The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1855-06-13
No: 49,.

A STRANGE SToRY.-M de Nj, VINO has
lately died, was one of three brothers-two of
whom were partners in the firm, ,8the other
living quiet, pious life on his estate, some
little distance from Paris, on the road TO Or
leans. The latter had often been pressed by
his brothers to take share in the business, buf
had always declined leaving his solitude for
the anxeties and cares under which, in the
midst of the greatest prosperity rich capitalists
were always suffering. His philosophy would
seem to have been the true one, for he obtained
the hand of Mdle. H., a relation of the duchess
De Flcury, and at that time the rcleHt heiress
in all France, so that in a moment he found
himself richer by far than the brother$who had
been struggling for so many years to amass the
wealth they so much priced. This advance III
his position was not beheld without envy by his
elders More than ever did he become The
object of attack to induce him to join his capital
with theirs-but still without success. Peace,
and the quiet of domestic life, had more
charms for him than power or high rank, and
he still remained at his chate&u on the road to
Orleans Meanwhile the revolution of July
broke out in that part of the country, and as
we all remember, with revolutionary charac-
ter-for M. Philippe de NJ. became somehow
the object of the most insane and unaccountable
persecution amongst the peasanry, and the
threatenings of vengeance became at last so
formidable that the family resolved to remove
TO some other province till the storm had blown
over.
The very night before they carried this plan g
into operation, the chateau was attacked by a
band of brigands, who set fire to the building,
and without any apparent desire for plllage,
completely sdevasted the whole domain, MUIR
dering with the most savage fury all who at
tempted resistance, and destroying without
mercy whatever fell beneath their hands. NJ.
Philippe de NJ. and his wife both fell in the
afiray-the one shot through the heart IN de-
Tending the entrance to the chateau, the other
persisted in the flames, while attempting, in
vain, to escape from the burning pile The
eldest child a boy six years of age, fell by her
side, and was seen no more, and none 4f The
family remained to tell the tale but one little
girl of three years old, who remained thus sole
heiress to one of the finest properties in the
kingdom.
The trial. which took place when quiet was
restored, made great noise at the time, on
account of the high position of the brothers OF
the victim in Paris, but no fact was elected
which could throw light upon the real culprits.
Two men were frequently mentioned during the
examination of witnesses as being the torem st
in the attack-both of high stature, and both
wearing black leather masks in imitation of
the black band of '93. These individuals were
never discovered and the whole inquiry terml-
mated, as usual, in condemnation of one or two
idiots who had been taken on the spot, and
could give no account of why they were there,
and the public eulogium pronounced by the
advocate general upon the conduct of the nurse
who had at once made off to the fields with
her little charge, and thus saved the only scion
of this wealthy family. 1t was natural enough
that such circumstance should make an I'M
preston on the two brothers M, and that
both should seek to have the guardianship of
the child so miraculously saved. She was con-
fded to the elder of the two, who soon adopted
her with as much fondness as though she had
been his own.
A few years ago rumor spoke of the intended
marriage of the rich heress with her cousin,
the son of Adrien M, but was soon hushed
by the formal refusal of the guardian to consent
to the union. Soon after this i'll the beginning
of $780, the city shaken by the news Of
the tragical end of Adrien M, who was found
hanging to the taple which had just been fixed
in the wall of his bedroom, to receive the su-
perb Rubens for which he had given two hun
dred thousand francs the day before. His son
died some little while since, and the heiress re-
mained unmarried, in order to seothe the ola
age of her dear, good uncle. We thought we
had done with the M family, when 10! here
comes new event which completes the drama
in all its parts. The good old uncle died lately
in the arms of his dear adopted child, leaving
sealed confession for her perusal By this
statement he avows himself the murderer of
her father, declaring the two men in masks,
lal> Il AZ, &c tf,o, ,l to Ec,-
been himself and his brother Adrien, that the
inherit the property, and that their disappoint-
ment had been great indeed when the discove-
ry of the escape of the nurse had been made
public Remorse had prevented him from
pursuing his plan of determination further. He
had suffered the child to live, and owned that
he had blessed in her affection and gratitude.
He could not consent to the marriage with his
nephew for his souls sake, and was very sorry
that his refusal should have caused his brother
Adrien to commit suicide. The confession
concludes by beggingothe prayers of his adop-
ted child, and advises her retirement to q con-
wont, that she may take example from him how
little avail are riches and honor when compared
to the souls peace, and calls upon her to re-
member how often he would sit sad and sor
rowful amidst every blessing which this world
could give. The conclusion is more admirable
and strictly in accordance with the character
of the man. 1t is thought that the family will
lean upon these few last lines of the confession
to put in plea of insanity, and thus invoke
disbelief, but the able De c., who attended
the miserable sinner in his last moments, will
not give testimony to that effect. The truth
Of this story is beyond doubt.
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A lieutenant in the royal navy had written "A
political pamphlet, but being called to his du-
ty, was not able 10 see it through the press.
He therefore placed it in the hands of a book
seller, desiring that he would give it to some
literary man, who, for duly preparing it for
publication, should have half the profits. Tbs
bookseller gave it to Mr.. Cooke, who soon dis
charged his duty. The work was published,
and the profits were thirty pounds, all of which
was given to Mr.. Cooke, who took his portion.
and reserved the other half for the author
,rLo,o-o- In cborlI call for IL Many vpsrs