The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-10-02 00:00:00

This essay

A MODERN ROMANCE OF REAL LIFE

The subjoined narrative, published in a late number of
Chambers' Journal, is stated to be translated from a foreign
newspaper. It is necessary to remind the reader, that the
island of Mauritius, appertaining at this day to the English,
was originally colonised by the French, and that the popula-
tion yet consists in a great measure of that nation, to whom,
by a formal treaty between the powers concerned, their anci-
ent laws and usages were preserved without any material
alterations.

About ten or twelve months ago, the Sieur Clodomir Fre-
nois, a rich merchant of the island, was found dead and fright-
fully disfigured in his own habitation. His body was disco-
vered lying on the floor, with the head and face mutilated by
means of a pistol, and all doubt as to the cause of the catas-
trophe was dispelled by the discovery of the fatal weapon by
the side of the corpse, and also of a paper in the handwriting
of the deceased. This paper contained the following words :
—" I am ruined !—a villain has robbed me of twenty-five
thousand livres sterling ; dishonour must be my portion, and
I cannot await or survive it. I leave to my wife the task of
distributing among my creditors the means which remain to
us ; and I pray that God, my friends, and my enemies, may
pardon my self-destruction! Yet another minute, and I shall
be in eternity ! (Signed) CLODOMIR FRENOIS."
Great was the consternation caused by this tragic event,
which was the more unexpected as the loss alluded to in the
note had never been made public. The deceased had been
held in great esteem over the colony as a man of strict ho-
nour and probity, and was universally lamented. His at-
tached widow, after endeavouring faithfully to fulfil his last
wishes, found her grief too overpowering to permit her longer
to mingle with the world, and took the resolution of conse-
crating her remaining days to the services of religion. Two
months after the sad end of her husband, she entered a
convent, leaving to a nephew of the late husband, a physician,
the distribution of the effects of Frenois among his creditors.
A minute examination of the papers of the defunct led to
the discovery of the period at which the unfortunate mer-
chant had been robbed ; and this period was found to corre-
spond with the date of the disappearance of a man named
John Moon, long in the employment of Frenois. Of this
man, on whom supicion naturally fell, nothing could be
learned on inquiry ; but shortly after the division of the .late
merchant's property, Moon reappeared in the colony. When
taken up and examined respecting the cause of his flight, he
stated that he had been sent to France by his master to re-
cover certain sums due to the merchant there, in which mis-
sion he had been unsuccessful ; and he further averred, that,
if Clodomir Frenois, in his existing correspondence, had
thrown any injurious suspicions upon him (Moon) the whole
was but a pretext to account for deficiencies of which the
merchant himself was the sole cause and author. This decla-
ration, made by a man who seemed to fear no inquiry, and
whose worldly circumstances remained to appearance the
same as they had ever been, had the effect of silencing, if it
did not satisfy, the examittators ; and the affair soon fell, in a
great measure, out of the public recollection.
Things•remained for a short time in this condition, when,
one morning, Mr. Win. Burnett, principal creditor of. the
late Clodomir Frenois, heard *knocking at his gate at a very
early hour. He called up one of his servants, who went
down and opened the door, and immediately returned with
the intelligence that a stranger. who seemed desirous of keep-
ing his person concealed, wished to speak with Mr. Burnett
in private. Mr. Burnett rose, threw on his dressing-gown,
and descended to the parlour. He saw there a stranger, of
tall person, seated in an easy and familiar attitude upon a
sofa, with a number of the Morning Post in his hand. The
back of the visitor was turned to Mr. Burnett as he entered.
Rather surprised to see a stranger conduct himself so like an
old friend of the house, Mr. Burnett said aloud, " Sir, may
I beg to know your business with me ?"
The stranger turned round, and advanced to salute his host
warmly and courteously. Mr. Burnett started hack, and ut-
tered a loud exclamation of :surprise and alarm. Well he
might ' • for before his eyes stood his friend and debtor, Clo-
domir Frenois, whom he had beheld, nearly a year before, a
mutilated corpse, and whom he himself had followed to the
grave !
What passed at that interview between Mr. Burnett and
his strange visitor, remained for the time a secret. Mr.
Burnett was observed to issue several times, pale and agi-
tated, from his dwelling, and to visit the magistrate charged
with the conduct of the criminal processes of the colony. In
the course of that day, while John Moon was regaling him-
self with tea under the palm-trees of his garden, along with a
Circassian female whom he had bought some time previously,
he was arrested and taken to prison by the officers of justice.
On the following day, he was brought before the criminal
court, accused of robbing the late Clodomir Frenois, the
crime being conjoined with breach of trust and violence.
Moon smiled at the charge, with all the confidence of a man
who had nothing to fear. The judge having demanded of
him if he confessed the crime, the accused replied, that the
charge was altogether absurd ; the clear testimony was ne-
cessary to fix such a delict upon him ; and that, so far from
there being any such evidence producible, neither the widow
of the deceased, nor any one person in his service, had ever
beard the pretended robbery even once mentioned by Frenois
during his life. •
" Do you then affirm your innocence ?" repeated the judge
gravely, after hearing all that the other had to say.
" I will avouch my innocence," replied Moon, " even be-.
fore the body of my late master, it that be necessary. [Such
a thing often took place under the old colonial law.]
" John Moon," said the judge, in a voice broken by some
peculiar emotion, " It is before your late master that you
will have now to assert your innocence; and may God make
the truth appear !"
A signal from the judge accompanied these words, and
immediately a door opened, and Clodomir Frenois, the sup-
posed suicide, entered the court. He advanced to the bar
with a slow and deliberate step, having his eye calmly but
sternly fixed on the prisbner, his late servant. A great sen-
sation was caused in the court by his appearance. Uttering
shrieks of alarm and horror, the females present tied from
the spot. The accused fell on his knees in abject terror, and
shudderingly confessed his guilt. For a time no voice was
heard but his. However, as it became apparent that a living
man stood before the court, the advocate for the prisoner
gained courage to speak. He demanded that the identity of
the merchant be established, and the mystery of his existence
explained. He said that the court should not be biassed by
what might prove to be a mere accidental likeness between a
person living and one deceased, and that such an avowal as
that of the prisoner, extracted in a moment of extraordinary
terror, was not to be held of much weight." " Before being
admitted here as accuser or witness," continued the advo-
cate, addressing the resuscitated merchant, " prove who and
what you are, and disclose by what chance the tomb, which
so lately received your body, mangled by bullets, has given
up its tenant, and restored you to the world in life and
health !"

