River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1878-08-22
A Curious Crime.

A Curious Crime.
4 most singular revelation has been
brought about by the demolition OF an
old house in the Rue Galere, Brest.
Thanks to little sandal-wood Golfer fill
ed with papers, which the picks of the
wurkmen uncovered, hidden behind
loose stone in the chimney, the
victim of long forgotten assassination
has been discovered to have been the last
descendant of a King.
In May, 1850, an old woman named
Benoit, who lived in this house, with a
number of other people equally poor like
herself was found dead in front of the
fire. place above mentioned. She was in
her night-dress, and, from the appear
ance of the room. had been violently
dragged from the bed, and had struggled
hard previous to expiring.
HER SKULL WAS BEATEN IN,
evidently with blows from a bludgeon
delivered with terrible violence. The
rom was horribly wrecked, as if the
murderer, orazed by blood and blinded
by rage, had experienced spite against
the very walls. Two empty brandy bot
ties and glasses on the single window
ledge suggested that the crime had fol-
lowed debauch.
A blind beggar, known as Papa Mare
chal, with whom the dead woman had
lived, was missing. He was said to have
been in the house the night before. The
police sought but found him not. AT last
an officer came upon his dog, playing with
some other cur, on quay. He watched
and followed the animal to house in the
suburbs. Papa Marechal was veritablv
there, and was at once arrested.
The blind assassin, Tor such he was,
made no attempt to deny his guilt. Hehad
long lived on bad terms with Nine. Benoit.
Her extravagant expenditure OF the fruits
of his mendicaney was the cause. On the
night of the murder both had been
drunk. She went to bed first, and he sat
before the fire drinking. From time to
time from the bed she greeted him with
taunts, curses and foul language. At
last, goaded beyond endurance, he CROPPED
his way to the bed and dragged her out.
She was powerful woman, and made
good fight of it; but he overcame her at
last, and beat out her brains with his
heavy staff. Having satisfied himself
that she was dead, he fled
Popa Marechal was sent to a hospital
under surveillanc and died there. The
crime was forgotten. Then came the re-
violation made by the box of papers,
which are. with the exception of dairy
dated 1902, chiefly the private cores
pondence of Theodore, Ex-King of
Corsica.
The Ex-King was a Westphalian adj
venture named Theodore Neuhoff, born
in 1896. In 1876, after having been
leader in their Struggle for liberty against
the Genoese, the Corsicans, in their Gen
eral assembly, elected him King.
For sometime he played at royalty,
but his growing unpopularity compelled
him to fly. He became acquainted with
almost every debtors prison on the con-
tinent. So me Amsterdam Jew at last
brought him out of jail in that city, and
in 1888 fitted out an expedition for him
to recover his dominions with. TEat at
tempt, and one in 1742, failed, and King
Theodore next turned up in England.
where, after brief and successful social
career, the bailiffs once more laid hands
on linn and introduced him to the hospi
tality of the Kings bench prison.
Among the friends he had made was
Horace Walpole The statesman interest
ed himself for the Ex-King, and while
he was holding mimic court in the jail,
raised ESQ for him by public subscrip-
ton. Thanks to this, Theodore obtained
his liberty. He was ungrateful, however,
and his benefactor abandoned him. He
died in the shop of poor tailor in Soho.
In spite of his shameful treatment of him
Walpole retained sufficient forgiveness
Tor the wretched Ex-King to erect a
tombstone over his remains in St. Anne's
Soho.
Theodore had one child by Spanish
mistress. Colonel Frederick, as he was
called, was well known eccentric. Ev-
cry one in London knew him. He was an
intimate of Count Poniatowski, afterward
King of Poland. After life of varying
distresses, ending in penury of the most
horrible sort, he borrowed pistol and
shot himself in the porch of Westminster
Abby.
He left two daughters. One married
man named Clarke, and left daughter
who obtained some fame as miniature
painter in London. The other drifted
into France, and became the mistress of
a wealthy trader at Marseilles. Her only
child was the murdered Madame Benoit.
Miss Clarke, the miniature painter, was
run over by dray and killed in 1899.
Her aunt, Madame Benoit's mother, was
poisoned, after years of an unhappy Iia6-
son, by her lover, the Marseilles mer-
chant, in fit OF jealousy. The murderer
died at the galleys. The last of the ILL
fated family persisted as we already
know.
The irony of tate pursued them to the
grave fhe snobs and tuft-huptefs of
Brest have collected subscription and
erected a monument over the grave of
the distinguished woman who died
among them" (oide the circular), "only
uncovered because she was unknown"
So the Blind Beggar's mistress and VIC
tim, the last of the line of mendicant
Corsican Royalty, enjoys at last tine salts
faction of having slab TO keep her
bones down.
Her casket has been paced in the local
museum.