The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-06-06 00:00:00

A GERMAN CAUSE CELEBRE.

The great poisoning ease at Al unieh, the last scene
f which was played out in Vienna a week or two
since, is very little known in this country, considering
its interest. The story is as follows :
Count Korinsky was a lieutenant in the Austrian army.
Ilis wife, Mar ihlaßenli, was an aeteess if great beauty ibom
in Bavaria , whom he married in is, is serving in the
rapid army, the young lady ha. tug gone south to obtain an
engagement. The marriage was not a happy one. The pair
repeatedly quanel:ed in the inns where they put up, and hi
the winter of 1654, they obtained a divorce-6uch a divorce
as is sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church, the divorced
parties not being allowed to marry again. The Countess
went to live with tier father-in-law, and the Count re-entered
the Austrian army as a private soldier, and by dint of bravery
and good conduct during the campaign of Sleswickllolstein
g,,t promoted to his old posit ill). The COMA was again in
arms during the ITussian war and fought at the battle if
Keniggratz. In July. 1606, he returned home hadly wounded.
His wife, notified of his arrival, left Vienna for I liii. where
she accepted the addresses if a young student, and after-
wards went to live at Munich, where she gave birth rir a
child, stillborn. She then engaged apartments in the house
of a widow named Eliza Hartman, and lived there till the
21st of November, 165. She is described as being exteriorly
prepossesdng, irrespective of her beauty, with fair hair and
i,r.iwnr eyes. Mot a fde hilt rod stile lace.
It was a Wednesday mor ]] iJJ g, the rlay the 20th of Novem-
ber, the year larr7, the tinie a little before daybreak, when a
young lady, elegantly dressed, entered the hotel of the " Form
Seasons " at Munich. She had come by the train from
Salzburg and gave her name as Fraulein Vay, of Vienna.
She engaged a 1110111. and after reposing for a few hours:mil
taking lunch, went out to e,-itrilire the city, returning to the
hotel late in the evening. On the folios ing day—that is to
say, on rhursday, the 21st of November—the stranger re-
mained in her rorau till nearly mithday. One of the chamber.
maids, entering at about eleven o'clock, found her awake
and very much agitated. she had jewels 1.11 her fingers, aud
her hands were very white turd beautiful. But sire com-
pleted her toilette w ithout washing them, and smoked a
cigarette. At nad-day she was thersed and ready to go out.
She was pale and wild-looking, with black eyes and hair, and
a lace which might ire called sympathetic rather than
beautiful. she Wore a black silk dress with stieaks of vr bite.
a mantle of the same kind, a black pelisse, and a fancy hat
or b. aunt. equally sombre, but relieved by lilae rriniun,rs. tier
Mooch rand rite-i jugs
.alto black were carved into the shape
rPC ileath's-hearls. At a little
.before three ask this lady

