The Sentinel=record., 1909-11-14


 ted that ex-President Felix Faure's name had been mentioned.
 Nov, who can say he asked, "how much harm the perfduOus in. situation of which Mme. Steinhefl was the object, in connection with the for. mer president, had done herr" q prefer not to invoke the shadow of this profound patriot here"
 After sketching the defendants in. trigues with NM Chounard. Balincourt end Borderel, he came to the crime, insisting that the original story told 1 by the accused was true.
 He contended that the entire cir. cumstantial case of the prosecution was a tissue laboriously elaborated On presumptious ground without a shred of direct proof.
 He argued that the prosecution lac kedlogic when it asked for his clients conviction, but admitted iil- ability to bring charges against her accomplices whose identity had been plainly indicated. Finally he said Borderel's testimony had exploded the motive which the prosecution had as- sumed
 M. Aubin prolonged his pleading fan into the night, largely spelling the earlier effect by interminable analysis of petty details whereby he sought to break down the theory of the prose cution and to establish every piece of direct evidence consistent with Mme- Steinheifs story.
 The court room, lighted with glar. ing chandeliers, was stifling hot. The jury became restless and several wo. men sitting in the rear shrieked and fainted. The prisoner was pitiful spectacle and gradually fell forward, cold sweat turning her livid face ghastly green. A doctor was called in and twice administered restoratives but just before M. Aubin finished the womans strength strapped and with a .conyuasiye gesture she threw her arms over the rail and collapsed in a fit of weeping. t 1
 When the judge asked her if she had anything to say she made no re- ply Tears stfeamed from many eyes and a minuter as the jury retired, re. publican guards gently lifted the linn figure and carried 1t fainting from the court room.
 The ceremony of liberating Mime. Steinheil occurred soon after her ac- quittal, and the woman, heavily yelled. accompanied by relative and one of her lawyers, entered high powered automobile and dashed away to an unknown destination, hotly pursued Dy newspaper reporters.
 Th- murder of the distinguished painter, Adolphe Steinheil, and his mother-in-faw, on the night of May 3l, 1908, caused a sensation in Paris. They were found 'strangled in the art ist's residence in the Rue De Vau- gierard. which ajjoins the studio of Seymour Thomas, the American DOT trait painter. Mime. Steinheil was found gagged and bound to bed.
 Mme. Steinheil, when she recovered sufficiently from the shock, gave a description of the alleged assassins. who, according to her story, numbered four, including red haired woman. Later Mme. Steinheil told many con flicting stories and was herself ar. rested and charged with the crime. Her motive was found in her hatred for her stepmother and a desire to rid herself of her husband in order that she might marry Maurice Bor. derel, wealthy merchant, who had become infatuated with her.
 Not since 1902, when Frederic and Theresa Humbeit were convicted of sl2.00O,000 swindle, has a trial in Paris excited the intense interest as has this case. The hearings began in November and dramatic scenes have characterized them throughout.