ASSIZE COURT AT PARIS.

Trial of Castaing, the Physician,

for Murder.-Nov. 11-17.

THE trial commenced on Monday the 11th of November. At a quarter past 10 o'clock, Castaing, the prisoner, was brought into court. He was a young man of a fair complexion, and an interesting figure, with a mild and gentle voice, and of peculiarly calm and decorous manners. The bar, upon which the articles necessary to the conviction of the prisoner are usually placed, did not upon this occasion present any bloodstained garments, or any spoils taken from the person of the murdered victim: but a range of decanters, bottles, and phials, containing either the poisons found in the house of the accused, or the analyzed results of them; together with two chests, tied and sealed up, in which were contained other substances, designed as tests for them.

The prisoner declared his name to be Edme Samuel Castaing, his age to be 27 years or thereabouts, his profession to be that of physic, his birth-place to be Alençon, and his residence to be No. 31, Rue d'Enfer, Paris.

The indictment was then read, and occupied the time of the court from eleven o'clock till half-past two. It was divided into three parts, each containing a distinct VOL. LXV.

charge against the prisoner. The first was, that early in the month of October, 1822, he attempted the life of Daniel Hippolyte Ballet by certain substances calculated to produce death; the second, that, about the same time, in conjunction with Claude Louis Auguste Ballet, deceased, he purposely destroyed the last will and testament of the above-mentioned Daniel Hippolyte Ballet; and the third, that in the last days of the month of May, and on the 1st of June, 1823, he also attempted the life of the abovementioned Claude Louis Auguste Ballet, by substances calculated to produce death. Under each of these charges there was stated in the indictment the motive which was supposed to have led the prisoner to the commission of these crimes, and also the direct and circumstantial evidence by which they were to be established against him. The motive alleged for the murder of Hippolyte Ballet was this:— that Castaing, who was not possessed of any private fortune, having been distinguished from his earliest youth, for a profligacy of conduct, which led him into the most ruinous expenses, determined to supply those expenses by murdering Hippolyte Ballet, by destroying his genuine will, by forging another, and by selling the will so forged for a valuable consideration to his brother Louis Auguste. The circumstances alleged in proof of Castaign's A*

a physician sent for from Paris, a physician of the place came instead, who desired Castaing to prescribe for his friend; that Castaing refused; and requested this physician, M. Pigache, to write down his prescriptions, and that, having obtained them, he preserved them carefully, in order to show that Auguste had been under other medicinal advice than his; that this physician offered to return to see his patient, but that Castaing refused him leave; that Castaing did not administer the prescriptions of M. Pigache, that M. Pigache, however repeated his visits, and, finding every symptom of his patient worse, he thereupon cupped and bled him, which produced some improvement; that he proposed to repeat the operation, but was dissuaded by Castaing; that Castaing, apparently by order of Auguste, sent for a servant and a carriage from Paris, but at the same time, commanded in the name of Auguste, in the most express terms, that his illness should be concealed, and that no person should be allowed to come to him at St. Cloud; that on the arrival of the servant, who had been sent for, he placed in his hands two keys belonging to Auguste, and ordered him to carry them immediately to Malassis; that M. Pigache ordered a soothing draught for the patient; that Castaing gave him a spoonful of it, and that, within three minutes, the patient fell into a fit, lost his senses, and shortly afterwards expired in great agonies; that the physicians examined the body of Auguste, and found in it upon dissection all the symptoms which were likely to be there, if Auguste had been poisoned by the emetic or the acetate de morphine, though

they would not undertake to say that those drugs were the cause of his death.

After the reading of the indictment was concluded, the President ordered the witnesses on both sides to withdraw. The order was immediately obeyed; and 65 witnesses on the part of the Crown, and 26 on the part of the defence, left the court.

Castaing was then examined by the President, and in answer to questions put to him, asserted, that he had never written a single prescription for M. Hippolyte Ballet during his illness; that he had never prevented any of his relations from coming to see him; but that, on the contrary, he had given Madame Martignon an opportunity of seeing her brother, contrary to his express wish and desire. He admitted that he was well acquainted with the effects of vegetable poisons, and that he had bought a considerable quantity of the acetate de morphine about the time of M. Hippolyte's death; and in opposition to his first declarations, attributed the rapidity of that gentleman's death to the bad state of his lungs. He denied that Hippolyte had ever made a will, but admitted that he had drawn up the projet of one upon a loose piece of paper, in which he left the greater part of his property to his uterine sister, and little or nothing to his brother; and that, in consequence of a conversation which passed between himself and Hippolyte, that projet was destroyed, and Hippolyte became reconciled to his brother about a month before his death. He denied that he had ever paid, or said that he had paid, 100,000 francs to Lebret to obtain from him the duplicate of the will placed in

