The weekly standard., 1870-07-13
Love and suicide-A French Romance.

Mile. D'Hauterine. daughter of a flourish
ing French bookseller and much noted in
private circles for her quecnly beauty and
fine touch as pianiste, was lady who, ac-
cording to late issue of La Gaulois gave
one more proof to the romantic that love is
stronger than life. 1t was her yearly Gus
tom to spend the winter at Nice, for the
greater elaboration of her musical studies;
and while sojourning in the latter city she
met her fate in the person of an Italian,
named Morplain, who, from the hour of
their first meeting, gave her the most ardent
homage of his heart She being thirty
years of age and he thirty-four, they loved
with that climacteric ardor which is often
characteristic of passion just felt in the
sixth and seventh lustres of life. At the
beginning, of course, their apparent relations
were kept subject to the colder social for
malities; but before long Mademoiselle's
friends saw that her feelings were too Sc
rious to be further disguised, and lost no
time in warning her of the possible conse-
quences. They knew and told her, that her
father would never yield assent to her mar
riage with Morplain, who, it seems, was
man of limited means, and rather cloudy
character. Seeing that she had paid little
heed to the remonstrances, and feeling that
they had a certain implied responsibility for
her while size remained in Nice, they wrote
gradually to her father on the subject, de
string him to act upon his own Judgment in
the matter. This NJ. D'Hauterine did, by
at once commanding his daughter to dis
miss her italian suitor and return home, or
expect the severest penalty of filial disobe-
fal -, a.
demonstrated when it begins with despotic
assumptions; and in this case, as might
have been anticipated, it but augmented
trenzied folly into foolish frenzy. The low
ers read the letter together in despair. The
whole world was against them; they had
nought left on earth but each other; and if
man sought to separate them here, in Heaven
they might be one forever The argument
is an old one, and contains about as much
sense as generally characterizes that little
idiot, Cupid. "We will die together" they
said, and at once made elaborate prepara-
tions for double amanticide. Morplain,
armed with pistol, poniard, and a bottle
of laudanum, took the love-lorn booksellers
daughter on his manly arm as for morning
promenade, and together they stroll from
Nice to a romantic spot in the grounds of
the villa of Teissere, in the suburban valley
Montcgat. Arriving at the chosen scene,
they sat down side by side upon the grass,
and, after an impassioned leave, taking on
earth, swallowed the contents of the lauda-
mum phlal between them. Probably they
took over doses; for the deadly drug IL
stead of throwing them into that which is
balm for all the woes OF the wrctched, made
hon hoo 81 4
before in all their lives. So much did Door
Morplain suffer in this unromatic way that
he said he could bear it no longer, and drew
his pistol. The lady answered that it would
drive her mad to be left alone with a lifelcss
body, and pointing to place upon her
breast where she could be shot &c without
Disagreement (cest la femme , demanded
that be should slay her first He fired point
blank, and, seeing her fall, darted frantically
from her short distance aud blew out his
own brains. Mademoiselle, however, was
not quite dead yet; and upon recovering
from the first shock, arose to her feet and
painfully made her way to the edge of the
nearest public road. There, faint and bleed
ing she was quickly discovered by some
peasants, to whom she told the story here
repeated. Il shall die in moment,n she
added, "and you will find Morplan lying
upon the grass yonder. He feared failure
with the pistol, and you will see that he still |
holds his poniard in his hand" They found
the body as she had indicated, and conveyed
it, with her, back to Nice, where judicial
inquiry was as once begun. The dying
woman lived but long enough to repeat her
explanation of the double tragedy; and
then throwing herself upon the bier of her
lover, expired under the very eyes Of her
judgei. Once more had love proved Itself
stronger than reason, and answered the
edict of the latter with folloy's last resources.