PRIEST AND POETESS.

fIRST MfT AT CONfESSIOMAL

"DREAM Of YOU AND NEVER TIRE."

, Madame Crespy Acqnitted.

AGEN- (France), August 7. 3>H he suicide, ior did; the gay poetess' do him m? That is< the question of the hour t in Paris' to-day, and m Tendon, too, for that matter, for London is just as interested m the concern as the Frenchmen are. Did she do it for notoriety, or for love's lunacy? That is another vexed questiou whl<§h is very easily answered. • ■■ v :•', ' ■ ■"."' ' :■':- " ; " '*" ' Mme. Alice Crettpy is a poetess. She never wrote - anything worthy of the name of a poet m her natural, but still.' for ail that, she thinks she is a poetess. And she lovejJ. At least she ; said she did,, and that ought to do. And the. loved a. priestl Anyhow, Alice paid she love's him. , She wrote poetry about him. vSThen it is stated 'she killed him, hi&rder that her poems might be published. It was a long lane which; had no {lirhing with ber,' because no- ' body' wou}d read her alleged poetry. ; Mme. ; Crespy ,is a- divorced woman,, who has' made a big sensation m this world. ?be* is eccentric m character, —and behavior, and 1 a writer, of morbid verse. She was frankly m love with I he % handsome young Abbe, ' who is dead now, with half an ounce of lead, and to. this affection she gave expression m two volumes of poems, "The Death of the Houris," and "The Double Perfume." Ordinary readbrs would call them piffle; but then ordinary readers are not In H with this little tVa'gedy," . which cost a poor foolish trusting man his. life for the sake of an. ambitious -alleged poetess. - 'the pair, by the disclosures m the Criminal Court, first met , ik THE CONFESSIONAL In 1909. The- drama -was described by Mme.' Grespy 1 to the pdllce 'a few hours after the fatal circumstances. She told the police' that. the /priest was her lover. Father Chfssaing was . his name, aiidhe had afyot himself -m her rdoma rather', than obey the order of -the Bishop oorf r Agen transferring him to another charge at Montastrue. "Th,e Abbe Chassalng.' , she. said, "killed himself m my apartments at 6.80 p.m." Then she put this down In wrklng:— . • . ■ .■'-. He had !, been my lover since September 19, 19f>9. I implore you not to blame h)|m top severely. liis soul -was beautiful, noble and . proud. His sufferings were super-/ * . numan^-on ona: side stern and ./-bitter duty, and m the other his „ tender and ever-growing, love' fpr me. •'■•■ We Ipyed ea,ch other, fondly, but ah order from his Bishop exil-'' , cd him to. Montastrue. He told me it would drive him mad, and the madttess which lurked for him- In , the shade has' now • claimed its prey. Nothing remains -for me but the book of our love, the Rouble * >. . ■ We- had an engagement for today. He said to me, "It Is the end. lam leaving. ftead to pie> my •favorite poems." ■ I obeyed him and read to him 'The Second of May, 190 V and the "Ardent , Shadow." two poems which were especially dear to us. Then he took my head between his hands and said,, "My HUle ' love."' He asked me. to lend him some books -for hjja solitude, and while I was coming downstairs I heard a sharp ,rei)6rt. When 1 'reached him he was lying face downwards, dead. ; Mme. Crespy made np attempt to conceal the relations existing between herself and the pries^L , In contradiction with Mme. CrespyJs statement, a post-mortem examination showed that tt would have been difficult for the. priest to have himself Inflicted the wound which caused his death, as the shot 'must havo BEEN FIRBD FBOM A DISTANCE: The Abbe Chassalng, . the son of a respectable family of farmers m the department of Correze, was to have been buried as a suicide at dead of night, and without any prayers at the graveside. At the la«t moment, however, there came a message from the bishop stating that tho priest had hot put an end to his own life, and that therefore a y RELIGIOUS CEREMONY COULD BE HELD. Tho police inquiries brought forward witnesses who ; oontiiidtcteo further points <ft ilmo. Crcispy's statement, und, by the ordor of the examining magißtratC) sho was a;rrested. Both tho Abbo andj his companion are said to have difrnJayod a marked partiality for morbid i Hterature. Ho hlmßolf wroto passionate, Verges to tho poetess of a style which Is barely undonitandablc, Here ills one (translated):— No, I shall not come aj?aln to see your bright visage, Your unchangrinsr ahnlli?. Your oyc*. so large and co gentle — No, I shall come no more * . , . (unprintable.) Ye*. I will return to contcmplutt) your visage, Your jeajft so troubled, Your nmlle so sad. I mußt havo your kisses. I .... Extract* from Mme. Croapy's poems reveal ft sort of ecstatic mysticism. Tho reudlnß of poynionato lov<s ver«e« to the accompaniment of low murmurs of n«tonl»hmcnt from tho many fashionable women In court, who excitedly fluttered their fans, wjuj a feature of tho trial. The greater part of the court room was taken up by tho J l6 witnewjes. i who Included Mme. Cre*py*» former ! hunband (who divorced her), the ! BlMhop of Agon, and ununy notabilities. ' Tho ordinary priaon«r» are UHimHy j accommodated In a wooden box. hut Mmo. Cr**«py was granted tho tfpecini prlvllctßo of a cane watrtd chair. When proceed I ntr» began the court prf«cht«d A HinßUlar Mpvctticlc. Momctlilnir tike what one noes at , A HEAT-OrPRESSKD TIIKATHK. Whllo tbo women vigorously agitated their fftJis. the raea waved their straw bat a to and fro to create n brccxe. A* ModAmo pasaod into the court evorybody lea nod forward, curiouw to see what moaner of woman this poetess wan. She ha* luminous oyo*. rt>gular f«aturc«. a hi^h forebwxd. and coal black lialr, plainly a mrontf mindAd woman. ! . One of th© poem* wat* entitled **A Portxalt," »nd tho word-llkoneiw may bftV^rofMTod.tc^tbo nnlortuaat& prtcst

