The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-11-01
DOCTOR BARBERON.
The Story of a. French Trial for
Murder.
CHAPTER V-fCoNTINUED.)

CHAPTER V V-(CoNTINUED.)
Only once in the course of those three
we'ry days did the devilish spirit of Bar
beron flSh out again, and this WIS when
Madame Perreau was examined. The
widow stepped int, the witness-box all
altired in black, and studiously averted
her gaze from the prise er. This ex-
asperated him. He had expected at
least look of sympathy from her-at
least word which might plead in his
favor. But the evidence she gave in a
faltering tone told rather against him,
for she professed to have been grossly de-
ceived by him. Nay, she added (which
was untrue) that she had been terrified
into marrying him by threats of his vio-
lence, but she had never really intended
to marry person whom she deemed half
crazy.
There, you hear what this lady says,
seemed t" have devined that you only
wanted to marry her for the sake of get
ting her fortune
you don't suppose l would have mar
ried such an old trump for her beauty,
do your retorted Barberon, brutally.
'rhe truth is, though, that it is she who
Get her cap for me-
Poor Madame Perreau, who by no
means looked trump, gave Mortified
yelp, and was carried out fainting, amid
some filters from the female part OF the
audience. But this sally of Barberon's
disguised the men, and especially in
censed his own counsel, who was observed
to reproach him with vehemence. Bar
boron, however, seemed to glory in the
repulsion which he had excited. His
vanity made him conscious that in Drawing
the scaflold he was more interesting to
the majority of spectators than if he es-
sayed to dispute lis head to those who
were doing their best to get it cut from
his shoulders. He sat stroking his whis-
kers, and now and then cast cold, self
satisfied glance at the batteries of opera
glasses fixed on him.
For my part, | was growing convinced
that he was mad, and this appeared to
be the opinion of Maitre Farcy, who was
pretty sanguine of being able to obtain
'extenuatlng circumstances for him
French juries find 'extenuating circum-
stances whenever there is anything to
palliate, however slightly, the heinous-
ness of Il murder; and in such cases the
judges are debarred from inficting the
death penalty. There was pretty gen
ernl opinion that Barberon would cheat
the scafold and be transported to New
Caledonia.
1t was on the fifth day of the trial that
Maitre Farcy rose to make his defense,
and the court was crowded to suffocation.
I came early, expecting to hear u good
speech, but was disappointed. Farcy
was not great orator. He declaimed,
gesticuated and worked himself into a
perspiration, but could find none of those
pleas which go straight to a hearers
heart. His harangue was concluded
amidst an ominous silence, and after a
brief reply from the Procuraor General
and a pretty pithy summing up from the
President, the jury retired to consider
their verdict.
They returned into court at the end Of
twenty minutes with verdict of Yes,
on all the questions put to them, anc
were silent as to extenuating circum
stances. This was tantamount to sen:
tence of death.
In French law-courts prisoners are moi
present when juries render their verdcts
They are brought in after the Judges
have retired to draw up their judgment
on paper; and the verdict is then read
out to them by the Clerk of Arraigns
The gas was lighted in Court, and there
We're deep shadows in the corners of the
large hall when Barberon re-entered the
dock amidst an appalling silence. Every
body was standing, and the women, es
pecially, bent forward to get last lool
at him. Maitre Farcy, with truly
French impulse, started up and offered
his hand to the prisoner over the
dock rail; but Barberon spurned it anl
stood with his arms folded, strangely
calm.
The five Judges were standing witt
their bonnets on, and the President reat
out the sentence couched in formal Ian
guage, and concluding with the words
Peine de mort He added no words o
his own to it, and Barberon simply
bowed; then turned on his heel an(
walked out followed by the noise of tin
audience, who exclaimed and chatteret
as they broke up to 20.
Amidst these noises the shrill voices o
Old Gras.ier's two daughters could b
heard, inveighing against the parsmony
Of the Jury, who had not awarded then
franc of damages.
And they call this justice!-prett,
ustice, forsoothp screamed the tw
ountry danes.
CHAPTER vi.