Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1878-08-22
A Curious Crime.

ed with papers, which the picks of the
wurkmen uncovered, hidden behind
a loose stone in the chimney, the
victim of long forgotten assassination
has been discovered to have been the last
descendant Of 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 blud geon
delivered with terrible violence. The
rom was horribly wrecked, as if the
murderer, crazed 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 begsar, 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 veritably
there, and was at once arrested.
The blind assassin, tor such he was,
made no attempt to deny his guilt. He had
long lived On bad terms with Nine. Benoit.
Her extravagant expenditure OF the fruits
Of his mendicancy 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 a
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-
velation 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 ad-
venture named Theodore Neuhoff, born
in 1896. In 1876, after having been a
leader in their stl uggle 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 acqua nted with
almost every debtors prison on the con-
tinent. So me Amsterdam Jew at last
brought him out of jai. in that city, and
in 1888 fitted out all expedition for him
to recover his dominions with. Trat at
tempt, and one in 1742, failed, and King
Theodore next turned up in England,
where, after a brief and successful social
career, the bailiffs once more laid hands
on linn and introduced BIN 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 $50 for him by public subscrjp-
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
Ior the wretched Ex!King to erect a
tombstone over his remains in St. Anne 8
churchyard, Soho.
Theodore had one child by Spanish
mistress. Colonel Frederick. as he was
called, was we'll 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. i. ~ f., =:
=. He left two daughters. One married q
J man FAMED Clarke, and left daughter
who obtained some fame as miniature
painter in Lohdon. The other drifted
into France, and became the mistress of
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 1929.
Her aunt, Madame Benoit's mother, was
poisoned, after years Of an unhappy liai-
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. =. ,.:... ..:,:,3.;,5..:t ,:,'.g ...,,.
y" The: irony of fate pursued them to the
grave. The snobs' and tuft-hupters of
erected a monument over the grave of
the adistinguuished woman who died
among them" (o;de the circular), "only
unrevered 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 the salts
faction of having slab to keep her
moidering bones down. s.,.~,. =, ...l. A.
- Her casket has been placed in the local
museum. 4'it 'a@,';2 go H. :'.:s>'s'' =:
: u =