Year: 1877

Richelot was broken alive on the wheel
at Orleans for highway robbery, and, as
there were no relatives or friends to
claim the body, the executioner, when
he thought life was extinct, gave it to
surgeon, who carried it to the anatomical
academy for dissection. The legs and
arms Of the wretch had been fearfully
broken and mangled, but yet, when the
surgeon applied his knife, he detected
signs of life, and, by the aid of powerful
excitants and stimulating cordials, the
highwayman was brought to his senses
and to the power Of speech.


The surgeon and his pupils were kind
hearted, and, deeply moved by the
sufferings and the earnest solicitations
of the culprit, they resolved to attempt
his cure.
They would thus lose the subject for
dissection, but then the experience of
handling such case in treatment would
be valuable to them. So dreadfully
mangled was he that they had to am
putate both his legs at the hip-j joints
and take off his left arm at the shoulder.
His right arm had been fractured above
and below the elbow, but the bones had
not been shivered, and with'extreme care
that important limb was saved. Not
withstanding the mutilation-a mutila-
ton and blood less that would be surely
fatal in a hundred and ninety-nine cases
in a thousand-the man recovered. And
now what should be done with him A
man with not even the stump of leg,
and with only one arm He begged
that he might be taken further from
Paris, where he could gain livelihood by
begging. They might be sure he would
henceforth lead an honest life. He swore
that he would rather die than steal
again. The good doctor, willing to do
anything in his power, put Richelot into
q cart and sent two of his students to
convey him fifty leagues away to the
southwest, beyond Poitiers.


The man was full forty leagues away
from the nearest place he had ever been
known. He took situation by the
roadside, close by ragged cliff of rock
and dense wood, where his deplorable
condition excited the compassion of all
who saw him. In his youth he had
served in the army, and, clad in an old
hussar's jacket and helmet. he passed
for soldier who had lost his limbs in
battle.


Time passed. Bye-and-by peddler, who
had set out from Lusignan on his way to
Vitray, with afull pack and much money,
was missed.


Other men mysteriously disappeared
| 4l,Dt 1NnI1nn
searched for the robbers, but could not
find them, and yet they were we'll assured
that these oft-recurring disappearances
were not the result of accident. There
must be robbers and assassins some
where.


The celebrated Jean Coquelle, with a
platoon of his we'll trained detective
force, came down from Paris, and spent
two months in the provinces, but failed
to unearth the mystery.


One day drover, returning from
market where he had hecn selling cattle,
came upon the poor, legless beggar by
the wayside, and was solicited for
charity.


Being moved to compassion by the
sight of so much disfigurcment-for the
wretched man seemed to be both legless
and armless droyer threw him a
piece of silver.


"Alas !" said the mendicant. in pite-
GUS tones, "you sec cannot reach your
bounty. L have neither an arm nor a
leg. If you will be so kind as to put
your generous donation into my pouch,
I will bless you. Tonight my poor
faithful Lizette will come with Moulard's
cart and take me home, where your silver
shall find us a meal such as we have
not tasted for many day."


The drover got down from his cart and
approached the beggar, and rs he stoop-
ed down to pick up the money, the sun
suddenly breaking from behind cloud
threw strange shadow upon the sward,
causing the traveller to look up, when he
caught sight of good, stout right arm,
elonging to the mendicant, raised above
his head, the brawny hand of which
grasped short iron bar, with knotted
knob on the end. He arrested the blow
in it's descent, and being man of i'm
mcnse muscular powcrhe lifted the beg
gar and carried him 70 his cart, and hay
ing thrown him into it he drove to the
next town, where he brought his prison
er to the magistrate.


On searching HIM silver whistle of
curious construction was found in his
pocket, which naturally led to the sus-
picion that he might have accomplices
in the woods, whereupon the magistrate
called q sufficient guard, under COM
mand of an experienced officer, and sent
them, with q drover for a guide, to the
place where the murder was attempted.
Not more than an hour had elapsed since
the drover had left with his prisoner
when the spot was reached, the distance
from the village being not quite league.


The gendar1nes concealed themselves
in the bushes, after which the whistle
was blown, the sound being exceedingly
sharp, clear and penetrating; and dl-
rectly an answering whistle was heard,
seeming to come from under ground.
Nor was this all. Hardly had the note
of the whistle died away when three men
rose to sight from a thick tangle of
shrubs and vines close at hand. The
soldiers, with muskets cooked aud pre-
eented, advanced and ordered the men
to surrender. One of them turned to-
flee and was Immediately shot down,
upon which the other two, seeing that
they we're fairly caught, threw down
their arms. When they had been Sc
cured the place where they had appeared
was searched and the entrance found to
deep spacious cave, wherein were dis
covered two women and boy and girl.


The women gave in evidence that they
had been originally seized by the rob-
bers and carried away from their homes !;
that they had been forcibly held cap
tives and had finally married with their
abductors, The boy and girl were their
children. The girl, bright, intelligent
miss Of ten or twelve years, testified that
bodies of travellers newly killed were
often brought into the cave and stripped
and buried. On pleasant days it was
their custom to carry the old mutilated
soldier out to the roadside, where he
would sit for three or four hours at q
! t;na his fitiohln condition being sure