The Sun.
London, England, 1847-09-04 00:00:00

some odious. With all tb,at, he has not returned me
Elie china he took from me ; what has he done with
it ? Has he them still f At the bottom I believe it ;
will he return them to me ? there is a world of ifs

trost subject. He has not expressed regret as to
t he has broken for me ; he smiles when I speak
to bam of it. I t‘m inclined to believe that he felt
a *Night degree of anger on that point. It is very
.vi ,dent that he had a mind to our being recon-
si led. Never have I so strongly believed in his
aclination in this respect. "Will they let him do
Lit ? I much fear that he may be yet impelled to
do many things, against which I shall not know
.'Dow to confine myself to a quiet regret. I strongly
dm!, that in spite of my affection for him, I cannot
1,3 bappy if I do not occupy in a complete and irre-
sacuble manner the same apartment with him, so as
to return to that intimacy which naturally and alone
brings about that pouring of the soul, that unlimited
confidence, that double existence which is the happi-
ness marriage ; neither can Ibe so unless I parti-
cipate in all his cares for my children and their
society. But, my God! snatch from me, if it be
necessary, every happiness, the affection of all those
that I love, and re-unite us one day in your bosom.
Save us, my God ! Give us eternal happiness, and
do with us what seemeth fit to you in this life. My
God! thou knov:est that this is from the bottom of
my heart ; I wish for what seemeth fit for you ; but
give me strength and resignation to support it."
PAPER FOUND IN THE DUCHESS DE PRASLIN'S