,■■.■ • - ■' himself. As read m oonrt it ran: I have not forgotten your savage kiss , that evening, ; Pressed against my mouth as if m rage, . Nor your pale brow, your dreamy air; And of ten at night,\alone m my chamber, . '.-.'. When whistles past the cold wind of /" . [December, V Tour burning kiss comes to oppress me, . ' ':.' ; ■ •■■'.-' And I dream of you, and never tire of dreaming. Mme. Crespy' betrayed little signs, of interest until the circumstances attending the . tragic death" of her lover •were detailed. Then she shook her head to and fro m; token of denial of the charges, and she bit her lips until they were bloodless] and raised her handkerchief of ten, to her eyes. Only one voice, that of a layman, M. Duncan, was raised m favor, of the accused. "I have known Alice Crespy for many years," he said, "and I affirm with all, my heart and conscience, thai she is Incapable of committing a' murder," ' ,-, The foreman of; the jury informed, the judge that he had received a letter signed by the women of', Agen m which he was threatened with death should a verdict of acquittal be given, which made plain the intense bitterness and prejudice existing against accused. Those of her own sex present m court were particularly aggressive. ' ■■•■•'-;' The judge, m accordance with the French method, examined Mme. Crespy as to her culpability m the atrair. He said, "It was either a crime or suicide. The hypothesis of an accident is inadmissible. If it was a crime : THERE WAS ONLY ONE PERSON who could have committed it— YOU!" The judge adjusted his gold plnce ne? as Ho spoke. Then he took them from his nose and pointed them at her. '"No, M. le President," quietly answered Mme. Crespy. "The abbe com-' mitted sujctde." ' Mme. Crespy proceeded to detail, her relations with tho übbe. She was very pale, and as she told how each of them tried to fight against 'the love they felt for one another, .she burst Into tears. The President: Was your love shared by the abbe? Pld he lovo you as you loved him?— Oh, yos, bur love was cur all. . ; Tell us .what happened on January 17 at your final interview with the abbe! "The abbe arrived at 5.17. He was (milling, but he began to speak of his approaching departure lo Mootastruc 'J shall go mad,' he paid, .despairingly. A moment later, at- his request I went upstairs to get his favorite books, and while I was looking for I hem I heard a report* 1 - '• J ' • " <v » r - t :.,, •<>•■■ ■-'.'■ «.„;> .;■- Hero Mme. Crespy broke down, and the judge Had to wait until she became calmer. She then told how she found the priest lying m .the room with a wound m his left temple, and m a dying state, and how aha laid out the body, after he had breathed his last. The President: Why did you prevent your mother and sister from entering the room ?— My mother had been very 111, and the shock would have killed her. My sister was of such a sensitive^ nature that 1 feared the effect of the shock on her. Is it true that you said to your dressmaker that your poems were not selling, and that what you wanted to make them sell was a scandal or A PASSIONATE CRIME, especially as m such' an affair, the woman was generally acquitted?— No; I am not m the habit of making confidences to my dressmaker. The severe deprecation of her poems by the judge wounded Mme. Crespy's pride of authorship, she completely broke down, and sought refuge m a fit of violent hysterical weeping. A procession of priests said that the abbe was good and kind, and not at all likely to take his own life. . ' Mme. Carbonel, dressmaker to Mme\ Crespy, was so overcome on arriving at the bar that she could not utter a word. J Sho gained confidence later, and with great volubility related how •Mme. Crespy had once said that what she needed m order for her poems to sell was for someone TO KILL HIMSELF FOR HER, and m the course, of further confidences to her ureasrnaker. she added: "I have the soul of a mystic -and of a pagan." These statements the poetess Indignantly denied.* She gave the date of her birth as 1872, .which would make her over forty, and not 30. as wa« stated. Not beautiful m the ordinary sehso of tho word, she lias yot tho clear pallor and j the burning eyes of "los grandea am- j oureuses." Tho most terrible moment of tho trial must havo been when nor mother and younger sister passed m front of hor to seat themselves m thequarter reserved for witnesses, for tholr evidence told strongly against her. ' ' ", In accordance with the French method. It rested not with thfe prosecution to prove her guilty, but to accuse her and compel her to prove her Innocence. Falling thin, she would be adjudged gulKy. Judge and prosecuting counsel foil to and badgered rier from post to pillar, bullymi?, cross-oxnmln-!ng. and abusing to try and catch her oft her guard, no that she would make one slip, " , ' AND PROVE HER GUILT. Hut she fought for her life, fche was ja aort oC Mitdiuue Bovary In real life, 'and he, tho abbe. tall. imndHOtne, vlglorous, tho inund.mo, combining tlte (prlefil and the Don Juan, romains u# jf ho most popular tradition of ; unU- ? clerical action. j Mine. Crospy «•** m«(ic the object ,|6f much hostHf demonstration. The j women \v«iro the worst. They acted I like (U-nd*. Such conduct" on the part of refined and titWd ladies coultl scarcoly bo credJte.u. Thr-wholo l»Mie« hinged on expert ovtdenco.oH to whe- ! th«r the abbo could or could not havo «hot MmwsU on the U»ft temple. Anyone could tlo lv and, holding th«* rtvol- : vor with both huud». it would W a i most nut u ml partition to n«j»um«\ Hut when a p<?r»on i* accrued' hi France. ■ tho accusation 1« the crtix of th« trial, I "Mo mado mo proml*«\" flhe wild inn ■ fctrnnjfC'ly toneln»« voice, "to? return oftento hiti confwwiorinl. If eleven a*k- . *d mo to come on day* wh«ij he knew ' thai we would bt alone ttity' to tact. ', He vma young and ardent, and wo lad

