The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-09-30
Matrimonial Agencies in Paris.


went to the Paris residence of NJ de F.,
the celebrated marriage broker, and
thaying paid the preliminary fee of f40,
explained thatbe came on behalf of a
cousin who, although possessed of a
handsome fortune and good title, was
anxious to increase his worldly goods
by contracting a wealthy marriage. My
friend further asserted that he acted in
his ownname and without the authority
of his cousin, but that the consent of
the latter, should anything acceptable
be proposed, he Gould answer for. NJ.
de F. at first demurred, and asserted
that he was not in the habit of dealing
with less than at least one person di-
rectly interested in matrimonial pro-
ject; but my friends eloquence. not to
speak of the thOusand-franc note, at
length prevailed and the great matri-
monial agent unbosomed himself.
His terms were eight per centum on
the dot, and this to be paid within the
first year after the celebration of the
marriage. OF course my friend con-
sented. Then NJ. de f. explained that,
should nothing be definitely decided on
and the attempt fail, no further expenses
would be incurred, the f40 covering all.
This pleased my friend still more, for
he confessed to me that he had feared
/ he should not be allowed to leave the
sanctum of the magician without part
/. ing with at least another fifty louis.
These preliminaries having passed off
to the satisfaction of both parties, NJ de
f. opened an immense desk and took
out from it bulky notebook, in which
my friend solemnly alleges were in
scribed the name, age, fortune, dispo-
sition and social status of every heiress
not only in France, but in Belgium,
Austria, Holland, Italy, England and
every other country in sEurope. M.
de +. airily explained that The de.
spised American heiresses, as their for
tunes could never, be relied upon. NJ.
de f. read out his list, somewhat as fol-
lows ''Four millions, orphan, red
hair, two-and-twenty, subject to cpl
lepsy, clever, but strongminded; prop
erty all real estate noble family, Bel
gian." Give millions, widow, very
susceptible, dark, may or may not have
had lovers, but there is no scandal at
taching to her name; French, good
bourgeois family very fond of titles,
but prefers men in the army will not
marry man under forty is herself
five-and-t thirty property partly in rail-
way shares and partly in French Gov
eminent stock :" and so on dd inffVitunl.
My friend was thunderstruck, and at
first half believed that the list was
purely an imaginary one and merely
bait thrown out to attract hungry fish.
This doubt was, however, soon dis
PEELED when he selected one out of the
many heiresses offered to him, and
when M. de F., looking upon the mat
ter as settled, calmly stated the name
of the young lady, my friend discover
ing to his establishment that he knew
the family intimately, and that NJ. de
f. S intelligence and details were abso-
lutel y correct in every particular.
He then explained his system. "Of
course, Monsieur lie Comte," he said,
'.it is needless to tell you that these
ladies do not come to me themselves
and seek for husbands. When lady
has a large fortune and is anxious to
get married she has no need of matri-
monial agent. 1t is her friends, parents
or guardians who come to me-in nine
cases out of ten without her knowledge
and, possessing influence over her,
offer the heiress to me, in consideration
of fee arranged between us, of course
provided | can, among my clients, find
a suitable partner The whole thing is
perfectly simple, and the wife need
never suspect anything. From the
names 1 have Just mentioned you can
see for yourself that many of my clients,
both male and female, belong to the
best nobility of, Europe, ard in fact 1
think | can say without vanity that l
have had something directly or indi-
rectly to do with most of the leading
matrimanial alliances which have taken
place in France in the last thirty years,
although since the fall of the second
empire business has become rather
slack ..
What can be more terrible than this?
Little does the Duchesse Fouille de
Persil dream as she dashes out to the
Bots de Boulogne that her only and
well-beloved daughter is being bought
and sold in dingy little room near the
Boulevard Poissouniere by her dear and
intimate, though INSCRIPTIONS and I'M
pecunious friend, the Marquise Huppe
de la Deche. The Duchesse has I'M
bounded confidence in the Marquise,
and has given her carte blanche to bring
any of his friends to her house, and
when the young Vicomte de la Poisse is
introduced-a charming man, and one
whose birth and title are above suspic-
ion-he meets with a most cordial re-
ception. D. -t
The rest is aeon done; the Vicomte is
represented to the mother as being the
very model of young men, Madame la
Marquise uses her influence in every
conceivable and inconceivable way, and
in nine cases out of ten the marriage
comes off. Madame la Marquise, M. la
Vicomte and the matrimonial agent all
having a large plum out of the pie, the
mother and daughter never suspecting
anything. More than three-quarters of
the marriages in France-and in the
grande-nsonde, mind you-are brought
about in this way; for, apart from the
professional matrimonial agents, smost {
of the abbes and .erres add to their in-
comedy mixing in matrimonial intrigues
OF, this nature. .gy .'...t, ...
As matter offact, indeed, the priests
are the most powerful OF all matrimonial
agents, for the family confessor exer-
cises the greatest influence and is sup
posed to be above all suspicion. Who
can wonder after this that so many mar
riages in France end in misery and sep
aration, and that M. Naquet meets with
support when advocating divorce?
There is no remedy for this evil, for
one cannot discover it, aud in some in
stances both the bride and the bride
groom are alike ignorant that the fact
of their standing before the altar is q