The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-25
DELESSEPS'WIFEU UNTRUE
THE COUNT MADE MISERABLE BY
HRR EsCAPADES.

Several Duels Fought by Charles de
Lesseps In an Attempt to Silence
Scandalmongers-The Castle Quite
the Opposite From the Cheerless
Place she Has Pictured It.
LONDON, Dec. A-The appeals of Nine.
Ferdinand de Lesseps 10 the popular sympa-
thy In the last week have proved a failure
Her description OF Castle la Chenaye as
bare barn, insufficiently heated and furn-
ished, is contradicted by hundreds of
Parisians who have visited the De Lesseps
family seat in the last two years. The
fact is, as everybody in Paris in high
life knows, that the president of the
Panama Canal Company has surrounded
himself with all the luxury that his social
station required, and has prided himself
especially upon the richness of comfort
which he has been able TO afford all visitors
&c his present residence. Nine. de Les
seps has been especially anxious to shine as
an entertainer. and has spent, as she still
spends, the old mans money with q lavish
hand. She is, therefore, hated cordially by
the poor people In France, who have lost
heavily by their investments Ia the Panama
enterprise. Az the same time she gets
little sympathy in Paris from the
friends OF the de Lesseps family. who
have spread industriously in the last few
days some astonishing statements as to her
influence In breaking down the aged en-
glneer's mental and physical strength. They
say that for the last twelve years, or ever
since the inception Of the canal enterprise,
Count de Lesseps has been so harassed and
betrayed by his young wife that he has
been hardly accountable for his words
or actions. She was 16 years old
when Count de Lesseps married her and he
had passed CO. For the first seven or eight
years their life was happily spent Then
she began q career Of reckless unfaithful-
ness under her husbands own roof. At her
instance he entertained lavishly at CaStle
Ia Chenaye. Under pretext OF exceptional
hospitality she made excursions with guests
which always resulted in a small scandal
within the household. Once, a friend of
Charles de Lesseps says, she ran away with
French senator TO Nice and did not re-
turn until Charles de Lesseps, who hastened
after the couple, had driven away her COM
panion at the point Of a revolver and had
given her the choice between divorce or i'm
mediate departure for home.
DUELs FOUGHT OVER HER.
Charles de Lesssps, it Is said, has already
fought duels with men who had cast doubts
upon his relationship to the youngest
three children OF his step mother. In
fact in recent years everybody In Paris soci-
matter to mention the name of Ferdinand
de Lesseps In her step-son's presence. That
her husband was tormented day and night
by her conduct was generally known, and
il was equally apparent that he failed men,
tally and physically under his domestic
burden. Several times he was driven
almost TO the point of suing for divorce,
but every time desisted in the interest of
| the canal company, which he believed
would suffer from the stigma placed by the
scandal upon his name. Before his arrest
Charles de Lesseps said significantly that his
father had been too much occupied with
private matters to observe the methods of
the company. He referred undoubtedly to
the painful distraction afforded by the me-
cessity Of guarding Nine. de Lesseps At
present Mime. de LeSseps possesses her dis
graced husbands bedside for several rea-
sons. She is anxious to get as much as pos
sible of his money when he dies, and she
wishes to oonciliate Charles and Victor de
Lesseps SO that they will leave her Ia peace
full possession.