THE PARIS OUTRAGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8885, 23 May 1892, Page 5

THE PARIS OUTRAGE.

WRECK OF A CAFE. A TERRIBLE REVENGE.^ Paris, April 25. The restaurant of M. Very, on the Boulevard de Magenta, who, on March 30, delivered Ravachol, the Anarchist, into the hands of the police, was utterly wrecked to-night by a bomb explosion. The police, on entering, found M. Very lying on the floor in the midst of heaps of debris. One of his legs was broken, and had to be amputated. Soon after the operation M. Very died at the hospital. The granddaughter of Very was also injured, and the ladies living over the restaurant were badly shaken and bruised. Very's wife was not injured, but she has lost her senses owing to the shock she suffered, and is a raving maniac. At half-past ten p.m. firemen are clearing away the ruins. Fortunately, the damage was almost entirely confined to the building in which the restaurant was located. It is the general opinion that the explosion was perpetrated mainly to terrorise the jury who will be on duty at vac ho I'b trial. Ihree persons were arrested. One of them shouted "Vive V Anarchie." 011 being taken into custody. I«lews of the explosion quickly spread throughout the city, creating consternation, especially on the boulevards, where exaggerated reports of the affair were current. The cafe is an utter wreck, and the pavement in the vicinity is completely strewn with the debris of the furniture and the front of the building. A waiter named Sherot escaped with a slight bruise, but is suffering from the effects of the great shock. Several persons riding in a tramcar which was passing the building when the explosion occurred were struck by pieces of flying glass and injured. The explosion has terrorised the jury selected to try Ravachol and all the officials connected in any way with the trial. The police who have been stationed near the wine shop since Ravachol's arrest came up as the uninjured rushed out, and began bringing out those unable to help themselves. M. Very was found to be in a pitiable condition. Both his legs had been crushed by a falling beam, his collarbone was fractured, and his right arm was broken. He was bleeding at the mouth and ears, and is supposed to have suffered internal injuries. His little boy was found unconscious in a corner with his collarbone broken. Both were taken to the St. Louis Hospital. Of the other ten persons injured, six 'ire said to have broken bones and internal injuries, but the particulars are not yet known. Half the front of the wine shop was blown out. The stairs of the lower two stories were smashed to splinters and not a door or window in the house was left whole. The door in the corridor was blown away, the chandelier was twisted and hurled into a corner, and where the ceiling and walls were not split the plaster was taken off as if scraped with a knife. The buildings on each side of the wine shop were damaged from top to bottom. Halt the furniture was broken and all the glass in them was shattered. The whole block around the wine shop was rocked by the explosion and walls were started so that they cracked or bulged. The neighbourhood is thickly populated, and five minutes after the explosion the street was crowded with frightened men and women. An extra force of police was summoned, and an attempt was made to induce the people to return to their rooms. A waiter who was taken to the hospital says M. Very had received no fewer than 50 or 60 threatening letters from anarchists since Ravachol was arrested. One of them, found by the police in M. Very's desk, at the rear of the shop, said " Sir : You have dared to betray Ravachol. Beware! You will learn what his friends can do. Your shop is doomed, and your infamous life will be taken before May 1. Your family is no better than you. We will take care of them, too.Friends of Ravachol." At the lop of this was printed in red letters " May 1," and the same was printed at the bottom in black letters. Another letter had a skull and crossbones at the top, and apparently referred directly to the present outrage. It said : " You think you have crushed us because you have one mighty spirit of the revolution. Thousands will ri f "in his place. Do not try your vile methods upon him. You will hear from us before the trial of Ravachol. You shall suffer the punishment you have earned. As a warning to the cowardly bourgeoise who seek Ravachol's blood, your doom is at hand. Prepare to meet it." This was signed "Ravachol's Avengers."