A PARISIAN TRAGEDY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1902, 30 January 1885, Page 2

A PARISIAN TRAGEDY.

An 'extraordinary tragedy occurred in Paris on November 27th. The wife of M, Clotis Hugues, the Radical Deputy for Marseilles, has shot her traducer in the yery Palaoe of Justice, To explain this unprecedent act, it should be stated that an elderly woman, now dead, married to a youni? maruiamed Lenormant, conceived suspicion two years ago that Madam Hiijgues was her husband's (Lenormant's) mistress, and she employed a spy, a man named Morin, of that nondescript class styled "agents d'affaires." Morin had a reputation for unscrupulousness; and in order to continue to draw money from Madam Lenormant he pretended to have discovered facts criminating Madam Hugues. The latter took pro : peedings- against him for defamation, and purposely did so in a way whioh gave him every opportunity for sjibstantjng his assertions.' Morin,. however, did not appear to take his trial, and was sentenced last December, by default, to two years' imprisonment. He lias since been taking advantage of all the loqpelioles afforded by French procedure for lodging appeals and obtaining postponements. The appeal was to have been heard, and the parties were in attendance for the purpose. Morin's advocate, however, having owing to his own indisposition, asked for a postponement, the case was down for hearing next week. M. Hugues appeared to be vexed at this, and his wife was seen to console him. He and his wife left the Court, but remained in the Salle des Pas Perdus in conversation with difforout' advocates. Suddenly, as Morin passed them to descend the steps, Madame Hugues moved asido, drew a revolver from under her mantle, and fired its contents at him in rapid succession. Three balls struck him. One lodged in his Head; toother in his neck, and a third in his lungs, The man fell dying, and was removed to the Hotel Dleu,' where all hope of saving his life was abandoned, Madame Hugues was at onco disarmed, and arrested with her husband. M. Hugues protested, on the ground of his immunity from arrest as a deputy; but this does not apply when the person is jrrested in flagrante delicto, and M, Hijgijep ji.pt resist after a word from his legal adviser, Aa he passed through the assemblage of onlookers ije remarked " my wife lias killed that villian, she has done well," and at the police commissary's office he embraced and congratulated her, M. Hugues has written poems, and is a man of very excitable temperament, while his wife is said to have been complaining that for two years, Morin has been morally killing her, She is a fine looking and' accomplished woman, and has two little girls, one of whom was named Mire.lle, by desire of her Godfather the Provencal poet Mistral. M. and Madame Hugues were taken to a separate room, and were separately interrogated, the result being that the former was liberated. Morin, on arriving at tho hospital,, made signs that he wished to write, and with his left hand he traced on a sheet of paper the words "Je suisinno-' ceot.—Morin." Extreme unction was ad-' ministered to him this afternoon [Morin died next morning], The affair of course made a great sen- '' sation. In the lobbies of the Chamber there was some, talk of questioning the; Government as to the necessity of putting' down private detective offices'of the olass to which Morin belonged. ' •