ordorol in nettle of Lunnnl and half a bottle of ordinary nine,
aril bad them poured into two vials which she took out of
her box. iciest,W went or how ,he occupied her time lie-
tweet, three and four hIS not transpired ; but at four o'clock
,he Wes seen to rote, the reception roots of the COMACSS
En Tinsky, for wlnin she hail SellielleW or other got a letter
of introduction. What they said to each .'titer o hen they
met has not been divulged ; one cannot anti the other will
not speak. The two ladies—one in gay Wei pretty clothes,
the other in black, with death's-lieads in her ears—left the
hotel together to make purchases in the city.
Shortly after five o'clock they returned to the countess's
apartineut,, awl a gentleman who was lodging in an rot-
jaceut lIR,IIII staffra that ha overheard the two !Wiles talking
illa V,ry friendly manlier, and is quite sure they took, tea
together. The lady in blaek here we have the lanillady's
SL:lreleellt rat gibe 1,41 and ordered a carriage inn be fetched
at lialf-pa,t seven o'clock-•that is in, say, in time I. r the
theatre At the hour IMllled the landlady ascended the
stairs to announce the carriage, hut found the their locked
and the key taken away. She sat up all night and the
following night, and on the thirst day sent for the police,
who broke the door Opell. A frightful scene presented
it,elf. Tine Countess eon found lying ell the fluor, quite
dc:ol, between the sofa and the table, her head bent for-
wards upon her laisom. Blood had flowed from her mouth
and dress, awl thence on to the floor. Her eyes were wide
open, but the body stints ed no signs of outward violence. As
the lodger had supposed, the table was set for tea, with
frnits, milk, wine, ,tc.. and there was a cup half empty oil
rile right-hand site of the place supposed to have been
savutacd by tine decem,ed. The stranger had disappeared.
On the romn being searched it was found that the Countess
bad not I,e,d, ,libed. ler money, her watch, awl some
jewels of value were hwiel in different parts of the zoom,
mid the arrived at by the 'mike was that a
1111Irder, het :t suicide, had been committed, and that
the murderer W.. nor It thief. As to the deceased having
connnitted stileinie, eVeryelle Who knew her testified to the
cheerfalues, of her disposition, the command she had of
ready money, and her love of life. Dr. Buchner, of the
Univemity of Bavaria, luring deputed to examine the body,
established beyond a doubt that death had been caused by a
.50 ot prussic acid more then enough to destroy life. No
traces Of 1n01,111,1.1111 inn flMild in the tea. or in ally of the
fruits s,r othor viands mi the table. But the teapot—an
olnject of no value whatever—had iiiSilprellred. Two seareileS,
therefOre, Were Weide ill Melliell—a search for a lady in
black and a se,u.ch for an old teapot. Suspicion pointed 11,
. . . . ,

" 311111 e. % ho kit for Vioomi on the 'light of the
'hunter.

31rantinte, the two Counts Korinsky, fathFrdn-law and
limb:mil of the deceased, were summoned to Munich. The
former sow and identified the body, but the latter reinsed to
nil end the post-mortem examination, and even absented
himself from the funeral—alleging that he was tired after Ins
journey, and that he had never been or good terms with his
site even during her lifetime. This excuse did not prevent
lie heir forced to put in an appearance, rind his conduct
before the magistrate Was on Ntrange that he was submitted
not only to Vtallal, hot to 11111.10:11 examination. Ms pockets
were searched, and in ,ne of them were found four cadre de
twit.% whkir tueve, I ,olt 0, he portraits of Mdlle. Vey. The
1.101111 stated that her real name was Julia von Ebergenyi,
Baroness de 'telecker—gave her address an No. 13, Kreger-
vii Vienna, and declared that site had never been to
Munich in her life.

.....
hy a moncaleoce, explained by the electric telegraph, the
!splice clam ol into the In blase of Wile. Ehergenyi at the very
time that the police if iunich were examining her carte de
tier portrait was her accuser, RIO, although silent,
its voice reached her at a distance of sonic hundreds of

Oa being asked whether she knew Count Korinski, she
turned pale, and it is said that her eyes became phosphores-
cent. she placed her hand ill her heart and said, turning to
the police, " 1 am innocent:" Again, bursting into tears, she
cried out, " 1 ala you take me to prison?"
out sank down in her chair in a paroxysm of grid. But she
mastered her emotion, and, starting to her feet, said She was
ready to follow the officers of the law, but hoped she might
be allowed to dress herself properly (she was in night apparel),
which was granted. She was then taken to prison.
Ebergcnyi, a callotleSS of a religious h.mse in Ger-
many, is it Ilmigalian of noble birth, and twenty-six years of
age. she is an orphan, atid is said to have been at one time
nailer the protection of the into tpken of Naples but this
Staten...int seems ,f,.,tinttah. inasantell as it is also made about
the Countess Korinsky. %Me. Ehergeuyi seems to hare lived a
doubt.: life, and i3Occ,,asideeoiinolaltel'etinei'eoilnlae il fit ut.
although not actually I wlouging to. the ilem i-raiontle. On her
first—and only on her first—examination she ciodessed her
, guilt, stating that she had bought prussic acid of a photo-
, erapher and had poured it into the Countess's teapot while
they Were di in ing each other's health. She blew out the
cat:dies the nen neut. she saw her companion fail to the ground,
awl kit her way to the door, locking it after her, fluid deseenil-
Mg the staircase in the dark. But she afterwards ei.tara-
I il icted herself ; and although she ast nowledged that she had
pot the 1,,y of the countess's lOr in her POs bet, she ili•nieil
I that she if committed the murder. " I know who did it,"
she exclaimed ; '• lnit I will ilie rather than say who it was."
Atter sayiog this she ...hanged askeil to be allowed
to recall her words, as they were lilt true. She then stated.
w iii all sm.:trance of areal frankness, that the deceased bad
I killed herself for spite, ill order that she the Remised;
might be sentenee.l to death.

