Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-02-03
ONE WOMAN'S FINE NERVE.
Nine Joniauxs Amazing Courage
in Court,
COMES OF AN OFFICIAL FAMILY.
Is She n Marble DorKiaf--rhc Terri
Bile Accusations OF Wholesale Pol
soning Tough, before Hostile
Judge.

Surprising In interest all the great
poisoning cases VI the present century.
including those OF Mrs. MaybrielS in
england and Dr. de Ia Pommeraye An
France. the trial OF Nine. Jonlaux. now
IN progress In Antwerp. is commanding
the attention OF the people all over mo
| world scientists. Insurance companies.
insurers, lawyera, gamblers and peopio
OF NOBILITY. as Wen as the hunhleat
ranks OF society, are all equally ali
soroed IN the many strange ana sensn-
uonhi phases OF this cause celebre.
ie', seldom mas more unattrntlye
| prisoner figured In the dock Nftno
JohiauN IN neither young nor bonufi-
lul, ana her appearance and her man
hvr are calculated TO Inspire ANYTHING
Iather thun sympathy and good will
rll4-tWo years Of age, she displnyA
married tendency toward obesity Her
e' are rat ana iiabby. her oyoa
snlul' ana hatd Ia expression. her eve
saIn"S ahu exclusives sparse. while her
nun nus been blond and IN now urn-
hs gray She affects. at any rate since
nrr Imprisonment. the attitude OF "a
very plous woman. Her hunds arc Ma.
uuHy sllghtly folded, her ralment som
pre IN nue. her gaze being fixed on the
kIuunu,
bnl there is a certain degree OF CO.
iuttiy ABOUT the dress. ana especially
mt ana sharp furtive glance
here and there from those fcrrcf-lIIse
eyes, which cunYoyR the impressiun thnt
she ~ after all only acting part, and
ms Ia borne out by the facts uuenrth-
ca during the trial which show that
she has for the past thirty years bepn
poSsessed OF the mania for gambling
NJ cardA' Indeed, there Is every rem
son TO believe that II Ia To this vice
tnat she Is Indebted FOR her present
nredlcamcnt. The sums which ghe
hquandcred at Monte Carlo and mt SIM
where the gambling tables are public
~ an but name, amount woll up into
mo Mllllonh OF francs, and on one occa-
sion she Is shown to have been 40
dead broke" at Monaco aH to have
rendered u necessary for the Casino
company 70 provide her with a return
ticket 10 BruHsscls; at spa she whs
expelled from the Ccreic dos lstrangora.
As the casino there IL styled. for haV-
ing been discovered not only In tho
act or cheating at cards, but also Of
being In collision with one OF the
crouplcrs OF tho establishment. whom
she mad bribed into becoming her CON
tederatc. She was forced by tho police
TO leave the place. and II the nnttcr
was huHhed up ana prevented from be-
eohlhE pubic at the time II was sole
" on account Of her rank, social posi-
Ton aud Influential connections
Comes of nm OnlrinI FnnIiI,
me father or this modern counterpart
OF the Marqulse de Brlnyilllers was
Northumberland Ablny for many
years the military household Of the lnto
King Leopold, an wen as Of his success
Hor' one or her uncles was likewise n
general In the Belgian army. and held
Tor time the office NJ minlstcr OF war.
yet third uncle. NJ. Vanderkerchove
who IL assorted to have been one OF nor
victims. was a member of the belgian
senate as well as burgomaster OF
Her nrst husband, by whom she has
daughter was Frederick Paber. tho
celebrated bibliophilc and historian.
whose fame extends all over Europe:
while her present spouse, VI. JonlauN,
Is the engineer In chief OF the Belgian
government, and In charge OF that de-
pnrtment that controls the state rail-
roads, highways, bridges, canals and
means OF transportation In general. AZ
such he earns a relatively large Rnlarv.
The late VI, Faber derived. too n hand
some fortune from his books; the s,en.
htor, Nnndorkerchove. was known na
the richest MANUFACTURED of the pros
porous city OF Gh,nt, while tho Two
generals. Ablay. father and nnele Of
tho prisoner, each left to her at his
death quito a respectable fortune. not-
mandlng which Hhs appears 10 hay,
been IN perpetual financial STRATA. and
g have spent the major portion OF her
life. na well az an Incredible atnenInt
or Ingenuity. In devlsinE expodients for
raising tho wind. all her resources, aa
Wen as those OF her relatives, being |
disslpated by her enormous Losses at |
cirds
II was not until the close OF 1891 TINT
Bhe appears 10 have resorted to Bpr- |
Bianiam to obtain money. For II was |
only In that year that she took out an |
Insurance policy on the life OF her sid
tor, Leonide, In favor OF her daughter /
by hGr FIRST husband. Mile Faber. Al |
though involved In debt at the time, |
Mime. Jonlnux seems to have succeed |
ed In paying the hrst and even second |
premium on the insurance, which she |
had effected In n Dutch 0nd a Swiss |
company on her eistor's life. The Inat
premium was paid on February 10, |
1892. and ten days later Mile. Abiay was
a corpse, having expired very suddenly /
at Nine Joniaux'B houss at Antwerp.
Expired after Dinner.
Her next victim, according 10 the In
dictment, was her wealthy uncle the
Senator Yanderkerchove, whom she in.
sured In the Gresham Insurance COM
pany OF London, and who, after the
second payment had been made by
Nine Joniaux, died at her house OF
what was described as an attack OF
spoplexy at the close OF a dinner fo
which he had been invited by his niece
This took place exactly n year after
the death OF Mile. Ablay. and II would
seem Tint the unfortunate mans end
was FASTENED by the discovery that he
was on the eve or marrying n woman
by whom he had n son. or course, N
his marriage had taken place the wife
md son would ipse facto have become
his heirs. with or without will. As II
was, Nine 1oniaux was sorely dlHap-
pointed after his demise by the dlscov-
Try that he had made a tentRrnent be-
lucathinK his entire fortune, save a
small legacy for her. TO his left-handed
ION. But she was compensated by re-
tRrfiaa