The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-04-15
TIE IMPERIAL MURDER.


Closing Scenes Of the Triul Of Priucc Pierre
DOnRDortc.
MIR. Clarence Cook has letter from France
in the New York Tgi6uHe, from which we ex-
tract as follows:-
AS for the witnesses there was never, per-
haps a stranger lot. Those who sympathized
as 1 did with Victor Nor and his family.
must have felt that to the want of sense and
the want of self-command betrayed by NJ.
Pasohal Grousset and M. de Fonvielle, to say
nothing Of DR.. Pinel's fainting and hssita-
tion, was greatly due the failure of the right.
When young M. Grousset entered the Court
so neatly, jauntily dressed, with his easy gen.
tlemanly manners, he made the pleasantest
impression possible; even the Imperialist
frozen hearts of the ladies in the select
seats were thawed, and you heard the
whisper run, "Oh the handsome young fell
lowl" "My heart But he is a gentleman"
And then, the young fellow spoiled all with
his very first words. You must know that
the Judge has a regular formula he goes
through with to each witness. First, they up
with their ungloved right hand and swear to
tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth. Then the Judge asks them if ever
they knew or saw the prisoner before. Then
he asks them if they are related to him,
allied to him, ETC., etc. When he asked
young Grousset if he had ever seen the pri-
soner he answered "No." ''Then," said the
Judge, 81 suppose you are not related to him
in any way, when Grousset, with the coolest,
most impudent-polite air, replies, 'Mon-
sieur, / d. not know that l am related
to him, but his mother had so many lovers
that 1 can hardly swear 1 am not!" Some
say Grousset said Madame Letitia, instead
of "his mother, but it doesn't make much
matter; the idea is the same, and it
suffieed to bring down Judge Glauday like
IL ~
Fonvielle too, though, from the human point
of view, perfectly excusable for his inability
to hold in check his feelings, ought to have
known what was at stake, and ought to have
steadily refused to play into the hands of
those who, as it afterwards proved were only
waiting to entrap him. He gave his testi-
mony in such a violent, uncontrolled way,
with 80 much gesture and vociferation, that
1 could not blame those who declared that,
while they were convinced he was per-
fectly honest man, they must believe he is
too excitable to know what he says and
does when he is in passion. For all that, it
was plain that he had less than justice at the
hands of the court In the strange scene that
took place, and which resulted in Fonvielle's
being shut up in prison for ten days for con-
tempt of court, there can be little doubt that
he was grossly belied An officer of the
French army, named Touchat, was called up
he set the whole court in litter by saying
that the Prince has the edgle-eye so natural to
Ills family! And then, again, Immediately
after, though everybody laughed out aloud,
he said she has the electric voice
and the eagle-eye natural to his family :"
There sat the man before us, with his little,
squinny pigs eye always cast down, and
never daring to look anybody in the face.
And his electric voice We had often
-, 1a1 ,,0t
found it charming or striking. So,
at eagle-eye and electric voice. we could
not help but laugh. This made Pierre
angry, and he bounded from his seat and at
tackled the advocates of the other side. He
charged Nj. Laurier with laughing at his brave
companion in arms, and declared that if he
did not have much rhetoric he had more
courage than all the faction to which Laurier
belonged! This was said with a rage that
passes description, but Laurier did not lose
his temper. He quietly demanded justice of
the court, but the court had not one word to
say; it allowed the Prince full swing and he
burst out again with, 'He has attacked my
brave comrade, though M. Laurier ha6 not
said word in reply to the witness. Then it
was that De Fonvielle, who was sitting at the
back of the court, on bench among the wit
nesses, leaped up, and in the most excited
manner cried out-''You have assassinated
in the face if you dare Say that you have
not assassinated Victor Noir! You are COW
ardly assassin! assassin assassin You are
nothing but an assassin.
At the words, ''Dare to look me in the
face ~ Bonaparte sprang to his feet, folded
his arms like lightning, and with an absurd
attempt at dignity-for his figure does not
easily take to dignity-he stared at Fonvielle
who, mounted on his bench, continued to CRY
out assassin :" at the top of his lungs. Fol
few moments the scene was one of indie
scribable confusion, and no one could say
what was coming next. The gendarmes
opened the door for Pierre Bonaparte, who
was ready enough to go out, and in a short
time a sort of order was established. The
Procureur- General in a cold-blooded speech
called for Fonvielle's head, and when the pri
soner came back the Judge for the first time
rebuked him for his violence, declaring thai
he alone was the cause of the scene that hat
taken place. But it was plain t,
many there that this violence of rebuke was
only cover for the injustice that was deci
ded to be done to Fonvielle He was &C
cused, and no doubt falsely, of having CRIED
out "a mort a mort - and though he strenu
ously denied it, and though five or six per
sons who stood close to him did not hear hin
cry ga mort q mort there being onl,
two persons, and those gendarmes, who sale
he did say it-yet he was condemned to tel
days' imprisonment; and both Grandperre
in his speech, and the Judge in his summin,
up insisted upon this exclamation as havint
been made, refusing to give him the benef
of the doubt.
These things went against the cause O