"EVENING STAR" SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT OF ENTERTAINING READING.

|No. 35.]

AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1876

[Price; ONE PENNY.

The Case of Jacques Le Brun.

fe DANGER OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. |EN a lawyer wishes to impress the minds injury with the conviction that li. is extreme 'dangerous for them to convict any one on itimstantial evidence alone, he rehearses a I list of instances in which such proof has [fed out to be a delusion and a snare, and fiinently among these there figures agarbled mint of the trial and conviction of Jacques prun. This same case has often been led by lay writers, who, ignorant of the • principles on which the rules of evidence I; rased, insist that direct testimony only is to jf igarded as of any weight. The true history liver, of the trial of the unfortunate Le || gives support to no such theory. On the jfraiy, had his Judges paid a proper regard tjie weight of circumstantial evidence, he llld have been acquitted. Here are the facts |lje case, as set forth by M. in his |i|t collection of Causes Celberes, published H aS°- Madame Mazel, residing in Paris, had passed {meridian of life, and was possessed of an pie fortune. She employed a retinue of ser fts; two footmen, a coachman, Jacques Le in, who had lived with her twenty years, and 5 her butler, and three female servants, corn fed her household. A man called the Abbe jjllard lived with her on a footing of intimacy, Ih did no honor to her reputation. In the lie of the summer of 1698, she had taken I Le Brun a master-key, which opened all foors in the house, and gave it to the Abbe jlard for his accommodation in coming and lat all hours. Le Brun had a duplicate hvhich he continued to use. On November ■11698, being the first Sunday in Advent, lame Mazel, who was very punctilious in exercises of religion, went to vespers. She lier house attended by Le Brun, on whose j&he leaned, and the two footmen followed $As soon as she was in the Chapel, Le Brun led her and went to hear vespers himself at Jacobins, in the Rue St. Jacques. Madame £el upon her return supped, according to rual custom tete-a-tete with the Abbe Poul- At eleven o'clock she went to her cham ■ The maid, as was her usual custom, put Sey on the chair, afier which they all quit fhe room, and Le Brun, who went last, drew SJoor after him and shut it. He then went Ithe kitchen and took the key of the street >; to lock it; he took it off the hook, but jig himself cold, he lay down on the table farm himself; and, being fatigued—possible, Shaving diunk more than he was accustom p—he insensibly fell asleep. When he ke he heard the clock strike one. He ran Block the street door, which to his surprise iund wide open, and when he had done so, the key with him into his room. So passec iight away. itdam Mazel usually rose at seven, and the pits, when eight o'clock struck the next ling, expressed to each other their wonder she had not rung her bell. Le Brun had 5 out early in the morning to see his wife, |horn he gave seven louis and some other |y, which he bade her lock up. On his re |to the house he asked if Madame Mazel [yet up. Being told she was not, he ex fed great surprise and uneasiness. The c household, by this time had assembled in citchen, determined 'to awaken her ; they to her door and rapped loudly, but all was Some one suggested that she had an lectic fit; another that a bleeding of the to which she was subject, had caused her nt; bin Le Brun remarked that it must be thing worse. "Something" said he "is g; I am very uneasy, because I found the jt-cloor open last night." The room-door broken down, and the servants entered. (run went hastily to his mistress' bed. She assassinated and covered with blood. \ De Savonnieres, her eldest son, at this fait arrived, ( Madame Mazel lived apart Iher family,) and at once sent for the jtenant Criminel. In the name of himself nis two brothers he laid a formal complaint h that official, and surgeons were sent to line the body. About fifty wounds made 6 knife were found on her hands face, shoul aiul throat, and these last, having occasion jjreat effusionof blood, had been the cause of death, for none of the wounds were iselvcs mortal. In the bed was found a j of lace neck-cloth, and a towel twisted up !e form of a night-cap, which towel belong ji the house, and was marked with an " S." [cords of the bells were twisted up above 'each of the hand, and tied to the curtain jin the ashes was found a knife, seven or : inches long, the handle of which had lof tortoise-shell, but it was nearly all t off. The key of the chamber door was jjufid on the seat, where the maid affirmed {ad put it. No door was broken, and the •doors which opened on the back stairs Bfcth shut and locked from the inside, jkey of the cloths-press was found in its t; resting-place under the pillow. .On (ing the press, the purse in which she-kept iard-money—for, like all old dowagers of period, she was an inveterate gambler— Bound, containing some three hundred Sin gold. The key of the strong-box was fe same place, and in it were found four i>each containing one thousand livres, and ppther bags containing different sums, on &f which was written, " This is the pro fof the Abbe Poullard." Under one bag jiwas an empty purse and red leather writ lesk, which contained all Madame Mazel's js, to the value of 15,000 livres. In her let there was found the sum of eighteen [les in gold/ Undoubtedly some other \q than robbery had caused the perpetra pf the crime. i_e Lieutenant Criminel 'questioned the yomen who attended on Madame Mazel: Related succinctly what had passed the [before. Le Brun, who was the next \ upon, gave with equal clearness, an ac