many sympathies In common: WHAT WAS BOUND TO ■ HAPPEN sooner or later happened rather sooner than later. The; abbe became my lover. For three years the liaison lasted, and then tho abbe was nominated to Montastrue. He asked me for a last interview. I had no reason to refuse. He took mo m his arms. Cheek to cheek we sat, he calling me { his little love- Thon suddenly he ask- [ ed me to destroy a book, 'Lea Harpes Lointalnes/ tho poems of the other young poet whose life had once beeD ■ linked with mine. 1 refused, and we quarrelled. But soon peace was reestablished, and he asked me to go and nnd him my book of poems, 'J^a Mort des Heures.' m which I commemorated my love for him. I left the room, and searched lor it. Suddenly I heard a shot! I hurried back, and found the abbe lying on tho ground, his temple/ pierced by a bullet." While the strongest evidence was being given, the elements, lent their aid to the dramatic occasion. The thundqr rolled and oracked, and the court was lift tip with blinding 'flashes of lightning. At times the roar of the thunder drowned the utterances' of the character of the drama. * Abbe Lanchand, an intimate friend of the dead man, gave damning evidence. "My friend," ho said, "was weary of the liaison. One day when ■we were on the platform of the station of Villeneuve, a woman approached us. The Abbo Chassaing made a gesture of irritation. "How that woman plagues me," he cried. The woman was Madame Alice Crespy. ' And he added that he feared she would do him some mischief, and he was only living for the day when he could leave Agen. "Yes," interrupted accused fiercely, "It is true I was qii the station, and I withdrew on a sign from kbbeChassaing. 'Pardon me, my little bird,' ho said, 'I told you to withdraw, becausu I was with the Abbe Lanchnnd, who is a .scoundrel.' " ; Two poets, former lovers of Madome's, who gave evidence did not say anything bearing materially upon the case, but appeared to have been called for the purpose of humiliating the accused. The first said he was her lover when he was A BOY OB' SIXTEEN. Bounding to her feet, red with indignation and shame, she screamed, "You are a liar. And m making such a statement agnlnst a woman accused of murder, you show yourself to be a coward and v cad!" The other one said ho bad been hor lover, too, "You lie; you lie. 1 " .she said, violently. "I have had but three lovers In my life, my huHband, FhllUpe Hue, and tlio Abbo Chassalng.'V Tht? weary length of the trial drugged" on. Witness after wiuieiSH . gave dull evidence., broken by passionate outbursts from the accused as sho screamed her indignation at the web which was being drawn around her. But such 18 a .French, court. .of justice, and to tho Engliftb eyo, a court of grows injustice, a. curiosity .withal, a place where judge, counsel,., wltne«a<;». audience and gaolers ail join iHsuo iii badgering tht person In thy dock. The cables brought news that Mme. Crespy was acquitted.