The Sun.
London, England, 1840-10-20 00:00:00

A SLOW POSION.

(From the Gazette des Tribunaux.)
A little drama of some interest, but which fortunately
terminated in a tragi-comical denouement, was enacted
a few days back at the prison of Glichy. A noble
lady, whose debts had made her an inmate of that
place,.had' the misfortune to see an instruction directed
sgai;:tit her the request of the public Ministry ter-
minate in an oroinanca from the Council Chamber, by
which she was summoned to appear before the Correc-
tional Police. Toe nature of her captivity was there-
fore about to change. Charged with a misdemeanour,
and the ohject of a prosecution, she was ordered to be
removed to the Prison of St. Lazare. One of the
ushers in the service of the Court was accordingly di-
recta(' to acquaint the Baroness with the order for her
immediate removal. This infhrmation came on her
like a thunderbolt. A. woman of wit, if ever there was
on,, and possessed of an imagination rich in every sort
of expedient, she called every artifice to her aid in
order to escape her fate.
Tears, entreaties, fainting, fits, hysterics, threats,
violence, passive resistance, all were successively em-
ployed, but to no purpose. This arsenal of defensive
weapons could not move the usher from his duty, and he
was at last driven to the necessity of calling to his assist-
ance four of the stoutest turnkeys.
B ,aten in her last retrenchments, the Baroness
sounded a par!oy, and ended by requesting a moment's
convt•rsation with the usher. The latter consented,
ordered his auxiliaries to withdraw, and, resuming his
character of a man of the world, excused himself for
the summary course to which she had urged him.
" Alato," he added, " I am ready to hear all you may
have to say." '• lam about to disclose a dreadful and ,
fatal secret,'' replied the lady. " Know that you see
before 3ou a corpse." " Really, Madame," interrupted
the ministerial officer, " to judge by the healthy glow
ott your check' -" Sir, do not interrupt me," con-
tinued the lady, " but shudder A quarter of an hour
before your arrival, aware of thu orders of which you
are the bearer, I took poison I"
Any other than an old practitioner would have been
taken in by a similar revelation ; but the usher reflect-
iag on the brilliant eyes, the plump and rosy cheeks of
the Baroness, and her general healthy appearance, came
to the conclusion that, at all events, the poison had cer-
tainly made but little progress, and that if the prisoner
was to die at all she might just as legally do so in the
Rue du Faubourg St. Denis as in the Rue Unity.
Nevertheless, he very courteously proposed calling is
medical assistance, and on the refusal of the Baroness
declared that all artifice was useless, and she must resign
herself.

The Baroness accordingly gave herself up, though not
without protesting against the barbarity of judicial offi-
cers. The usher conveyed his prisoner to St. Lazare,
where he recommended the greatest attention to the new
prisoner, and the greatest care for her health,.lest some
ext.•:iorti nary accident should occur. This done he
quickly withdrew, and was fortunate enough to find his
Bironess, after the lapse of a week, placed at the bar,
booming with heath, and requesting that she might be
rethaoileil, without,• •
however, evincing the slightest fear
as to the possible ravages. of the very slow poison she
had taken on the clay of her removal.
The Baroness
p
was again summoned to appear
before the Court,atillaY
s previous to the commencement of
g
proceedings the King's advocate had received a letter
from his prisoner, appealing to his indulgence, founding
her p• is nn her sad state. of health. " I shall die at
your meet," she said, if lamtreated with too great
was made of the poison, and
tiP
her appearance tok,,,ing the most brilliant health
fully justified the usher's incredulity.
The facts brought against the Baroness Pillay were all
similar in character
—breach of swindlingtrust,a cals-.
caciprwreeiaerrd.
on undei- cover of a high-sounding name,
mice of wealth, and buying on credit articles Which
immediately sold for ready money. A further complainte
was urged against her—namely, that of negotiating bills
of no value. The Baroness was condemned by the Tri•
imprisonment, and the restitution
burial to four mouths'
.of the sums drawn.

EXTRAVAGANCE IN DRESS.—Yet even this
costly mignitieence
with hom it
was afterwards surpassed
wby that
of Villiers, Duke of
VMS COMii,oll, even tt .an
ockiiwbam,
diamond buttons, and
Ibis eiotb,i trimmedgreatrdinary dancing, to have
with great
to have diamond hatband-, cockades, and car-rings,
to he yoked with great and manifold ropes and
i m
pri.
knots
of pe.irl; in short, to he manacled, fettered, and
zoned in jewels: insomuch that at his going to Paris in
1625, he
hod twenty-seven suits of clothes made, the
richest that embroidery, laec, silk, velvet, gold, and gems
could contribute; one of which was a white uncut velvet '
set all over, both suit and cloak, with diamonds valued at
fourscore thousand Pounds, besides a great feather stuck
all over with diamonds, as were also his sword, girdle, bat- I
band, and spurs.— The Art (y. IVeedleisorh, by the Coun- i
tess of Wilton.
The Board of Customs have ordered that Bullish I
timber and ctood, 4 a des;:ri-,tion and dimer.kicns calcu-
lated to be uz•ed for railway sleepers be added to the list ,1
of articles exempt from coast regulations, on removal from : '
port to port in the tTii!..tti IvcgriAn.—Rauway Times. i 1