count of everything that had happened to him self, 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 was found upon him the key of the hall, where his pantry was, and a master-key, with large wards, which on trial was found to open the door of Madame Mazel's chamber, upon which the Lieutenant Criminel ordered him into cus tody. On putting on the napkin it was found too small for his head; they examined his hands, but there was no signs of blood on them, nor on his clothes ; nor were there on any part of his person any marks of that resis tance which it was very evident the unfortunate victim had made. Some of the hair of the ruffian who had killed her she had torn off, and still clutched in her hand. Le 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 lodging of his wife, where nothing was found to criminate him; however, they seized on his linen to compare it with a shirt that was found stained with blood in the garret, hidden under some straw ( and which was reasonably supposed had been worn by the assassin) and with the lace neck cloth. Two of the servants declared that this neck-cloth had never belonged to Le Brun, but said they remembered having washed it, or one just like it, for a servant named Berry, who had been dismissed from the service of Madame Mazel about four months before, because he was detected in robbing her. No resemblance was found'between the shirt and those belong ing to Le Brun, nor in (any inquiry that was made did the slightest circumstance arise that tended to -fix the charge on him. On January 14, 1699, M. De Savonniers pre sented a request to the Lieutenant Criminel in his own name, and in that of his two brothers, demanding that Le Brun should be declared duly convicted of having murdered Madame Mazel, and of having robbed her of a quantity of gold coin that was in her strong box ; and that he should at the same time be deprived and declared unworthy of a very handsome legacy which had been left him by his old mistress. With such force was that latter point urged, that it was plainly apparent that this same legacy was the real source of all the enmity of De Savonniers toward the unfortunate Le Brun. M. D'Aucor, who was employed as Le Brim's advocate, showed conclusively that it was im possible he could be guilty. The deceased had received above fifty wounds, and had evidently made great resistance, but the prisoner had not even the slightest scratch on his hands, or spot of blood on his clothes ; the towel twisted up like a cap was so much smaller than his that he could not put it on. The knife was not his ; the neck-cloth was known to belong to another person ; the shirt was not like any he possessed; it was unlike, not only in quality, but also in size, and was made for a small man, whereas Le Brun was tall and robust. The misdirected zeal of the prosecution was strongly urged upon the court. Why was net enquiry made after Berry ? Berry, who had once robbed Madame Mazel ; who was known to be an infamous wretch, capable of any mischief; to whom the neck cloth was known to belong ; who was in Paris about the time of the murder, and had been seen since with an amount of money which he could not have honestly obtained. The counsel on the other side laid great stress on the possession of the key, on Le Brun's ex clamation, ' This is not apoplexy, but some thing worse 1' and on the seven louis he gave his wife to lock up, and which it was pretended was part of the money taken from Madame Mazel, although no identification of it was even attempted. Never was there a clearer case. There was no direct evidence either way. A single circumstance —the possession of a mas ter-key, of which a duplicate was known to be in existence—was all that could be against the the prisoner, while in his favor there was a mass of circumstantial evidence, clear, prepon derating, and convincing. His acquittal seemed :ertain, but we who occasionally feel inclined :o grumble at the perversities of jurors, would lo well to study carefully the history of French .urisprudence before the revolution. Poor Le Brun was tried at different times before fifty- Ive judges, men whose business was the trial of causes, and whom the knowledge which comes "rom experience should have enlightened. But Jther causes were at work —they always were it work in the old French parlements —family nfluence, frendship, money, social relations, all ;xerted an influence on these bodies which uries seldom feel. To their iniquitous deci sions was largely due that intense hatred of the )ld system of procedure which made its over crow one of the earliest steps in the Revolu ion. Of the eleven judges who first tried him, wo declared that they required further informa ion, two voted that he might be put to the orture, and six condemned him to death, and hat, too, in the most cruel mariner that could )e devised. On February 22nd, his case came up for eview, and sentence was passed upon him by wenty-two judges. Two only of these de nanded further inquiry; the other twenty lecided for the torture, ordinary and extraor linary. Le Brun was in consequence put to his dreadful trial, but amid the most dreadful ortures persisted in declaring his innocence. Dnthc 27th, twenty-two judges beingassembled wo voted that he should be sent to the galleys or life, but the rest voted for an adjourned nquiry of twelve months, during which Le 3run was to remain in prison, though his wife vas to be at liberty. Le Bran, who had all this ime been kept in a dimgeon without being .11 owed to see any one but the jailor, was now llowed to receive his wife, children, and riends ; but this alleviation came to late; the iolence of the torture so reduced him, though . very atheletic and healthy man in the prime .f life, that his wife had only time to procure or him the administration of the sacraments. i.s he received them he again solemnly pro isted his innocence, *md expired amid the

