The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-11-10
A STRANGE STORY.


When the criminal, Pierre Granger,
escorted by four gendarmes, was placed
i'll the dock of the court of assize, there
was general stir amongst the crowd
which had assembled from every quarter
to be present at his trial.
Pierre Granger was not an ordinary
culprit-not one of those poor wretches
whom the court, as matter of form,
| furnishes with an advocate, judges in
the presence of a Needless auditory, and
sends to oblivion in the convict prisons
of the State. He had figured at Augtil
i'll the columns of the newspapers; and
while NJ. Lepervler had undertaken his
defence, NJ. Louraugain, the attorney
general, was to conduct the pros
ecution. Now, at the time of
which write, these two men stood at
the head oftheir profession. Whenever
it was known that they were to be pit
ted against each other in any cause,
crowds Immediately tlocked to enjoy
| their eloquent sentences, sonorous per-
iOds, and phrases as round and as pol
ished as so many billiard-balls. 1t was
perfect riot Of tropes and figures, u
delicious confusion of pariphrases and
metaphors. All the figures of rhetoric
defiled before the charmed auditory; !;
and sported, .iested, and struggled with
each other, like Virgirs playful shep-
herds. There was luxury of epithets,
passing even that of Able Delille. Every
individual substantive was as regularly
| followed by its attendent adjective, as
the great lady of the last century by
her train-bearinG page. In this pomp-
Gus diction Il man became n mortal,
4 horse a cOurser, the moon was styled
pale Dian. Ny father and mother were
never called so, but invariably "the
authors of my being" and dream was
a vision, a glass crystal vase, knife
a sword, 4 car chariot, and breeze
became a whilwind: all Of which, no
doubt, tended to produce a style of cx-
ceeding sublimity and beauty.
Pierre Granger was clumsily built
fellow, five feet ten in height, thirty
eight years old, with foxy hair, n high
color, and small cunning grey eyes. He
was accused of having strangled his
wife, cut up the body into pieces, and
then, in order to conceal his crime, set
| fire to the house, wherein his three
children perished. Such an accumula-
tlOli VI IOlIOlS litl SuCu uuitC a
tic halo round their perpetratOr. Ladies
of rank and fashion tlocked to the goal
to look at him; and his autograph was
in wonderful request, as soon as it be-
came known that Madame Cesarine
Langelot, the liOness of the district,
possessed some words of his writing in
her album; placed between ballad by
professor of rhetoric and problem
by the engincer-in-chief of the depart
ment: neither gentleman, to say the
truth, being much flattered by such
close iuxtapositiOn with the interesting
pet-prisoner. When Pierre Granger,
with his lowering brow and air OF s'9 the
cunpipo was placed i'm the Gooh,
names of twelve jurors were
int. and the president demanded OF the
counsel on either side, whether they
wished to exercise their right OF chal-
lcnge. Both declined offering any OBJ
lection to twelve such honorable names;
but the attorney-general added, that he
would require the drawing of sup !
Elementary juror. 1t was done, and on |
the paper appeared the name or Major |
Vernon. At the sound, slight murmur
was heard amongst the spectators, while
NM. Louraugain and Lepervier eXchanS- |
ed a rapid glance which seemed to say:
"Will not you challenge himT But
neither of them did so; an officer con-
Quoted Major Vernon into his appointed
place, and amid profoand silence the
Indictment was read. Major Vernon had
lived in the town during the last two
years. Every one gave him the military
title, vet none could tell when, or
where, or whom he had served. He
seemed to have neither family nor
friends; and when any of his acquaint-
ances ventured to sound him on the sub. |
ject, he always replied i'll a manner by no
means calculated to encourage curiosity.
"Do trouble my head about yoar af-
fairs ?" he would say. "YOur shabby |
old town suits me well enough as n
residence, but if YOU don't think | have
n right to live in it, | shall he most |
happy to convince you of the fact Mt
day with gun, swori, or pistol.
Major Vernon was precisely the very |
man to keep his word; the few persons
who had entered his lodgings reported |
that his bedroom resembled an armory,
so fully was it furnished with all sorts
of murderous weapons. Notwithstand-
ing this, he seemed very respectable
SOll vi ID III h"'AN''
punctual in his payments, and fond of
smoking excellent cigars, sent him, he
used to say, by friend i'll Havana. He
was tall, very thin, bald, and always
dressed in black; his moustaches curicd
to point; and he invariably wore his
hat cooked over his right ear. In the
evening he used to frequent the public
reading-rooms of the town, but he
never played at any game, or convcrsed
with the company, remaining absorbed
in his newspaper until the clock struck
ten, when he lit his cigar, twisted his
moustachcs, and with stiff, silent
bow. took his departure. 1t sometimes
happened that one of the company, bold
er than the others. said, "Good night,
maiorw Then the major wonld stop,
fix his grey eye on the speaker, and re-
ply, "Good night, monsieur" but in
so rude and angry tone that the
words sounded more Ikea malcdiction
than polite salutation. 1t was remark
ed that whoever thus ventured to adj
dress the major, was, during the remain
der of the evening, the victim of some
strange ill-luck. He regularly lost ut
play, was sure to knock his elbow
through handsome lamp or vase, or in
some way to get entangled in misad,
venture. So firmly were the good
townsfolk persuaded that the major
possessed an evil eye, that their COM
mon expression, when any one met
with misfortune, was: He must
have said good night to the major"
This mysterious character dined every
day at the ordinary Crown Hotel, and
although habitually silent: seemed
usually contented with the fare. One
day, however, after havinn eating some
bread soup, he cast his eye along the
table frowned, and calling the host,
said: Chow comes it that the dinner
to-day is entirely meagrer
"Monsieur, no doubt, forgets that this
is Good Friday"
"Send me up two mutton chops"
Impossible, major-there is not an
ounce of meat to be had at any butchers
in the town."
"Let me have some fowl"