The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1877-08-17
Cardinal Antonclli's Child.

A trial was commenced early in the
present month before the Civil Tribu-
nal of Rome which promises some inter-
csting developments in the life of the
late Cardinal Antonelli. The plaintiff,
Countess Loretta Lambcrtini. claims TO
be the natural daughter of the late car
dinal, and it is said she bears a striking
resemblance to that celebrated indiyid-
nal. The defendants to the suit are the
Counts Gregorio, Angelo, and Luigi
Antonclli, brothers and heirs of the de-
ceased cardinal. On the part of the
young Countess il is claimed that about
the year 1885 certain Signora Antoni-
-Ballerini-Marconi, who had fled
from her husband, became intimate with
Cardinal Antonclli, and lived with her
in Rome for several years. During his
intimacy he made the acquaintance of n
foreign young lady, and by her il is al
legged the cardinal had child. who was
passed off as the daughter of Signora
Marconi. The documents put in cvi-
dence contain many evidences of An
tonelli's affection for this child. lie
gave il the names of Loretta and DOM
enica, from those of his father and
mother, came often to see il while il
was yet nursing, caressed il with pccu-
liar tenderness, and frequently urged
upon the wet nurse the necessity of
"taking great care of his daughter
When at the age of one year the child
became seriously ill, the cardinal grew
quite uneasy; and on another occasion,
when little Loretta had broken her right
leg, he sent repeatedly in one night to
inquire after her. He caused the child
to wear always round its neck silver
medal and gold medallion, the latter
having two portraits, the child's, and
his own IN full vestments, and the in
scription: Jacopo 1ntOaeNi, s. II. f..
ID. c., q publ. neg, Phi TX, II. NJ. (to
James Antonelli, his most reverend EN-
inence Cardinal Deacon, Secretary of
State to Plus TX, Pontifex Maximus. }
This medal and medallion were both
produced in court by the plaintiff.
From time to time the cardinal gave
Loreta's pretended mother thousands
upon thousands of francs. to be invested
in the child's favor, but this money was
all appropriated and spent bv the SIG.
nora, so that when this person died n
1872 she found herself in great want
She then sent 10 the cardinal for money
| 'ii't htNStlistl SOtli ItlllIlltU WllI
several thousand francs. On her mar
riage with Count Giuolio Lambertini
the Cardinal gave her 100. 200 francs
and also presented her with hand.
somely furnished house. In conclnd
ing her plea, she says she is the tlaugh
ter of the cardinal: that she does no
know whether his emincncc had hat
other children; that she does not know
whether he had left will, and that sht
only asked, rs his natural daughter. the
whole fortune left by him, amounting i
is believed. to over SS,000,000. lie
counsel anticipate a brilliant success
the only difficulties to remove being a
follows: The cardinal had been under
the vow of chastity, and in that case thu
countess must be considered as a fqli,
soc1fiego, and would be entitled only {,
alimcnt. Should, however, this diff
Guilty be got over and the will remaii
valid, she would get only the third par
of the bcqucst as natural daughter.
her counsel should prove the will inyal
id then she would get everything. T,
prove that it was not the cardinals las
: will it was stated in evidence that nine
teen days before his death he said to th
countess: ~ have provided for the
and thy children, and thy children vii
! be richerthan thou" In his will ther
is the following entry: "You will Civ
to the persons for whom it is my dut
to provide the sealed envelopes whici
You will find in certain sealed paper.
These envelopes have never been found
= Further, it is their determination +
protract the proceedings, with the hop
: that thc chief witnessnS fnr nlo;nt;tF M n
die in the interim. The countess is
lady of attractive appearance, twenty
two years of age, and the mother G
three childrdn. 1t is believed that he
mother, whose name has not yet trans
pired, but who is believed to be sti
Z living, is an English lady.