A FRENCH FIEND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1992, 9 November 1888, Page 2

A FRENCH FIEND.

The following interesting letter to a London contemporary diaoloaea some startling facto connected with a French murderer, which beuß npon the series of murders lately committed In the East End :— " Sir,— At a time when public attention is fixed upon the weird Berles of murders In Whiteohape), it would be of Interest to recall the singular obbb of PhUllppe, who was guillotined some 25 years ago m Paris, oonvicted of no less than 10 murders of women, oomnaltted m Paris and other parts In France, ThJs wretched being was a olerk m a well known firm of chemists, and greatly respected. He waa about 35 years of Bge, and fairly good-looking, Hia manners were agreeable, and he waa industrious and deoldedly intelligent. Ho was frequently sent to different parts In Europe and the East as a oommeroial traveller. A serleH of mysterious murders of Paris and Ita neighborhood having attracted a great deal of attention, it seema that on one oooaeion Philippe dropped a rsz:>r enveloped m tissue paper at tbe foot of one of his mistresses. The woman picked it up, and, being auspicious, made a pretext to leava the room, and immediately summoned tha polloe, Philippe, on Beeing the police enter the chamber, at once and without aoy heßltation gave himself np. 'It is no use,' he said. ' this horrible mania bas caused me so maoh agony that my life is unbearable. Yes,' he said, 'I am guilty not only of the murder of whloh everybody ia speaking, but of many others/ In the oourae of his trial he was found gnilty of ten different murders of women, all of tham of the frame unfortunate class, and he confessed himself guilty of seven others, which he had perpetrated m foreign countries. He was evidently the victim of a horrible mania, and it Is said that so great was his cunning he was never j auspeoted by h!n employer or BDy of his moet Intimate friends of being otherwlao than a moat inoffensive person* H? even on ccpaalona disguised himself m the pursuit of hia awful pleasure, if so it can ba called, ai an organ grinder, and it was by his extraordinary dexterity that he evaded the police for bo long a time— Your*, etc., R.D. •