The Sun.
London, England, 1831-12-21 00:00:00

much moreupon a Prince who bears a name so illustrious as
yours. The King and the Royal Family desire that you should
make choice of a Prince to be one day heir to your nameand for-
tune. It is believed that I alone interpose obstacles to the ac.
complishment of this wish, and people even go so far as to sup-
pose that if I were not near you, the hope which is entertained by
the whale Of France would already have been realized. My
situation is too painful for me to support longer, and I beseech
you, my dearest friend, in the name of the tender attachment
which you have expressed for me during so many years, to put
an end to my wretchedness by adopting an heir. After much
consideration, I am of opinion that Prince d'Aurnale possesses
the best title to this high favOur (the adoption). This young
Prince is your godson, and is doubly attached to you, by the ties
of blood. He, moreover, gives indication, at his tender age, of
qualities which would render him worthy of bearing your name.
Do not, I conjure you, be deterred by the idea that this adoption
will cause you the least embarrassment. Nothing will be changed
in your customary manner of living. It is merely a formality
which it is necessary to fulfil, and then you will be at ease with
respect to the future, and they will leave me with you, without
thinking of separating me from you under any circumstances.
If, notwithstanding all that I have said, your bruised heart
should not incline you to make this adoption, I venture to say
that the affection and disinterestedness I have constantly exhi-
bited towards you entitle me to expect that you should do it for
me. You will by this, my dearest friend, secure the favour of the
Royal Family, and a less unhappy future for your poor Sophia."
Considered by itself, and abstractedly from the known •
sentiments of the Prince, this position is conceivable; but
she who proposes the project knows that it will find an
obstacle in the breast of the Prince, and she anticipates a
refusal when she says " do it for your Sophia."
A circumstance which will be attentively considered
during this investigation, it is now only necessary to men-
tion :—Madame de Feucheres unknown to the Duke of
Bourbon sent a copy of her letter to the Duke of Orleans,
who, on the morning of the 2d, sent her a letter for the
Duke of Bourbon, with an intimation, that as be was to
set out that day for England, lie would call to see Madame
de Feucheiel."

On the• same morning of the 2d of May, Madame de
Feucherei wrote two notes to the Duke of Bourbon,—one
enclosing the letter from the Duke of "Orleans, and the
other to announce the arrival of that Prince. Tne first
wag as follows
Dearest,--I have this instant received the enclosed letter
tom the Duke of Orleans ; I tremble whilst I send it you ; yet.
after all, you cannot be angry with me for it. I assure you I
should be wretched if what I have undertaken should fail of sue.
cess. Think, dearest, that it is for your Sophia, who has always
so tenderly loved you, that you do it."

Gentlemen, weigh well the terms of this note, and you
will have a correct idea of the reception which the pr -
ject proposed in the letter of the preceding day hai ex-
perienced.

The letter of the Duke of Orleans dated Neuilly. May
2, is every thing that it ought to be.

Neuilly, May 2, 1809.
" I cannot, Sir, resist the desire of declaring to you myself,
how much I am touched by the step so honourable to her which
Madame de Feucheres has taken, and of which she has thought
proper to inform me. It would not, doubtless, become me, in a
case where it depends on your will alone, whether so great ass
advantage shall accrue to one of my children to presume that it
will be so before you have made me acquainted with it : but I
conceived that it was my duty, and that I was bound by the
same blood that flows in both our veins, to express to you how
happy I should be to see fresh bonds attach those who are al-
ready united in so many ways, and hose proud I should be were
one of my children destined to bear a name which is so precious
to 211 our family, and with which so many glorious recollections
are connected."
Madame de Feucheres had informed the Duke of Or-
leans of the proposal she had made to the Prince of Conde:
in favour of his house, without the knowledge of the Prince
of Conde, and even without informing him of it after-
wards. We shall see why.
The distance between Neuilly and Paris was soon passed.
The second note of Madame de Feucheres, written perhaps
twenty minutes after the first, wits as follows : •
" You have reproached me in so harsh a manner for having
written to the Duke of Orleans, that I now feel myself bound to
inform you that he will visit me this morning, in order to see
you previous to his departure for England. I beseech you do not
refuse to come and breakfast with me as usual. The visit will
be much less embarrassing to you in this manner, and you will
thereby avoid sending a written answer, or saying anything de-
cisive" (these words are underlined in the originai), " and if you
do not come, it will have a very bad effect. If you had rather I
should not be present, in that case akv. Duke of Orleans will
come to you."
The harshness of the reproaches—the fear that the Duke
of Bourbon would not visit Madame de Feucheres whilst
the Duke of Orleans was with her—the observation that
the visit would be less embarrassing in the presence of a

third party,—the hint that the Prince might thus dis-
pense with writing or saying anything decisive—what lan-
guage could better denote the unfortutate impression that
Madame de Feucheres' project had made upon the mind of
the Prince?

