Causes Célèbres. spection of the handkerchief lying upon the floor of the cottage satisfied them that the blood upon the latter did not correspond with the form of the wound. The old man then, it was evident, did not have this handkerchief upon his head when he was struck. There was no blood upon the vic tim's hands, but on the woodwork of the bed they found the imprint of a bloody hand; it could not have been made by the old man himself. Besides this, the juge de paix found a small hoe, a pruning-knife, and a chair, upon all of which were red spots which appeared to be human blood. There was no fire upon the hearth, and no evidence that there had been any light in the chamber. There were no signs of any struggle having taken place, and there were no traces of blood at the spot where the body was found. It was not there, then, that he had been struck down. M. Viault at first thought that the wound had been made by some sharp instrument; but on making an autopsy the next day, in the presence of the juge d'instruction of Libourne and the procureur du roi, the doctors discovered that the weapon used must prob ably have been a hammer, and they reported that death had been caused by a powerful blow with a blunt instrument. They also added that the crime had been committed in some place other than where the body was found. The probabilities therefore were that after the commission of the deed the vic tim had been carried by the murderer to the entrance of the house, and there placed in such a manner as to give the im pression that the old man had died from an attack of apoplexy. On raking over the burned debris several hoops and staves were found, which had ap parently belonged to a small cask. The ground in this place also smelled strongly of wine. The neighbors stated that they knew that old Gay possessed three or four casks of wine. A robbery had perhaps been the motive for the murder and the firing of the building. 17
1 29
Here then was a clew, — a very feeble and uncertain one, it is true, but still something to work upon. The interest for committing a crime which ordinarily directs the suspi cions of Justice to some person or persons, it was difficult to find in this case. Gay pos sessed nothing but this miserable patch of land, and a little wine. He had no relatives, no friends, and no enemies. Public rumor, however, fixed upon a man in the vicinity to whom this death might prove of some slight advantage. The old man had recently sold his small property to a schoolmaster in the place, for an annuity of six francs and seventy-five centimes a month during his life, he to retain possession of the premises until his death. The deed of sale had been signed on the 1st of the preced ing September. Slight as was this interest, the attention of Justice was naturally directed toward the schoolmaster. This man was named Jean-Francois Dieudonne Lesnier. He was born at Charnadelle, in the canton of Coutras. His father had been the possessor of a considerable for tune, which he afterward lost through an unfortunate lawsuit. Finding himself with out money, young Lesnier, who had received an excellent education, devoted himself to teaching, and on the 3d of November, 1843, went to Fieu, where he took charge of a small school. In four years he had more than doubled the number of his pupils. In the month of July, 1847, Lesnier, who was unmarried and who lived with his father, his mother, and a sister, wishing to identify himself still more closely with the village, and with a thought for the future, bought the little estate of old Gay, for which he was to pay an annuity, as already stated. Such was the man singled out for the sus picions of Justice, as having an interest — a small one it is true — in the death of Gay. No other person, so far as known, could have received any benefit from his death. The conduct of Lesnier on the night of the fire did not appear suspicious. He, with others, had run to the scene of the confla
