The Sun.
London, England, 1847-08-30 00:00:00

*1

THE DUKE DE PRASLIN.
The following gleanings from various seurces have
been obtained since our last :
The examining commission yesterday continued
its operations.. Further searches were made, and
additional letters were found, written by the Duke
de Praslin to Mdlle. Luzy-Desportes, or by her to the
Duke, of such a nature, it is said, as to have rendered
necessary a further examination of Mdlle. Luzy-
Desportes. Among the seizures at the Chateau de
Vaux, a voluminous correspondence of the Duchess
appears. The letters addressed by her to her husband
are filled with the noblest sentiments. Nothing can
be more touching than the expression of her re-
proaches to him, which are at the same time tempered
by testimonies of strong affection.
M. Legonidec, the examining magistrate, brought
from the Chateau de Vaux, 'where he had been to make
a search, a sample of a white substance, which seemed
to be arsenic, and stated that he had left at the
Chateaux a very large quantity. The Chancellor
immediately issued a commission, addressed to the
Procureur du Roi of the Tribmial, at Melun, who, in
virtue thereof, seized, and transmitted to the Court
of Peers the whole of the substance in question, and
a phial containing a considerable quantity of lauda-
num. The white substance was given over to Dr.
Orfila and Dr. Tardieu to be analysed.