It was only accompanied by a particular bequest of con-
siderable amount, that the universal bequest was to appear
in the will ; tor the interest of the house of Orleans did
not so entirely occupy Madame de Feucheres, as to induce
her to neglect her own.
It was in 1829, about the time when some steps had
been taken in favour of the adoption, that a question arose
as to comprising the forest of Montmorency in the Ba-
roness's legacy. The Prince expressed much repugnance
on this point, and I will here bring to recollection a cir-
cumstance which the criminal proceeding brought to
light. He could not see, without extreme displeasure, the
forest of Enghien,—.the ancient patrimony of his father,
—pass into the hands which were stretched forth to re-
ceive it.

A will, much more important than that of 1824, was
planned by the notary for the advantage of Madame de
Feucheres only; for the question with respect to the uni-
versal legacy was not yet resolved. In this instrument,
which remains incomplete, and is in the number of docu-.
tnents in the inventory, the forest of Enghien is added to
the domains of St. Leu and De Boissy.
After the new and powerful combination had been
adopted by Madame de Feucheres, the success of the plan
had become the entire occupation of her life, the object of
all her actions, of all her thoughts—every thing was
merged by her in the hope of success. However, the
project encountered in the house of the Prince a resistance
the more obstinate, because in his secret thoughts he he-
lieved that he was about to consummate the sacrifice of
all his affections—that he was about to place his life it..
self in peril. Here I must use the language of the facts
set forth in the articles :—" When once they shall have
obtained what they desire," said he, " when once I shall
hare given them every thing, my life may be in danger."
These words were not once alone, but frequently heard
fall from the Prince by a witness who, in the horror with
which a similar idea had struck him, could attribute them
only to an extravagant apprehension which the Prince en-
tertained of a useless and inglorious death. It is not
merely using the language of a criminal indictment to say,
that to the power of fresh violence and new apprehensions,
and under the influence of those fears which new violence
had excited, the Prince had determined to sign the testa-
merit of the 30th of Aug. 1829.
The Duke de Bourbon himself described, in the follow-
ing terms, the moral condition in which he was placed by
the constantly renewed scenes by which he was besieged
I did not close my eyes during the night. My blood has
become dreadfully feverish by these tormenting circum-
stances. There is nothing more frightful than to be
urged with this violence to do an act which is so dis-
agreeable to me. lam addressed at present on no other
subject : my death is the only object they have in view."
A witness having observed to the Prince that if he had
the firmnea to resist, this would not be so, and that if his
Highness would permit him to resist in his name, he
would support him with all his power. " No, that would.
make matters worse,"-said the Prince ; ''you would ear-
broil yourself with her (speaking of Madame de Feucheres),
and that would place we in a bell upon earth with her,w•
for you-know her violence."
However, the plan of Madame de Feucheres was ar-
rested. She looked upon it as certain that the Prince
would never have the energy to separate from her; that he.
was resigned, and that every thing would induce him to
endeavour by sacriflces to obtain some repose for his latter
(lays; that it was neces3ary to commence a war to the ut.i.
termost,—to make a hell of his house, in order to show'
him at what 'mice be might purchase peace.
Madame de Feucheres was ignorant when she formed
this plan, which she followed up with such perseverance,
thit the law watched over the free agency of testators, and
that that which in appearance seemed at first to ensure the
success of her plan would at length bring about its defeat.
All the epochs of the will are marked by new scenes.
The departure from Chantilly, the favourite residence
of the Prince, which he was persuaded to abandon in
the month of August, 1829, to come to Paris to corn-
plete the work of the will, was preceded by a terrible but
mysterious scene. _ .

The witnesses have, they state, pledged themselves to
the Prince not to reveal this scene, which has nothing to
do with the charge of assassination. Justice might over.
come this objection,,,whi:l would not be made in the case.
a civil process, . _

Let us proceed. They had arrived at Paris, and the
will was not completed. It was then the Duke de Bour-
bon conceived the design of having recourse to the gene-
rosity of the Duke of Orleans himself. " Well," said he
to a witness who was the confidant of his griefs, " I see
that at last this must end ; 1 have still a string to my
bow which I shall try ; it is to have recourse to the Duke
of Orleans himself, and to beg of him to induce Madame
de Feucherea to set me at rest on this subject ; write a
letter for me to this effect, and I will copy it. I will
send it to him, and we shell see whether this will have the
desired effect."

The draught of this letter was prepared fur and sent to
the Prince, which he transcribed with his own hand,
once as a copy, and again as a letter, which he imme-
diately sent to the Duke of Orleans. It is neces,ary to
read this letter, which proves most incontestably that the
Prince never gavu a voluntary assent to the disposition of