Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-22
an AnrERIoAN ROMANCE
Strange Narrative of Unrequited Low,
and Imprisonment.

Strange Narrative of Unrequfted Love
and Imprisonment.
The young lady imprisoned against her
viii in a convent at Breust, in Holland.
as reported in the st. Louis Globe Demo
crat, is Miss Emma de Hodiamont. of this
city, and the story Of her mysterious si-
lenee as related by her grandmother
seems more like romance than reality.
Mrs. A. p. Breen, who resides at No.
2s4l Clark avenue, Is a pleasant old
lady and was very averse TO talking
about the affair to reporter who called
upon her yesterday afternoon. She said
she was sorry the unfortunate af-
fair had been brought to public notice,
and it was difficult to persuade her to
speak Of the outrageous treatment to
winch her granddaughter is being sub
| Jected. The facts were only Obtained az
/ ter a vigorous cross-examinatfdh and the
/ lady requested that for the sake of Miss
/ dc HOdlamOnt the matter be Invested of
] its sensational features.
EMMA IS the daughter Of nv son,
| George de HodiamOnt," the old lady said.
''she was born in this city twenty-one
years ago, and was educated here. MY
/ nrst husband, Count de HOdiamont was
a member of the Belgian nobility, and l
belong 10 the Elder family, of Emmitts-
burg, Md. Archbishop Elder, of Cincin-
| natl, is relative of mine. When Emma
| was 10 years Of age her relatives in Hol-
land were very anxious that she should
come there to finish her education.
her cousin, Count Alphonse de Resi-
mont. came to this country in 1879. and
visited st. Louis. He persuaded us TO let
Emma accompany him to Europe, and in
the fall of that year she reached Breust
and was placed in a convent. We heard
from her regularly and at short intervals
until about eight months ago, when
all correspondence ceased. have written
70 Emma again and again, but no response
mas ever come. Some weeks since a re-
port reached me Indirectly that nv
gTahuuaugnter was restrained in
the cOnvent-shut of from the
world and not allowed to COM
lnunicate with her friends. | could hard
~ credit such news, but her prOtracted
silence appears to confirm the suspicious
tnat there was something wrong. The
Count de Resimont wrote me about a
month ago and asked for the allowance of
money which has been regularly sent to
hlm- de said nothing in the letter about
Emma, and gave no reasons why she did
not write to me. / thought his letter was
very peculiar, and | was greatly worried
about my granddaughter. In her letters
Emma spoke in the highest terms of the
Sisters of the convent, and said thew were
unremitting in kindness toward her.
cannot believe that they are responsible
for her detention.
You want to know my idea of the
strange silence of my granddaughter
Before give it, understand that it is only
a theory which may or NAV not be con-
hrmed by later developments. l am of
the opinion that Count de Resimont
wants tn u.
refused to listen to his proposals. She is
spirited girl with will of her own, and
can not be driven to anything abhorrent
TO her. She has considerable money. but
not enough to be called an heiress or ex-
cite the cupidlty of a nobleman
IN need of money. l can assign
no other reason for her failure 70
write me, and the Counts letter tends to
confirm my fears, don't you think so?
have written to the parties who gave the
information that she is imprisoned in the |
convent, but do not expect to hear from
them for week or twOyet. Yes. asked
rather Brennan to communicate with
The State authorities at Washington, and
he did so last month. Yesterday we re-
ceived word that the American Minister
IN Holland had been ordered to look into. |
the case. | took this course because |
L want TO surprise the Count before he |
can be put on his guard. The matter will |
be sifted to the bottom, l hope, and nv |
granddaughter, if she is detained against |
her will, released. When Emma went |
away she expected to stay three or four |
years, but with the privilege of returning |
home whenever she desired. She ALWAYS |
expressed herself satisfied. On previous
summers since her absence she was |
allowed vacation, which was devoted TO |
travel, and | heard from her frequently. |
but in the last eight months not one word |
has come to me from my darling grand |
child"
Perhaps you would like to see her pic
turer'
Mrs. Breen then opened a small photo
graph alPHJmE lalnYddnt, " Witch was taken in
Liege, Germany, in 1883. 1t shows a very
pretty girl, rather short in stature, brown
hair, large brown eyes, and an intelli-
gent, yivacious expression. Mrs. Breen
turned over a few pages and, pointing to
a photograph, remarked: ''That is the
Count de ResimOnt." The individual re-
ferred to is not, judging from his picture,
a man to inspire much love in the heart |
of a young girl. He has fat, broad face,
covered with a thick sandy beard. His |
eyes are very prominent, he wears spec
tacles, and the general appearance of |
the man is not inviting. The Count is |
is between 40 and As years of age. Mrs. |
Breen, nee de Hodiamont, is evidently a |
lady of refinement, and talks in an easy, |
pleasant way, which carries conviction |
to the listener. She exhibits a quiet de- |
termination to clear the mystery which |
envelOps her granddaughter, but desires |
to attain her object without notoriety. |
The Old lady is being actively supported |
by Father Brennan, who takes a deep |
interest in the case, and through the in |
fuence of Congressman O'Neill, the !
United States Government has been |
prompted to take vigorous measures to |
discover the true cause for Emma de |
Hodiamont's failure to communicate with |
her friends and relatives in America.