New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-10
A MASTER OF TRICKERY.
THE FINE MANNERS AND LOOSE MORALS
OF THE DIG DECAZES.

The late Duo Decazes was a curious specimen OF
fne-geutleman-s winolsr. and of man with the
lindest disposition possible and many charming
qualities though wholly bercft of moral sense He
had an intellectual perception of what the world
externally required of him, but otherwise was
nnder restraint unless that imposed by his kindly
pature. Americans who aspred to go into what is
held the best. In the of being the most fash
ionable society tancied they were admitted to the
topmost range of the social ladder when the Due
and Duchesse Decazes invited them to their dinners
and receptions No doubt they met the Orleans
Princes aud all the nObled ennobled and uon-
ennobcd sOuebodes and nob1dies who hung on to
their Royal Highnesses. But they risked neverthe
less finding themselves in very queer company.
The master of the house had any amount of skee-
tonsin hls cupboard. and so also had the mistress
of the house Her mother. the daughter of an
itinerant Jewish dealer in spectacles and pnchbeck
Jew ery made use of the Due Decazes in the inter
est of Baron Hrsch and other fnancieIs of Vienna,
of which city she was a native The Due had not
only lot of skeletons" of his own creation. but
he was brought up among his fathers. who had got
together enough 10 furnish gallery of the cata-
combs.
Who. exactly was the Duc' He was the son of
Bordeaux lawyer very much connected with the
Portuguese Jews of that city early in the GENTRY,
who was SLIPPERY adrOit. interruptions. of charming
address and who when he the star of Napoleon
on tie wane. after the unsuccessful end of the at
tempt TO conquer Spain became active agent of
the Comte de Provence lafterward Louis XVIII.
who then residing az Hartwell. in England.
When that Prince was brought back to France by
the Allies, he became his prime favorite and was
created Duc-the highest grade OF nobility. He
also became as they say in France, rdmi ddmn6e Of
the Due dOrleans Louis Philippel entered into the
closest relations with HIM. worked upon-the King
not only to restore contrary 10 the law which bad
come into force at the Revolution. and which has
never been annnlled- the apDanages Ct the House of
Orleans but to Mace them the footing of private
property These appanages then worth up
ward of 500. 600 year. But the Duo Decazes was
unable TO obtain for Due d'Orleans the rank at
court OF Royal Hghness. He was merely prince
of the Blood ROya, having as such precedence of
the COndes who were more remotely related TO the
Crown and was obliged when he went to the
Tulleries 10 separate from his wife a daughter of
s1he Xii of Naples who such ranked next to the
ladies of the reiCnng family Well. the intimacy
of.M. DecSzes and the Due d'Orleans. who hungered
and th.rsed regal power and Neas arch and
utterly INSCRIPTIONS intriguer. became great
that the former when the Due de Berri assas-
snated was accused of having known of Louvefs
intention and-done nothing a. Minister of the In
terror to prevent it being executed The person
was Louis Philippe. who. the Aniou branch of the
House of Bourbon being the throne of Spain,
was in order OF succession to the throne next TO the
Son Of Charles Y, g., the murdered Due de Berri.
Louis XVIII had received warning that blow
was med taied which would destroy the vitality of
the elder branch and had shown the letter an
anonymous one 10 the Due Decazes and instructed
him to act on it. Read by the light Of the subse-
quent tragedy. it clearly written by somebody
I
was done and not only was the Due Decazes dis
graced, hut when his II 1871 solicited at Yer
sal es. where the Comte de Chambord was staying
incoguito. an audience. that Prince Re fused it
the ground that it wonld in become hs fathers
10 admit TO his presence the Sc of one whose mem
DRY stained by the crime Of LouveL
lWel. when Lous Philippe came to the throne the
exfavorte and diss raced Minister of the Interior
of LOuis XVIII. came to the top of the wheel He
was made grand rcfercHdGire of the House OF Peers
and admitted To the inner circle of the Royal fam
lily. Jobs pointed out to him by the King and
when his the Due who has Just died was
scarcely more than schOObOv, he en- tered diplo-
macy and Gnizot was instructed by Louis Philippe
10 push Linn in the career He was then Duke OF
Glucksburg in Denmark. Why he q zen that
title Ly the King OF Denmark | do not well reu,em-
Der Bat al the age Of five and twenty he sent
to Portugal as Minister Plen pOtentiary. and then.
the same capacity. 20 Spain where he in
ISIS wien the news reached Madrid of the Revolu-
ton which upset Louis Philippe He resigned.
But rs through the fundamentally Of the Due de
Montpenser he obtcined from the Spanish Govern
ment the concession of the Huelva copper mines.
be came back to Paris to place" his grant and
The better to do so made up to the Provisional Gov
eminent and then 10 the Executive Comm ttee.
Duclerc who was in the latter and Garuier- Pages,
no vns in he former with his "a "a yue
Jew Cremieux. went into the Huelva affair, as did
also Barthelemy st. Hllaire Decazes was MADE
director.
The mine had great capacities, but it did
nothing in immediate profits. An English company
had its eye upon it. and wanted TO buy it, cheap
Deca-es who hard up las he nearly always
was. II SAID engaged to depreciate the Huelva
stock for a large sum of money. and did this with
such lite lgence that the shares fell very ,ow the
English syndicate bought them up and very few
OF the original shareholders remained in the affair.
The Due sold his part Of the stock before he
mane ivred for a fall. An engineer and deputy, NJ.
Pernolet tells NE that il be mad kept it he
would have been worth $500 900 a year at the time
Of his death. Barthclemy St. Hiaire sold the
greater part of what had been allotte to him. He
never spoke in my hearing OF Decazes unless in
terms Of sovereign contempt. Senator It HIlare is
all round a. true steel and though very kind and
afeculOnae. a Spartan. On May -. 1873, he
almost Cuarrelled with NJ Theirs about the Due
Decazes who had offered the Chief of the Execu-
tive to draw to his side number of Orleanists
at the debate which was TO come of on May "a.
Theirs was willing But ST. Hllare said that lie
would ash his hands of the Executive. of which
he essential portion. If man who only
thought of shady Bourse SD, u IONS were adj
mitted INTO the secrets OF the Government N. Ed
mond Adam. hearing What was inten led, also went
to the Executive Mansion to protest against NJ.
Decazes receiving portfolio " hen Pre.ect of
Police NJ. Adam IN going over the Secret Service
registers had found that the early years Of the
Tmn;re the Bordelals Duc had received 50 400