beforehand all that certain witnesses were
expected to depose, these witnesses being persons
to whom she had told her original story.
Commissioners appointed to examine into the state
of Fualdès's affairs, proved that his estate was in
debt to the extent of about forty-three thousand
francs. In addition to this sum, bills to the extent
of ninety thousand francs had been protested. It
was, however, shown, and Jausion himself had
admitted, that, by the sale of his land Fualdès
should, at the very least, have been in a position
to clear all his engagements. What was the
origin of all these obligations? M. de Seguret,
the buyer of the land, on being requested to give
his opinion as to the motive of the crime,
supposed that Fualdès had signed bills for Jausion
on receiving in exchange a letter of guarantee;
and that Fualdès, probably wishing to arrange all
his affairs before leaving Rodez after the sale of
his land, no course was open to Jausion but
the withdrawal of the bills, which he found
impossible, or the suppression of the letter of
guarantee. To get the key of the drawers where
this letter and the books of Fualdès were kept,
was therefore of the greatest consequence, and
the disappearance of these documents was quite
explained by the visit on the morning of the 20th.
By the destruction of the books, all trace of the
debt of Bastide had also disappeared.

On the 3rd of September, the examination of
witnesses was concluded; and on the 12th (the
trial having begun on the 18th of August) the
jury gave their verdict on upwards of fifty
questions submitted to them.

The woman Bancal, Bastide, Jausion, Bach,
and Colard, were condemned to death; Missonnier
and Benoit to perpetual imprisonment with hard
labour; Bousquier to one year's imprisonment
and a fine. The others were released.

On appeal, it was found that a part of the
form of oath had been omitted in the case of
some of the witnesses. The proceedings were
therefore quashed, and a new trial was appointed
to take place at Alby. Madame Manzon,
committed to prison for false evidence, consoled
herself by writing her memoirs. In answer to
her, Clemandot published his version of the
affair; and, from all sides, there was a perfect
shower of memoirs, answers, letters, and
confidences. The prisoners, too, did what they
could to sustain the interest of the drama by
again attempting to escape.

The new trial began on the 25th of March,
1818. The witnesses had now increased in
number to three hundred and forty.

Bach had resolved to confess, and, in addition
to what the others had said, he accused Bessiere-
Veynac, Rene, Yence, and Louis Bastide, of
having been present at the murder. Madame
Manzon was at last, after infinite trouble, and only
in a second examination, got to confirm the other
declarations by returning to her first account.
The woman Bancal also made a statement tending
to exclude herself from all actual participation
in the crime. The statement of the little
girl, Magdeleine Bancal, received greater development
The law not allowing a child to give
evidence against its parents, the deposition of
persons to whom this girl had spoken were
received. She had said that after being sent to bed
on the second floor, she heard a great noise; and
that, being curious to know the cause, she slipped
down stairs, and got into the bed without being
seen. She declared that it was Jausion who gave
the first blow, and that Bastide completed the
horrible work: Colard and her father holding the
feet, and Anne Benoit the tub: her mother stirring
the blood with her hand as it fell. She
confirmed that part of her father's confession about
the offer for her life, and added, that she was sent
by her mother on tie following morning to her
father working in the fields, with a message that
he was to do he knew what. She found him
employed in digging a hole, which she thought
was meant to bury her in. She gave the message,
but her father kissed her with tears in his
eyes, and bade her be a good girl and go back
home. The hole was afterwards made use of, to
bury the pig, which had died from drinking the
blood. On the 4th of May, the final verdict was
found. The woman Bancal, Bastide, Jausion,
Colard, and Bach, were condemned to death;
Anne Benoit to hard labour for life; Missounier
to a year's imprisonment. Bastide, Jausion, and
Colard, only were executed; the sentence of death
was commuted in the other cases.

A mystery still hangs over the case. With
regard to the motive of the crime, the evidence
is by no means clear, although the conjectures
of M. de Seguret had great probability to
support them. With regard to the actors, we
find Madame Manzon declaring that all the
guilty were not arrested, and Bach directly
naming four other persons. Yence, Constans
the police officer, and Bessiere-Veynac, were
subsequently tried, but each succeeded in
establishing an alibi to the satisfaction of the jury.
Two organ-grinders, who confessed to having
been at Rodez on the 19th of March, were
examined by the police and released. Where, then,
were the two who must have had a knowledge
of the crime, if, indeed, they were not accomplices?

In 1841, the foundations of a new house were
being dug in a garden in Rodez. The excavations
brought to light, two human skeletons,
together with ihe keys of hurdy-gurdies. It was
remembered that in 1817 this very garden had
belonged to Jausion.

On the 1st of September will be published, bound in cloth,
price 5s. 6d,
THE NINTH VOLUME.