Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1861-1862, 1861-12-14
RENARE . sLE rRIAL OE MUROERs.

TFr5a The 70, sn olA,,cr,y Rsvieul
There lived IN Lyons IN respse.aoe STA 1on OF lue
man named Peter OleudlGs Oaesal1ler whose amiaoe
,,l,iss and seasnaniy appearance bad obtained for
N the esteem Of the citizens. Il his native place,
although he had long been absent and he was married
10 The last OF four wives, with whom he bad uniformly
lived IN contentnent and peace. Ole day child was
s,olsn IN A uei-hhoring village By genteely dressed
NM who had eCtcld the victim with bon-bons add car
ess IN be might him up in his arms and fed with the
I e prize. A hot pursuit Immediately commenced, and
after great difficulty, the criminal was apprehende6;
wAea 70 TIA establishment Of all Lyons he discover.
Ell 70 be Peter Claudus Chevahcr, "souscbet IN the
nureau des finances" Of the prefecture Of the Rhone
Toe sensation wiich this circumstance excited was
a. first that Of simple surprise but the sxplapAhon ne
gave Of his motives for the crime caused the nhAhitans
OF Jyo0s their eyes at las. in doubt upon the
prisoner he said he had intended 70 console himself
for tAs loss of child of hi by adopting the one he
had sto,en. Til this moment neither his wife nor the
pubio had ever heard Of the loss Of his child which
thew supposed 10 bs living IL health with the nurse
az Vlleu,bannes How aid this Bereavement happen,
and vhy was Is concealed? He ssii he had been 10
Vntsurbsrnes to bring i! home, bu' tatgued, intoIl
Gated uuacquAilted with the country, AMI oyertaken
b. he night, be had wandered out OF his way among
Tickets and precuces and lost the child whom he was
Afraid 20 look for in tbs dark. These circumstances OF
his Journey we're physical impossbies. He could not
have been fatigued BY ordinary walk, nor intoxi-
Gated after spending ony twelve sous In refreshments
nor ovortaken BY thu night in 80 sNors tme nor led
out OF etragnt ROAD OorQereu by thlck neuBs, uoE
lost among the thickes and preepioes in leve! coun-
try where there not thcket or prscipice TO be
seen.
Thsre seemed to be something extraordinary and N.Y.
FERROUS 10 this sfr that AZ last people naturally turned
al nqurng and suspicious look at the whole conduct Of
the prisoner Surmses began get 0Hoat that he
had no right the by which be was known at Ly
ons Il well known in the city, and even It its pos
had been absent from boyhood there surely might
hs person 70 recognize and welcome the wandering
Ishus az bis Inquiries produced discoveries,
and Il was soon known that the name was really
sumsd one and the tue Chsvaler, an officer in the
nv confronted the accused person. The tier bad fall
IN At Flushing With the papers Of the other officer
In The battalion Of regiment to which be himself
belonged The mpostsrs name was Lslievre; be had
fabricated Ese leave Of absence aud deserted. Trac
ing hs history backward, step by step, il inquired
under what circumstances he had entered the service
de had dsauied the bank Of France Of 10000 francs
and through the interest OF his family which respec
table bis punishment had been COMMITTED to the Fps-
cies OF honorable transportation implied by entering
colonial regiment SO TAR all satisfactory; but there
still hiatus left in the history. Some years had
been eaped over in the investigation. few but inpor-
tanL crowded with events, pregnant with suspicion
This was the is which his home bad been couse-
Grated by the presence Of his three wives successfully
acd lighted up By the smiles Of a young aud beautiful
mistress h to this period that the attention Of the
irqurers was now directed. These ladies had all died
oSshs disease Inf animation 10 the abdOmea and
the msoriiy at that critical period in the life Of female
the performance OF miracle in the human economy
The symptoms and circumstances OF the disease had been
the same IN al, and the ahectionate attentions OF the
husband lover equally remarkable in each OF the cases
Az be FRS appearances OF approaching illness be took
.he beloved sufferer uader his own care no one was
even 70 be present during the nightly watches Of his love
and despair. When the moment Of death arrived be
hung the bed replied to the lst farewell o; his de-
plrng companion, gaz ID into her damp and pAld face
doWn upon his heart and memory the Of the
sTif herf
I'd one BY the heavngs Of her tortured breast and
iank 10 with greedy ear the groans of mortal agony
thst burst from her soul
In the case Of the young Dutchwoman, who had been
his first companion and whose extraordinary beauty OBJ
saed for her the appeation Of "a belle Hollndaise"
there were circumstances singular 10 induce the
phycisa 70 ask whether she had taSen something
cOultersc his prescriptions She drinks brandy said
LeGevre; bu, when n Ditmlr went to biz patient to
reprosch her for the fatal mpruicnce Ia belle Hosn
dase assured him, with her dying BREATH that il was
very long suce she had tasted il horrible suspicion
arosa. Let il Plss-ior withouJ proof. He mar
RED S:ephania Desgranges. After the lapse OF very
Few months the mysterious disease which had killed
the mistress attacked the wife There we're two cups
upon the table aud When her relations were gathered
aound her dsath bed and would have ba,hed her lips with
the contents OF oneNot that one said she at nv
husbands sho drank Of the cup that was hers and
died MlrgsrOt Pigate bis third wife, and she
drank Of the saue cup. Marie Eqle. followed and,
sEift the Eight OF months puaCtual fate the In
HSfA1Dc uaSA77 zen upOu Us tSuFsh Nc.ln LsneVre
again Wa9 the nurse and physician in one
woman saw him one day administering some drink
which bad no. been ordered aud no dessted for mo-
uen but soOr unable 20 resist the whispers OF the de-
sishin, he poured the liquid doEn her throat The
c9nyulsions which followed too horrbl, for de-
scrpiOn; the Sitnessss-Al but Lsevre-Hsd from the
rJ9mthe dark curtain Of death dropped upon the ira.
gsdy Besides these deeds Of horror the prisoner was
accused Of the murder Of two Spaniard Of that of his
brother ana o. attempt the life OF bis own sther
Ia the az lis trial tho body Of bis murdered child
vas found, ard The guilt brought completely home to
the parent Ia tie meantime tie criminal denied every-
thing; che suffered" be said "ss Jesus Christ was
cr1,fst" BG at the rJo; Of the scafold his 6,muess
deserted him Ae carried Amos. eless up the steps
by the CNsCu.oncr aud died in horror aud despair.