The Osceola times., 1881-03-05
FROM PALACE TO Howell.
A Simple Death Notice Brings Out the
History of French Count.



New York star.
II was a simple notice in the coroners
Office of Coroner wanted at No. lU2
Wooster street, 10 grant burial permltio
the body Of Ida Marguerite dAgremont,
that brought out the story of French
man, who, although count, was COM
PEELED 10 follow the humble avocation OF
a newspaper carrier. Nine. Agreements
history was am uneventful one, save that
she was the wife of a French noble whose
family genealOgy goes back to the time
of Charlemagne, while she was simple
and hard-working German woman, who
washed and scrubbed for living. Mrs.
Agreement died on Monday night in her
fifty-third year, of pulmonary disease,
aggravated by the inhalation of coal gas.
The woman not having been attended by
physician for some time before her
DEATH it was necessary for the coroner TO
view the remains. When Coroner Knox
visited the miserable room occupied by
Nine. d'Agremont, in the etenement-house
at No. l02 Wooster street, he found in 1t
number of French people surrounding
poorly-dressed man, with a distln-
guished air and soldierly bearing, whom
they respectfully addressed as monsieur
lie count"
Monsieur d'Agremont. as the husband
of the woman preferred being addressed,
but whose full title is Count August de
Biragues-d Agreement, is a descendant OF
Beris DJserte, one of the mobiles of the
court of Charlemange. He is related TO
d'Agremont-Linden, formerly minister of
foreign affairs of Belgium, and to Di
Birague, privy councillor TO Charles
Albert, the grandfather of the present
king of Italy. Compte fAgreInont was
born in his ancestral castle, between the
villages of st. German des Pres and
Gyles Nonaines, in the department Loi-
rette, during the time Of the French res
tOratiOn, and is now about sixty.five
years of age. The family fortune had
been considerably diminished by the
French revolution, when the government
coniiscated nearly all their property. lie
was educated in the Ecole Militaire, and
entered the French military service
where he commanded a squadron in the
Chasseurs DAfrique. In 1879 during the
Indian mutiny, he threw up his commits
sion and entered the service of Nina
Sahib who made him rigadier-general.
When the mutiny was suppressed, dAgre-
mont came to this country, where he
married his late wife. To obtain a live
lihood he sold papers to the French resi-
dents of the Eighth and Fifteenth wards,
among whom he is familiarly known as
Le,Comte." Hebecame an American citl-
zen and discarded portion of his name
signing himself plain August Il Agremont
Among the French people with whom he
came in contact, the old gentleman has
always been respected. Daily he visited
the office OF the Courier Des Etats JHis,
and, with military carriage and bundle
of newspapers under his arms, he can be
seen every day supplying his customers
in ann about the French quarter about
Greene and Houston streets A Star re-
porter called on Monsieur d'Agremont at
80 West Houston street, where he is
boarding, and conversed with him.
Monsieur De Comte," the reporter
said, in the course of the conversation,
but the old gentleman checked him with;
II am an American citizen; | am not
now a count, although | am the head of
one Of the oldest of the haute noblesse of
France" When he understood that he
was talking to reporter, VI. d'Agremont
waxed indignant and said:
II do not want to be dragged from the
obscurity which | have sought. | wish
to remain as | am, and do not want to
figure in the papers,
But NJ. dAgremont, you sell the
papers, and unless there is something in
them to interest people. you must know
very well that people will not buy them"
"Yes, that is so,' philosophically said
the old gentleman, and he continued
Il dissertation on American institutions.