On Saturday last, the 8clair published an article by M.
Labruyere, a well-known French journalist, describing how he helped Padlewski, the murderer of General Seliverstoff, to escape. M. Labruyere was breakfasting with Madame S6verine, the lady-editor, on November 21st, when a lady sent in a message that she desired to speak with him and his hostess. When this mysterious personage, who gave neither name nor address, had been introduced, she said, without preface : " Padlewski is in Paris. I am delegated to ask you to help in saving him." Neither M. Labruyere nor Madame Severine knew anything about Padlewski, except what they had read in the papers ; but this, of course, did not prevent them from agreeing to do their best to save him as soon as they had been assured that the murder was not an ordinary crime, but "an act of justice." The criminal was accordingly smuggled out of the country under the disguise of a doctor who was accompanying M. Labruyere to a duel on the Italian frontier. Padlewski proved, it appears, a delightful travelling companion, and gave a highly melodramatic account of how he blew out his victim's brains, from which confession M. Labruyere made a column or two of excellent "copy." The mixture of levity in regard to bloodshed—M. Labruyere had no evidence whatever that the man was not a common murderer—and of Yankee journalistic "enterprise," strikes us as particularly disgusting.
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