Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1881-01-08

landowner of the vicinity.
This was too much for the wronged
girl, who moved at once to the village
near which her rival dwelt. and warned
her faithless lover that misfortune
would come to him if he persisted in
wedding his new sweetheart. Accord
ingly, on the day when the Laloi family
and Picart met to draw up the mar
rage contract. Virginie, halfmad, burst
into the room where the party was as
sembled. and interrupted the notary,
CRYING out, This marriage will never
take place Neverr' Picart remained
impassive.
A few days later, on the morning of
the last day of April, 1880, Picart left
Vendresse, the village where he lived.
for Laon, to buy some wedding pres
ents for Mademoiselle Laloi, who was
to accompany him. Not far from his
home he heard woman's voice calling
him. 1t was Virginie, who ran after
him and overlook him. Her right hand
was concealed beneath her cloak. She
stopped Picart. and in supplicating
tone cried: "Is it then true that you
are going to marry her?" YES"
"Then. shall never more be anything
to you?" He replied by gesture of
impotence. ut is well" said Vir-
ginie, after a moment of silence; "kiss
me-" He leaned toward her and en-
braced her, and at the same moment
the young girl drew revolver, till then
concealed. and fired. The bullet struck
Picart in the left temple. and he fell
dead. Virginie tainted, and was found
unconscious by the side of the dead
man.
The next act in this dismal drama was
in August last. when Virginie was
brought to trial for the homicide. The.
prosecution, in accordance with the
method of criminal procedure which is
in use in France. sought to prejudice
the jury against the accused by great
deal of indefinite hearsay evidence
bearing on her past life, but not having
anything whatever TO do with the
specific crime for which she was on
trial All this evidence, however,
amounted to nothing, and was success
fully controverted 10y her advocate, the
famous lawyer Lacl aud. The conduct
of the defense was not an easy task. rs
the prisoner did not attempt tn defend
herself. but said in open court: l
should kill Picart again if it was to be
done over. should rather see him dead
than married" Still. the jury were
| impressed in her favor, and she
would then have been acquitted if the
Court had not lent itself to a strange
perversion of justice by adjourning the
further hearing of the case or the even
ing before it was to have gone to the
| jury. Any American not familiar with
the French procedure would suppose
that this could have been done only on
the ground of some newly discovered
evidence material to tie case. But. no;
the prosecuting officer merely said that
he had heard that man named Thuil-
lier stated that he had met the accused
in a place of bad repute in Paris, in
1871, nine years before the murder for
which she was being tried; and the case
was put over. and Virginie remanded to
/ prison, ostensibly in order to allow this
man TO be produced. This mode of
getting rid of a jury disposed TO acquit
was a little too much for the French
press. and was pronounced "not exact
ly in accordance with healthy admin
istration of justice"
Three months passed. and Nirginie
was again arraicned, now before a new
jury. The witness Thuillier was lot
produced, but the defense showed by
many witnesses that his alleged testi-
mony was untrue. The evidence. apart
from this extraneous question. was the
same as in August. The accused APP
peared worn. and her voice was weak.
The Judge. President Plichon. asked
her if she regretted having killed the
faithless one, and she answered; mo:
prefer that he should be dead rather
than married" l could not reconcile
myself to seeing his child and mine
abandoned by its father"
Among the spectators at the trial