The Sun.
London, England, 1817-08-05 00:00:00

THE LATE DUEE.

WIT) I Wrote to yuu the other day, I told you
I would endeavour to learn all the particulars Of
the affair which terminated so fatally,in the death
of General Count ST. MoxYs. By the gleateSt
good fortune I have been pertnittcd to see several
important documents in regard to this cruel busi-

ness, and which throw considerable light upon
most parts of it.

The whole of the affair, which concluded with
the duel between Gtmeral de St. Morys nod a M.
Barbie'. alloy, is generally' considered here as an
affair purely-political, •and the aletails I have since
procured strongly 'confirm this fact. It is uni-
versally talked of, particularly among (lie higher
circles, and all seem to think that the General has,
iu faLt,- been sacrificed to intrigue and
which can be traced back for a considerable period,
and to persons of no small consequence.—
Before relating the events of the last four
months, I mast state a few facts of the two
individuals themselves. M. le Compte de St.
Morys was a Marechal-de-Camp. a General in
the Army, and Lieutenant in the Due de Mort-
chy's company of the '' Garde du corp du-Roi."
He had emigrated with his lather at an early age,
aml had served- in the . nifty of the Prince de
Cond6. His father perished in the unfortunate
business at Quiberon. In consequence of their
attachment to the Royal Family they lost neatly
the whole of a very large property, with the ex--.
ception of a small • portion,- which the. Count's':
mother, who is still alive, managed to preserve by
remaining in France.• He was one of the first
persons to declare himself for the testoration of
the Monarchy, both in his person and by his
writings. He followed the Icing to Ghent, and
returned with hint on the Bth• of July, 1815. Ot
his private virtues it is unnecessary to speak. His
friends and acquaintance know them well—his
enemies cannot but acknowledge them. This man
had enemies ; and who was that: enemy who
dared to lift his arm against such a man ? How
will be appear before his Maker ? what will he be
thought of by his countrymen ? His name is Bar-
bier Dufoy, and he is, I believe, from the neigh-
bourhood of Comte de St. Morys' estate. I
know not whether .he was born a gentleman,
but he entered early into the Revolutionary
Army, where he became a Lieutenant-Colonel.
He is said to have.been guilty of great extortion.
He did not remain. in the army, but purchased
with the money he bad procured about the half
of General St. Morys' estate, with the family
chateau, which he pulled down. He lives there
upon one he built. It is said also, that he was
a spy in the pay of Buonaparte, and that at pre-
sent he is on terms of friendship; or at least con-
nected, with the Minister of Police.—On the 21st
of this month these two men fought, first with
pistols, which were ineffectual, and then
with swords, when the Count was run through •
the heart, and instantly expired. It is per-
haps worth -while to remark, that the latter
was most extremely short-sighted, and the
former was a left handed swordsman, which
till that moment was unknown to the Count.—
There is said to be a Frenchman now in Paris,
who has• fought an immense number of duels,.
and who has always. killed his adversary. He
begins the contest fencing with' his right hand,
and then suddenly changes •h is sword -to his left,
which so put his antagonist off his•guard, as to
become an easy victim, not to his valour, bit to
his murderous tricks. But to proceed, it is not
very difficult to conjecture -what was the cause
of quarrel, knowing that he had in many
instances injured St. Morys, and naturally hated
him. When the Count returned to. France, he had
interest enough to get returned to him a disputed
part of his estate, which was not sold. M.
Dtany immediately insisted that this part belonged
to the estate itself, and, therefore, as be had pur-
chased half that estate, he was entitled to a moiety
of what was now returned. He brought the mat-
ter to a legal issue, and, of course, was defeated.
There is said to be a letter extant which Dufov
wrote to the Deputy of the Count (St. Morys
was Mayor of his Commune), in which he said
he would either cut the Count's throat, or get it
cut by his comrades of the Garde du Corps, for
lie must be dead before April. Another cause of.
the quarrel bas been stated to have been the de-
mand of the count's daughter in marriage, which,
if made, was properly and indignantly refused.—
The Count had, and perhaps in a certain degree
justly, incurred the displeasure of the King, and
most. certainly the hatred of the Minister of
the Police. He had interfered (he was too
good a Royalist not to interfere) in the last
Elections with the interests of M. de Caze;
and it is said contrary to the wishes of the
King. The love of his country' got the better
of his character of a Courtier. At the elec-
tion for Beauvais he exerted himself very
mach for the Royalist C:lndidate,- and, it is said,
was the cause of his being chosen. And this after
No- had received a message from the king, by the
Duke of Estissac, not to vote for this candidate.
He is even said to have matte this message public
at die election, His motives were good. He meant
to serve his king and his country, but his conduct
was misrepresented. Nay, it is said, but with what
truth I know not, that the king shortly . before
the duel said to the Diie'de Mouchy, " Is M.
St. Morys to continue in your company ?" Such
a question from a Sovereign is, we know, an ab-
solute expression. Such a speech, I know, will
account for ,the Due Ale Moucley's strange and va-
cillating measures, in first approving. M. de St.
Mot ys' conduct, and alterwardS ordering hint, not
to take- his turn of service ; but I must -hope and
believe that the King could not make such a
speech of a' faithful and devoted servant, unless
his thiud'hadVeen itioisoned‘ against him by mis-
representation and calumny. However, upon the
business of the election I mean mot to justify
him. His motives were good, but he forgot that
he was a servant of the. King. If his conscience
permitted him not to vote for the candidate of
the Minister, he should have absented himself
from the election, and not publicly oppose!! him,
I .fear this was more the cause of the Count's
being ordered by his Captain not to take4kiv turn

of duty, than dissatisfaction at ht.§ coniluct in
regArd boloy; he Dfic d,e :slouchy niuSt per-
sonally iiitve Leen iiiisfied not Only 'with what all
the Marshalis in France were satisfied with, hut
also what'll e had hiniself on the 1-ith June de-
clared to the ofEc'erS Of his Company to he his
Opinfoti. The :slinkier was determined on his
dismiss 11, and in this covintry what cannot a Mi-
nister do? They also tall: here of rather a violent
attack. in presence of the Prefect at Beauvais,
which he is said to have made, and at the same
time against one Of the Alinister3, wits) wished to
interfere rather tdo much in the -elections.' It
seems, howeVer, vet y that from this period
yon may date the
,Origln of those unforttin4te 'cir-
cumstances which •tihimately cost him his life.—
It is Well known, that soon .after this•period they
more than hinted that hi; -resiriAtion a; MayOr
would he agreeable: He refused to resign, and
the Prefect had not sufficient cnergp to displace
him. He was afterwards advised 'to give in his
commission as Lieutenant of the Gardes (hi Corps.
He declined doing so. The other day lie Married
his daughter. Here it is the custom for the Kind
to sign the contract of marriage for the children
of persons of rank and office, and it is considered
as a mark of favour. His Majesty was advised to
refuse this gratification, upon the plea that the
Count's son-in-law was not of a rank sufficiently
high in the army; when a few days after he sigh-
ed the contract of an Officer who was below him.
Such are the consequences here of the hatred of
Ministers: Such thinks are reported ; if they are
true, I blush for my country, rand almost wish
to return to your shores, where I •was• formerly
so well received, and no longer serve in that
army, where the honour of a Gentleman and
the bravery of a soldier are not all that is neces-
sary to obtain the suffrage of those in power.