The tirm appeal of the advocate, who continued steadfast
to his duty under circumstances that would have closed the
lips of most men, called forth the following narrative from
Clodomir Frenois ;—" My story may be soon told, and it
will suffice to establish my identity, When I discovered the
robbery committed by the accused, he had then lied from the
island, and I speedily saw that all attempts to retake him
would prove fruitless. I saw ruin and disgrace before me,
and came to the resolution of terminating my life before the
evil day came. On the night on which this determination
was formed, I was seated alone iu my private chamber. I
had written the letter which was found on my table, and had
loaded my pistol. This done, 1 prayed forgiveness from my
Maker for the act of despair 1 was about to commit. The
end of the pistol was at my head, and my finger on the lock,
when a knock at the outer door of the house startled me. I
concealed the weapon, and went to the door. A man enter-
ed, whom I recognised to be the sexton of the parish in which
I lived. He bore a sack on his shoulders, and in it the body
of a man newly buried, which was destined for my nephew,
the physician, then living with me. The scarcity of bodies
for dissection, as the court is aware, compels those who are
anxious to acquire skill in the medical profession to procure
them by any possible secret means. Time sexton was at first
alarmed at having met me. Did my nephew request you
to bring this body ?' said I. ' No,' replied the warm ; but I
knew his anxiety to obtain one for dissection, and took it
upon me to come and offer him this body. For mercy's
sake,' continued the sexton, ' do not betray me, sir, or I
shall lose my situation and my family's bread.'
While the man was speaking, a strange idea entered my
mind, and brought to my despairing bosom hopes of conti-
nued life and recovered honour. I stood for a few minutes
absorbed in thought, and then, recollecting myself, I gave
two pieces of gold to the resurrectionist, the sum which he
had expected. Telling him to keep his own counsel, and
that all would be well, I sent him away, and carried the body
to my cabinet. The whole of the household had previously
been sent out of the way on purpose, and I had time to carry.
into execution the plan which had struck me. The body was
fortunately of the same station as myself, and like me in
complexion. I knew the man ;he had been a poor offender,
abandoned by his family. " Poor relic of mortality !" said
I, with tears in my eyes, " nothing which man may do can
now injure thee ; yet pardon me if I rudely disfigure thy
lifeless substance. It is to prevent time rain of not one, but
twenty families ! And should success attend my attempt, I
swear that thy children shall be my children; and, when my
own hour comes, we shall rest together in the tomb to which
thou shalt be borne before me !'
At this portion of the merchant's narrative, the most lively
interest was excited in the court, and testified even by tears
from many of the audience. Frenois thus proceeded :—" I
then stripped off my clothes, and dressed the body in them.
This accomplished, I took up the pistol, and with a hand
more reluctant than when I had applied it to my own person,
I fired it close to the head of the deceased, and at once caused
such a disfigurement as rendered it impossible for the keenest
eye to detect the substitution which had been made.
" Choosing the plainest habit I could get. I then dressed
myself anew, shaved off the whiskers which I was accustomed
to wear, and took other means to alter and disguise my ap-
pearance, in case of being subjected by any accident to the
risk of betrayal. Next morning saw me on board a French
vessel on my way to a distant land—the native country of my
ancestors. Tire expectations which had led me to the execu-
tion of this scheme were not disappointed. I knew that John
Moon, the man who had robbed me, and who now stands at
the bar of this court, had formed connections in this island,
which would in all probability bring him back to it as soon as
the intelligence of my death gave him the promise of security.
In this I have not been disappointed. I have been equally
fortunate in other respects. While my unworthy servant
remained here in imaginary safety, I have been successful in
discovering time quarter in which, not daring at first to betray
here the appearance of wealth, he bad lodged the whole of
the stolen money. I have brought it with me, and also suf-
ficient proofs, supposing his confession of this day to be set
aside altogether, to convict him of the crime with which he
stands charged. • By the same means," continued Clodomir
Frenois, with a degree of honourable pride in which all who
heard him sympathised, " will i be enabled to restore my
family to their place in society, and to redeem the credit of a
name on which no blot was left by those who bore it before
me, and which, please God, I shall transmit unstained to my
children's children. _ _ _

