n 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



ment for one month, and the de- 

 fendants ordered him to the county 

 gaol, and to be kept on bread and 

 water. Lord Ellenborough said, 

 the sentence was^not warranted by 

 law, and that the defendants hav- 

 ing even exceeded the sentence, 

 must be answerable in damages. 

 Verdict for plaintiff, Damages 

 20/. 



22. Murder of the Coiint and 

 Countess D'Antraigues, at Barnes, 

 in Surrey. — The count and coun- 

 tess D'Antraigues, French no- 

 blesse, and distantly related to the 

 unfortunate family of the Bourbons, 

 resided on Barnes-terrace, on the 

 banks of the Thames. They lived 

 in a style which, though far from 

 what they had formerly moved in, 

 yet was rather bordering on 

 high life than the contrary. They 

 kept a carriage, coachman, foot- 

 man, and a servant out of liverj'. 

 The latter was an Italian, or Pied- 

 montese, named Lawrence ; and 

 it is of this wretch we have to relate 

 the following particulars. The 

 count and countess intending to 

 visit London as yesterday, order- 

 ed the carriage to be at the 

 door by eight in the morning, 

 which it accordingly was ; and 

 soon after that hour they were in 

 the act of leaving the house to get 

 into it, the countess being at the 

 door, and the count coming down 

 stairs, when the report of a pistol 

 was heard in the passage, which it 

 has since appeared took no efiFect, 

 nor was it then ascertained by 

 whom it was fired. Lawrence was 

 at this time in the passage, and 

 on the smoke sub^iding, was seen 

 to rush past the count, and pro- 

 ceed with great speed up stairs. 

 He almost instantly returned with 

 a dirk in his hand, and plunged it 



up to the hilt in the count's left 

 shoulder ; he continued his course, 

 and made for the street-door, 

 where stood the countess, whom 

 he instantly despatched, by plung- 

 ing the same dirk into her left 

 brest. This last act had scarcely 

 been completed, when the count 

 appeared also at the door, bleeding 

 and following the assassin, who 

 made for the house, and ran up 

 stairs. The count, though ex- 

 tremely weak and faint, continued 

 to follow him, but so great was the 

 terror occasioned, that no one else 

 had the same resolution. The 

 assassin and the count had not 

 been up stairs more than a minute, 

 when the report of another pistol 

 was heard, which satisfied those 

 below that Lawrence had finally 

 put an end to the existence of his 

 master. The alarm was now 

 given, and the cry of murder I 

 murder ! resounded from every 

 mouth. The countess was still 

 lying at the front door by which 

 the turnpike road runs, and at 

 length men of sufficient resolution 

 were found to venture up stairs, 

 and, horrible to relate, they found 

 the count lying across his own bed, 

 groaning heavily, and nearly dead, 

 and the blood-thirsty villain lying 

 by his side, a corpse. He had put 

 a period to his own existence, by 

 placing a pistol, that he found in 

 the room, in his mouth, and dis- 

 charging its contents through his 

 head. The count only survived 

 about twenty-five minutes after 

 the fatal blow, and died without 

 being able to utter a word. 



The countess had by this time 

 been brough into the house; the 

 wound was directly on her left 

 breast, extremely large, and she 

 died about five minutes before her 



husband, 



, ,.#■ 