SECRETARY.
"Preslin, Sept. 15, 1842.
"You are, Theobald, I am convinced, far from sus-
pecting your harshness towards me, and how much
at makes me suff-r. It is a very slow hut very pein-
iful death, I assure you, to die 0f grief! Oh, Theo-
bald, how much I loved you! how much I loved our
children ! I have no longer anything in this world !
Of our union nothing remains for inc hut your name.
.1 live alone forsaken, despised, and I have a husband
and nine children ; another, before my eyes, enjoys
all these blessings! and you would have me think
that natural? Well, Ido say, and truly, that of all
tortures the most cruel that could be imposed on me
is the life I lead. My crod! what crime would not
be expiated by such anguish! You no longer love
rue ! you abandon me ! though of all pains this is the
most acute for me, who have never ceased to love you
-with so much ardour. I understand it; but, to de •
prive me of my children, and to give my place about
you and them to another! Oh ! no, you have no
right to do that, Theobald. Can you be so weak and
so blind as to abandon my children to a brainless
woman—a woman without shame, without principles,
without tact ?"
-LETTER WITHOUT DATE, FOUND IN THE DUKE DE
PBASLIN'S SECRETARY AT PRASLIN.
" Do not believe, my dear Theobald, that I am not
aware of my error, when I have forgotten myself so
as to tell you, in language too violent, what I have
suffered, and what afflicts me still. However well
grounded and reasonable my grief may be, I ought
either to conceal it or express more calmly the natural
auaxiety it causes me for our children. Now things
are come to this point, I assure you it would be better
:for us to separate quietly, privately, without speak-
ing to any one. Time brings things about; it will
ems day open' your eyes to the sad and deplorable in-
fluence which you have suffered to gain such ascen-
dancy over you, such authority over our children and
your house. Let rue await that moment in peace and
solitude. For years past I have made vain efforts to
appear calm and resigned to a state of things which I
firmly believe is as injurious to our eldest daughters as
it is painful to myself. For a long time I believed in
your affection ; and that gave me patience under my
sufferings. Now, all illusion has ceased; I see that I
never could have occupied the place I coveted in your
heart, as I once supposed. You were for a long time
so very kind to me, that I believed you loved me with
a reciprocal affection, and that you would one day be
mine again. This illusion is destroyed. If I was
not able to win your affections formerly, I cannot
hope to do so now, after so much trouble has soured
my temper, of which lam fully aware. My heart is
stilt the same, entirely devoted to you and our
children ; but I see that I am nothing either to you
.or the children. You have annulled my life ; you
force me to be only a spectator, hereas I ought to
be the second head of the family. I see a thousand
things aroued me equally obnoxious to my princi-
ples and my affections. I grn evidently a burden
to you, and some of my children, in appearance at
least, for you are far from knowing their real feel-
ings. In fine, you have male Inv life useless here,
and you let me feel that I am in the way, and
only tolerated. I know I can do nothing to change
an iota of your determination ; I only ask you, there-
fore, to make such arrangements. that I may not he
compelled to witness things which I cannot help
blaming from in very heart. You have shown
in every way that you feel neither esteem nor
friendship fsr me, and that you would have our
children share your sentiments. I wish tor nothing
but to 1,4 you enjoy in peace the kind of life
you :save chosen, without being an unwilling sepcta-
tor of it. I suffer too much here, deprived of every-
thing in the place I loved, in the midst of those I
bold dear, but who are snatched from me by an in-
triguer. I cannot understand why my unhappy life
should give a relish to your pleasures. Do what you
please, but, for mercy's sake, do not force me to wit-
ness it. If Aline should be ordered to take the
Teeters, allow me to conduct her there. Ab, if you
allowed me to devote my life to tho-e of my children
that please you least, to those whom nature has less
liberally endowed, it would be a great blessing tome.
If you knew how much you make me suffer! I only
ask you as a favour to allow me to retire to solitude,
and for a year past you have found time to think of
it. You laugh at my sufferings, but I tell you before
God that there is no more cruel torture than the life
I lead meanwhile. You will force me to fly : would
it not be better to make an amicable arrangement ?
Certainly, you cannot propose anything more painful
to me than what I now undergo. Ah ! how many
times have I seen you allow yourself to be deceived
and fascinated by intriguing women !"
This letter was enclosed in an envelope, bearing the
address of " Monsieur le Duc."
EXTRACT FROM .1 LETTER -WITHOUT DATE FOUND IN
THE DUCHESS DE PRASLIN'S SECRETARY, AT PARIS.
" I go, my dear Theobald, for I confess I no longer
know what conduct to adopt; I thought I yesterday
acted very well in quitting in silence, in order to
avoid the bitterness with which you reproach me
whenever I open my mouth. This new plan has so
'badly succeeded with me that I require time to col-
lect inc ideas as to what course I shall pursue. You
hare frequently repeated that you despised me ; you
have for so long a time proved it to me, that I unior-
tunately can no longer doubt it ; but I admit that I
do not well understand it. Besides, you sadly mis-
understand me ; you always suppose that I fix all my
ideas on the suspicion of one guilty act, and I com-
preltend that that idea revolt-6 you, particularly under
these circumstances. It is not only this which is blame-
able and painful toaffeetion ; certainly to see you prefer
the society of another, to Rive her- lt my rights. to
your friendship, to your confidenece
all those which I had over my all
confidence, to Inhtei:nacy,
real and profound subjects of grief. Add' to arethee
pain of seeing my children in 'the handsof
who, because she commits no fault, takes upon herself
to be inconsistent and familiar ; to employ her influ-
ence to direct you, and take possession of all the house;
who looks upon the usages of meciety as absurdtties --
candidly, there is enough in this to cause unhap
piness, sorrow, and anger. TO continue life in this
Way is impossible. Call to mini that before all things
rwish for your hapuinese but I cannot secure it at
the Trice of my consei,nce. If I remain . • •
I will propose an arrangement to you, reflect. If
you are I will get my physician to order me
sea-bathing, ani will go alone to Carteret. I will
stay three months; if the life you lead with Mdlle.
D— and our children suits you for a permanency,
without having the troulle of a woman who wants to
be the compinion of her husband, the mother of her
children—il, in short, you prefer being a widower,
tell me frankly, and I will stay there - if on the con-
trary, after three months, you remember that you
lave a loving wife,
and if you feel the want of a
friend who will devote her
arrive
tell me so, and I should
grateful. Do not accuse f very happy, very
m
thoughtlessness in
offering you this alternative,
presencei!e wisho you to be happy ;
I know that myburden,
ofn
gone on
on use
fo to that my ab-
sence will be no privation, as 1
am a
any-
body for anything, as things have goo
time past."—This letter is addressed, " M. le Dr uc' some
LETTKE WITHOUT DATE, FOUND IN THE SECRETARY
OF THE DUCHESS OF PRA.SLIN, AT PRAISLIN.
" I see well, my friend, that you take my grief for
ill-humour—but you are altogether wrong. Seri-
ously, now, put yourself in my place, and say, should
you be happy if you had a husband, and that he lived
under your eyes, in the same house, with another
Woman, in a degree of intimacy and familiarity such
as you live in with Mdlle. D.? Say, should you
adopt the plan not to bring up your daughters, if you
were a mother, to see them in the hands of a person
whose conduct nor inciples could inspire any confi-
dence, and who hasp uch detestable manners ? . . •
Say, should you be happy to live isolated as I do in
the midst of my own family, to be neither wife, nor
mother, nor mistress of
{the house ? You deprive me
of the occupations
that the duties of legitimate affec-
- -
condemn me to live like an
another take my place. Oh !
le you know what I suffer.
that this life is a dreadful.
a vague hope
ofa
opinion
eyes
to g
such youa bad ar themthe injury
of
such
such an educationncip
with
such false pri ieswi
ti
ould 'not stay another momentut
.t my age, not to have k home
~ with a husband and children
The all, 71,3 .:)arms' imagine what your contempt

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