The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-11 00:00:00

EVENING SUN,

concerning her. Hall laditpthose contine .is 1. ht Wore
to be shunned, the world vtiptild soon liKirserte44,-
laugh.) I was not at Bu! .9',
when the diamonds were sttoli,ai. .As saion..asl I"' I
Was told of. the suspicions raised agst Mchiler+Bille.•
The second witness was the :-MarchioneS•a—'a':
She knew Marie Capin° in 18:30: An i•equ4.4tve' was
formed between her and my daughter. licarlafibiSt..4le
Capelle offered to visit us . in the' country, my
daughter, Madame Leotaud, being then pregnant
and in ill health. There was a piano in my
daughter's room ; Marie Capelle practised at it for
hours. The witness gave the same account of the disap-
pearance of the diamonds as Mdlle Delvaux. Some
days after Mdlle. Capelle mentioned that she had vomited
at night, and had persuaded her servant that it was be-
cause she had swallowed the diamonds of Madame de
Leotaud. Later, Madame de Leotaud confessed to her
mother that she suspected Marie Capelle of having stolen
the diamonds. Madame de Monbrcton mentioned these
suspicions to Marie Capelle's aunt, Madame Carat, who
then revealed a 'variety of larcenies committed in
her house. We were disposed not to aggravate
the position of Madame Laffarge when we heard that
she had been circulating stories of Maditme de
Leotaud having robbed herself. Later Madame de
Martens asked us not to own that the diamonds
were ours, in order to save Marie Capelle. M.
Bac, her advocate, had a long conversation with M. and
Madame Leotaud. M. Leotaud explained to M. Bac that
M. Clavet had quitted France in 1836, had gone to Mexico
and to Algiers, and only returned in 1839 ;- and that all
the infamous calumnies about Madame and M. Leotaud
wishing to give her the price of the jewels, fell to the
ground. M. Bac admitted it. M. Lachaud made us a
similar demand. • Madame Laffarge was importunate,
and stretched out a suppliant hand. We observed that
the suppliant hand which she held forth was of hot iron.
We offered, if Madame Latfar7e's counsel would plead .
her being of unsound mind, that we would support it
conscientiously, after all we had seen of her. M. La-
chaud said, that Madame Laffarge would never admit
this, that she was an extraordinary woman, and would
.
rise up to protest of her perfect sanity.
The next witness was Denis Barhiere, who had been
servant at M. Laffarge's. He stated merely that M.
Laffarge wanting a diamond one day to cut glass, asked
it of his wife, who brought him one.., •
Philip Mignan said he had heard M. Laffarge say that
his wife had offered him her diamonds to sell. The
mother of M. Laffarge, it seemed, Avas'ready to make the
same testimony, but the Judge would not allow of her
being called as a witness.

M. Lecomte,
mid the setting of
'Madame de Leota.s.:
3201.

EVENING SUN.

