Morning journal and courier., 1885-10-14
JEANNE LORETTE.
The Woman Who Murdered Her
 Courtly Betrayer, M. Sakurada.

The Woman Who Murdered Her CourtIy Betrayer, RI. Sakurada. [The Hague Special to Boston Herald.1 The trial of Jeanne Marie Lorstte for the wilful murder of her lover, M. Sakurada' the late Japanese Charge d'Affairss for Bel gium and the Netherlands at Rotterdam six months ago, has for the last two days filled the sleepy but pleasant little town with the nearest approach to excitement of which the Dutch are capable. The circumstances of the case were interesting enough to quicken the pulse of the most phlegmatic. The mur- deress self-accused, is young unfortunate and beautiful victim
 The Japanese Charge d'Affaires was loca1 lion, and the whole affair had roman tic charm, common enough in France, Spain or Italy, but rare in Holland. Murder cases are not tried by jury in this country, but 1 by judges Possibly justice is not much the I loser by this system. The Criminal | court was crowded on both days | of the trial. Several ministers, the | British ambassador and number of | foreign journalists occupied seats, while the 1 body of half the court was filled with solid burghers and peasants, chiefly women, whose snow-white caps and silver head-gear lent l picturesqueness to the scene. There was q l buzz of curiosity as the prisoner entered. | | won sympathy from every spectator. Jeanne l Lorette is barely twenty years of age. She is 1 tall and graceful, with speaking eyes, long l auburn locks and a sweet little mouth She | was dressed in black, with shawl carslessly ! crossed over her shoulders A large felt hat 1 and mauve feathers complete her costume. | As she stood in the dock with tears 1n her 1 eyes she looked charming enough to soften l the heart of the sternest magistrate. She
 answered the questions put to her without
 bravado or affection, making no attempt to play martyr, and evidently feeling the shame ! and horror of her position acutely. She ad-
 mitted that before she became Sakurada' s ! mistress she had been beguiled by an old roue l at eighteen. She met Sakurada at Brussels
 and, not knowing he had a wife and family l in Japan followed him to the Hague. M. Suka- rada seems for time to have been passion
 ately attached to his conquest, but gradual ly his ardor cooled, and Jeanne Lorette's life
 became so unbearable that she often threat ened to commit suicide, and once actually
 wrote to physician asking how she could
 open an artery. About this time she told a friend she ''had enough of that devil of Jap
 anese.'' Separation was eventually agreed
 upon, but few days after Jeanne repented | at having consented to it, burst into the
 Japanese legation, and avowed that if Saku-
 rada did not marry her she would kill her self On her return home she got out re- l volver, set her affairs in order and made her
 will.
 ! In this document she wrote: ''My suffer ings are too much for me, my position too ! false I should have to separate from Saku-
 rada, the man whom regarded as my hus- | band. Fourteen months ago l loathed him, but for six months past have been possess cd by strange love for this false, hypocriti-
 cal Japanese-a love which will kill me. Life
 without him will be agony; with him it is
 he'll" The next day Jeanne again called on the embassy, and was turned away. Fren-
 zied with rage she bought dagger. Her plans had been changed. She was now bent on vengeance, though she had abandoned all ideas of suicide. A week after, when Saku-
 rada left the Hague, she followed him, and
 for moment the lovers were reconciled.
 "Our meeting was affectionate," said the
 prisoner. That night she slept with dag ger and revolver under her pillow. In the morning she made last appeal to Sakurada, l and declared that. unless he promised to wed
 her, she would kill him. He refused, and
 Jeanne, who declares she was terribly excit-
 ed. drew the revolver out and shot him in
 bed. He died the same evening. When his
 assassin saw him Efeless she went into hys-
 terics and shrieked: "Oh! wretch that I am!
 Pity! pityl I have killed him,'' Both befors
 and after her arrest she attempted suicide,
 but without success.
 | A dramatic scene occurred in court when
 the prisoner had ended her story. The pub
 lie prosecutor produced revolver. At sight
 of the weapon Jeanne uttered loud cry.
 threw up her arms and fell fainting and for
 some minutes the proceedings were inter-
 rupted. When the prisoner recovered num-
 Der of witnesses were called. Several declar-
 ed that Sakurada had promised to marry her,
 while others had proved that she had inherit
 ed epilepsy from her mother, and doctor
 testified that her mind had been affected by ] a criminal assault in childhood. The public