The following account is giv;ri by the Presse of
the visit of the cure of St. Jacques-du-Haut-Pas to
the Duke de Praslin :—" This priest was sent for on
Tuesday, at nine in the morning, by the Chancellor,
and at once went to the prison of the Luxembourg.
It is not true, as several journals have stated that the
dying man was unable to speak two words in succes-
sion. The cure remained with him till half-past 11
o'clock, and returned again at 2. The sufferer re-
ceived him with readiness both times. After again
conferring and praying with him, the cure adminis-
tered to bite the sacrament of extreme unction in the
presence of Duke Pasquier, who knelt beside him,
and was deeply affected. When the priest was about
to leave him, the Duke de Praslin took his hand and
said with emotion, How much good you have done
me !' He then requested him to leave the crucifix.
In another half hour he was no more."
We read in the Droit :—" The Duke de Praslin
had' made his will, and before his death stated that it
would be found in his portfolio. He has appoined two
of his daughters legatees of the whole of his personal
property, expressing his confidence that they would
make an equitable distribution of it. After several
legacies to different members of his family, he be-
queaths an annuity of 3,000 f. to Mdlle. Luzy.
" In speaking of the large fortune of Mme. de
Praslin (says the Constitationnel), we do not fix it
sufficiently high. One of the journals states that the
notary of that lady, at Paris, has said that her fortune,
coming from her mother, and from the legacies made
to her since her marriage, now amounts to a capital
of 10,500,000 f."
The Gazette des Tribunaur, in announcing the ar-
rival of Marshal Sebastiani, states that, after having
alighted for a moment at the hotel of his brother
(General Tiburce Sebastiani), he went on to his own
hotel, accompanied by his physician, where he entered
the ground floor, and coming to the door of his
daughter's apartment, stopped for a moment, and wept
bitterly, after which he went up to his own apartment.
At nine o'clock every morning mass is said at the
Madeleine for the repose of the soul of the Duchess
de Fresno. The relations and friends of the de-
ceased attend in great numbers, habited in deep
mourning.
The following details of the interrogatories to which
Mdlle. de Luzy-Desportes has been subjected are
given by the Patrie, as having been obtained from a
person on whose information it places reliance. We
cannot, of course, guarantee their correctness :
" Questioned on the 19th August by M. Broussais,
Juge d'lnstruction, at the moment at which she had
been locked up in the Conciergerie, as to how she had
learned the horrible event, she replied that it was M.
Remy, professor of literature to the Mademoiselles
de Praslin, and his wife, who came to tell her of it.
They found her so much agitated, that they took her
to their residence, Rue de la Ferme des Mathurins,
where she remained until eight o'clock in the even-
ing. It was there that a police-agent went to seek
her. To the demands of the magistrate as to the
serious wrong with which she had to reproach herself
towards the Duchess de Praslin, for having attempted
to deprive her of the affection of husband and her I
children, Mdlle. de Luzy answered, No, Sir, never,
never ! On my entrance into the house of the Praslins,
the Duke and Duchess were already on bad terms.
The Duke desired to direct the education of his chil-
dren alone, at least the Duchess told me so. Mme.
de Praslin added, after having talked to me for a long
time on this pretension of her husband, that it would
be to the Duke that I should have to give an account.
The Duke, on his part, told me the same. Three
governesses had succeeded each other in the house in
the course of some months—the Duchess could not
agree with any of them.' Mdlle. de Luzy added, that
M. de Praslin first told her that she would reside
alone with the children in a part of the hotel, that
she would take her meals alone with them, and that
she would allow them only to see their mother.
Mdlle. de Luzy refused to consent to these proposi-
tions, and declared that she would not accept the
situation that was offered her. The Duke then de-
cided that the governess and the children should take
their meals with the family, but that the children
should remain under her exclusive control and direc-
tion. Mdlle. de Luzy ascribes all her differences
with the Duchess to an ex-governess. This governess ,
pretended that she kept the children from their mother.
At a later period, during a stay at the Château of
Vandreuil, where Mdlle. de Luzy was with the Duchess,
the latter took part in the readings and direction of the
studies of her eight children. On his arrival, the Duke
having learned this, was very dissatisfied, and ex-
pressed that dissatisfaction somewhat strongly, where-
upon the Duchess abstained. At the Château de
Praslin, where the governess and the eight children
lived entirely apart, except as regarded the meals,
which were taken en famille, Mdlle. de Luzy denies
that she ever endeavoured to keep away the children
from their mother. I was perhaps greatly wrong,'
said she, 'to accept that position, but I never wilfully
endeavoured to pain the Duchess.' Mdlle. de Luzy
confesses that at times the Duchess expressed senti-
ments of jealousy towards her, but which, she says,
had not the least foundation in the world. Still
generally the Duchess was on good terms with her,
without being
.affectionate; and that often caused
her to forget her injustice. Mdlle. de Luzy
had no fortune—no friend at Paris. She was obliged
to keep to an acquired position, with se much the
more resignation that the Duke had promised her,
she says, to give her a pension, if she should have the
courage, in spite of all the mortifications she was
called on to endure, to finish the education of his
three eldest daughters. She calculated that the amount
of the pension, when the education should be once ter-
minated, would be 1,500 f. per annum, or 500 f. for each
of the young ladies. We are assured, as we have
already said, that Mdlle. de Luzy has declared in a
formal manner that the Duchess never expressed to
her the least suspicion of an improper connexion be-
tween her and her husband. The Duchess may
have said that to others,' she added, but never to
me,' Iwo years ago, when in Corsica with her
pupils on one of the estates of the Marshal Sebastiani,
a journal published that she had taken to flight with
the Duke de Praslin. In consequence of this she
resolved to leave the house immediately ; but the
Marshal, father of the Duchess, opposed this, repre-
senting that such a measure would be a co',firmation
of' the rumour. The Duchess showed great coldness
and dissatisfaction at seeing Mdlle. de Luzy abandon
her determination and remain in the house. How-
ever, this seemed gradually to wear away ; and, espe-
cially within the last year, the Duchess has become
kind towards her. 111dlle. de Luzy adds that she was
thunderstruck when, in the month of July last, a
priest, a friend of the family, told her that her pre-
sence in the Praslin family was a cause of trouble,h:
and thst she could no longer r
liem
To fee? question which arose from thee
eaf aau s hte sd whicht
accused the Duke of having
the
death of his wife, Aldlle. de Luzy
that
wthboateitsianldot
rt,hote
case ! It is impossible
bear to see one of his children suffer No! do not
tbexati;tgsraavesueshpaircguems
which will not be justified ! No . . , As she spoke
aterillseur
butt h a t
say it
sa
rather that You
there say
she i
fell on her knees, clasped her hands, and bent her
head to the ground. Oh!' she resumed, oh ! tell
me, gentlemen, I beg of you. But no ! if you told
me, I would not believe it, no, never !' She then
paused and pressed her forehead with her hands. It
is impossible !' she continued. My conscience tells
me that he did not do it !—But if he did it, oh God
why then it is I—l alone who am guilty I I who
n myself misfortune,
tiost.mor ytu lotne ,
r misery,
After
loved the children so much, who adored them !—I
ahnSvdekbneeewn
notcowardly
hw o
to dreadedg
another pause she proceeded That is all my crime
—Write it, sir!' she added, looking fixedly at the
magistrate—' Yes, write it! He must have
demanded
that unfortunate letter which was to vouchfnr my
character ; she must have refused it, and
Oh yes! It is I—lt is Il a one who am guilty ! Write
it ! write it "
By order of the Queen, a funeral service for the
repose of the soul of the Duchess de Praslin:has been
performed in the chapel of the Château of Eu.
The Pattie states that M. Allard, chief of the po-
lice de surete, declared in the most positive manner,
when interrogated by order of the Chancellor as to
the circumstances under which the Duke de Praslin
obtained access to the means of self-destruction, that
the Duke was never for a second out of his sight, and
could not have poisoned himself in his presence. A
similar declaration was made by the police agents
who were in attendance. The same journal gives the
following respecting the examination of Mdlle.
de Luzy
" She has been twice taken before the Chancellor

