Later Queens of the French StageWilliams, H. Noel (Hugh Noel)
History
Later Queens of the French Stage
Williams, H. Noel (Hugh Noel)
Actresses -- France -- Biography
“An inquest was held yesterday at the ‘White Hart,’ Barnes Terrace,
before Charles Jemmett, Esq., Coroner for the County, after a view
of the bodies of the Count and Countess d’Antraigues, and of
Lawrence, who murdered them.
“Susannah Black, the first witness, deposed that, on July 22nd
inst., she was ordered by the Countess, about eight o’clock in the
morning, to take some books, &c., to the carriage door; that she
followed the Countess to the door, and saw Lawrence near the
carriage with his face to the door, and ordered him to open the
carriage door for his mistress, instead of which he walked into the
house, and as he passed her mistress a pistol was fired, but she
did not know who discharged it. She saw the Count on the stairs,
and Lawrence going up the stairs. Did not see anything in his
hand. She afterwards saw Lawrence coming downstairs with a pistol
in his right hand, and his left hand behind him, but could not see
whether he had anything in it or not; that she ran into the garden
alarmed; and that, on her return into the house by the hall, she
went to the front door and saw her mistress lying on the ground, in
the footpath of the street, near the carriage. She called for
assistance, and another servant and the coachman, David Hebditch,
came to her, and they took the Countess into the house. There was a
great deal of blood about her, and she was alive, though
speechless. Mr. Ball, a surgeon, was sent for, who attended
immediately. But her mistress died in a few minutes after the same.
Witness stated that one day, about three weeks ago, when the Count
was absent, she was with the Countess in her bedroom, when they
heard a loud report, and she ran downstairs, thinking it was a rap
at the door. But finding no one there, she called ‘Lawrence,’ but
no one answered. She then returned upstairs. The Countess met her
at the door of the bedroom, and said it was the report of a pistol.
Witness ran upstairs to the Count’s room, and on coming to the
door, she saw some smoke issue from it, and saw Lawrence in the
room. She asked him what he was doing and he answered, ‘Nothing.’
She then went to her mistress, and told her Lawrence had fired off
a pistol. The Countess went upstairs, and witness followed her, and
heard her talk to Lawrence very coolly, but could not tell what she
said, as she spoke French or Italian; but the Countess told her
afterwards that he said he had been handling the pistol and it went
off. When Lawrence came to the kitchen, she asked him how he dared
to meddle with his master’s pistols in his absence, and he
answered it went off by chance as he was handling it. She never
knew of any quarrel or anger between the Count and Lawrence. Said
Lawrence was a sober man, but latterly had been more passionate
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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