New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-10-13
a STRANGE STORY.
The Tale OF the Bank Note ForgerIes-
Unfolding of Romance in a Swiss
Court of Law.
[Rrom the London Daily News.l

UNFOLDING OF q Romance HI a SWISS
Court of Law.
From the London Daily Newsl
The famous affair of the diamond neck
lace has at length found rival. For dra-
matte situations, for the variety of char
acters revealed in it, and for certain neb-
ulous mystery which even yet enfolds the
principal actors and their deeds, we should
almost prefer the story Of the bank note
forgeries, as that has been partially opened
up to us IN Swiss court Of law. The sur
prising transformations through which the
characters pass in this strange history re-
call the most mysterious scenes in
"WilheIm Meister,' or the scarcely
more ineligible comp de theatre, in
the Countess de Rudolstadt" At first
the play opens in quite idyllic fashion. We
have two lovers living together in YverdOn,
on the shores OF the beautiful lake of Neu-
chatel. They live the most exemplary
lives; they are quiet and orderly, pay their
rent punctualy, do not drink, make noises,
or otherwise misconduct themselves. The
elder of these two is a Polish priest named
SzumoWski, a tall man, brown and bearded,
whose gray eyes look from under eyebrows
that are at once powerful and mobile. The
lady, who is Of English origin, and called
Maria Artist, and who certainly should not
have been on SO intimate terms with
priest, is young and fragile creature, pale
and suffering, who has an abundance Of fair
hair and shelters herself behind a veil. A
domiciliary visit ordered by the authorities
discovers certain suspicious things in the
house of this amiable couple. Plates of
copper, Geographic stones, printing ma
chimes, bank notes that look singularly
new-alI these are in cOnsOnance with
certain little window which is constructed
so that a view Of the whole street is com
manded by it. The plea of the priest and
/, hot how civ, Ii
gravers, who are following their occupation
on account of their uncle, does not avail.
Finally they confess they are fOrgers of
bank notes. They have already been ar
rested for the crime at Sainte-Andresse, in
France, but were liberated for want of evi-
dence. They came into Switzerland, where
they have been prosecuting their nefariOus
trade under the orders of a person passing
for their uncle, calling himself DOwmond
MatIlZewicz.
The appearance of Matuzewicz on the
stage causes the plot to thicken. He is as
great an enigma as the Count Albert, who
puzzled and fascinated Consuel0. He is a
visionary, political idealst, who has been
at deadly war with despOtisms and arts
tocracies. The Russian government pursued
him wherever he went. He was being con-
tinually arrested. No sooner was he lib
Grated at Olmitz, where he had been seek
VI
to combat Russian designs, than he fed to
Saxony, where he was arrested again and
sent out OF the kingdom Then he went to
Zurich; but even here his refusal to sub
scribe to the doctrine of Sclavonic unity
brought upon him fresh troubles. Then he
was inveigled into going to Berlin and
Prague where, oddly enough, his enemies
succeeded in compromising him by making
him pass forged bank notes, in entire ignor-
ance of their worthlessness. He was acquit-
ted, however. Then he returned to SwitZer-
land; but he was again thrown into the
company of forgers, for some of those wick
ed people had robbed him of large sum in
Prague, and he wanted to see if he could
get It back So far, the ''unCle" SZumowski
on the other hand, also represented himself
as political PrOpagandist and said he had
taken to forgery as means of revenge upon
his political enemies. False bank-nOtes,
said he, are an implement of war; England
used them in 1902; Napoleon flooded Russia
with them In 1872. AS for himself, he
forged Russian notes against Russia, and
French notes against Bonaparte 1t is
curious however, that when DOwmond
MatuZGwich, whorepeatedly and most kindly
visited Szum0wski and his companion when
in prison, was himself arrested, Austrian
and Prussian bank-nOtes were found on
him as well as those of Russia. But while
these interesting persOnages were being
secured, the officers Of the law were draw
ing within their net number of far more
striking figures First of all comes an old
man of seyenty-three, named Adam kuber- !
ski, who had formerly been a soldier, and
was now supposed to be a spy of the Rus
sian police. Kubersii seems to have given
information to the Russian embassy at
Berne of this manufacture of false bank |
notes, wbereup0n he was put in cOmmGnica- |
ton with the Russian consul in Paris, |
certain n. Kamenski. This official had |
been specially intrusted with the duty of |
looking after these frauds, by which Russia |
suffers more than any other country in |
Europe. The second act Of the drama ends |
with Kamenski engaging an agent, named |
Bourbon, to act in concert with the police |
spy, Kubersli, and invent between them a |
plan for entrapping the various criminals |
who were then playing ducks and brakes |
with Russian paper currency.
Before the character of this man Bour-
bon the muse Of history must hereafter |
pause in b6wilderment. Surely the man
who could even dream of the role which he |
attempted to assume must have been per-
son Of undOubted genius. To begin with,
he must have known something of conyicts, |
because he had been, in Brest, condemned |
to one years imprisonment; in Toulon to
five. years imprisonment, and, par c0nt2-
mace, to ten years hard labor. This expe-
rienced person forthwith made the ac-
1uaintance Of the f0rgers and became the
Of all their labors. He gave
them models. He assisted them with /
money. He corrected the proofs of the
false notes In short, he acted as the
'hief breaker Of the law in order to serve
Jhe law But, at the same time. he was
imposing on everybody all around Him
self an agent Of police, he warned one of the
5orgers by name Malagowski, that the po-
ice were on his track, and that he might as
we'll disappear. Then he got hold of the
plates Of the Prussan notes, secreted them
md demanded of the Prussian minister the
'um of q 900 francs for their restitutiOns
ailIng which the manufacture Of spurious
,haleTs would begin anew. Bourbon was
bold man; and not the least curious part of
he story is this: That when a French jugc
le pair at last arrested him a subaltern Off
'er came to the magistrate and offered him,
rom M. Kamenski, the sum of 10000 francs
md decoration if he w0uld release B0ur-
BON and hand over the other prise
,ners. This astounding proposal had, for
is first result, the issue of a summons to
u. hamenski to appear before the YvGydon
tribunal, He did not appear, but sent an
5dvocate to take his place, with what rec
ult remains to be seen. In the meantime,
he strangest figure iii all this extraordinary
tory, the man Bourbon had hanged him
eli in prison, 50 that no further revelations
re to be expected from him. MalagoWslli
whom he sought to save, has died of fatal
Illness. Szumowski, the tall priest: Maria |
Artist, his companion; the political vision
ry, Mature EicZ, and Kubersl1i, the spyo i
ave just been Sentenced to two years. I'M
'rIs0nment, to ten years deprivation Of
0clal rights, and to pay the costs OF the :
ase- The trial at fverdon has been fyuly I
described as hut the prologue to a great
1Aipial Rpors1n nd "a 10, !,