The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1876-02-03
NUMBER 40.
A POacher's Vengeance.

At the Haute Marne Assizes case hae
been tried, resulting a capital sentence,
the circumstances c which deserve pub
licity. In 1850, man, still yOun" and
of Indifferent Character, named Ram
bouillet, who carried on poaching with
audacity and success, wa' surprised by
the gamekeeper of forest the Haute
Marne. An information was laid against
him, and he was brought before { le cor
rectional tribuna' condemned f. the for
feiture of his gun, to fine, end even
believe, to imprisonment. Rambouillet
received ie sentence without protest,
acknowledging the offence imputed to
him, and res0lvi, /; to turn over new
leaf He kept b pledge, and from 1850
to 1870 he lid h +, elf open to no re-
proach. He seem | bent on blottiDg out
by his good conduct The stigma or his
condemnation. When he met the game
keeper he avoided looking at him, not
with the air of man harbOring grudge,
but like man prevented by shame from
encounterihg the witness of his guilt.
1t was observed, however, that he often
isolated himself from others, and fire.
quentlv passed his time in wandering
about the fields without its being known
whittier he directed his steps. This also
was attributed to regret for his delin-
quency. He regained public esteem, and
his son married honorably.
Strange to say, Rambouillet was gov
erned .or twenty years by single idea,
that Of vengeance. His apparent contri-
tion, the rectitude of his conduct, his
sadness and his gestures were all directed
toward one aim-vengeance. For twen-
'ty years, morning, noon and night, he
lay in wait for the gamekeeper against
whom he had vowed vengeance, and for
twenty years that vengeanceh had escaped
him.
In 1870 the war broke out, Haute
Marne was invaded, and the forest in
which the gamekeeper lived was occupied
by the German troops. One December
night Rambouillet whom every one sup.
posed to be at distance from the neigh
oorhood, took his gttn, skunk from tree
to tree though the Germans occupied the
forest, and at the risk of being captur'1 4
and shot, facing the greatest perils, and
resorting to the most audaciOus strata
gems, creeping almost on level with the
| grotind, he succeeded in reaching the
gamekeeper's lonely cottage. There was
light in the window. The gamekeeper
and his wife, lost in the solitude, amid
hostile troops, were seated side by side.
RambOuillet watched them some time
through the clearing surrounding the
cottage. The gamekeeper remained me
tionless beside his wife, in spite of the
furious barking of his dog, for since the
enemy had occupied the forest the dogs
had always barked every night. Ram
bouillet raised his gun, took careful aim,
and fred. Two despairing cries were
uttered inside the cottage, the dogs re-
doubled their noise, all around distant
cries of "Woher daT T' were heard,
and Rambouillet hurried along the
paths, escaped, and disappeared from the
district.
The next day 1t was told how the
Germans had killed the gamekeeper's
wife, and all the neighborhood mustered
at her funeral.
Peace was signed Rambouillet re-
sumed his former life. The occupation
ceased, and then everybody ventured to
express the horror excited by SO coward
ly a crime committed against woman
sitting peaceably at her hearth. RAM
bouillet had become more gloomy. A
gnaw'ng despair had penetrated his
neart. Not onlv had his vengeance es-
capped him but he felt that any attempt
against the gamekeeper would recall at
tention to the crime of 1870, and would
divert suspicion from the German SOL
diers. His irritation increased every
day, and often found vent in threats
against those around him. A few weeks
ago one of these sec nes was repeated be-
tween Rambouillet and his sons daugh-
ter. "Ab, yes" exclaimed the latter,
r"you want to serve me as you served
the gamekeeper's wife; but l am not
afraid of YOU" Rambouillet finched.
The conversation became Known, and
reached the ears of justice. Rambouillet
was arrested, convicted, and condemned
to death. The jury answered every
question put to them aflirmatively, and
without extenuating circumstances.
They felt that q man who had plotted
revenge for twenty years must have acted
with premeditatiOn. The prisoners
counsel had, of course, argued an exten-
uating circumstance that he mistook his
victim.