The San Francisco call., 1904-12-04

TURIN, Dec. 3.-In the little Assize
Court at Turin the prosecution of the
! Countess Bonmartini, her brother, her
! lover and two other persons, charged
with the murder of her husband, is
now proceeding under circumstances of
particular grimness. The cramped, i'll
lighted Assize Court is historic in it
self. In the days when Turin used to
be the capital of the kingdom of Pied
mont. this was the Senate chamber
wherein many a stirring scene was en-
acted.
None, however, approached those
that are now of daily occurrence IN the
terrible drama, whose tangled WeD OF
love, passion, intrigue, conspiracy ana
murder the law is engaged in unraVel-
ing.
The evidence against the Countess
Bonmartini and the others took the
police over two years to gather ana tne
letters bearing on the plot alone III
twenty-five folio volumes. Twenty -one
LAWYERS among them some OF the most
distinguished counsel of the Italian
bar, are fighting, on one side or the
other, the legal battle of life or death.
Nearly four hundred witnesses have
been subpenaed and it is now thought
that the trial will last three months
Conflicting versions have been sent
to America Of the story OF the Bon
martins That story is one that ap-
peals strongly to the Italian tempera-
ment 1t begins with love that founo
its grave in marriage and was re-
vived with another for its object. But
from these commonplace beginnings
of tragedy has been evolved tan
gled maze of mystery and crime sucn
as only passion and fate, love and
hate. can weave. 1t possesses all the
oTo of data0fiVA story.
1t abounds in situations that would
have made the fortune of a novelist.
FATHER DENOUNCES.
In this drama, which eliminated in
such a piece of human butchery as
could hardly be dignified by the name
of assassination, one figure stands out
in heroic relief. 1t is that of DR.. An
tonic Murri one of the foremost OF
Italian physicians and professor of
the University of Bologna. A senator
at Rome and possessed or the ola
Roman spirit of the supreme duty OF
the citizen to the state, he did not hes
itate to denounce to the authorities
his son-his only son-as the murderer
of Count Bonmartini.
His daughter, Linda, had married
the Count in 1891. Before that she
had had a love affair with DIR. Carlo
Secchi, one of her fathers favorite pu-
pllS, out Sne dppedTeu 10 nave SOI
over that. For some years she and
the Count seem to have lived happily
together and two children were born
to them-a boy and girl. Then in
compatibility of temperament and
tastes began to chill their affection.
High strung and nervous, she was
intellectually much her husbands su-
perior. and he cY poor figure in the
society in which She shone. Urged by
her to take up some serious study and
make something of himself, he went In
for medicine but the result simply
demonstrated that his abilities were of
a hopelessly mediocre character. The
rift between them widened. 1t is al
legged that he consoled himself with
other women and treated her cruelty.
They separated for a time and then
tried the experiment of living together
again, but now there was not a ves-
tige of love left on either side and mu-
tual antipathy and contempt had taken
its place Things were ripening for the
tragedy.
a a NU