The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1874-01-15

courier 1t read thus;
The wishetl-tor moment ha, not yet arrived
but j wish TO hasten Your return on account OF
Il secret negotiation which interests me person
ally, and which am unwilling 10 conti,le to any
one except Yourself. The Countess de lamotte
will tell You. from me-, the meaning of this cnig-
laa.
De Rohan fastened back TO Versailles
on the wings of the wind. arriving in Jan
uary. 11Sj. The Countess initiated him
at once into the .secret negotiation" 1t
was nothing more or less than the obtain
ing for the Queen ofthe diamond necklace
which she coveted, and which the KING
was unwilling to give her-so said the
stupendous liar whose slippery tongue had
caught the Cardinal. He was to call upon
the jewellers. present an order for the neck
lace signed hy Her Majesty, arrange terms
Of payment. and take possession OF the az
ticlc. which was atterWard to be quietly
transmitted to tie palace. The ordercame
a few days later 1t was signed ''Marie
!Antoinettc, of France" and so completely
was the Cardinal deceived that he did not
notice the blunder of the clumsy torgers
in adding to the royal signature the two
concluding words, which the queen never
used, always signing herSelfsimply Marie
Antoinettr." Armed with this document,
he procured the necklace without difficulty
arranging with the jewellers that the first
payment OF one hundred thousand crowns
should be made on the 30th of July follow
ing. The Countess then informed him that
Il messenger from the Queen would be at
her house on the evening Of the first day
Of February, and that the necklace must
be delivered then. Accordingly poor De
Rohan was on the spot and was shown
into an allowed apartment having closet
with a glass door. He was placed in the
closet. the room was oimly lighted and in
Il moment another door was opened, and
4 voice exclaimed: From The Queen"
The Countess advanced with the deepest
respect. took the casket and handed it to
the pretended messenger. who, of course,
Immediately retired, And 50 vanished ont
OF sight forever the diamond necklace
which, probably within a month, was tax
EN- to pieces, and sold by l.amotte and
Nillettc at Brussels and London.
The Cardinal never doubted that ii was
safely lodged in the boudoir Of Marie
Antoincttc. and waited with more anxiety
than ever for the long-promised public
manifestations of her favor. TO allay has
anxiety, which delay had made rather
troublesome. the Countess promised DE
Rohan Il personal interview with the
Queen in the garden of the palace. The
interview was to be between IL and l.
O'Clock at night. and came off according
to agreement. The part allotted to Marie
-Antoinette was played on that interesting
occasion by MademoiSelle D'Oliva hand
some specimen OF the Partisan dculi-tiou3f,
who bore a sufficiently strong resemblance
to the Queen to be mistaken for her by the
dim starlight The Cardinal. concealed
behind the shrubbery, awaited the APP
proach of his royal mistress. and when the
prctender appeared he dropped upon his
knees, kissed her hand. heard from her
lips a few hurried words of thanks, and
received a small box and Il rose. The
mock Queen disappeared rs quickly rs she
had come, and the next day the Countess
brought another forged note from Marie
Antoinotte expressing her great regret
that she was unable to prolon@ the a"rcc-
able interview
But the comedy was nearly al an end.
Some time in July. Bmhmer had an audi
cnce with the Queen in regard to several
articles in his line needed al the baptism
Of the Duke d'Angouleme He took occ;l-
SION to hand her a paper, in which he con-
graduated her upon ''bein@ in possession
of the finest diamonds known in Europe :
and cntreatcd her mot 10 forget him =
The torgctfulnes5 he alluded to was in rc-
lation to the first payment on the necklace,
due ON the 30th of the same month"; The
Queen did not read the note unit! after the
iewcler had departed, ana of course was
utterly at Il loss to understand its contents.
She finally concluded the man was a mon
omaniac on the subject OF diamonds, but
never dreamed that he was hintng at the
necklace which she supposed had been sold
TO the Sultan.
The 3Qth of July came and passed, and
brought no hundred thousand crowns to
Bmhmpr The frightened merchant wait
ed until the Sd Of August. and then, not
hearing any thing from the Queen in
answer to his mysterious message, he
sought out Madame Campan. the first
dy-n-waitng to Her Majesty Five
minutes conversation with him revealed
to Madame the maia outliaes of the plot.
but She utterly tailed to convince BIhmer
that he was the victim of q stupendous
fraud. He Went to the palace and insisted
upon seeing the Queen. She refused, say
ing: HE is mad; | have nothing to say
to him and will not see him." Three days
later Madame Campan returned from her
country seat and communicated to Marie
Antoinette the substance of the story told
her by BGhmer. The Queen was amazed
beyond measure, and 1T once told the King
ofthe scheme which she believed De Rohan
had concocted to embarrass and inure her.
On the 18th of August the Cardinal was
sent for into the royal closet, and asked ii
he had purchased diamonds of B@hmer.
He replied in the affirmative, and produced
the forged order from the Queen as his
authority Having no other explanation
to make, he was arrested and conveyed to
the Bastile. The Countess de Lamotte fled
into the provinces but was pursued and
overtaken, and lodged in the same prison.
The trial, which excited great attention
not only in France, but throughout Europe,
lasted until the 31st Of May. 1856. The
Cardinal was acquitted. Lamotte SEN
fenced to the galleys f I life, Nillette ban
ished from the kingdom, and the Countess
sentenced to be whipped branded on both
shoulders with the letter ', and impris-
oned for life. She suffered the whipping
and the branding, and was lodged in the
cell destined to be her future home, but
managed to escape within a year. and after
many perils arrived in England. There
she published her memoirs, contracted
heavy debts, and was finally arrested TO
satisfy the demands Of her creditors.
While on her way to prison she gave the
officers the slip. and leaped through
Il thrd-story window INTO the street, re-
ceiving injuries which caused her death
soon after.
The acquittal OF De Rohan was great
modification to the King and Queen, who
believed him to be quite as guilty as the
Gountess-which belief, however, is not
sustained By any facts we have been able
to discover. The people were firm in the
conviction that Marie Antoinette was
wholly to blame, and that She had used
the Cardinal and the Countess as tools ano
then thrown them overheard to save her
self. The diamond necklace may be said
to have killed the Queen in the estimation
of the mob, which was then the Frcncl
nation.