Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1888-08-22

tenQeQ 10 at once. Sne elCneT ulu uOl HedI
or did not pay any attention to him, and
he hurried after her. She gained the law
yer's house in advance of him, and the
keeper, who slammed it Immediately to
again. The man was about to ring, when
piercing shrek reached his ears. 1t came
from the interior of the house, and was
followed by another and another.
Recognizing his mistress's voice, the
honest fellow threw himself bodily against
the door. It was burst from its fastenings
and he staggered into broad hallway.
Through the open door at the end came
the noises of furious struggle. The man
bounded into his apartment just in time
to seize the arm of the lawyer as he raised
a knife to plunge it into Madame Lassier's
body, while the old housekeeper held her
with her arms around her throat. A ter
rible struggle followed. The lawyer in
ficted several wounds on his assailant with
the knife, when the latter succeeded IN
wrenching it from him and driving it
again and again into his body. The OLD
woman had her hands full attending to the
muscular widow. AS the lawyer rolled,
bleeding, Or the floor, a. nuMber OF VII,
layers, whom the noise of the combat had
attracted to the house, came to the assist.
ance of the widow and her defender, and
the wounded miscreant and his accom-
piice were arrested.
The remainder of the story, as it was
ELECTED at what became of one of the most
famous of historic trials in the land OF
criminal romance, is easily told.
Victor Castine was the murderer OF Jean
Jacques Lassier. Hector Bouchet, who
had known the lawyer previous to his
departure from France, and who was fgnor-
ant of his brothers exact whereabouts,
had chosen to make him the medium OF
returning to Lassier the money he had
borrowed from him, with the liberal in
terest the profits of the speculation he had
invested it in had proved. He had for
warded the money in Bank of England
notes, and notified his brother by the same
mail, to the address of friend in Rouen,
that if he would call at the lawyers ne
would learn of something to his advantage.
The letter was forwarded at once by the
friend to its destination. Castine, who had
already made up his mind to appropriate
the money to his own use, denied all
knowledge of its meaning, and under pre-
tense of arguing the matter undisturbed,
had induced Lassier to stroll as far as the
village church with him. The door OF the
sacristans room had been left open by ac-
cident and the inn-keeper went to close it.
AS he leaned forward to call if any one
was in the church, the lawyer aimed tu-
rious blow at him with heavy cane ne
carried. :,
It missed Lassier's head and descended
on his shoulder. The inn-keeper stagger-
ed forward into the church, and hearing the
steps of his murderer behind him, ran
blindly forward. Castine pursued him.
The faint light of the dying day which
found its way down the belfry stairs di-
rected the fugitive's flight, and he contriVed
to gain the bell floor before his assassin
overlook him. .
Then he turned at bay and screamed
for help. He uttered but one cry. Before
a second could escape him, the murderer
felled him with a ferocious blow. Even
then, Lassier, who was very powerful
man, fought desperately, and only sue
cumbed when Castine, having battered his
head to pieces, cut his throat with his
hunting-knife. His blood deluged the
floor, and streaming out through the gar
goled waterspout provided to carry off
the water, which the rainy season blew
in the belfry, it pattered down on the drum
ken tramp below, and dyed him with the
damning marks which had cost him his
liberty and his life. Having assured him
Sell lIdG Ills SlCllll uCoSa, Se&ocAaS AAe*S&
slowed him away in the loft overhead,
and gone home. His first work was to
instruct his housekeeper in the course, in
case of inquiry, which she should pursue.
The old woman was devoted to him, and
obeyed him to the letter. Then he wrote
to Bouchet, signing his victims name, and
acknowledging the receipt of the money.
When the widow made the discovery she
did, he determined to get her out of the
way too and flee. That he did not was no
fault of his.
He died of his wounds in prison. The
old woman was sentenced to a long penal
term for her completely with him. His
scapegoat was not released from his un-
merited confinement for the single reason
that he had already released himself by
the process of suicide.
AS for the widow she did not marry her
preserver, as she ought in all logical liter
ary Justice to have done. On the contrary,
she charged him on the first discovery of
certain peculiarities. of his, and had him
sent to Jail for theft