OFFICER'S DOWNFALL,

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIII, Issue 9079, 21 February 1908, Page 7

OFFICER'S DOWNFALL,

A pitiable spectacle was that presented recently by Sub-Lieutenant Henri Recoules, of the French navy, who was tried at Toulon on a charge of falsifying the mess accounts of his ship, and stealing £720. Recoules was an officer on board the battleship Charlemagne, and is said to be a friend of UlLmo, the traitor, who sought recently to dispose of naval secrets to Germany. Recoules, who is aged 38, wept during the trial, and freely "admitted his guilt. His downfall has been caused by gambling. He . lost at play a fortune which his wife had inherited, and when in auger she threatened to leave him unless he mended his ways, he vowed he would never touch a card again. But he did not keep his resolution long. While his ship was at Algiers he succumbed to [.the fascination of the local gambling tables. £As he had no money he played on credit, and after losing 400fjie refused to pay. When the squadron sailed his escapade came to the. knowledge of the naval authorities, and Recoules, learning that his dishonourable conduct was discovered, anonymously remitted the amount of his losses. But this, it seems, he stole from the mess funds, andjjto cover himself he forged the names of a number of Toulon tradesmen on receipts for payment of sums I'due to them. Then, fearing that his crime would be disovered, Recoules deserted his ship and fled to [.ltaly. At Genoa he found himself practically without resources, and to earn a living he acted as guide andginterpreter to French tourists. Learuing;that his wife was ill with fever, the absconding officer decided to return to France, and, after seeing her, to give himself up to the authorities. He took train to the frontier, and having no money to [take him further, tramped the rest of the way to Toulon. He begged food, and at night slept by the roadside. As Recoules had pleaded guilty, the court had but to decide upon his sentence. Judgment was deferred.