In the possession of the accused were fonml nine keys, one
of which I opelle,l a cupboard in the Countess's room, 0101 a
small bottle containing prussic acid ; also a number of letters
written to the atCeased lady by her father-imlaw. The tea-
pot was nowhere to be found ; but It was known to have been
taken away to be cleaned, and the missing key, which locked
the Countess up as in a tomh, was thrown into the Danube. (hi
the other hand, the accused had papers in her possession
which seem throw the chief blame of the murder on another
pers.. Thebe consist of letters .addreiseti to Wilt: Elio.-
gen) i, and written hy Count Korinsky. One of them cont ohm
the following words:— 'f must marry pm. Yon most do
w hat you eau to miike it possible fir us to he married before
lion ruth loam"- Aral in other letters I have to speak to
you itua.in about that arFai, I a-ill overcome cveryt Inhruarro
/11P11 of cherry, hevalise I contort live without p.n." Abot her
; letter was cite,l ai the trial winch seems to remove all &atlas
follirwi_as to the culpability of the Count. A portion of it runs as

" In this way everything will succeed with the help of God.
wooL 111 si,ltk u.,ain to-day. I will noti y to YOU
one or to.. into-at Nl Munich . We will pray together
that every thin, inay end happily, and we will omit nothing
which may enable is at /tone tit realise our marriage, for I
cannot live 011 in this way. I place all any trust in you. I
hope you will succeed, If, however, it is impossible, we
will take more energetic stops it Cod ! may the time of
our marriage arrive onka. This is my UP tit. ',truest desire
anal prayer. I will tint with more energy in order that you
may not remain separated from me longer than is absolutely
necessary."

The reporters at the trial called this a love letter" A
still sore atrocious epistle, bearing date the fah of
NOVI:MINT two days before the murder was committed ,
concludes in these tems May you succeed and return
vely son—for ever—to my arms. lean only pray for you.
Ind you Lot put yourself Into danger I hope. Now is
the Gine for all our hopes to be realised. God bless you and
ogitaellitemrapa
.20, a: raoytegt you ! "tan any
her fralerer

in
Munich, the pious lover exclaims :—"You have sworn
the„pame of all that is sacred that you will not spare her.
. . . I tremble for you. I am no nervous! To.morrow
will receive, with the help of Ural, one of your dear letters
to console me."
The writer td these letters heel other reason's besides
,entimental mei for desiring hit wife's death : the capital of
12,000 florins, the interest if which she was receiving in
monthly instalments, would hettlat her demise. Another
remarkable thing about the a is that the lovers lual
originally intended ti become Protestants. so that the Coat,
his religion being changed, might have a reahlienlve from
his wife. However, on reflection, they preferred to kill the
lady and keep true to their religion. This came out in the
evidence.
.-- - -

We need not go farther hito the detaili of this hovriMe
story. The ac;use,r Was found gunk .4 tue,wilful"
murder of lilatilda, toinitea,, of 'liorinsky, andoieli
toured to twefity vtars' penal tervituaw; and at the
expiration of each year to one week's solitary confine-
ment, in lieu of the punishment of chains, abolished in
Austria by the law which came into force last winter.
She was also condemned to the permanent less of her
nobility. It was urged in her defence that she was
'a weak woman, seduced to deeds of violence by an
infamous lover," and her conduct at the trial was re-
ferred to in eloquent terms. When asked if she had
anything to say about Count Korinsky, she said in a low
voice, and with the tears streaming down her cheeks,
"I love him " and declined to say anything in his
prejudice. What will be done to him remains to be
seen. It seems that he has testified his willingness to
go to Australia or America, or, in fact, anywhere
out of the way, and that the kimperor has been ap-
pealed to on his behalf, the plea being that he is a
soldier who has served his country too well to be
abandoned in his hour of need.