cries."

' -

5.4F7

-
and the committee and interrogated. The m
heard her replies agree in considering her a V7o sivl2r°
superior talent. Her language is most remarkable in
form and substance. Impossible to write it down,'
said a competent judge, M. Cousin; nothing
can be more .clear and brilliant.' Her name
is Henriette de Luzy-Desportes, aged 37, teacher, born
in Paris, and residing at No 9, Rue du Harlay in
the Marais, in Mwiame Lemaire's boarding-school.
She entered the Duke de Praslin's family ill May-1,
1841. She was before that at Lady Hislop's at
Chaelston, in England. Her salary was 2,400 f. a
year, besides being fed and lodged. An under-
governess shared with her the care of the education
of three of the daughters and of a little boy of the
Duchess's. The other sons were placed under M.
Boussu, professor of the College Bourbon. She has,
it is said, protested energetically against the suspicion
of a culpable intercourse with the Duke. She was
dismissed by the Duchess on July 18, in the evening,
just as all the family were on the point of leaving for
the country. She was greatly grieved, as she was
anxious to preserve her place as a provision for the
future. She had no other resource than an old grand-
father, who treated her harshly. She was anxious to
remain in the house, where she could be comfortably
beingot
seenffc h e dtTshehte
dri
ast
shisai ant i ds
hmetoher that
than
hds
ahmne
much
wthic deniesce,n sincehhe
aavr having
noetDscahhzeNik.mladey.ren liked her, and she appeared at-
,dealnPt
of the crime which he had committed. She could
not believe that he was the murderer of his wife."
We also read in the Pairie :
" No authentic and precise account of the wounds
and contusions received by the Duchess has yet been
published ; but the following details, the accuracy of
which we can warrant, will be read with interest.
From the neck downwards to the feet, both before
and behind, her body was covered with clotted blood,
and the following wounds were found in different
parts of her person, viz., eleven on her head, five of
which were deep and large; the fractures of the skull
indicating that the four first must have been inflicted
with extreme violence by some sharp-edged weapon.
The torn parts of these wounds prove that they must
have been given by some one standing above her
while she was in a recumbent position, with the face
turned towards him. These blows must have been
given by the murderer while she was still asleep.
There are five excoriations of the nose, the left eye,_
the lower lip, and the chin, which are the effect of
strong force used upon these parts, and the marks of the
nails are to be observed. Four large wounds were in the
neck made with a weapon which was both pointed and
sharp,but neither thecarotid artery nor the innerjugular
vein was divided, as several journals have announced.
On the two hands, the abdomen, and the chest, there
are ten wounds more or less deep. The thumb of
the left hand was nearly severed at the joint. Thus,
more than thirty severe wounds are apparent on the
person of the unhappy Duchess de Praslin. There
are besides many bruises and livid spots on the limbs.
At the same time, it is certain that her death was the
consequence of the haemorrhage from the wounds on
the head and neck. The number and situation of
the wounds and their nature attest that her death
was preceded by a long and violent struggle; and
the state of disorder in which the chamber was found
leaves no room for doubt on this point. It is also
certain that the Duchess cried out several times, and
lived a long while after receiving the first blows. It
is believed that the wounds in the front of the neck,
and particularly that which extended across it under
thejaw, were given while she was in bed, and that
the murderer pressed hard with his hands on her
mouth, imprinting his nails, in order to stifle her

