New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-01-07

that before he came to live in the Rue Royales
q quantity Of silver plate had suddenly disap-
peared from the house where he lived, Many
other minute facts came out, all tending to
deepen the suspicion against the Anglades -
The most damaging evidence, however, was
gathered from his own replies to the interroga-
tories concerning his birth and source of income.
An evident mystery surrounded him. He pre-
varicated in his answers. 4
| At last il was made clear, that instead Of
being, as he bossted, gentleman Of high birth
and large fortune, bis origin was mean, and his
income was not more than two thousand livres,
although he lived extensively, paid for every
thing in ready money, and had ready money TO
lend out besides. This at once established him
as acheFalier d'indgstrie, and put an end to the
sympsthies Of honest men. Added to ell thsse
facts and suspicious, d d'Anglade and his wife
contradieted each other, and there we're dis
crepsncies between their statements. The case
locked very black against them ;-but a5 the JUS
tlce Of those days would on no account condemn
prisoner without giving him every chance Of
confessing his doom to be we'll merited, DAN
glade was put the torture. The evidence was,
after all, only circumstantial, and it would be
satisfaction lo # he could be made to confess
he was nrst put to torture ordinary, and as
| that brought nothing, they proceeded to the
torture extraordinary which brought nothing
either.
Hi As DAnglade refused to confess his guilt,
there was nothing to be done but to condemn
him without 8 confsaBion, (for of couree justice
never felt moments hesitation as to his guilty.
and, on the 18th February, 1858, he vas COZ
demned to the galieys for nine years. His wife
was bsnished from Paris for a like period Also,
| he was sentenced to pay d fine to the King, to
make restitution Of the stolen goods, arld 10 pay
three Thousand Gvres to the count BY way Of
compensation, which required more than he .
. 4 ME-. ILL 4 49,
| in prison, during which he had lived ON bread
and water, with nothing but damp and rotten
straw for bed, had entirely shattered his con-
stitution. Nevertheless, on being taken from
4 the torture. chamber he was thrown into the
darkest and frightfullest dungeon Of the Mont
gommeri toWers from which he was only removed
| to be taken--all broken to pieces-to the Cha
| teau de Ia Joncelle, where he was attached to
d gang Of the Tilest foreats.
\ He seemed to be at the point Of death The
declared that he was innocent Of all knowledge
Of the robbery, received the last saeFaments
with devotion, pardoned his enemies, and ex-
pected death with 9 composure that might arise
either from sense of innocence or the prospect
1 Of arelease from intense suffering. He recoy-
cred, however, sufficiently to depart for the
galloWs with the rest; but be was obliged to be
conveyed in cart, and TWO men we're employed
/ to Lift him down every evening and lay him upon
his bed Of straw, and to lift him again into the
cart the next morning. The Count de Mont
i gommeri, who was terribly afraid that the s1f-
ferings Of d Anglade might soften the heart Of
! justice, or that death might deprive him of his
revenge, was earnest in his solicitations for the
immediate departure Of dAnglsde to the gal
1eys, and stationed himself upon the road by
which he must pass in order to feast his eyes
upon the spectacle Of d'Anglades misery.
/ Upon the 4th Of March, 1859, d'Anglade died
in the hospital at Marseilles, four months after
his arrival at the gslleys. &9$s
4 No sooner was a 'Anglade dead, than anony-
NOUS letters began to circulate in all directions,
in which the writer declared that his conscience
/ would give him no peace until he declared that
4 NJ d'Anglade was entirely innocent of the rob
4 berry committed upon the Count de Afontgom-
rneri, and that the real criminals were one Vim
\ cent, Belestre, and the Able GagnaEd, aImoner
to the count 1t was added that woman named
3 La Comble could give important evidence.
Il Here was terrible revelation! The penitenf
prosecutor had become horror struck at the pos
a sibilitv Of having been the means of subjeeting
an innocent man, to so terrible . fate. He Or
dered certain Degrais, (the same who vas enl-
1 ployed to persuade the prisoner, Madame Brin-
, villiers, to leave the convent, where she had
taken refugel to make inquiries into the life and
habits Of the party now accused. The result
/. was that Peter Vincent, or Belestre, the first
/ named, was discorered to be the son of q poor
Il tanner at Mans. He had enlisted as q soldier,
s under the name Of Belestre, and had risen to
g the rank Of sergeant; but had been tried and
d condemned to the galleys for his share in the
l. assassination of miller.
d This was his first oTense. His later exploits
: had been confined to burglary and highway
j. robbery. After being very roor for long time
h and a avagabond besides, he had finished by pur.
le chasing an estate in the neighborhood of Mans
d for which he had paid ten thousand livres As
r, to the Able Gagnard, his father was gaoIer to
ho in hos hndg. -
5, live upon when he first came to Paris, except
"a the masses he said at the Saint Esprit When
t. he entered the household Of the Count de Mont
g. gommeri in quality Of almoner, he was in abiect
II condition; but three months after he quilted
lie him, he lived in something like opulence. He
had never been suspected of any special crime
ri but he was intimate with Belestrc. He was,
K moreover, perfectly acquainted with everything
: that passed in the counts household; and above
all, he knew that the count had received large
l. sum Of money in the month of June, 1857, and
e he also knew where it was kept
}, They we're both arrested. The woman La
Comble, alias Cartant, Belestre's mistress, gave
n evidence which was corroborated by crowd
i of other witnesses; and it was clearly proved
: that Belestre had committed the robbery by
q means Of false keys, and with the assistance Of
t Gagnard
: Belestre endured the torture without con-
: Tossing anything; but Gagnard had less forti-
: tuue ana confessed MS CRIME. he sad, too, that
q he was so much alarmed when the lieutenant
e criminal was examining his premises, that had
n he asked him the smallest question he should
Q have confessed everything. a comfortable hear
u ing for that officer!
e The gibbet relieved the world of these two
: scoundrels. Nothing then remained to be done
= except to make amends to the victim of judicial
t error. Letters Of revision were obtained Per-
lament pronounced decree on the I7th Of
e June, 1898, which rehabihtated the memory Of
t d'Anglade, justified the wife and rescinded her
), sentence, condemned the Count de Montgomerri
9 to make restitution of the money that had been
d adjudged to him as reparation for the robbery,
1 and to pay all the expenses besides. A collec.
$ tion was made in the court for the benefit o.
: the daughter of NJ. and Madame d'Anglade,
a which amounted to above q hundred thousand
L livres
1 But ell this did not bring back poor NJ. d d'Ang
/. lade to life again.
. The Hartford Times tells us that, q few days
ago, while mechanic of that city was at work
e among shop full of companions Of both sexes
: a young woman entered with an infant in her
arms, and deposited the baby on the table be-
q fore him, with the remark, Here's your child