The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-12-03

"a SACNeu1sub Ov0E the JuOlcl0l OeuOOnCe.
ment Of one Of the darkest and most appal-
ling tragedies of domestic life which hes
ever come to light, even in this age Of
startling sssensatiOns.n 49,
Herman Demme is young man not
thirty Years of age. His father is a dis
tinguished professor at the University of
Rerne, and the son, early introduced by
him to the study Of science, has for several
years been looked upon - one Of the fu-
ture gl0ries ofthe republic. He was sent
ut the expense Of the Confederation into
Italy, in 1860, to study the French sys-
tenn of ambulances, and the whole hospital
service ofthe French armies. Hehad pub
lished . work ON military suY4ery, which
had made for him . name In Germany ~
we'll ~ in Switzerland. and which secured
ham an Invitation to act AS = collaboration
on one ofthe most important medical jour-
nails Of Germany. OflAte he had devoted
his attention particularly to toxicolOgy !;
and recent treatise of his on the effects of
strychnine and curGre was quoted but the
other day, with commendatiOn in the Par.
il Revue Der DeMr MOntes.
Hermann Demme wears in his physlog--
nomy all the evidences of his intellectual
rank. He has high open forehead, short
brown curling hair. His face ID pale, and
its most marked characteristics are energy
and thoughtfulness. M
Two years ago DR.. Demme was sum-
moned to attend certain Madame Trum-
py, then q woman thirty-eight years Of age,
still handsome, bat Of singularly nervous
and excitalle character. In . quarrel
with her husband the latter had dung .
lamp at her which struck her in the face
and destroyed ons of her eyes. DR.. DEM
me saved her life, but could not save her
eye, and at the earnest entreaty both Of the
husband and the wife he suppressed the
circumstances Of this misfortune. Mr..
Trumpy, the husband who took such iber-
ties, was q banker Of Berne, diving in q
charming house called Wabe1u, situated
on the Axr, at the foot of the mountain OPP
posite Berne. He was still in the prime Of
life, and was well known in the city as q
financial operator and daring Spectator.
DR.. Demme first became regular gueet at
the Wabern dinner-table, and then had q
. chamber set apart for him in the house.
i'When the Trumpys were travelling, DEM
me joined them, and in this way they Wis
tied together, during the first year Of their
acquaintance, Jerusalem and he East;
and, during the second, Italy.
On the 18th of February last,J Gaspard
| Trumpy, whose affairs we're at that time In
. particularly embarrassing condition,
thanks to his connection with . certain
speculator named Helwing, was taken very
II during the night. Demme had for some
days been attending him for painful dis
order under which he was suffering, In
consequence OF certain excess in his way Of
| living. He insisted that Demme should sit
up with him, and that nobody else should.
The next morning he died. Shortly after
ward DR.. Demme was betrothed To the only
daughter Of the deceased, a young lady Of
seventeen.
Down to this time the death OF Trumpy
had been regarded as natural, and the
whole matter had passed quite out Of the
mind Of all but those directly concerned,
when Berne was electrified by Madame
Trumpy's denunclation Of her intended
son-in-law as the assassin Of her husband,
and as her own guilty lover! This extra.
ordinary denunciation was made In letter
Of which the following is an extract:
AS have told you / have much upon
my heart. suffer. My conscience gives
me no rest. Yes! am an accursed wo.
man. have been guilty of falsehood
theft, adultery, and have ended by becom.
Ing the assassin OF myh usband. II IL my
fault, and through my example, that my
husband and my child have becomed wick.
ed. have sown evil around me. l have
fallen myself, and in my fall have dragged
down my nearest family. have passed
part Of my life alternately as a victim and
~ q seducer. A man came into my house
as friend, he became my lover, and thu
assassin of my husband. All, deserv,
all possible chatisements. Whatever pen
6IIle9 yOu may AOuiCt upOu A0cl uS0ca "
them all. They are IN expiation. resigl
: myself to everything. ! submit to my
destiny"
Upon this denunciation Of Madam,
j Trumpy, she herself and DR.. Dsmme wer,
arrested, and the remains of Mr.. Trumpl
, were subjected to q chemical examination
, And here we are introduced to new ant
most striking feature in this extraordinar,
case. For some time no traces Of poison
/ {vnt hxn
eff the effects of the best known poisons OBJ
servable in il. DR.. Schwarenbach, one o
: the examiners, after testing in vain fo
} morphine and quinine, suddenly thought
by accident, of strychnine, applied the test
J aud when he saw the violet tiDge appear
which revealed the deadly presence, start
) ed back, as he himself says, "horro
struck" But the strychnine thus detecte,
, had neither produced the cramps by which
its fatal action is attended, nor had 1t pass
ed beyond the small intestines. 1t hat
evidently not been long enough in the bod.
, to cause death
} How was this to be accounted for? On
Professor, DR.. Hausemann. supposes tha
Trumpy, weary of his financial troubles
} took strychnine; and that before It ha'
! reached the liver, . shock Of horror at hi
) own act sent the blood 10 his brain, caus
. ing death by apoplexy, the swirl ments
emotion outrunning thus the more materis
minister OF death.
The hypothesis would, of course. acqul
DR.. Demme. But in what hideOus ligh
9 Madame Trumpy must then remainl
One Of the examiners, DR.. Emmart,
: known n entertain deep and bitter jeal
ousy Of Professor Demme, the father 9th
! accused. An anonymous letter produce
! | in court. and In the handwriting Of Mad
T anne Emmert, was used by the advocate (
the prisoner TO introduce, or atleast to him
9 the irightful suggestion that the poiso
; found IN the body had been put there b
: DR.. Emmert a. q means Of vengeance upo
the two Demmes! But the youngef
!. Demme has since avowed that he himse
wrote this letter and counterfeited Mad
anne Emmert's handwriting IN order
!. throw the law upon this track. He main
tains. however, that anonymous letters ha
!. previously been written to himself and
. Madame Trumpy, which he believes
! nave come from Madame Emmert. Al
this secondary plot will be unveiled by th
Al----A.u&ao,r ~ Madame ErnfN1orf and I,