Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-04-23

Y. 1ou see tnls daggeri nave you seen Il
beforei ...t
A. cannot say.
Q. Howl You cannot sayi Did you nevel
SEQ this dagger in the hands Of Raou
Girardl
A. Ihave seen in his possession a weapon
which was very like it. 4
Q. Exactly like iti
A. Yes.
Q. That dagger which you saw in Girard'i
possession had a sheath; can you describe it
A. It was shaped, remember, like a CLOSED
fan.
Q. Was this the sheath2 Here the witnes.
was shown the sheath of the weapon belong
ing to NJ de st. Florent)
A. 1t might Ia ve been; it resembles 1t.
Q. When was it that you saw the dagger In
Girard's possession!
| A. After pause.) / think about two year
ago. saw it one daY lying on Raouls table
understood that it Lad been given him by
his uncle to sell. i took it up to examine it
and said that it seemed valuable and would
bring something.
| Q. You saw it only that oncei
A. Yes; was not living with Girard al
the time; understood that he was going to
sell it.
Q. But you do not know for fact that he
did so!
A. No.
Q. On the table in your room, No. % Rue
Dauphine, there was found by the detective
officer Py, on the night of Wednesday, the
Goth, a newspaper, SO folded that a paragraph
relating to the crime lay uppermost, AID a
little heap of money; it was you placed ihore
things theres
| A. Yes.
| @. With what puIpose'
| A. TO warn my friend that he was in dam
ger.
Q. Then you suspected hims
A. did SO at that time. II was an un-
| worthy suspicion, of which am ashamed
| am now as certain of his innocence as of my
| own.
| Gabrielle Dumaine, glove cleaner, Rue de
| fOdeon, gave evidence: That she knew the
accused Raoul Girard intimately; that she
was his betrothed. Interrogated as to whether
| she had ever heard Girard speak of his
| uncle, declared that she had, but very rarely.
| Thought she had been told Meissner's name.
but knew nothing about him, except that he
was rich and misery, and had behaved very
| badly to her friend. Did Girard ever use the
| language of enmity in referring to his uncle2
| No; he spoke bitterly about the usage he had
received, and that was all. But his language
| left the impression that he disliked his unclei
Oh, certainly; how could it be otherwisel
Meissner had treated him shamefully.
Q. Did you ever see in Girard's possession
long dagger, with curious writing on the
blade, and an oddly shaped sheath?
A. Yes, once saw such q dagger; Raoul
visited us one day in passing, and showed it
to us; it had been given him, he said, by his
uncle week or two before, and he was then
ON his way to sell it if he could find pur-
chaser.
Q. Was that long ago9
A. Yes; more than year; perhaps two
years; cannot say precisely.
Q. Would you recognize this weapon and
its sheath if they were shown youa
A. think SO.
@. Is that the dagger? (Shown the poniard
used in the murder).
A. 1t is very like it; remember the chry-
santhemum flower on the blade
9. Is that the sheath? (Shown the sheath
from M. de st. Florent's collection).
A. believe it is, or one exactly like it.
@. What was the last occasion on which
you saw the accusedl -
A. On Monday night, q little after ten, he
tapped at the door of our shop in the Rue de
rOdeon, and went to the door and spoke to
him.
Q. How long did your conversation lasts
A. Only few minutes.
Q. Did he refer to his uncle at all during
your interview?
A. Oh, no; we talked almost exclusively
about the comedy which RaouI had sent to
the Odeon.
Q. Did you observe anything peculiar in
Girard's manner?
A. No, I did not; to me Raoul has always
been the same.
Q. You do not think your conversation
lasted more than five minutes?
A. l am certain it lasted no longer than
that. Raoul would not come in, and it was
showing at the time.
Abel Lenormand, journalist, stated that he
had been colleague of Girard's on the staff
of LIE Petit Monde, weekly journal now ex-
tinct. Remembered calling on Girard in
company with his friend Tisson, and seeing
on his Girard's) table dagger of Oriental
workmanship, in sheath made to initiate q
closed fan. Had taken up the dagger and
handled it, admiring the fine temper of.tke
steel. The weapon now shown him that
found beside the dead body of Messner), if
not the one he had seen in Girard's possession,
was at all events its very fac-simile. Could
not say exactly when he had paid this visit
to Girard, but thought it must have been at
least couple of years ago.
Auguste Tisson, journalist, confirmed the
evidence OF tho last witness.
Pierre Roussel, servant at the house No. rs
Rue Dauph;ne, bore witness to tho fact that
Girard did not rstuIn home until after two
O'Clock on Tuesday morning, and that his
coat sleeve was ripped up from the cuff to the
shoulder
Isaac Cohen, money-lender, stated that he
had known the deceased Joseph Meissner for
over thirty years. Meissner was man of
eccentric and miserly habits. Remembered
visiting him ON one occasion, and passing on
the stairs the accused, Raoul Girard, who had
just left hisuncle On that occasion Meissner
had complained bitterly to him Cohen of his
nephew's conduct, saying that the young
man was scapegrace, rascal; that he had
been extolting money, as usual; and that he
(Meissner) would be ruined if this went on.
had heard Meissner say more than once that
he expected to be murdered some day, for the
sake Of the treasure he kept in his room.
Had advised Meissner to send the treasure to
his bankers, but he had not done SO; could
not bear IL to be out of his sight. When
Meissncr spoke of expecting to be murdered,
it was without reference to any individual.
The Police Sergeant GARNER gave evidence,
that, on the night of Monday, the 24th, he had
been stationed in the Rue de Biche. Remem-
bered that, while standing at the street corner,
a man had passed him, walking verv fast in