The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-06 00:00:00

ROMANCE OF REAL LIFE.

The Civil Tribunal of the Seine yesterday gave
judgment in an action brought by the heirs of Pierre
Loustaunau, formerly generalissimo of the armies of
the Mahrattas in the East Indies, against the re-
presentatives of M. Lepine, jeweller to Napoleon 1.,
to recover the sum of 600,000 f., the value of a ruby
which General Loustaunau had intrusted for sale to
M. Lepine. The plaintiffs also demanded damages
to the amount of 200,000 f. In opening the case, the
counsel for the plaintiffs gave a long account of the
adventures of Pierre Loustaunau, who was a native
of a village at the foot of the Pyrenees, which he
leftwhenqcuaituesed a
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vessel for that destination, he took his passage to
the East Indies, on board a ship carrying au envoy
from the King of France, charged to conclude, with
an East Indian potentate, an offensive and &Leen-
sive alliance against the English, snd landed at a
port in the Mahratta territory, not far from Bom-
bay. The Emperor of the Mahrattas had just been
assassinated, and two princes disputed the throne,
one of whom was supported by the French and the
other by the English. Loustaunau immediately
determined to join the former, and obtained a let-
ter of rE commendation from the French envoy. His
offered services were declined on account of his
youth. He then determined to serve as a volun-
teer, and in the course of the war he distinguished
himself so much as to be intrusted with the com-
mand of a detachment, at the head of which he
gained an advantage over the English, for which
the Prince rewarded him with a horse richly capa-
risoned and a sum of 5,000 rupees. He afterwards
obtained a high command, and greatly contributed
to the successful issue of an important battle, during
which he lost his left hand. He had a silver hand
made to replace it, and the very first time he ap-
peared at the head of his troops with this new
hand, an Indian priest, falling on his knees before
him, declared that the will of fate was accomplished,
for that an ancient prophecy had declared that the
AFthratta Empire would attain the highest degree
of power when its armies should be commanded by
a stranger from the far west with an invincible
silver hand. From that time Loustaunau was re-
garded as the first subject in the empire, and became
generalissimo. He held that high post for 18 years,
during which he amassed immense riches. The love
of his native land, however, was still strong within
him, and he resolved to return home. He accord-
ingly transmitted his fortune, amounting to about
8,000,000 f., to France through a merchant of Chan-
dernagoe, and soon after took his departure receiv-
ing as a farewell gift from the prince the very ruby
for the recovery of which these proceedings were in-
stituted. On leaving India his good fortune aban-
doned bim, for, after narrowly escaping shipwreck,
he arrived in France to find that his eight millions,
which had been converted into assignats, were then
worth only 220,000 f. With this remnant he bought
some ironworks near the Spanish frontier, but his
establishment was destroyed, in 1808, by Spanish
guerillas. He then came to Paris to sell his gems,
and intrusted the ruby in question to 31. Lepine.
On his return to the Pyrenees, he was captured by
some Spanish partisans and detained for a long time
a prisoner in a small island of the Mediterranean,
from which he at last escaped by swimming to a
passing vessel bound for the Levant. He landed
in Syria, and there became insane, and was
kindly treated by a wealthy merchant. He soon
recovered his senses, but when he related his
history, all who heard it thought him as mad as
ever. He wrote to France, however, and was soon
joined by his son, and both of them were intro-
duced to Lady Esther Stanhope, who, being ad-
dieted to astrology, took a liking to them, because
she thought there was some mysterious connection
between her star and Loustaunau's. The young
man died two years before Lady Stanhope, and at
her death General Loustaunau was received into a
French charitable establishment, where heremained
till his decease. His representatives are now in the
depth of poverty, and reclaim the deposit made by
their ancestor. The counsel for the defendants
admitted that the ruby had been intrusted to Lepine,
but declared that when estimated by competent
judges it was found to be worth only 6,000 f., at
which price it had been purchased as a present for
the Empress Josephine, and the proceeds had been
paid either to Loustaunau himself or his creditors.
Even had it not been so, the plaintiffs' claim could
net be maintained, as it was barred by the statute
of limitations. The tribunal took this view of the
case and rejected the plaintiffs' demand.—Galig.
nani's Messenger.