30,000 francs without interest, to be repaid in 15 years, and his mistress on the 14th, 4,000 francs without interest, to be repaid in 5 years; and on the same day had also purchased 66,000 francs in stock, making a total of 100,000 francs;-and lastly, the absurd, and contradictory accounts, which Castaing had given of his sudden mode of acquiring so much wealth. For the third charge, that of poisoning Auguste, the same motive as before was suggested, and the proofs to establish it, were arrayed in the following order: Castaing, it was alleged, had persuaded Auguste to make a will, in which he was appointed universal legatee, and on obtaining that will, laid in a stock of vegetable poisons, amongst which it was well known that the acetate de morphine was one. In the month of May last, he went to the house of a lawyer called Malassis, on one occasion, to learn whether a will made in favour of a physician was valid, and on another to require him to receive such a will, adding, that the person who had made it was attacked by a dangerous disease, and had spit blood several times-a circumstance entirely false. In a few days after these conversations, Castaing, though his profession required his constant attendance at Paris, formed a country party with Auguste to visit St. Germaine and St. Cloud. On the morning of the 29th of May, they set out for St. Germaine-en-Laye in a small carriage, and without servants, though Auguste had three horses, a carriage of his own, and servants, who were doing nothing; that they returned to Paris in the afternoon of the same day, and left it in the evening in the same manner

as they had quitted in the morning. In the interval between these two rides, Castaing went, without any apparent motive, to his own house, in which he kept a quantity of acetate de morphine, and also to the house of Malassis, where, though Malassis was not at home, he left Auguste's will and a letter without signature. On the same evening, Castaing and his friend arrived at St. Cloud, walked together during the whole of the 30th, and in the evening, entered the inn of the Blackamoor's Head. On their entering, Castaing asked for some warm wine for his friend, into which he said that it was not necessary to put any sugar, as he had himself bought sugar in the town; he also said, that he had bought lemons, and these, it was suggested, were for the purpose of neutralizing the bitter taste of the acetate de morphine in warm wine. After the sugar and lemon had been put into the wine by Castaing without witnesses, it was offered to Auguste, who was so disgusted with its bitterness as to drink but a very small portion of it. He passed, however, a very restless night, and, in the morning, was not able to get up. At four o'clock the next morning, Castaing roused the people of the inn, to open the doors, that he might walk into the park, as he said, but in reality that he might go to Paris, and there purchase an emetic, and some acetate de morphine.

The indictment further stated, that Castaing on his return to the inn, immediately called for some cold milk, and ordered Auguste to take it; that Auguste did so, and was immediately seized by a violent fit of sickness and purging; that Auguste having proposed to have

a physician sent for from Paris, a physician of the place came instead, who desired Castaing to prescribe for his friend; that Castaing refused, and requested this physician, M. Pigache, to write down his prescriptions, and that, having obtained them, he preserved them carefully, in order to show that Auguste had been under other medicinal advice than his; that this physician offered to return to see his patient, but that Castaing refused him leave; that Castaing did not administer the prescriptions of M. Pigache, that M. Pigache, however repeated his visits, and, finding every symptom of his patient worse, he thereupon cupped and bled him, which produced some improvement; that he proposed to repeat the operation, but was dissuaded by Castaing; that Castaing, apparently by order of Auguste, sent for a servant and a carriage from Paris, but at the same time, commanded in the name of Auguste, in the most express terms, that his illness should be concealed, and that no person should be allowed to come to him at St. Cloud; that on the arrival of the servant, who had been sent for, he placed in his hands two keys belonging to Auguste, and ordered him to carry them immediately to Malassis; that M. Pigache ordered a soothing draught for the patient; that Castaing gave him a spoonful of it, and that, within three minutes, the patient fell into a fit, lost his senses, and shortly afterwards expired in great agonies; that the physicians examined the body of Auguste, and found in it upon dissection all the symptoms which were likely to be there, if Auguste had been poisoned by the emetic or the acetate de morphine, though

they would not undertake to say that those drugs were the cause of his death.

After the reading of the indictment was concluded, the President ordered the witnesses on both sides to withdraw. The order was immediately obeyed; and 65 witnesses on the part of the Crown, and 26 on the part of the defence, left the court.

Castaing was then examined by the President, and in answer to questions put to him, asserted, that he had never written a single prescription for M. Hippolyte Ballet during his illness; that he had never prevented any of his relations from coming to see him; but that, on the contrary, he had given Madame Martignon an opportunity of seeing her brother, contrary to his express wish and desire. He admitted that he was well acquainted with the effects of vegetable poisons, and that he had bought a considerable quantity of the acetate de morphine about the time of M. Hippolyte's death; and in opposition to his first declarations, attributed the rapidity of that gentleman's death to the bad state of his lungs. He denied that Hippolyte had ever made a will, but admitted that he had drawn up the projet of one upon a loose piece of paper, in which he left the greater part of his property to his uterine sister, and little or nothing to his brother; and that, in consequence of a conversation which passed between himself and Hippolyte, that projet was destroyed, and Hippolyte became reconciled to his brother about a month before his death. He denied that he had ever paid, or said that he had paid, 100,000 francs to Lebret to obtain from him the duplicate of the will placed in