The Statesman. — 1822-08-15 (London, England)

MURDER. A Pads paper of Sunday last contains the following account of a murder (committed salt is soppoted, by a priest) from a Mayor of the Commune whets the crime took plate.  "On Morida.May 9, 1822. in the afternoon, Mr. Mae', ecclesiastic, of the age of 28, Core of Qttentinsar-Isere, went to the house of a young woman, whose tragical cad I announced in my notice of June 5, (Marie Gerin, whose married name was Charnalet), and remained there about two hours. This woman, who was very pious, was to have gone the next day to communicate at Veury, a neighbouring parish, sawn the first communion of children was to take place, and it appears that the Cure appointed her an hoer to hear her in confession is the evening. She was seen entering the church about six in the evening; she went in alone, and was not seen to come oat. ".The husband of this unfortunate woman went at -nine o'clock to seek ber at the houses of several of her relations ; he went with a female cousin of his wife to the parsonage-house, contiguous to the church.— The Care, who made them wait a few instants, s►id, at first; he bad not seen her; then recollecting him• self, added, be had seen her devoutly praying, ba without speaking to her. While he spoke, the Cure walked out from the pasonage, as if he feared they might come in. The Cure afterwards held the lame language to different persons, to others lie said, that not having found this female in a decent dress enough, he bad declined hearing her confession. The Wednesday, it must be remarked, was a working day. " About half-past four o'clock in the morning, an inhabitant of the town, descending towards the plain by a path not frequented at night, perceived. a little' from it, and shoat two hundred yards from the par. nonage, blood in abundanre, a penknife stuck in the ground, and a string, about six metres long, both bloody. In the same place were found raga of flesh. and some fragments of Lone. Traces of blood led other persons to the bank of the Isere, where the neckkerchief of the unfortunate woman was recognised, without doubt placed there, to give rise to the idea that she ball drowned herself. The idea of assassins• tion occurred to no one in a country which, within the memory of man, had not been stained by any crime. Snieida was thought of. It was imagined, contrary to all prot,ahility, that, after having stabbed herself with the knife hich was afterwards recog Matti as not belonging to her,) she it.td preserved strength to go and throw herself into the Isere. It is 900 paces from the place where the knife was found to the hank of the Isere, where the neck-kerchief was., The despair of_ the woman was explained by the great rigour of the Cure in confession r and it was imagined' that, baring been refused absolution, she had destroyeeli herself. Her death was said to be the work of lie. Devil, and credulity and seperetition propagated the: story. On the !Galt of the same month, however, the character of the terror that was created was changed, when some shepherds discovered in a creek of the' Isere, two handed paces from the place where the Aga-kerchief Ives [mind, the ,thigh ani the left 14