Year: 1876

Madame Mazel usually rose at seven, and
the servants, when eight o'clock struck the
next morning, expressed to each other their
wonder that she had not rung her bell. lie
Brun had gone out early in the morning to
see his wife, TO whom he gave seven louis
and some other money, which he babe her
lock up. On his return to the house he
asked if Nine. Mazel was yet up. Being
told that she was not, he expressed great
surprise and uneasiness. The whole house
hold, by this time assembled in the kitchen,
determined to awaken her they went to her
door and raped loudly, but all was silent.
Some one suggested that she had an apo
plectic fit, another that bleeding of the nose,
to which she was subject, had caused her to
faint but lie Brun remarked that it must
be something worse. Something" said he,
''is wrong. | am very uneasy, because
found the street door open last night" The
door was broken down, and the servants
entered lie Brun went hastily to his mis-
tress' bed. She was assassinated and covered
with blood. ..


NJ. De Savonnieres, her eldest son, at this
moment arrived, Mime. Mazel lived apart
from her family,) and at once sent for the
lieutenant criminel. In the name of him
self and his two brothers he laid a formal
complaint before that official, and surgeons
were sent for to examine the body About
fifty small wounds made with knife were
found on her hands, face shoulders and
throat and these last, having occasioned a
of her death, for none of the wounds were
of themselves mortal In the bed was found
a piece of a lace neck cloth. and towel
twisted up in the form of nightcap, which
towel belonged to the house and was marked
with an 'S." The cords of the bells were
twisted up above the reach of the hand, and
tied to the curtain rod; in the ashes was
found knife, seven or eight inches long,
the handle of which had been of tortoise
shell, but it was nearly all burned off. The
key of the chamber door was not found
on the seat where the maid affirmed she
had put it. No door was broken, and the
two doors which opened on the back stairs
were both shut and locked from the inside.
The key of the clothes press was found in
its usual resting place under the pillow. On
opening the press, the purse in which she
kept her card money-for, like all old dowag-
ers of that period, she was an inveterate
gambler-was found, containing some 300
livrcs in gold. The key of the strong box
was in the same place, and in it were found
four bags, each containing 1000 livres, and
many other bags containing different sums,
on one of which was written, ''This is the
property of the Able Poulard' Under one
bag there was an empty purse and red leather
writing desk, which contained all Nine
Mazel's jewels, to the value of $4,000 livres.
In her pocket there was found the sum of
eighteen pistoles in gold. Undoubtedly
some other motive than robbery had caused
the preparation of the crime.


The lieutenant criminel questioned the
two women who attended on Nine. Mazel ::
they related succinctly what had passed
the night before. lie Brun who was next
called upon, gave with equal clcarness ac-
count of everything that had happened to
himself from the time Of his going out with
his mistress to vespers down to the moment
of his examination. He was searched. and
there was found upon him the key of the
hall, where his pantry was, and MASTER
key, with large wards which, on trial, was
| found to open the door of Madame Mazels



chamber, upon which the lieutenant crimi-
mel ordered him into custody. On putting
on the napkin it was found too small for his
head they examined his hands, but there
were no signs of blood on them, nor on his
clothes nor were there on any part of his
person any marks of that resistance which it
was very evident the unfortunate victim had
made. Some of the hair of the rufiian who
had killed her she had torn off, and still
held clutched in her hand lie Brun was
again examined in prison, and neither on
his person nor in his answers was there
found the least cause to believe him the
guilty person. They next examined the
lodgins of his wiie,where nothing was found
to criminate him however, they seized on
his linen, to compare it with Il shirt which
was found stained with blood in the garret,
hidden under some straw land which it was
reasonably supposed had been worn by the
assassin, and with the lace neck cloth. Two
of the female servants declared that this
neck cloth never had belonged to lie Brun
but said they remembered having washed it,
for a servant named Berry, who had been
dismissed from the service of Madame Mazel
about four months before, because he wa,
detected in robbing her. No resemblance
was found between the shirt and those of Ii
Brun, nor in any enquiry that was made did
the slightest circumstance arise that tended
to fix the charge on him.


On January II, 1899, NJ, De Savonniere,
represented request to the lieutenant crimi
mel in his own name, and in that of his tive
brothers, demanding that lie Brun should bC
declared duly convicted of having murdered
Madame Mazol, and of having robbed he
of quantity of gold coin that was in he
strong box; and that he should be at tn,
same time deprived and declared unworthy
Of very handsome legacy which had beer
left him by his old mistress, With sucl
force was that latter point urged that it wa
plainly apparent that this same legacy wa
the real source of all the enmity of d.
Savonnieres toward the unfortunate Il
Brun.


M,DAucour, who was employed as l.
Bruins advocate, showed conclusively that i


was impossible he could be guilty. Tn