The Chancellor has adjourned to Monday the sit-
ting of the Court of Peers. The object of this delay
is to afford time for the report of the medical man
charged with the post mutton examination of the body
of the Duke de Praslin.

Marshal Sebastiani arrived on Thursday at his hotel
in the Rue du Faubourg St. Honore, overwhelmed
with the dreadful calamity that has befallen him.
His brother. General Se hastiani, is constantly with him .
Soon after his arrival he was visited by two of the
King's aides-de-camp, who, in the name of the King,
the Queen, and the whole of the royal family, ten-
dered their consolations. The Marquis de Choiseul
Praslin, brother of the Duke who committed suicide,
and the Duke d'Albufera, Peer of France, a near
relation, received the news of the catastrophe abroad
through the journals. They had just arrived at the
Hague. They set out immediately for Paris, where
they arrived yesterday.
The body of the Duke de Praslin has been interred
at the cemetery of Mont-Parnasse. On Friday
morning at one o'clock the ordminateur of the Pompeii
Funehres, with the requisite number of men and
carriages, arrived at the prison du Luxembourg.
On the summons of the Chancellor, the Prefect of
Police, Colonel Pozac, Military Commandant of the
Palace of the Luxembourg, M. Elouin, Chief of the
Municipal Police, M. Monvalle, the Commissary of
Police of the quarter, and M. Trevet, director of the
prison, the body was placed in presence of the above-
named persons in an oak coffin, and then conveyed
to the hearse from the chamber where it had been
placed. The minutes of this proceeding were then
drawn up by Nl. Monvalle and signed by himself,
Colonel Pozac, and MM. Elouin and Trevet; after
which the hearse, followed by two mourning car-
riages containing those functionaries and the em-
ployes, proceeded to the cemetery where it was
lowered into the grave which had been prepared to
receive it. Another minute was then drawn up, and
the interment was concluded by half. past two.

THE RIVER PLATE.
The Rattler steamer, which arrived at Falmouth
yesterd.y morning at nine A.M., brings advice! from
the River Plate to the 15th of July, and from Rio
Janeiro to the 23d. The blockade on the river had
been raised in consequence of the refusal of the Monte
Videan Government to accept the armistice proposed by
Lord Ho wden. Oribe had accep-ed the terms proposed
by the plenipotentiaries of France and England, on
the condition that during the armistice the town of
Monte Video should be supplied with 1,500 head of
cattle per month, the price to be decided hereafter, and
that all the ports under blockade should be raised.
These terms, on being sent to the Monte Videan Go-

vernment, were refused.
" During the past week," says private correspon-
dence of the 9th, from Monte Video, " we have had
several changes in the military corps, from which the
very worst results are apprehended. Garibaldi and
Thiebaut now take the lead, and hold respectively the
highest military appointments. The former is an
Italian ; the latter a Frenchman. Garibaldi is named
commander-in-chief of the garrison, and Thiebaut co-
lonel of the Italians, Basques, and French, so that
we
pTehoeps
lareThese
i n nowge
promotionsnae thertal,
aar
are
mercy eo rtt chay o
they
all
af r
well
this foreign
though
looked
tuponrabble.eproyn y
im-
politic on the part of the Government at the present
crisis."