despair of his wife and children, and the regret | of all who knew him. A few weeks after this occurrence, informa tion was given to the magistrate of Sens that a man named Gerlat, otherwise Berry, had es tablished himself in that town as a dealer in horses, and without any visible means by which he could acquire money to support such a traffic. He was arrested, and upon him was found a watch which was known to belong to Madame Mazel. Process was instantly commenced against him, and witnesses examined. Several persons swore they had seen him in Paris at the time of the murder ; a woman swore she saw him come out of the house after 12 o'clock on the night it was committed ; a barber deposed that he had shaved him the next day and, having observed scratches and wounds on his hands, Berry had told that they were made by a cat which he had attempted to kill. The shirt and neck-cloth were proved to be his by comparing them with those found upon him. Berry was put to the torture, when he con fessed that he had concealed himself in the gar ret of the house, from Friday to Sunday, sub sisting upon bread and apples, which he had put in his pockets ; that on Sunday morning, when Madame Mazel went to mass, he entered her chamber and crept under the bed, where he lay for some time. After dinner, when Madame Mazel had gone to vespers, he warmed himself at the fire, and, finding his hat troublesome, made a night-cap of a towel, tied up the bell cord, and stayed at the fire until he heard the coach enter the court-yard. Getting back into his hiding-place, he waited patiently till the old lady had been in bed an hour. He then showed himself, and asked for her money, but on her commencing to scream he told her if she cried out he would kill her, and upon her still- con tinuing to do so, and attempting to ring the bell, he struck her with the knife, and kept''on stab bing her till she died. He then lighted a candle helped himself to 6000 livres in gold; took his hat, leaving the towel and neck-cloth he 1 knew not where; ascended to the garret, where 'he took off his shirt, and putting on his coat, went down to the street door, which he found open, and so made his escape. Berry was broken ?on the wheel, and the parlement of Paris declared the memory of Le Brun to be free from any stain. A common jury would have spared the life of which these experienced judges had deprived him.— Times.

Pig Hunting in the North Island.

BY A YOUNG COLONIAL.

