The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1886-12-23
OUT or THE JAWS OF DEATH.
Count de Lavallett's Escape from the
Fate of Marshal Ney-How He was
Saved by His Courageous Wife.

y saved by His Courageous Wife.
The presence of Col. Ney in the
United States as a delegate from France
on the occasion of the dedication of the
statue of Liberty lends an added inter-
est to the death of the Baron de Foyet,
which occurred a few days ago in this
city, writes a Paris correspondent of
The New York World. When Col
Ney's grandfather, Marshal Ney, THE
Bravest of the Brave" was shot in 1915,
with his comrades, for having given his
allegiance to Napoleon after the latter's
return from the island of Elba, the only
one who escaped was the Count de La
vallette, father of the late baroness,
who was the daughter of Emile de
Beauharnais, niece of the Empress
Josephine, was at that time 81 years of
age. The father, who SO narrowly es-
capped death, was project of the Aude
in 1882, and was drowned while fording
the River Allier in 1886.
Horace Vernet, in his picture of
'l'Evasion de la Conciergerie,' has
immortalized the scene in which the
late baroness played SO conspicuous a
part. On Nov. 20. 1915, Count de La
vallette was condemned to death by the
jury of the Seine, and was to be cxecu-
ted the following day for his allegiance
to Napoleon.
His wife, accompanied by her little
daughter, the late baroness. and a
r.4l.e,,1 r11 f,a,,,,n Io nRy,,L,,o ~ IN
the conciergerie at $3.50 p. NJ, and
asked permission of the jailer to dine
in the prison with her husband before
the execution. The jailer, who was u
itender-hearted man. %assented, when
the child begged to spend a last hour
with her father. At 7 o'clock the child
and the old femme de chanbre appear
ed at the prison gate and asked the
taller to let them pass. Leaning on
the arm of each was Mime. de LAVAL
cite. her face hidden in her handker-
chief. The child, who was crying Bit
,terly, kept the attention of the jailer
diverted from her mother. All the en-
}pioyes of the prison were present and
saw the two wome and the child leave.
Their '.identity' was established and
written in the Jail register.
A few minutes later the concierge en-
tered the cell of Count de Lavailette
and found there the condemnded mans
wife dressed in her husbands clothes.
..'Ah! madame,' he exclaimed. Il am
lost!' Madame badgered him for q
while to gain time, while her daughter
was leading her husband to safety.
The concierge, on realizing his position,
spread the news, and in a few moments
the gendarmes were in full chase after
Count dc Lavallette. But the count,
accompanied by his little daughter, had
mounted u cabriolet, and was gallop-
ing toward the Belgian frontier. Aft
ell many hair-breadth escapes he reach
ed Belgian territority next day. His
xsafe arrival in Belgium, he always
said, was due to the presence OF mind
of his 12-year-old daughter, the late
baroness.
When King Louis XVIII, newly re-
stored to the throne and filled with
hate toward the Bonapartists, heard of
the counts escape he remarked to the
DUO de Decazes, his project of police:
-"Mme. Lavallettee and her little
' daughter have only done their duty"
And after a pause he added: ''But the
chamber of deputies will say it was me
who did it."
Nine de Lavellette, her daughter, and
the femme de chambre were brought to
trial, and were defended by the then
famous lawyer, M. Dupin. A curious
feature OF the trial was that the three
were acquitted by the same jury that
had CONDEMNED Count de Lavellettee to
death a few DAYS before.
The late baroness kept Horace Yer
net picture of the Escape in a con-
spicuous part of her salon. No. SO Rue
La Ro%chefoucauld, for many years.
Opposite was a splendid picture of the
Empress Josephine and her two child
rem. Prince Eugene and Queen Hor-
tense. mother of Napoleon Ill. Among
the other ornaments of the salon were
O white marble bust of Napoleon l.. by
Canova; the field-glass which Napoleon
used at the battle of Austerlitz when
directing his legions; the saber of Mou-
Z tad :Bey. presented by the then Gen.
Bonaparte to his aid-de-camp, Count
de Lavallette, on the evening of the day
of the battle of the Pyramids.
Nine. de Lavallettee, mother OF the
late Baroness, died in 1856. in the same
mansion where HeI udlSNGtI ulcu 1A'
other day. The episode of her husbands
escape hauntedher all her life, anda few
minutes before her death she arose
from her pillow, and, addressing he1
daughter. .shrieked; ''Quick! quick!
can not detain the jailer much longer!"
The Baroness de Foyet, though always
painfully mindful Of the daring episode,
could never be induced to talk about it
When Napoleon III. came to the
throne he did not forget his cousins. the
Layalittes, but Nine. de Lavallette
would receive no favors from him and
would have nothing to do with him.
She v even visited the Tulleries.
When she died Napoleon III. sent his
aid-de-camp, in full uniform. to repre-
sent him at the funeral, for which the
late Baroness de .Foyet simply returned
a formal note OF. thanks. The baroness
held a conspicuous place among the
~aristocracy of Paris, but was always
noted for her aversion to luxurious dis.
play. She was much noted for her wit,
suitability, and charity. and her knowl'
edge of politics brought many politi