arry ? A. Always in the most respectful terms.—
Q. Had you ever an idea that your brother had had
any interviews with the lady ?A. Never.—Q. Have
you been led to suppose that there was a great difference
beta e_ei the relations which he had with Maria Capelle
and those which he had with Mlle. de Nicolai ? A.
Certainly, for he never mentioned to me that he had had
an interview with the latter. He merely said that he
had danced a aontredanSe with her at a ball given for the
benefit of the pensionefi on the Old Civil List.—Q. Nor
any correspondence ?A. Never.—Q. It appears, then,
from your conversation with your brother, that he had
never said anytffing about any kind of correspondence
with Mlle. de Nicolai ? A. Yes, Sir.—Q. It'appears,
however, that he had repeated interviews with Marie
Capelle ? A. Exactly so.
M. Corali—Had you any knowledge of the repeated
rendezvous given in the Park of Mousseaux ? A. Yes,
- he spoke to me about them several times.—Q. Were you
also aware of the daily walks of Marie Capelle under the
windows of M. Felix Clavet. A. My mother remarked
it to me ; she knew that my brother always placed t e
greatest.confidence in me.—Q. Do you know whether
an epistolary correspondence had still been continued
with your brother, and either Marie Capelle or Made-
moi3elle de Nicolai ?.. A. I believe not.—Q. Was your
brother acquainted 'with the family of Maeame de
Larochefoucauld ? A. Yes, Sir.—Q. Are you aware
of Madame Larochefoucauld having sent a box of
any sort to Africa ? A. I think I recollect she
did, but I had forgotten the' circumstance.—Q. Does
your brother draw. A. No, Sir.—Q. Do you think
your brother ever heard any of the details of the affair
of the diamonds in Mexico ? A. He only heard from
me of the details of the first affair, and I did not go into
many particulars. I believe he receives the French
journals.
The President—Have you received no otherletter from
your brother except that you have just communicated ?
A. I have received no other, but I expect one. It is
possible I have now a letter lying at Toulouse, for I did
not direct my letters to be forwarded here to. me.
This evidence, which was listened to with great atten-
tion, was, as well as the other depositions, summed up
by the President, and dictated in an abridged form to
the Greffier, who afterwards read it to the Court.
The list of witnesses being now exhausted, M Co-
rali said that, for the regularity of the proceedings, he
wished to know whether the Curator of Marie Capelle,
who was present, allowed judgment to go by default,
or not ?
M. Frederic Lacombe,' curator of Madame Laffarge,
said be would allow judgment to go by default, as Ma-
dame Laffarge had refused to plead.
The Cuurt then adjourned till the next day, when M.
and Madame Leotaud were to be heard as the pc/Hie
cioilc, and the requisitions of the Council were to be made.
It was expected that the judgment would be delivered at
the next sitting.
The Gazette des Tribunaux states that the judgment
of the Court, whatever it may be, will be signified to
Madame Lafiarge immediately it is given, so that, hav-
ing on4y five days allowed by law to make opposition to
it, it is expected that she will take this step by next
Friday at latest. " Madame Latfarge," it adds, " has
declared that under such circumstances she will come
forward supported only by M. Lachaud, if M. Paillet
cannot arrive in time. The letter of M. Claivet, read
in court, has produced a profound sensation, and on its
being notified to her, she exclaimed, The discussion
will be a sharp one, and the combat corps a corps. We
will see whether in my presence Madame de Leotaud
will persist in her system. "
Madame Laffarge, on re-entering her prison, still agi-
tated by the emotion caused by the proceedings in Court,
wrote the following :
" For the second time since I have come into the
world I have been -compelled again to have, as it
were, a new existence, and, at the demand of justice,
to take my seat once more at the bar of ignominy,
before which I have seen sleeping the men who had
the disposal of my life and my honour, and who were
to bury me a living martyr at twenty-five years of age.
To accept this position was to undergo horrible agonies,
but, nevertheless, I appeared. I was willing to undergo
this agony in order to avert a new act of injustice,
and claim my right. Alas ! I had forgotten that the
only right left to me was dint of suffering. lam ac-
cused, and cannot defend myself. lam told that lam a
calumniator and a thief, and it is not felt that I require
witnesses tb attest my innocence. Letters are spoken of
which are, it is said, to overwhelm me, and yet the read-
ing of letters which would justify me is prohibited. My
adversaries call to their aid a man of eloquence and
talent, and yet eight times—yes, eight times—in a ques-
tion lf law and fact, my defender is prevented from
speaking. This is very unjust. But if it is intended
to sacrifice me to the reputation of a great lady—me, a
feeble woman—who have no longer a name nor a future
—who have not even the right of breathing the air of
heaven without obstacle.—still I will not sink. I will
protest to-day, to-morrow, for ever ; I will not only pro-
test before a tribunal of six men, but I will also protest
before the tribunal of the public. I will be acquitted
by the great voice of the people, which is the voice of
God. Madame de Leotaud, you were not present this
morning when my regard might have made your con-
science tremble before it ; but you are present this even-
ing, when you have only to hear the language of eulogy
for yourself, and words of opprobrium for me. But Ido
not envy you. At the bottom of your heart you are
forced to respect me, and you know that at the depth of
mine I have the right to despise you. Believe me,
Marie, I preserved my energy in my love for you, and
I will retain it 'in resisting you. Men may prevent me
from proving the truth of what they call my calumny ;
they cannot give you the power to prove the falsehood
of the facts of which I accuse you. I rely on God for
strength, and rely on him also for the hour of your re-
morse."