Jim, a tall, well-made and plucky fellow, called and asked me to go a pig hunt. lat once said "yes," and off we started, provided with two revolvers, and five dogs, viz, Judy, Boldy, Rover, Flow, and Stranger. Judy was the only dog that would hold; the others were cattle dogs. The country we were going hunt ing over was very broken, and was covered with a dense bush of mixed timber, thick with under scrub. The morning was showery, but it did not look as if there would be much rain. After we had proceeded some distance, we heard old Rover bark, but could not at first make out in what direction he was, but the other dogs, (excepting Stranger) started off, and we followed full tear in the same direction. The bush was very wet, but we did not mind that in the heat cf the chase. We drew our revolvers, and rushed on through supple-jack and cutty grass, until we got close to the pig—the greatest monster I ever saw, and as active as a cat. Judy had hold of his ear, and Boldy ventured to take hold of his hind leg, but only for a minute, for the pig making a rush, shook Judy off, and gave her a fatal rip in the throat. As soon as possiblcwe got our revolvers to bear upon the brute, but they were wet, and would not go off. We put fresh caps on, and tried every means to fire, but only got a snap. The pig at this time was vainly trying to get at Boldy, turning round and round, barking and grunting in a furious manner. At last a happy thought struck him ; he sat down like a dog, and thus made Boldy let go. Then began the rushing and tearing at the dog. Poor Judy, weak from the loss of blood, could not get out of the brute's way; he made one desperate rush at her, and killed her dead. I cannot describe the mortification we felt at not being able to fire our revolvers, and having no other weapon, excepting our knives, with which we could rush into him, we were dancing about like madmen, cursing the rain, and revolvers, and every thing else. What would we not have given for an axe, or a tomahawk, or any other weapon ? But we had nothing, and saw our poor Judy lying dead, and the others being ripped by the pig which could run the most active of them down, and tear them at will. We tried our revolvers again, and with repeat ed snapping, I got one chamber to fire, which frightened the pig, and he made off; but the dogs soon bailed him up again, not far off. We rushed over, thinking to get another chance shot. Stranger all this time had taken no active part, but kept close to our heels, 1 disregarding all our entreaties to attack the pig. I Jim said, "Tom, suppose I try a shot at Stranger ; she is no good, and the revolver is sure to mis-fire as usual." He did so, and to our surprise, bang it a vent, and->oiot Stranger dead. The report frighten ed the pig, and off he went, the dogs following ■ after him until they were all out of hearing. , We then sat down and had a smoke, and after ; awhile the dogs came back to us. We were : alking of going home for a gun, when we ,' heard a cooh-ey, and up came Kori Te Pakeha | Maori, with his gun and ammuniton. j "Halloa !" said Kori, " what is the row? | I heard the dogs barking, and the shots, so I thought that I would come and join in the ; sport." " That is right," I said ; "lam glad you came ; we were talking of going home for a . gun." Then I told him of our bad luck, and : described the pig to him, i >

