CHAPTER XXXV. A FRENCH LAND MURDER—IRISHMEN, FRENCH ECCLESIASTICS—ALGERIAN PRODUCTIONS—BIRD CHARMING—BRITTANY—CHATEAUBRIAND.
Whilst sojourning in Paris I became acquainted with an avocat, named Vanneau, who practised in a provincial district, and who came to stay, for a few days, at the boarding-house in the Rue de l'Oratoire in which I was located. He had been recently engaged in defending persons charged with criminal acts, and narrated a case by which it appeared that Ireland had not a monopoly of land murders. A. M. Deneubourg had purchased, at Cambray, a piece of land near Ewars, occupied by a farmer, named Potiez, who had offered for the property, but was outbid by Deneubourg. In the evening of the day of sale, the two men, on their way home, met at a house of entertainment at Ramillies, and some very angry language passed between them. They left the house, and in some time Potiez returned to Ramillies, and stated that they had been attacked on the road, that he had saved himself by flight, but he feared Deneubourg had been murdered by the villains who had assailed them. On proceeding to the place described, Deneubourg was found horribly murdered. His head was smashed to small pieces, and to a club which was found near the body a portion of his brains and two of his teeth were adhering. There were no footprints on the soft ground except what corresponded to the shoes of the deceased or of Potiez, and the dress of the latter was marked with blood. Various other circumstances fully indicated the guilt of Potiez. He was convicted, but was not sentenced to death. The French jury found him guilty of the murder, under attenuating circumstances. I asked Monsieur Vanneau what attenuating circumstances could the jury discover in so brutal a murder, and he gravely replied that they thought an accepted offer for the purchase of the property, outbidding that of the occupying tenant, was a very strong provocation and a natural incitement to revenge. He then added that Potiez was fortunate in being tried by a jury on which there was not a landed proprietor or an auctioneer.
IRISHMEN—FRENCH ECCLESIASTICS.
I met in Paris with some Irishmen holding ecclesiastical appointments there, and I gratefully recollect their kind and hospitable attentions. One of them, Père M'Ardle, was attached to the Church of St. Sulpice, which was much frequented by Irish, English, and American Roman Catholics. His duties consisted in the celebration of Mass, hearing confessions, visiting the sick, &c.; but he never preached, the pulpit being reserved for clergymen who could deliver sermons in French with the ease and fluency incident to their native language. The side aisles of the church were appropriated to persons of respectable appearance, who were expected to pay six sous for each chair provided for their accommodation. The chairs were under the management of some female attendants, who were most persistent in collecting the chair-rent. On Whitsunday, 1864, a soldier entered one of the aisles and took possession of a chair, without the intention, and probably without the means, of paying for its use. He was immediately required to pay the usual charge, or to leave the aisle and join the general crowd in the centre, and he obstinately refused to adopt either course. Whilst the altercation was proceeding, the Curè of St. Sulpice had entered from the street, and was passing quietly to the sacristy to make the necessary arrangements for preaching the sermon. He touched the soldier gently on the shoulder, and whispered, "My friend, pay her trifling demand; here is what will enable you to procure the same accommodation for a considerable time." Slipping a five-franc piece into the soldier's hand, he passed on and discharged the duty which he had undertaken. On the next Sunday, (Trinity,) the Curè was confined to bed by a severe attack of bronchitis, and another ecclesiastic preached, and afterwards went to the apartment of the invalid to afford his sympathy and express hopes of a speedy recovery. The Curè almost immediately asked him if he had observed a soldier amongst the congregation, to which the other replied that there were more than a dozen soldiers listening to the sermon, and they subsequently came to the sacristy, where, on being asked what they required, they replied, "Only the money." On being told that there was no money for them, they expressed some anger and great disappointment, as they had been led to believe by a comrade that they would get five francs each.
On one occasion I was a spectator of a procession of French bishops from the College of St. Sulpice to the church. Amongst them there was one Irishman, Monseigneur Cruise; he was the Bishop of Marseilles.
ALGERIAN PRODUCTIONS.
From the abundance and variety of Algerian productions which I beheld in the Parisian markets, it appeared to me that the country from which they were supplied possessed great capability of soil and climate, and received a high degree of cultivation. The finest Muscat grapes, both as to size and flavor, melons, pomegranates, shaddocks, and all the lesser varieties of the citron tribe, almonds, brinjals, sweet potatoes, and what was a very novel sight to an Irish eye in October, splendid strawberries, met my view in several shops entirely appropriated to the sale of Algerian commodities. I confidently hope that French enterprise will be eventually far more successful in Africa than it was on the other side of the Atlantic. Few of the most valuable productions of the West Indies are indigenous. They were first introduced by the French into St. Domingo, and that island was the first to escape from European ownership. When the sugar-cane was brought from Egypt, the coffee bush from Arabia, and luscious fruits and stimulating spices from various lands, the negro was imported from Africa, to be eventually the master of all. However, the stain of slavery does not attach to the French rule in Algeria, and from all that I was able to learn of their government there, I know no reason why all who are desirous of the substitution of civilization instead of piracy and tyranny should not wish it to be permanently successful.
BIRD CHARMING.
In closing my Parisian recollections, I wish to notice what was termed "Bird Charming" in the gardens of the Tuileries. There was a silly notion amongst some people there that by the agency of animal magnetism, or by some peculiar power, the feathered tenants of the woods and shrubberies of the palace became familiar with particular persons, and the subject was specially mentioned in Le Monde Illustre. It was certainly very curious to see the sparrows flocking about a person, eating from his hand, and perching on his hat, in expectation of the crumbs which he was distributing; but it was far more extraordinary to see the woodquest (le pigeon sauvage) come from his lofty nest, alight at your feet, then perch on an adjoining rail, and pick the crumbs from between your fingers. Still the "charming" was a misconception. The birds were in a place where they felt secure; they were not shot at or frightened, but they were petted and fed, and accordingly became familiar. I had no magnetic or mesmeric influence, but I had some nice bread, and they came down and ate from my hand, and some sparrows even took morsels from between my lips. Le Monde Illustre noticed two occasions on two consecutive days, when the birds were plentifully fed, and their feeders were described in terms, of which the following is a very literal translation:—