Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-09-03
STOLE TEN MILLIONS,
II markable Criminal Career of q Rouman-
ian Princess.

h HisirHaDie criminal Career Of q RounAn-
ian Princess.
Paris Correspondence New York Tribune
Princess Gortchakof. whose magnificent
house in the Fsubourg St. Germain in Paris has
been the scene of SO many brilliant festivities
during the last two or three seasons, has lust
been informed Of the fact that the supreme
court of appeals in Bucharest had rendered
decision against her in the law suit which had
been brought against her BY her brother, Prince
Gregory Stourdzs, for the recovery of the major
part OF the enormous fortune which came into
her possession at the death Of her mother at
Baden-Baden about four years ago.
At the time of the old Princess Stourdza's
death her daughter, Princess Gortchakoff was
the only member of the family who was with
her. 1t was well known to the friends and rela-
tives OF Nine. de Stourdza that she was in the
habit of wearing day and night a soft leather
belt, strapped around her body, containing all
her most valuable securities Jewels and title
deeds. That this belt Was there in its place at
the moment of her death is shown by the sworn
evidence of the two Sisters of Mercy who tended
her throughout her last Illness
During the night which followed the demise
her daughter spent several hours with the corpse
and the next day when it was placed in the
coffin the Sisters of Mercy noticed that the belt
had disappeared. Nor was this all It appears
from the evidence given during the numerous
lawsuits which have taken place on the subject.
both IN France and Roumania, that in the very
moment when the death agony Of the old prin-
cess began her daughter, Nine. de Gortchakof,
dispatched a telegram to Paris summoning q
clever locksmith, Landrey, who was known to
have designed the locks of the four steel safes
in which the old woman boarded all such of her
yaiUables as she was unable to get into her
leather belt.
Landrey arrived on the evening before the
funeral and spent the whole night with Mime.
de Gortchakoff in picking the locks of the safes.
the keys Of which had been so carefully hidden
away b. the old lady that it was impossible to
tind them. When at length the local authori-
ties presented themselves at the villa to make
the duly prescribed inventory of the property
left by the deceased il was discovered that over
slO,OOOO0O had mvsteriously disappeared, and
no trace thereof was to be found
On being informed Of the fact Prince Gregory
Stourdza began proceedings against his sister
for the purpose of compelling her to surrender
the portion of his mothers fortune due him as
the eldest son under his parents will. One of
the causes Of the long delay which has charac-
terlZed the proceedings has been due to the
detention in prison in Germany Of two oeche
principal witnesses against the princess. These
were her maid and her groom Of the chambers
who had been present with her at the time
when the safes were being rifled of their con-
tents on the night before the funeral. Mme
de Gortchskoff had attempted to purchase the
silence of these two confidential servants by
means OF gift to them Of portion of the dead
lady's goods. As soon. however, as they al
lowed themselves to be subppnaed as witnesses
against her by her brother she caused them to
be arrested at Frankfort by the German police
on the charge OF having robbed her of her dia-
monds.
As the valuables were found among the effects
OF the two servants in question the case looked
black against them. judicial proceedings are
slow in Germany and it was only after q wear
and half of ipnpr
they succeeded in establishing their innocence
and obtaining their freedom. much to the dis
gust of Nine. de Gortchakoff. The Roumanian
courts now called upon her to surrender a
major part OF her fortune to her brother, Prince
Gregory. and lnasmuch rs he has brought the
trial against her not only on civil but also on
criminal grounds. it is confidently expected at
Paris that she will be under the necessity Of
acceding to his demands.
Her history is a strange one. The only
daughter of the late ex-Hospodar of Moldavia
and of his wife, the Princess vogorides, she was
married In the year 1868 to Prince Constantin
Gortchakof. the son Of the famous Russian chan
ceilor of that name. The bonds of matrimony
however, became odious to her. and she deter
mined to get rid of him as soon possible after
the death of her father-in-law, Of whom she
stood in great dread. She gave her husband
every kind of provocation and ground for max,
ing charges against her that would lead him to
apply for divorce, but without success In
TACT, the more she displayed her anxiety to Sc
cure the dissolution Of her marriage the less in
clination did her husband show to meet her
views in the matter.
Departing of driving her husband to sue for
an annulment of the marriage, she lodged a
petition against him at ST. Petersburg and at
Bucharest. but in both cities the holy synods
rejected her demand on the ground that the
charges which she was able to bring against her
husband did not furnish a sufficient cause for
the dissolution of the union. At Constantine
pie. however, she was more successful, and by
dint of enormous brides she was able to induce
the orthodox patriarch there to decree the dis
solution of her marriage. 1t is needless to add
that the decree in question 10 regarded As en-
tirely invalid both in Russia and Roumania, the
synod on the Bosporus having no legal power
to deal with her case