French juries, apparently, are sometimes quite as illogical in their
verdicts as English juries. The Countess de Tilly, who has just been tried at Poitiers for throwing vitriol in the face of her husband's mistress, was on Tuesday acquitted of that offence, though there was no manner of doubt about the fact. No doubt, the extenuating circumstances were important. The woman had for a long time paraded her conquest over the Count, had imitated the Countess's dresses, and been known as " /a petite Comiesee." The Count apparently squandered consider- able sums upon her, and it was supposed that if the Countess died, he would marry her. Further, after the deed was done,—and the Countess averred that she did not in the least intend to throw the vitriol in her rival's eyes, by which the latter lost the sight of one eye, but only to spoil her beauty, in which she more than succeeded, —she interested herself in the woman's recovery, gave her voluntarily 2800, and bore the expense of her illness. All these were, no doubt, highly extenuating circumstances ; still, an acquittal was a purely sentimental falsehood. A light sentence might have met the justice of the case; an acquittal certainly would not, for it implies that if the criminal only does all that can be done to show his repentance for a breach of the law, it is equivalent to not breaking the law at all,—a most absurd as well as most dangerous doctrine. Moreover, the throwing of vitriol is a very base kind of revenge.
Previous page
