The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-01-27
Ghe0ttetiqetrfar.
The Case Of jacques Le Brun

When u lawyer wishes to impress the
mind, Of a jury with tho conviction that
i, Is extremely dangerous Tor them to
convict any ons on circumstantial evil
Jspce alone, he rehearscS long list OF
instances in which such proof has turned
on, 10 be n dclusion and q snare, and
prominently among these there figures q
yarblcd account Of the trial and conyic-
ton Of Jacques lie Brun. This same
case has often been related by writers
who, ignorant Of the true principles on
which the rules Of evidence arc based,
insist that direct testimohyonly is TO be
regarded as Of any weight. The true
history, however, Of the trial OF the unf
fortunate Le iBrun givcs support to no
such theory. 'on3'thc contrary, had his
indigo, paid a proper <eSard to the
weight Of circunstantial Evidence no
would have been acquittcd.e.H Here arc
the fact, in the case Az Vety 4iQEFthg by M.
D, Lellcps in his great collection Of
a,u,ss Glebre, published some years ago:
Madame Mazel, residiugin Paris, had
passed tho meEidian Of life, aud was posS.
es,ed Of an ample fortune. She employed
A retinue Of servants; two footIhen,i .
coachman, Jacques Le Brun, who had
lived with her twenty years, and was her
butler, and three femAle servants, com.
posed her household. A man called the
Able poulard lived with her on footing
al intimacy which did no homer TO her
rcputation. In the course OF the summer
Of 1905 she had taken from LIE Brun a
master.kcy, which opened.all the doors in
the house, and gave il to the Able Ppul.
ard for his acoommodationinoo coming and
Going at all hours. LIE Brun had du-
picatO key, which he continued to use.
On November %, 1903, being the first Sum
day in Advent, Madame Mazel, who was
very punctilious in the exercise Of relig.
ion, went to yespers. She left her house
attended by lie Brun, on whose arm she
leaned, and the two footmen followed her.
As soon as she was in the chapel Lc Brun
united her and went to hear vespers HIM
sell a. the Jacobins, in the Rue St. JAG
oues. Madame Mazcl upon her return
supped, according to her usual custom,
tete.a-te;e with the Able Poulard. Al
eleven o'clock, she went to her chamber.
The maid, as was her usual custom, put
the key on the chair, after which they all
quilted the room, and lie Brun, who went
last, drew the door after him and shut il.
He then went into the kitchen and took
the key Of the street door to lock II; he
took it off the hook, but finding himself
cold. he laid it down on the table while he
warmed himself; and, being fatigued-
possibly, too, having drunk more than he
was accustomed to-he i1sensibly fell
asleep. When hc awokc lie heard the
clock strike one. Hc ran up to lock the
street door, which, to his surprise, he
found wide open, and, when he had done
no, took tho key With him into his room.
So passed the night away,
Madame Mazcl usually rose at Z, and
the servants, when o'clock struck the
next morning, expsessed to- each other
their wonder that she had not rung her
bell. Lc Brun had gone out early in the
morning to see iswife, to whom he gave
seven louis aud some otliornoney, which
he badc her lock up. On his return to
the house lc asked II Madame Mazel was
yet up. Being told she was not, he ex.
pressed great surprise and upeasiness.
The whole household.by this time Assem-.
blcdin the kitchen, determined to awaken
her; they wept to her door and raped
loudly, but all was Silent.S Some ono
suggested that she had an apoplectic fit,
another that bleeding Of tho nose, to
which she was subject, had caused her to
faint; but lie Brun remarked that II
mnst be something worse "Somethingj"
said he, lis wrong, II Am very uneasy
because found the strCot-door open last
night" The room.door was broken down
and the servants entered LIE Brun went
hastily to his mistress bed. She was as
.assinatcd and covered with blood
NJ. De Savonniers, her eldest son, al
this moment arrived, MADAME, Mazel
lived apart from her family, and at onde.
sent for the Lieutenant Criminel. In the
name Of himself and his two brothers he
laid formal complaint before that oth'
cial, and surgeons. were sent for to exam
inc the body. About fifty small wounds
made with knife were found on her
hands, face, shoulders and throat, and
these last having occasioned great eita'
sion Of blood, had been the cause oil her
death, for none OF the wounds were Of
themselves MORTAL In the bed was found
piece Of lace ncck.cloth, and a towel
twisted up in the form Of a night-caP,.
which towel belonged to the house, and
was marked with an "S,p g, Thc cords Of
the bells were twisted up above reach Of
the hand, and tied to, the curtaipirod; in
the ashes was found a knifeS seven Or
eight inches long, the'hendlel oii which
had been Of tortoiSe-sliell, but It &as
nearly all burned of. The key Of the
chamber door was found on the seat,
where the maid affirmed she had put, il.
No door was broken, and the tw9 DOORS
which opened on the back stairs were
both shut and locked from the inside.
The key Of the clothes-press was found
in its usual resting-pluce under the Pill
low. On opening the press, the purse In
which she kept her card money-ior,
like all old dowagers OF that period, she
was an invetetatc gamblcr-was fohnd,
containing some three hundred Gyrcs in
gold. Tho key OF the stronghold was In
the same place, and in it were found four
bags, each containing 1000 liyres, Sand
many other bags containing different
sums, on one Of which was written, "ThiS
is the property OF Able Poulard." I'm
der one bag there was an empty purse
and red leather writing-deSk, which con-
tanned all Madame Mazcls Jewels, to the
value Of $4,000 livres. In her pocket
there was found the sum OF eighteen
Pistoles in gold, Undoubtedly some
other motive than robbery had caused the
preparation oil the crime. y.
The Lieutenant Criminel questioned
the two women who attended on Madame
Mazcl; they related succinctlg what had
passed the night before. lie Brun, who
was next called upon, gave with equal
clearncss an account OF everything that
had happened to himself from tho time of,
his going out with his mistress to vespers
down to the moment OF his examination.
He was searched, and there was found
upon him the key Of the hall, whore his
pantry was, and master key, with large
wards, which on trial was found TO open
the door Of Madame Mazels chamber,
L - - Z AL. 81 a.