John Moon, whose guilt was thus suddenly and strangely
laid bare to the world, did not retract the confession which
he had made in the extremity of his terror ; and, without
separating, the court sentenced him to confinement for life
in the prisons of the colony.

The news of Clodomir' Frenois's reappearance spread
rapidly, and the high esteem in which his character was held
led to an universal rejoicing on the occasion. He was ac-
companied from the court to his home by a dense multitude,
who welcomed him with prolonged shouts. It would be
vain to attempt any description of the feelings of the wife,
who thus saw restored to her the beloved being for whose
sake she had quitted the world. She was released from her
ecclesiastical vows, and rejoined her husband, no more to
part till the grave really claimed one or other of them as its
due.

BIRMINGHAM, SATURDAY.—Mr. Phillips, the vocalist,
was violently assaulted and robbed in the neighbourhood of
the town, on Wednesday evening. His services not being
required in the performances at the theatre that evening, he
was enjoying a walk between eight and nine o'clock, at a
place called Sparkbrook, in the direction of the London-
road, when he was met by thr"ee men, who, from their dress,
appeared to be " navigators or labourers employed upon
railways, who jostled against and knocked him down. Mr.
Phillil s being possessed of considerable muscular power, on
recovering from the blows, succeeded in beating two of the
villains off, but the third tripped him up and placed his knee
upon his cheat, while the others succeeded in rifling his
pockets, from which they took a purse containing about six
sovereigns, and instantly decamped. Mr. Phillips had on a
military frock coat at the time, tightly buttoned to the throat,
the breast of which was torn open. The robbers did not.
succeed in obtaining possession of a valuable watch which he
had about him at the time. It is gratifying to be able to state
that Mr. Phillips was able to attend the performances on Fri-
day morning. No trace has since been discovered of the
robbers.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL MISCELLANY

Louis Napoleon's stud of horses, which were seized at
Boulogne, were sold by auction there on Friday last. Some
of them, of well known pedigree, are on their way to Lon-
don, and two are entered to compete for the Kingsdown cup
of £lOO value.

