant, Dr. Duncan, sen. read a-
diScourse,• showing the great advantages which
would result to Scottish Horticulture from the
establishment of an •Experimental Garden, and
urging all the MemberS to exert themselves for
the attainment of so desirable an object. He at
the same time took ad opportunity of presenting
to Dr. William Howison the Society's Gold Me-
dal, for the Horticultural Communications with
which he has enriched their Memoir s. The Com-
mittee for Prizes reported, that the Prizes offer-
ed for this day had been awarded as follow
1. For the hest three sorts of Apples, &c. to Mr. Robeit
Reid, gardener to Sir Alexander Keith at Ravelstone.
2. For the hest Colmar, Cliamontelle, and Crassanne Pears,
§:Mik alike Macewan, gardener to Sir James Hall,Bart
thjanss.
44 For some other very fine specimens of Pears, an extraor-
-7 • dinary Mt!tlal, to Mr. John K)le, ,gardener to Mr. Stilling

of Keir.
4. For the best Achan pears, from standards, to 'Mr. James
Stewart, gardener to Sir John Hope, Bart. Pinkie.
Although a premium had been offered for the best speci-
mens of John Pear, with au account of the state of
the tree. &c. none were produced t evincing how rare this fine
aid pear has become. •
Some very beautiful pears were exhibited, raised atTorry
,by Mr. Ingram, who is reetarkahle for his success in cultivat-
ing the fitter kinds of French Pears. Specimens of a very
large and healthy variety of the Golden Pippin ; of the.
Summer Nonpareil; and of an old apple, called the Oily
Pippin, from the garden of Mr. Falconir of Carlowrie, ex-
cited! much attention.
Mr. Forbes exhibited a very small specimen of the Green
Tea Plant, in foil flower, and made some remarks on the
means of causing that flue evergreen to throw out its blossoms.
The Secretary mentioned, that, .by the influence of Dr.
Yule, a large packet of Mountain Rice, front the elevated
regions in Nepaul, had been received from Dr. Willie!), of
Calcutta, who was of opinion, that it might be cultivated in
this country, and that members, desirous of trying the ex-
pe rimont, might be supt.lied with some of the seed.
Commitnicatious from various correspdindents were an-
nounced, particularly front Mr. Carr, of St. Antic's, on the
construction of Conservatories ; from Mr Thom, tiothesay,
on destroying the Gooseberry Caterpillars ; from Dr. Howi-
son, on the Russian Mode of preserving Potatoes; and from
Mr. Cathie, on the American Gourd.
•

An inhabitant of Carmarthenshire, who, like
most of his countrymen, was very superstitions,
went to the parson of his parish a few days ago,
and declared that he saw the ghost of his friend
Taffy Evans,a convivial hostler, who died a month
before ; " and how did you know," said the par-
son, " that it was the ghost of Taffy, friend
0 wen ? " " Oh !" answered Owen, " because
hur was staggering drunk."

[PRICE &VENPENCE.

FRENCH ASSIZE COURT.

At Lyons .commenced on Monday the ;MIL
instant, before the Assizecourt t!ießhone
the trial of Peter Stephen Gabriel betierre,.atia:
Chevalier, aged 35 years, a native of. Madrid,
Vice-President of the Office of the Finances of
the Prefecture of the Rhone. .
The prisoner is descended frorn•opeiknt and respectable
parents, and received a -liberal relocation. His person is
elegant, his manners arc prepossessing, and for the space of
twelve years he had the address to procure and retain, under
the assumed name of Chevalier, the csleern of all who. knew
or had any intercourse with him ; avid to continue in
office a succession of Prefects. This is the general cha-
racter of the wan who is charged:—
' l'st. With poisoning his first three wires.
id. With the murder of a child, whom he bad by the
third.
rid. With stealing another child, whom be meant to soli-
stitut e for his own with the Mother's friends, who claimeel
the child : and,
4th. With basin: assumed, at Lyons, the name of l'etce
Claud.Clicvalier, with having arrived in that city witha for-
lough and route forged by himself, in erasing the • names
which were migindly inscribed, and is substituting those of
Jean Louis Chevalier; and with several <Aber forgeries
lit
public and authentic euctreitents.
The Act of. Accusation vxlaits these averments :—liefoce.
Chevalier contracted his first marriage at I.4uns he bad been
rejoined in the month of May, 1514, by a young woman, a
native of Holland, who had been lett a widow at tae age of
42 years, and whom he had formerly Irtiown at Antwerp.
They lived together for a short time. This 'young wonoto
was handsome, strong, and bealthy.:, and the widow of an
otlicer named Debiral. She was soddedly seized with art in,
ternal indammation, which occasioned tier the most excru-
ciating pain, and, notwithstanding the skill of her medical
attendants, and the power of medicine, she became worse
and worse, till death terminated her sufferings.
After the untimely end of his mistress, and in the space
of a few years, Chevalier contracted four successive mar-

