The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-10-08
COUNT OF PARIs'S CHILD.
d'Orleans Said to he the Son of
an Italian JailOr.

Paris Letter in New York Press.
A startling sensation is agitating Paris
and the st. German quarter to It's center.
i. is a blow at royalty in France, and, COM
ing just at this moment, when the death of
the Comte de Paris removes one OF the
strongest claimants to the throne, 1T APP
for all time with the claims of any pre-
tender and to establish more firmly than
ever the republican form OF government in
France. The charges and exposes made by
the Partisan papers are sustained by what
appear TO be authentic documents, and 1t
does not seem credible that they would be
permitted to go undisputed unless they are
well sustained. The sensation partakes
somewhat Of the nature of a scandal, not
Of a social. but Of a political character, and
so widely has 1t spread throughout the
country that its echoes are heard in every
district, and a little book has already APP
peared with the threatening title. There
Is Nothing More to the House of Orleans"
The story runs that just before the birth
of the present Duo d'Orleans the late Comte
de Paris and his wife were travelling in
Italy under the name of Comte ct Com
tesse de Joinville. hey were very much
interested just at this period in the birth
of a male heir to the succession, and to
the vast wealth that would go with 1t, and,
fearing that a girl instead of a boy might
be born, the Comte resorted to a subterfuge
in order to remedy such an evil.
To this end he made the acquaintance of
a man named Lorenzo Chiappini, jailer at
the prison of Modigliana, that in the event
of the Countess having a daughter the jail
er would adopt 1T and give in exchange his
own boy, which was within a few days of
being the same age. The event justified
the ~precaution. The Comtesse had a daugh-
ter, and she was baptized under the name
of Maria Stella ~Chiappini; the jailer's wife
gave up her boy, and he is known as the
present Due d'OrleanS.
This story has been certified to by docu-
ments signed by members of the Italian
nobility, by magistrates and by clergymen,
all Of whom attest the truthfulness of this
substitution which was operated between
the daughter of the Compile and the son OF
The most interesting of all the document
produced in sustaining this claim IS the
copy OF a letter written by C~hiapplni TO the
young lady in the matter, wa is "a pres
ent married and lives in England. The
letter reads as follows:
'Milady. l am finally on my deathbed.
and I nave reached the end of my days
without having divulged TO any one a se-
cret that concerns us-you and me. The Sc
to an exalted parsonage, whose name / will
not mention. and who is now on the point
Of passing into another life himself. there
quested to change the infants, and as IT
was TO my interest at that time, / con-
sented to the proposition. and it was then
the same manner that my son was adopted
by the other party. / see that heaven has
corrected my fault and has placed you. by
your marriage, in a better position than /
could have hoped to have given you, and it
Is this that enables me to die with some
repose. This letter will be sent to you
"LORENZO C~HIAPPINI."
Possessed of the explanations made in
this letter, Maria Stella has demanded of
the Italian authorities a correction in the
record Of her birth. In response to which
the following judgment has been given: lit
is definitely ordered that a rectifcation and
correction of the record of birth inserted in
the baptisn.al register of the Prioral
Church of ST. Etienne at Modigliana, where
it was found that Maria Stella was indi-
Gated as being the daughter of Lorenzo
Chiappini and OF. Vincentia Diligenti. and.
on the other hand, she should have been in
dicated as the daughter Of NJ. Comte de
Joinville and of Mime. la Comtesse de Join
Vile, French
The substituted young lady, II is said,
will try to regain her position.