The French Court of Assiz...
The Times, 1824-11-27T00:00:00

The French Court of Assize at Versailles was occupied on Tuesday last with the trial of a wvretch natmed Leger, who stranigled, on St. John's Day, in the neighbourhood of E,tarmpes, a young girl, violated her person, and afterwards Irank her blood, andl ate a part of her flesh. He is evi- dently insane. rhe most horrible facts of this recital rest- ed on his own confession. The jury found him guilty,and the Court condemnedb him to deaLh. Nature seldom plays so malicious, and( at the same timne so amusing a trick, as when she puts it iuto the head of some plain s.ober-minded fellow to assume the airs of a fashionablc rake. The poor plo(dder looks awkwardly livelv, and talks pedantries with the tone of a roue, and, though perhaps as moral as he is dull, affects, with clumsy gayety, to be no better than he should be-nay, is anxious to be tothglt a knowing fellow, and even a sad dog. The ra- tional stare; even the good-natured caninot but lauglh; while the unhlapply dupe struts along, like Goldsmith in his pcach_ blossomned coat, mistakinig both the astonishmneiit anid the laughter for purc admhiration. These remarks have oc- currcd to us on seeing a very worthly, anid in his namtral state very sensible coternporary, who, from somne misplaced flattery, or aceidental communication " with the wicked," has lately, to the regret of his friends. and the amusement of every bodly else, thouglht proper to change the grave tone, whieh best became his journal, into a wmore sprightly mea- sure. He talks with the air of a CGreek" of rouge at ;wir- affects a buckisl levity in matters of crime. con. and seduc- tion-repeats thle slang of thc police-offices wvith a knowitig particularity-anid, to crown all, sees nothiing butL a little harmless pleasantry in the extinction of a few eyes, the de- molition of a few ribs, or eveni the destruction of a few lives in a game of fisty-cuffs. WVe wvould advise our vorthy co- temporary to abide by the natural vein of sober sense which distinguishes bim in hiis best moments * andt not to make himself ritliculous by his clumsy handling of a subject whichi, to be wvell managedl, requites the practised manner of one wvhose vrhole lile has been spent in gaols or pot- houses. Notwithstatndinig the strange turn which lie has lately taken, he is really worthy of better things than to re- corl thie bets of a club-house, ot the feats of a prize-ring. Few eases have unidergone mnore investigation anid setutiny than that of Edward flarris, who was eapitally convicted last October Old Bailey Sessions of highway robber. The prisoner, in his de- fence, attempted to establish an alibi bv the evidence ot his own. children, and two persons w7ho swore they .aw him at the window of hlis house at the time the robbery was coimnitted. The Jurv, how- ever, rather credited the testimony of thc prosecutrix, ana found him guilty. The prisoner, ailer hts conviction, invariably persisted in declaring hiniself to be innocent of the crime, and strong Teprescen- tations were niadeby his solicitor at thc Secrctary of State's Office: in consequeence of vhich, the Maliatrates of Worship-strect Office were tlirected to pay most particular attention to the circuapstatlces of the case. One ol thern, Ilr. Osborne, went to the peond in Hask- nev flelds into which the yomrlg woman was thrown. lie was ac- ceipaninQ by an intelligent gentleman of that district, who hls for q long time been actively usefal in suppressing crim.e. They both minutely noticed everv circnmstancee of time and olace alluded to on the trial. The Recorlder of London also, iitch to his credit, took the troubleofgoing in company with theegentletnei alluded to to Spitsl- fields, for the pxrporeofviewing the relative situation oflHarris'shouse, anid that of the witness who appeared otn his behalf,, and also to make inquiries connected with the atfair; but it is said that the impression lprodtuced in the minds of these gentlemen, aftcr ali they had seen and heard, was not very favourable to the prisoner. Still, hawever. tiie whole matter mainlv rested upon the testdirony of one witness- namely, the young. womni, as to the identity of Harris; hereharac- ter is unimpeached, nor does it appear hov she ceuld have any motive for falsely bringing a charge of so serieus a natture a4ainst this man, yet it is not inpossible but-she-may have been mistairen; however, tlie matter has received mucih consideration. The post- ponement of tle report of the case is said to hare been prineipaly occasioned 1-y an affidarit havitig been made~ and forvardel to the Secretary of State, by a person wlio states Ehat he was near the spot in London-fields, lHackney, at the very time wlhen it ias alleged thiat the assault and robbery vwere committed; it ih also intimated that there is some discrepancy in the evidence of the prosecutrix be. fore the magistrate, aitd that given by Iter at the time of the trial, 'which eseapedbthcnotice of the counsel of the prisoner onl the latter occagimo. Yesterday the prisousers committed On charges of' fe- lony were semoved f,om the several gaols in the city of London antd county of' 111 iddlesex, to Newgate, preparato;y to their standitig their trials at the nex;t Old Bailey sessions, w}hich will cormmence on Thuarsday n?ext, the 2tl of PevemrberF