The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-01-30
aAMBETrA AND NINE. LEON
F:om the New York Sun.

PARIS, Jan. LINE acClothG VI au"oAi
ture which led to Gambetta's death occur
red in the very house where Balzc wrote
tire last pages of his human COMEDY Oh
which Gambetta's own career might wen
have formed chapter. l say accident or
adventure. What is the truth? 1t is
aim at impossible to ascertain, so care
fulIy has the whole affair of the illness OF
M Gambetta been enveloped in mystery.
tt will he remembered that in the very De
ginning of December it was reported that
N Gambetta had accidently WOUNDED
himself at Vile d Array, where ne hau
his country house. The report affirmed
that the ball entered the palm of the hand
and penetrated along the forearm ana
found an issue near the elbow 1his
description of the wound seemed queer
and Immediately another report was CIT
culated that NJ Gambetta had Deen snot
at. Then it was affirmed by persons VINO
were reckoned among the friends OF NJ
Gambetta that he had been shoI a' oy
Nine. Leonie Leon Bordeaux, the mother
of his ;llegitimate son. Frenchmen in
their search for gossip and in their love
of scandal and depreciation are so motor
iously regardless of facts that | must DIS
ayow. all responsibility for these details.
Since the accident, if accident 1t be, nave
couversed frequently with many persons
who were intimate with Gambetta with
ont having acquired absolute gertrude on
any one point relative TO It,
For instance. there is this son OF Gam
BETA, the young Alphonse Leon, who IS
studying at Dresden under the care OF NJ
Hessele, the German correspondent OF the
republoue Franchise. Alphonse Leon IS
now II years of age. Is he the son OF
M. Gambetta? Some of nj. Gamoetta 5
friends say that he is only an adopieo
child. and neither the son of nj. Gamoet-
ta's nor of Nine Leon. The legend, never
tbeless. relates that it was in the course OF
a discussion on the subject of this boy
that Nine. Leon fired at Gambetta. An
other legend current, not in the news
papers, but in the salons, is that the DIS
cussion was not on the subject OF the ooy'
but of the proposed marriage with the
Marquise Arconati Nlscontl
/ remember some three years ago, when
NJ Gambetta was at the apogee OF ms
glory. a marriage was projected between
him and Nine. Arnaud de I Ariege, owner
of the splendid Chateau des Crestes, near
Clasens, on the lake of Geneva, where the
statesman used to go regularly for several
wears and play at ninepins with the talth-
full Spuller and genial Lepere. Suddenly
this projected marriage was broken OF,
spoken of as the cause of the rupture.
At that time Gambetta had taken it IN
to his head that the republic was wanting
in women, and he encouraged several
| Taleyrandds in petticoats to open polltl-
cal salons in Paris Among these ladies
the two leaders were Nine. Edmond
Adam, who had too much personal amolt-
ion to continue long the friend of the
occult dictator, and the Marqnise Arcon-
att Visconti This lady is the daughter OF
| the republican publicist and deputy,
Peyrat, who distinguished himself under
| the empire in the Baudin affair and IN the
Roman question. Mile. Peyrat. after a
miscellaneous and strange education, con
quered marchioness coronet and I'M
| mense wealth simply by force of her wit
and beauty. / say nothing about the
heraldic quality Of this coronet, The
Marauise Arconati is no ordinary woman.
That suffices However, after the Chat
eau des Crestes, it was the Chateau Arcon-
All on the lake of Como that had the
honor of sheltering M. Gambetta durln
his summer vacation, and 1t was at the
REQUEST of NJ Gambetta that the Marqulse
Arconati left the blue sky of Italy and
bought fine mansion in the Rue Baroet
de Jouy at Paris, in the fitting up OF "hlch
M. Gambetta had a hand. 1t must be
confessed that II M 0afnpetta was Sioa'
orator. he was a poor house decorator.
He made the mansion remind one at once
of the CIuny Museum and of the Turkish
baths of the Hammam.
Once more / repeat that do not guar
antee the details of this current gossip
but if had not reason to believe there
was some foundation of fact, | should not
record them. THEODORE CHILD.
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