Omaha daily bee., 1883-02-26
POOR SOPHIE aALlTzIN.
The Beautiful ana Naughty YOU G
Duchess OF Chsulnes Dies
Alone in q Humble
Cottage.

A short, sensational and sorrowfu
life was brought to q close on Wednes
day, when the duchess OF Chsulnei
(nee Princess Sophie Galitzin) died al
the age Of twenty. five in q humble
cottage In La Villette. She was mar.
Red In 1875 to the duke of Chsulnes,
and their feeble little children are
the last survivors OF the great house
| Of Luynes, the foundations of whose
fortunes we're laid by d'Albert, 6rs,
page to Louis Kill, afterwards Don.
stable Of France. He and his two
brothers once we're compelled to make
their visits to court semi. weekly be.
cause they only had n gala costume
between them; q little while later and
each was the husband Of an heiress
and had been adopted into a family Of
tho ancient nobility. The matri.
monial successes OF the Luynes are
chronioled by Saint Simon and Other
writer's of his time. OF late
years the hand of death
and misfortune has bsen heavy
on the family. The duke Of Chev,
reuse was killed by q fall from his
horne In 1854. His elder son, who
served In the Pontiicial kouAves, wa,
killed while leading q battalion Of
Mobiles In the war Of 1871. The
younger son, whose widow has Just
died, never recovered from the effects
OF the same severe campaign In which
he was wounded. Their sister died
suddenly. Their mother, the duchsss
OF C~hevreuse, who still survives, Il an
energetic, ambitious and impiioabl.
little woman, . devotee In religion,
and perhaps also slightly deranged
through her mlsfortunes. Her sons
marriage with the beautiful and dash.
ings Sophie Galitizin, . daughter Of
the Prince Augustin, who sacrificed
an estate Of $140, 900 a year by abjur.
Ing the Greek faith for the Catholic,
was q sore trial for the duchess Two
women could not very well be I'm.
sgined who we're less likely to get on
together. The bride wAs gsy-almost
wild-hiIh tempered, fond Of society
and hunting; the mother. n.law austere
and impatient Of opposition. As for
the husband, the last spark Of his
ancestral energy seems to have burned
out during the campaign against
the Prusaiaas, and he has been repre-
scented as 80 lazy that he took his meals
and was shaved In bed, and only
the blankets to 20 to
chapel under his mothers watohful
eye.
1t Is not quito q year since tho
''duel Of the duchesses" s~candalized
French society. Had they been fab.
wives instead of representatives of
two of tho great families of France
and Russia they could not have abused
each other more virulently, and,
whichever side was to be believed,
tho revelations Of aristocratic life were
even less savory than those that crosa-
actions FOR assault aad battery are
to provoke In q police
court In Q disreputable neighborhood.
The duke sof Chaulnes had died and
the custody Of his children had been
intrusted to their grandmother; for
their possession his widow contended,
alleging q ssries Of prosecutions and
outrages that did not yield In their
romantic and thrilling character to
anything recorded In the literature Of
the inqnisition. The young duchess
alleged that she Wal shut up In Q ooun-
try mansion and nagged perpetuslly;
that when sick 1t was not her mother
ln.law's fault II she recovered, and
that the elder lady, msddsnsd at her
sons marriage, infamed his mind With
and did her utmost to com
promise her daughter -in-law. The
duke was induced to depart on the
voyage, which has furnished
an incident for tho plots Of how many
novels and dramas, and re-.
Unexpectedly at night
proceeded to ''drsw" his
apartments, accompanied
by all the Inmates OF the chateau,
and servants, afterwards com
pelling her to appear In the hall and
upon her knees confess her infdelity
md plead for the forgiveness of which
The was unworthy. On another COCA.
lion the young duchess was awakened
rom her beauty. sleep to behold tho
spectacle Of one priest at the
head Of her bed and q second at Its
loot. They duly prayed over Its
occupant, aud stood aside
Shile the old duchess produced q ps.
per and babe her sign or die. Mime
lie Chauines sprapg from her couch
md fled towards the door, but her
husband appeared at the portal to cut
III her retreat with q cooked revolver,
md she had to sign the document and
herself unworthy to have the
of her children. And when her
husband Was dying, despite his
and her freIzied ploadings,
tho was refused the last sorrowfui
of cloaing his eyes, and
thrust from the gates penniless and
The young duchess did
aot deny having signed the oompro-
documents, but insisted that
her will had been forced by threats Of
and she gave the final romantic
touch to her case by attempting the
Of her children. Aided by
= gentleman who was said to have de-.
passion for her and to have
received the promise of her hand and
heart - soon a. he had comprised the
rescue Of the little ones from their
grandmother, and provided .
maid. servant and Q retainer,
In IN ample cloak, to steal
the children, q closed carriage with re-
lays Of horses being In readiness, and
q fishing. smack awaiting the psrty'r
at the sesshore. The plot,
ho viewer, m~isoarried.
One story is prcverbially good until
another hos been told, and when the
duchess Of Chevreuse came to put In
her evidence she alleged the existence
an altogether different state Of
limos She inaiatad that tba u,,ou