"Why, that is the ranger," said Kori "the bigest pig in the bush. The Maoris are often ' after him, but cannot kill him ; he has killed dozens of dogs. I wish I had been here, I would soon have drilled a hole in his side with my Brown Bess." " Well," said Jim, " if we are to go for an other hunt, let us be off;" so we started again. "Hold on," said Kori, "until I shoot this pigeon ; it will clean the gun out, and then I will put a fresh charge in. He took aim, but' like our revolvers, it missed fire, and the pigeon flew away. " You had better draw the charge" said I; but Kori thought that it would be all right witli a fresh cap. " What about the hole you would have drilled in the ranger ?" Jim asked. " Oh, she would have gone off if it had been pig," said he. " I should not like to trust to her," we both replied. I said, '' however, come on, or we shall not find another pig to-day." Hearing old Rover barking again, " Come on boys," said Kori, " we will have some sport now." When we got down where the pig was, Kori took off his coat, and handed it to me ready for action. lie shook the powder up in his gun, and put a fresh cap on, and lead the way. The under-growth was very thick, cutty-grass and flax, and the pig was amongst it somewhere. We had not gone far, when Kori said, '' This is to thick, we cannot get through it; let us go round the other side and' try what that is like." The dogs all this time kept up a constant bark, and the pig was tushing about, trying to rip them. We could tell this by the sound, though we could see neither pig nor dogs. We got around on the other side, and found that the bush was more open, and when we got about ioo yards off the pig, the dogs heard us coming, and made a rush at him, but they got the worst worst of it, and they sang out most fearuUy, as if he was tearing them up. I think this frightened Kori, for he did not seem inclined to go much nearer. We were at this time standing on a little rise, on the look out for a shot at the brute. I saw him at last coming slowly towards us, and I at once sang out, " There he is, shoot him, Kori." But Kori made one dash, and was out of sight quickly, taking his.Brownßess with him. Jim and I stood for a moment or two, when we saw the beast coming towards us, so we ran too. I, in the hurry of flight did not look where I was going, and was stopped by a flax thicket, which I could not get through, so turned round on the defensive, holding Kori's coat in my left hand as a kind of shield, while I grasped my sheath-knife in my right. The brute caught sight of me, and on he came with a maddening bark and growl. I held the coat so that he rushed at it, and I made a desperate stab with my knife behind liis shoulder, which took good effect. The force of the rush knocked rue down, but I kept hold of the knife forcing it in to him, knowing, as he knocked about, trying to get the coat off his head, that the blade would be sure to touch some vital part in his inside. The dogs rushed at the monster when they saw that I was attacked; and Kori and Jim came to my assistance when they heard me shout, which I did most lustily ; so between the lot o us we soon killed the brute. But it was not the ranger, it was a big black and white boar. Luckily, I was not much hurt, only bruised and scratched, thanks to Kori's coat, which did not get off so safe, for the pig drilled a few holes in it and smothered it in blood. Jim said that Kori tried to shoot the pig, but his gun missed fire again, and he said that "it was difficult to tell which was the man and which the pig; so Kori might have shot me unintentionally." I went to the nearest creek and had a good wash, and when I returned Kori and Jim had the pig skinned, and cut in pieces, ready to start for the deserted native settlement, where we intended stopping for the night. When we got there, it was near night, so we made our tea, cooked some pork, and had supper. I did not forget to tease Kori about running away with his gun, but he said that " my shouting so loud frightened him, he thought the pig was close upon us ;" and added, "wait till we come across the next pig. I don't care if it is 'the ranger,' I will go into him ; don't think that I am a coward." The next morning we were up at daylight, had breakfast, and resolved to hunt towards home, as the boy would be down to the settle ment with a horse to pack the pork home. We started, and hunted about for some time, when we came upon tracks which appeared to be of two pigs, one big, and the other a medium sized one, which we thought were in company. We sent the dogs out, and after some time we heard them bark ; we were not very far from home at this time, so I proposed that I should go and fetch another gun, as we could not depend upon Brown Bess. But Kori said' " Come on down to pig; I can kill him before you fetch agun." Jim, how ever, decided upon another gun, and offered to go with me ; so we went, and arranged for Kori to go down and keep the dogs on the pig, telling him we should soon be back. We got the gun, and on our way back we heard Kori coo-heying and shout ing most fearfully. We listened, and heard him shout at the top of his voice, " Come quick I am cut to pieces." I cannot describe our feelings, we pictured the pig tearing Kori limb from limb. I know that my lips began to tremble at the thought. We did not stop to think, however, we rushed down the gully full tear. 1 have often won dered since that we did not break our necks, or that one of us was not shot, for the gully was very steep, and the bush very thick. We sometimes fell head over heels, and rolled for yards ; but we got dawn at last, and saw Kori ( on his feet, but covered in blood, and a piece 3 of his shirt-tail wrapped round his hand. He was very excited. " Come on," said he, •' here the brutejis ; let 1 him have a ball." Jim had the gun, and we got down pretty qlose, and he fired, and knocked the pig over. 1

Kori handed me his knife, and I ran down to stick the pig, and found him struggling, trying to regain his feet, but could not. I made a stab behind his shoulder (the usual way of bleeding wild pigs) but I had not got over my fright, and did not take the precaution of putting my thumb over the end of the handle, so it slipped through my hand, and the blade buried itself in the palm, making a most fearful gash. Jim then came down and stuck the pig, and wrapped a piece of Kori's shirt round my hand. We then turned to Kori for an explanation of the cut-to-pieces business. He then told us as follows :

" When I came down, there were two pigs— a big black and white boar, and this one. I tried to shoot the big fellow, but the confounded gun missed fire again, so I threw her at the pig and bolted up a tree. The dogs had them both in bail, and Boldy kept rushing from one to the other. After a little while the big pig moved off a little way, and I came down to this one. I watched him for a while, and one of the dogs was barking in front of him, so I crept up and caught him by the leg and cut his ham-string. I was trying to cut the other one, but he was pretty strong, and dragged me through the bush a little way down the hill, when I heard a great i"ush|behind me, which proved to be Boldy (the brute), but I thought it was the other pig ; so let go of this one's leg, and just then Boldy crashed through the cutty grass and knocked me on top of the p);f, which turned round and ripped me in fie 'thigh. I put up my hand to save myself, vviicu Jit; was coming again, and he got it in his mouth and nearly, took my fingers off. How I got away from him Ido not know, but here I am."

