A STRANGE MURDER.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1778, 17 April 1874, Page 3

A STRANGE MURDER.

The Voix of the St. Petersburg announces a murder of M. Tchikatchef, a provincial magistrate, undermost extraordinary circumstances. In 1866 M. Tchikatchef, who had been married tmt was seperated from his wife, paid a visit to a landed proprietor in the district where his dutys lay, at Noverjef. There he formed a too intimate acquaintance with Mademoiselle D , the sister of his host, which was interrupted by the arrival of Madame Tchikatchef, who sought and obtained a reconciliation with her husband. They returned to St. Petersburg, and six months later Mademoiselle D was engaged to be married to a gentleman, M. N — — . She requested M. Tchikatchef to act aspere d nonneur, at her wedding, and despite his repugnance, obtained his consent by the cynical suggestion that by doing so he would remove all suspicions of their former intimacy. For nearly seven years silence was observed between them as to their former relations, but in July last M. Tchikatchef, being at Noverjef, met M. N , who invited him to visit his wife, to which he consented. Upon making the visit he found the husband and wife together, and after a brief conversation M. N locked the door, while his wife, addressing M. Tchikatchef, said she was about, in bis presence and that of her husband, to narrate the circumstances of their former acquaintance which she proceeded to do in a manner which placed M. Tchikatchef in the light of a seducer. Madame N then offered him a pistol and a dagger, insisting that he should justify her by commiting suicide. He requested time for reflection, and by the opportune arrival of a friend he escaped for a time. Conceiving that he was released from secrecy by the violence practised towards him, he informed his friend of all the facts, and was soon challenged to a duel by the husband of his former mistress. By the advice of his friends he refused, and went abroad for a time, but as soon as he returned to St. Petersburgh he was again challenged by M. N- . His relatives, whom he consulted, recommended him to have a full explanation with, his tormentors in the presence of a friend, to which he p^ffgreed. At the time appointed he met M. N — and his wife, but his friend had not arrived. Upon repeating his refusal to a duel the husband rushed upon him with a dagger, and M. Tchikatchef s friend, entering the room, found him engaged in a deadly struggle, from which he released him, whereupon Madame N took from her pocket a small revolver and fired twice, but without effect. The wounds inflicted by the husband's dagger, however, proved tq be mortal, and M. Tchikatchef died shortly afterwards. The husband and wife are now in custody, awaiting trial.