The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-03-22
THE SEVERED HAND.

ed to every police station in Paris:
'IOOk out for Maria NOuprez, aged
nineteen, blonde, five feet four inch
es well built, abundant light brown
hair, curling naturally, blue eyes;
. missing since June I'd; had on when
last seen white muslin dress with
green sprigs, black lace shawl, plain
straw hat trimmed With blue and
white ribbon. If found, report here al
once"
At ten O'Clock the same evening
4 Special Detective Place produced the
missing girl at the Bureau of the Chief
of Police. She accounted for her abb
sence from home by stating that her
mother and stepfather had quarreled,
, and that she went to the house of an
aunt where she had since remained.
She promised to return home at once,
and Place was directed to accompany
her thither and see her safe IN the
; keeping of her friends.
The same evening, an hour later, a
=. police officer was on duty on the Rue
de POissy. As he was passing the res
idence Of a wealthy merchant, he trod
on something that lay on the side
walk. He stopped down and laid hold
of it, A thrill of horror ran through
him, and he dropped it. Turning the
light of his bull's-eye on it as it lay
there, his first dreadful impression was
realized, and he found it was human
hand.
Though brave man, n feeling of
deadly faintness crept over him. New
ertheless, he bore up under it, and TAX
ing his handkerchief, wrapped the
| ghastly object in it, and i'm due course
reported the circumstance to his Supe-
riOr.
On examination it was discovered
that the hand, which had been separ-
ated at the wrist, was that ofa woman.
II was plump and fair, but seemed as
though it had done work in its time.
On the finger next to the little one
il was the left hand-was gold ring.
Inside the ring, engraved in minute
letters, were the words:
"To Marie Nouprez, from August"
When the officers superior read this
he said:
1''Nfarie Vouprez? Why, that is the
name in the general order we received
| to night"
/ Then he glanced over it and said:
! a"Yes, it is SO, sure enough; and she
has been missing since June I'd"
Scarcely had Inc said these words
when the telegrapher handed him a
slip of paper containing dispatch
! from the bureau of the Chief of the
| Police. 1t ran thus:
"Marie Nouprez found at her auDt's
and returned to her friends"
a few minutes afterward the dis
covery of the hand with the ring and
its legend was reported at headquar-
! ters, and an order was Immediately
/ received therefrOm to send the hand
thither by the officer who found it. By
the time he had obeyed this order
| yr-oG onothar rIy n bln non1nli-
| cation.
! Detective Place had returned to
headquarters and reported that the
! girl had escaped from him, and that,
! after fruitless chase, he had gone to
the house of the Nouprez family and
was there informed that they had just
received the intelligence that their
child was safe with a friend at Ver~
sailles. On inquiring the source
whence this information came, the
| EOurprez declined To say.
The Chief of the Police for a mo-
ment was nOn-plussed. The matter
stood thus:
The VOuprez family had, at six
O'Clock that evening notified the pO-
lice that Marie NoupreZ had been
missing since June 2d.
o. At ten o'clock she was found, and
returned to her friends.
At eleven o'clock the officer found
| the left hand of a female on the pave
ment in the Rue dc Poissy, on the fin-
ger of which wrs a ring bearing the
words, Marie Nouprez from Au-
! gust"
4. The girl claiming TO be Marie es
| caped from the officer whose duty il
was to deliver her to her family.
). The NoupreZ people said that
they had received information that
Marie was at Versailles with
friends.
This complication formed an inter
esting mystery, and steps were taken
to solve it. The father, mother and
two brothers of the girl, Marie Nou-
PREF, were brought to the bureau of
the Chief and questioned. The follow
ing facts were ELECTED:
Marie was employed as a chamber
maid by Madame BlOndin, who resi-
ded on the Rue Pellissier, and whose
husband was a broker. Marie, who
was Very pretty, was pet of her mis-
tress, and considerable affection SEEM
ed to exist between them. Things.
went on very pleasantly for the eigh-
teen months during which Marie was
with Madame BlOndin, and cOnse-
quentIy the SOuprez parents were
greatly surprised when they were in
formed on the morning of June 9TH,
when the mother carried clean linen
to her daughter, that Marie had quit
ted the dwelling of Blondins on the
evening of June I'd, declaring that she
was sick and intended to 20 home
and remain there until she recover
ed.
When questioned Gs to how they
learned that their daughter was at
Versailles. Mons. and Madame Sou-
; PREF said that between ten and eleven
O'Clock that evening Il girl called at
their residenUe, and said that she had
lust come from ' ersailles, where she
had been at service for some time, and
that a girl calling herself Marie, who
had taken the place that informant
. had Just left, requested her To call at
NoupreZ's, and tell them that Marie
was safe aud cent Der love, and that
she would soon see them and explain
why she had left Madame Blondih's
Their informant made them promise
not to reveal the fact that she had Civ
en- this news.
\ few inquiries We're suflipient to
show the Chief of the Police that %Qn=
prez's informant was the very girl
whom officer Place had brought to the
bureau as Marie NsupreZ, aud who
had escaped from him.
Next day detectives were detailed "
: investigate this very remarkable. case.
y There was no doubt now whatever
= that dreadful crime had been com
mitted, for Monster ana Madame
VoupreZ identified the TingaH the soy.
cred hand as one which had been giy-
EN- Marie by her brother, and were,
moreover, almost certain that the
hand was the hand of their unfortun-
ate child,
The BlondIu's were carefully exam
lineI ny the authorities, but they told {
= straight toward story, aud appeared &
o have nothing to CONCEAL. Moreover
. so far a. could be ascC~fA10ed, theli
s. private character and public r6I"ita
ton were good, and they were es
teemed as a very worthy, kind-heartet
~ couple. The husband was n man ot
~ thirty, aud the wife probably five
- years younger. and they were in very
s. comfortable and attiueut Circumstan
ces. Measures were taken TO tinG
whether Marie was ut Versailles, NOR,
as form than otherwise, but moth
ing could be learned respectin;
her. Search was made all over fo
the young woman who had rep