riages. •
He married first, Mary Desgranges, daughter of a gentle-
man of landed property at St. Dither; the second witt, Mar-
garet Pizard, whose mother resides at Lyons ; the.thipt was
called Mary piquet, her brothers and sisters are still living;
and, lastly he warned for the fourth time, Demist': Boson,
his present wife, whose fattier is a land-owner and merchant
at Charlieu, departmcnt of the Loire. The four marriage
contracts are all in the same form and tenor, and entitle the
survivor to the joint property—a disposition, of whiCh Che-
valier was not tardy in availing himself.
The young woman, Desgranges, first wife of Cht calier, was
of a strong constitution and of excellent health. She presently
complained of internal pains, and to►.d some of her.friends
that she at length had scarcely the use of her limbs rthat tier
nt daughter was in the same. condition; and that sue
Id no account for this paralytic affection. The child soon
of convulsions, and its mother speedily followed it to the

grave. •
On one occasion, in 1814, some of her relatives tearing
that Mad. Chevalier had had, in the night, a severe attack
which had nearly piove.d fatal, went to see. her. She was up.
and in less pain. During their visit, and in tho-absence
of
her husband, after eating a mouthful of finiel):She-asked far
drink describing a particular bottle. She observed,
,in point-
ing at it with her finger, ." give use of this witie, the other is
my husband's."--etine drinks of it its five minutes afterwards,
sheds seized with a severe patoxvsas ; all 'her limbs are con-
tracted and become inflexible. Chevalier comes in ; he does
rtot discover the slightest emotion; his wife fixed her eves
upon him, falls, makes ineffectual effort to hying op What she
had drank, and dies. No sooner had she erased to lire, than
Chevalier, with perfect apathy, takes trims br;i• person her
wedding7rieg and. ear-tings ; he likewise vioi:erilVd to strip
her of part of her dress ; but on being reproached .With the
indecency of such an art, he desisted. In a moment after
this extraordinary death, Chet:dirt'-seizid the 041 out of
which, his wife had drank the deadly poison,. and emptied the
remaining' contents into the sink. • . •
'I be prisoner, fettling no compunction, was.eas•ily consoled
for the loss, and mat riedMargaret Pizard. This luting sem-
inal" at first discoecied souse symptoms of fear art he•proposal
to marry a man who, according to-report, had mattered his
wife and his mistress ; but tieing persuaded that these ra-
moors were with-out foundation, she mars ied him ois the 29th
of August, 1816. She soon became pregnant. • Her.eranlitian
was attended with great pain and reachings. On the Ilth
of
May, in the following year, she was delivered of a buy, who
received the name of Eugene.—This is the child•whom Che-
valier was alterwartis accused of murdering.
In a month atter lice delivery she was visited with fresh
pains ; colics, muscular contractions, and strong eleivalsions
came on iu rapid succession, and nu doubt is entertained of
Chevalier's having administered poison to her, during her to-
disposition, of which she died.
Alter a trial of three days he was found guilty) and con-
demned to death.

M. N ALM.

Extract of a Letter from a Lady at Paris, dated.
December 17, 1820.
64 We yesterday. experienced a' shock little
expected—the preceding day we .craled-
NALDI'S—we had a good deal .of cheerful chat,
and he walked with us on his way to line at
Garcia's, where Mrs. Naldi and Caroline were
to follow him ; the next morning we called. again,
when the servant came to the door crying ; ima-
gine the horror we felt on •hearing poop dear
Naldi had been killed within the hour after we
parted. There is a new machine invented here for
making soup within twenty minutes, acid ..vhich
is often used in the parlour. The two' families,
Garcia's and the Naldi, were all 'assembled
round the fire in the dining-room 'watching the
instrument, happy in the idea that they had no
party, and should enjoy a quiet eveuing, Caro-
line had a watch in her hand, when Naidi per-
ceiving the machine a little on one side, took the
tongs to keep it firm, saying, Caroline, holy
long must I stay so P--. 4 Just three minales, papa,
and it will be done ;' in an instant the room was
in total darkness—Mrs. Naldi screamed violent-
ly—her daughter took her by force into the next
room, acid on returning found her father acorp;o I
Two leaden plugs had been forced out, and en-
tered his brain."

An article from Tobolsk, in Siberia, dated
October 14, states that a labouring man,-who is
a purse of skin, vhich he wore at his breast, had
placed the hard-earned savings of his life, was
murdered by two-of his companions, for the sake
of his little treasure. The murde-...rs escaped to-
a neighbouring foreBt, followed by two dugs be-
longing to the deceased, which would not quit
them. The wretches did every thing to appease
them, but in vain. They then endeavoured to
kill them ; but the dogs were upon their guard,
and continued to howl dreadfully. Reduced to
despair, the murderers, at the end
..of two days,
returned to Krasnojarsk, and delivered' them-
selves into the hands of jus ice.—(Paris Paper)