The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-05-28
A PLOT FOR A PLAYWRIGHT.
Frenchy Incidents in the Lives Of
a Pair of French Lovers.

ILondon Standard.
In 1869 young man named Alfred
Gilbert fell in love with young girl of
the name of Gabrielle Coran. They
both belonged to poor families, and both
lived in the neighborhood of the Palais
Royal. After courting in secret for
some months, the young man demanded
the band of his sweetheart, but her
father, who was an ardent Bonapartist
and occupieda stall in one of the public
offices. refused his consent ON the ground
of the Republican opinions held by Gill
bert. The young couple then resolved
to run away together, and one night the
girl disappeared from home. After a
weeks search the father found them
living together in a suburban retreat
On the promise of forgiveness and con-
sent to their marriage the girl returned
home to her parents, but the father de-
clined to keep his word and began to
look out for another son-in-law.
Driven to despair, Gabrielle Coran
again eloped with her lover, and the two
determined to commit suicide. For this
purpose they hired a room in small
Inn at Plessis Piquet. The young man
bought a revolver and the young woman
a packet of lucifer matches. Gabrielle
Coran first of all tried to poison herself
with decoction of the matches. This
failing, she told her lover to fire bullet
into her heart. Alfred Gilbert fired,
and without waiting to see the effects of
the shot discharged a second bullet into
his own head. Neither wound was,
however, fatal. Both were taken to
the hospital, where they re-
mained two months. The bull
let in the girls body was extracted,
but the other bullet still remained in
the skull of the young man. where it
has ever since been. Gilbert was about
to be tried for attempting to shoot his
mistress, when the war broke out and
put stop to the sittings of the Assizes.
As the Germans marched into Paris and
the siege became imminent, the authori-
ties wanting all the able-bodied men pos
sible to defend the city, consented to let
him out of prison for the moment, on
the condition of his enrolling himself in
some active corps and promising not to
seek after Gabrielle .Coran. He joined
the sharpshooters of the Ternes Quar-
tier, and distinguished himself SO much
in the Buzenval sortie that he was men,
toned on the military order of the day.
The war over and peace proclaimed, he
returned to the hands of justice to un-
dergo his trial, but once more fate step
ped in and postponed it. The Commune
arose, and all the public powers having
withdrawn to Versailles, the city was
left in the hands of the insurrectionists,
who opened the prison doors and enrolled
the inmates, among them Alfred Gilbert.
The young man does not appear to have
taken conspicuous part in the insurrec-
ton. However, he was tried by court
martial in 1871, and sentenced to trans
portation to New Caledonia, where he
remained till a few months ago, when he
was amnestied. He has just arrived in
Paris and given himself up to the legal
| authorities to 90 through his trial for The
deed he committed at Plessis Piquet ten
years ago.
But the painful part of the story re.
mains to. be told. Gabrielle Coran is
now the wife of well-to-do merchant
with several children, highly respected,
and of irreproachable character. For.
getting the folly of her tender years, and
believing Gilbert dead and buried, she
married, but kept the tragic love drama
of 1870 a secret from her husband.