MURDER OF A SERVANT.-Thr Gazette de Liege states,
that a few days ago, an Englishman, named Rising, living at
Marche, had a violent altercation with his servant, and was
carried so far by his passion as to seize a knife, and plunge
it several times in the body of the victim. His wife and sis-
ter endeavoured to prevent him from committing this crime ;
but he was deaf to their entreaties, and the cries of the un-
fortunate man, who was so badly wounded as to expire the
next evening. Early in the morning, Rising had fled from
Marche, and had made his escape through Liege. He had
formerly travelled for the house of Stevens and Vander-
nerchem of Brussels. The unfortunate servant has left a
widow and two children.

The Havre Journal mentions the loss of the Cadiz packet
to Havannah, at the entrance of the old Bahama channel.
The date of the accident is •not mentioned, but the letter
from Havannah which brought the news was written on the
20th ult. There were 80 passengers on board, of whom only
20 were saved by means of a raft.—Galignani's Messenger.
The king of the French has just conferred the order of the
Legion of Honour upon Capt. Plucket, of Dunkirk. It ap-
pears from the report of the services of this officer, who is
now 81 years of age, that during the late war, when he com-
manded a privateer, he destroyed 48 vessels of the enemy,
took 54 guns, made 500 prisoners, and received four wounds.
TEXAS.—An extract from the Courrier of Salverton, of
the 12th of August, announces that they had received an ac-
count from Matagorda, dated the 9th instant, stating that a
corps of 2500 Mexican and Cherokee Indians had invaded
Texas and burned the small towns of Vittoria, Dimmits, and
Luineville. A captain and a major had been killed, and the
wife of the former carried off.

DREADFUL FIRE AT DEVONPORT.
PARTIAL DESTRUCTION OP THE ROYAL NAVAL ARSENAL-

HALF A MILLION OF PROPERTY DESTROYED

(From the Devonport Telegraph.)
At half-past four this morning, (Sunday,) an alarm was
Riven to the superintendent of the dock-yard police, Lieut.
Williams, that the Talavera line-of-battle ship, in the North
Dock, was on fire. All hands were instantly on the spot,
with the engines ; but so terrific were the flames as to give
proof that the' total destruction of the ship was to succeed.
The fire-bells were then rung, and the workmen, with the
military, called in. The tide was high, and plenty of water
consequently at hand ; but nothing appeared to subdue the
fury with which the fire extended southwards, the direction
in which the other docks and building-slips lay, as well as
the rigging-house, sail-loft,.and all the store-houses. At a
quarter to five o'clock, the Talavera was one mass of
,flame, whiCh, communicating with the shed over head,
threatened to carry the fire. to the. extremity of the yard.
The Minden line of battle ship, lying at the stern of the
Talavera, which took fire a-head, 'at one time appeared in-
evitably doomed ; but the wind shifting ttpoint, and by-the
most strenuous exertions of the engines, the progress of the
flames astern was stopped ; but what appeared to be the cause
of the prevention of this danger only carried it in another
direction, as the roof of the shed adjoining took fire, and the
dense volumes of smoke for a time appeared to choke the
'flame. Beneath this shedivere kept the figure-heads of some
of the ships which, having borne the hrUnt of the battle, were
after the peace broken up ; and these slight remembrances of
their achievements were kept with a degree of pride. At the
eastern end hung the flag of our inever-to-be-forgotten naval
hero, Nelson, under which he fought the battle of Tra-
falgar; and opposite, the flag of Lord Exmouth at the battle
of Algiers. An attempt was gallantly made by a young man
to save them, but the tire was too fierce, and the attempt was
given up for the safety of the party who made it. Speedily suc-
ceeding the firing of this shed,the one adjoining also took flame,
in which was the Imogene frigate. This was also completely
destroyed. To subdue the flames here appeared to be fruitless,
and an attempt was made to prevent a furtler extension by
playing the engines upon the building opposite, but without
success, and the whole range, together with a large pile of
timber under a shed, were in flames. Eight o'clock.—The
tire is still burning, but will now be confined merely to the
consumption of the timber and materials. The loss; at a
rough estimate, is said to
,be from £400,000 to £500,000 ;
this appears to be an extreme amount, but that the destruc-
tion is immense there can be no doubt. No account can yet
be collected as to the origin of the fire ; no party has been at
work on board the ship in which it originated for several
weeks ; at four o'clock there was nothing like fire seen, and
at half-past five the ship was in a flame fore and aft. The
strictest inquiry will no'doubt be instituted as to the cause,
and, for the credit of the executive, it is to be hoped that no
want of caution from a false economy has led to this severe
national loss.