I believe this was all true, what Kori saw ; for one of the pig's ham-strings were cut, and Kori's handwas in a fearful state. Itwasnotwell for months. However, we carried the pork home, as best we could, and I rode down to a doctor to get my hand dressed. Thus ended my first two days pig-hunting—but not the only two.

Byron and his Wife.

Colonel—was at Byron's house in piccadilly, Lady Byron in the room, and luncheon was brought in—veal cutlets, etc. She began eating. Byron turned round in disgust—he had an aversion to see a woman eat—and said : "Gormandizing beast I" and, taking up the tray, threw the whole luncheon into the hall. Lady Byron cried and left the room. Byron himself told Miss Baillie, who repeated the story to I-laydon, that the very morning he and Miss Millbanks were married, and were driving home through the grounds, and all the tenants and peasantry were cheering, Byron said to her: '-What could have induced you to marry me ?" " Good heavens !" said Lady Byron, "because I loved you!" "No" said he, "you have a spice of Mother Eve. You married me because your friends wished you not to do so. You refused me twice, and I will be revenged." Byron told John Scott that after his separation from Lady Byron he went to a rout, and was regularly cut by all the ladies of fashion. As he leaned against the mantelpiece and they were sweeping by a red-haired bright-eyed coquet, come flirting up to him, and, with a look that was exquisitely insolent, said, "You had better have married me; I would have have managed you better." Mrs. Leicester Stanhope said the Guiccioli. used to watch Byron through a telescope when he went out riding. So one day she asked him why did he not take the Guiccioli out with him. He drawled out in his usual way, "Consider, consider what a fright she would look in a habit" " Do you think her handsome?" Lady Blessington asked him. Hadsome !" he replied, "she is a horror; she has red hair," (which was not true). She said then, ' Why don't you take- her out walking ?" He answered, " Because she shuffles like a duck, and I am lame ; a pretty couple !" Do you ever tell her this?" she asked. '"Yes." " What does she say?" "She sera—a—atches me," replied Byron. Hayden adds : " I met the Countess Guiccioli subsequently, and she was certainly not handsome. She had small eyes, large nose, long upper lip and chin." Sir John Hobhouse asserts that Byron was no scoffer, still, on one occasion, Byron said .• " I have a great mind to believe in Christianity, for the mere pleasure of fancying I may be damned." He is known to have begged Shelley not to talk of hell or ghosts after dark—it made him uneasy.— Hay don's Anecdotes.

Love scene on the banks of the Chattahoo chee : They were sitting together like two ebony images of their Creator, he staring vacuity ous of countenance, and she resting her raven crimps on his heaving shoulder : 1 Miles away from hyar,' she fondly mur mured, ' whar do buffumlo rips and ta'ara, and frows dirb at de settin' sun—dar's whar we'll go, Gawga.'. 'Gawge'slips moved not, neither did he utter any word, but the whites of his eyes repeated, ' Dar's whar we'll go.' A lady whose worse half waa notorious for his ill temper, said she had the most even tempered husband in the world. • Why, how is that ?' exclaimed one of her friends. ' Why, you see, he is always in a rage,' waa the satisfactory reply. Sweet-meets—Two lovers folded in each others arms. Saurkrout is not only a tonic, bnt it is Tuetouic. Some men will fish for compliments in very dirty water. Father fcioie says : * Here's a scythe for those who love me.' , ' What do you mean, you little rascal ?' exclaimed an individual to an impudent youth who had seized him by ffche nose on the eireet. ' Oh, nothing—only lam going out to seek my fortune, and my father told me to seize hold of the first thing that turned up.' When a mantis so drunk that he cannot tell hia friends he is sober—he is pretty bad off»