Rivera, by the last accounts, was on the island of
Gorriti, with but a few followers, the greater part of
the garrison of Maldonado having deserted from want,
no provisions having been sent them by Government.
On the ilth we had a change of Ministry, which ffi
now composed of the Pacheco party, whihcahvcsausaledso
been many changes in the
the disturbances in April, 1846. Theredepartment,Garibaldi
ldi
last of which is the resignation of
mander of the garrison.
military
_G
ar as c
ot mbe.
have advices from Buenos
By the Commodored
we have
they are superseded by
Ayres and Monte VI
It was thought impossible the government of
loans after August, and
Video to raise further
Monte
d that the Italian auxiliaries would
the residents feared the news brought by thee Rattler.
for
plunder the town. All the merchants had in conse-
quence
p made prep for embarking at a moment's
not,ce.
The Rattler found on her artival at Rio de Janeiro
here esty's ships Fisgard, Racer, Seagull, and Cres-
ert he Fisgard left Valparaiso on the :20th of May.
it i‘,l andaj two American frigates.
When she left, the Ccllingwood was at Callao ; the
Commander-in. Chief at Panama, in the Grampus.
The Juno left Valparaiso fur Callan on the 30th of
May. The Modeste and Cormorant (filg-lieutenant
acting) were hourly expected at Valparaiso; Con-
stance at Mayattan; Carysforton the coast of Mexico.
Squadron In the Riv,-r Plate—The Raleigh (Com-
m,,dore), the Eagle, and the Firebrald; the Alecto,
the Harpy, and the Lizard, at Monte Video.
On her way to Buenos Ayres, the Kestrel. At
Buenos Ayres, the Grecian. At Colonna, the Satel-
lite. At Maldonado, the Comus.
the East Indies,
Video, for the Cape of Good Hope and
her Majesty's ship Melampus sailed from Monte
on July 11.
The Rattler left Rio on the 23d of July, and took
in coal at Fayal, whereshearrived cn the 20th
following
vessels :—Aug. Q;
August. She spoke theeofL
Southampton,;tvheessel telegraphed
their n'Ambers in
passing ondon, in let. 16.50 INT
.s
ohne. s 0
ship
3, V
barquePet, of Scarborough, from
Malta to Cork, in let. 46.48 , lon. 13.38 \\r
The
:—The barque Duchess of Nortv.iumberland,
August 9, in lat.
tl
12 1 N.,10n 25 • W ; August 25,
the barques Sir Joseph Bankes and Champlain, in lat.
46.50, lon. 13.50 W., outward bound.
27.30 W.

-------=
Her Majesty and her royal suite will remain in
Scotland for a fortnight or three weeks longer. Lord
Palmerston, who is now in town, will leave on Thursday
to join the royal party, as Secretary of State in attend—
ance, in succession to Lord Grey. Sir George Grey is,
expected to arrive in London from the north on Thurs-
day next.—Observer.
REPRESENTATION OF TAUNTON.—The statement , of
a Bsth paper of a vacancy in the representatior j, of
Taunton to be caused by the elevation of Mr. L Abou-
chere to the peerage is incorrect —Observer.
..rhe Scotch bench of bishops has lost one. .of its
members. Dr. Moir, diocesan of Brechin, a gimt'leman
of much amiability, died last week. Ho was or Joined
fifty years ago, and consecrated in 1837.