The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-03-08
A Wife and 1--WE Children
Chopped to Pieces.
[Yictoria Connty New B%runswickl Letter.l

Victoria County New Brunswick Letter.
Pierre Lefebvre, a Frenchman, who
was last spring arrested, but through
some inf0rmality in the Indictment was
acquitted on the charge OF murder in
the second degree against his youngest
son, a bright-eyed fellow Of seVenyears,
has again cOnvulsed the entire coInmu-
nifty with horror, and this time he has
been successful. Pierre Lefebre, three
years ago, was a WeIl-tO-dO farmer, the
owner Of a fine and Well-cultivatcd
tract of land, q good house, some live
stock, and considerable other property,
His wife was the eldest daughter Of
jacques Leblanc, of Montreal, and both
in social position and education was
much the superior Of her husbadd. She
was gifted with a fine poetic mind, and
many Of her better productions found
their way into LOrdre and La Minorve,
newspapers of her natal city.
temper and when Influenced with
drink and anger, can not restrain his
passions or stay his terrible parOxysms
of rage. In his sober moments he has
a kind generous disposition, thoughtful
in the extreme, and loving his wife and
children with a love almost amounting
to worship. Hehas been married about
fifteen years, and has an interesting
family, two boys, Paul and Emile, and
one girl, Amy, aged five years. It is
only three years since that Paul Le~
febre commenced drinking to ex-
| cess, and in that short time he has twice
attempted the lives of his wife and
children. His stock has almost dWin-
| died down to nothing, his house and
| farm are heavily mOrtgaged, and desc
lation and want now occupy the place
| where contentment and luxury reigned
but a few short years ago. Monday he
came home very much intoxicated. The
room was cold and dark. No fire blazed
on the hearth. His wife slept. Emile
and Amy lay on the, floor locked in one
anOther's arm, and the eldest son. Paul
Lefebre, sat alone at the foot of the bed
in seeming unconscious sluinber. The
moon stole in as it passed q cloud, and
the husband cOnlprehended III drunken
| stuporSS the AFFECT scene as it presented
itself in the moonlight for q moment.
The fends Of hell seemedt0have rushed
into his brain in an instant, With Il
savage yell he seized an ak, brandisling
it aloft in the air, and in one swOop
down it came on the poor form of Marie,
his wife, crushing into her head, cleav-
ing her skull in twain. A low moan
followed, then all was still, and the
room was again dark, the moon hid be-
hind a cloud, and a spirit sped toward
| it's God. Maddencd by blood, the mon
| ster CROPPED his way toward Paul, who
awake in time to ward off q terrible
blow from the descending weapon.
But though the arm was for d time weak
ened, the work of death was not STAYED.
The boy fell with q gasp, bleeding to
tie earth. Emile and Amy shared the
same fate, and then the incarnate fend
left the bloody scene Of his heagtless
| triumph over q sick woman and two
d~efenseless children. The morning
dawning found the bloody C0rpses swell
tering in the pools of blood! The
neighbOTs, as usual, came in to offer
| their services to Madame Lefebre, or to
bring in some delicacy for the neglected
sufferer, and this was the horror that
awaited them The blood frozen thei1
veins as the spectacle presented itself,
and the heart turned sick at the awful
! sight. Amy, who alone had escaped
the savage butchery Of her father, il
tiny lisps told the heart-rehding story
of the murder, and her sobs sent many
a pang into the hearts of the mortified
listeners. 1t was painful to hear the
child testify against her father. She
seemed to realize her sad situation, and
broken down with grief, anguish and
despair, she sank down on the cold floor
weeping and Wailing bitterly. In tbs
morning poor Amy denied that the mur
derer was her father. TWAS a man larger
and heaYier than he, she said. But
can easily understand, now that the in.
tense grief is partly assuaged, how
painful is her situation, andhow strong
! is her desire to shield her father from