Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-08-23


Correspondence St. Louis Republican,
: al PARIS, July 10. 1871.
The trials of the Communists develol
some startling phases of human depra
witty in this gay center of the world 0
mode. In one of the most Fashionable
streets of the aristocratic Quarter st
German, dwelt noble marquis, IL
whose veins the same blood, blue as ter
restrial turquois or cerulean cloud
flowed, as once danced merrily through
the veins Of the first Bourbon King o.
France.
But French bullets find their way
through the cuticle Of the Kings de
scendants as easily as if it covered the
carcass of the uuwashed canaille OF st.
Antoine. SO one fine July morning a
Government bullet from ChasseDot S
deadly tube found its fated home IN the
breast of the noble Gaul-and the use
| less mouths of Paris besieged were less
by one, and the Academy lost one of its
most gifted members.
His house was, of.course, searched for
evidence to convict others, and the pc
lice discovered that here under their own
protection, had lived for years, being
who had made of death study and WHO
had treated murder as one of the fine
arts. His house was small one for the
locality and detached from all others.
He occupied two rooms ON the second
floor as bed-chamber and library, and
between the two was double wall, the
space between which was utilized as
closets with doors opening into such
room. Any one passing from one room
to the other necessarily went through
one of these closets. On the ground
floor and directly underneath the bed
room was room communicating with
the main street by an alley. This room
was kept constantly under lock and key
by its custodian. While the officers Of
the law were searching the upper rooms,
a gendarme stepped into one of these
closets and at once found himself rap
idly descending and finally safely landed
on the ground floor, room or dungeon.
We copy the following from the process
verbally made by the sergeant in charge
of the party to the inspector Of the dis
trict:
The windows of the lower room were
built up with brick, and by an ingenious
contrivance the door leading into the
alley was made to open from the outside
into a passage way leading to another
suit Of rooms, while the real entrance
from the alley consisted Of swinging
dsor cut from out of the solid wall, the
bricks of which are held together by
bands Of iron encircling the whole mass,
which swung upon a pivot. So ingen-
iously contrived, and SO skilfully was
this worked, that only by chance was it
discovered at all
The door leading from the house into
this den had nothing unusual in its APP
pearance on the outside, but was in re-
atty double and of extraordinary thick
ness, and filed with sawdust thickly
packed. This room was used by the
count ostensibly as a lumber room for
storing disused property. On sounding
the walls of this dungeon, a large and
deep closet was discovered, constructed
on the same plan as the outside door, of
solid brick, and it would have escaped
detection had not the door given our
party the hint. The contents Of this
closet consisted of a variety of tools
used in the construction and arrange
ment Of the rooms, it being evident that
the occupant had performed all this
labor by his own unaided efforts. Here
follows a schedule of the list of tools,
among which are surgical instruments of
every description, jars of choloform and
narcotics Of all kinds, and all the para
phernalia of chemists laboratory A
powerful battery and other instruments,
apparently for electrical or galvanic
purposes, were found.
The room was lighted by gas, to effect
which he had actually tunnelled into
the street, and tapped one of the main
gas pipes, and then laid pipe of smaller
calibre into the dungeon. By means of
flexible tubing he was thus enabled to
conduct the gas wherever he chose.
These tubes and their burners were hid
den in the closet.
But the most important and hideously
interesting object in the collection is
quantity of manuscript purporting TO be
a record kept by the count for several
years of experiments made by himself in
electricity and galvanism 1t is well
known that he has, during the past four
years, read several lectures on these and
other kindred subjects before the Aead-
envy, and had advanced some startling
theories relative thereto. One Of these
papers, entitled The Mechanism of
Life" procured for him a private and
confidential interview with the Emperor.
These manuscripts prove conclusively
that their writer decoyed persons into
his house on pretext of business, enter
tainment or some other sufficient excuse,
and at q convenient moment the fatal
step was taken, the trap was sprung,
which consigned the victim to certain
DEATH Most of the experiments seem
to have been made with a view of restor-
ing suspended animation, 1. C., raising
from the dead.
Such is brief aud unadorned state
ment Of the facts, and since the divulge-
ment, the gossips call TO mind numerous
cases of mysterious disappearance, but
not breath Of suspicion was ever at
tached to the Count. The neighborhood
of the house is now thronged with those
who delight to sup on horrors multi
piled, and these retail 20 newcomers,
and 10 one another, exaggerated state
ments Of the facts. The above ] have
obtained from police headquarters and
from a visit to the house itself in COM
pany with the project
The police fraternize with the people
much more than they did under the old
regime, and the public is promised a
full expose as soon as the Government
has completed its examination. This is
the latest Partisan sensation.
A white-haired old negro preacher in
New Orleans thus addressed one Of the
meetings Of the dissatisfied darkies last