Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-06-02
an antiquarian, and whose organ OF In
quisltivcncss was very prominent.
The communication Is substantially as

1854. he was introduced to Mr.. Robbins.
and they became quite Intimate. A few
weeks subsequent to their acquaintance.
Mr.. Robbins was called on business 10
surprise. he found Talleyrand. incog..
AID on questioning him In regard to his
business there, he returned an evaaive
answer. and treated him very coldly dur
ing his stay.
The strangers (Talleyrand's) visit
caused considerable surprise among the
| few inhabitants OF the place at that time.
and when Mr.. X. informed them that his
name was Talleyrand. French gentle
| man OF considerable note. who had left
| France on account of the Revolution
| that ne had been introduced TO him In
| Boston. and was surprised 10 find him so
shy and Indifferent on their meeting
there, the people were as much 50, as
| they had noticed his strollng about the
place without any apparent notice. But
some Of the older inhabitants observed
that his lameness and walk put them In
mind of the French boy las they used to
call him) who was taken from there
about the time OF the close Of the French
war. These observations induced Mr..
Robbins to make particular inquiries IN
regard to the French boy. and they In
formed him that sometime previous TO
| the war, a French ship Of war came into
that place to make repairs, and to obtain
W, od and water: that while there: the
captain became intimate with young
girl the daughter of fisherman tien
absent which created scandal among the
little society Of fish mongers. and In lue
time the girl gave birth TO child-a fine
boy.
The next year the French captain mad.
his appearance among them. and found
the mother and SON whom he wei PRO
vfded for and made some presents to the
grandparents. which apparently recon-
ciled them, especially as he promised 10
marry the girl when he should come out
Ia. I'm
again.
When the boy was about year old.
the mother overturned kettle of boil
Ing water on HIS feet, which so curled UP
his toes as to make him cripple for life.
Some few years after this, the mother
died and NJ the close OF the war. or
about that time a French gentleman
mot The father of the child came there
fer the purpose of taking the boy To
France. but the grandparents would not
give him up until the gentleman pro-
posed as follows: That nc would give
them enough money to make them com
Portable during their lives: that the
father was dead. and that the uncle OF
the boy was French nobleman. OF ina
mense fortune. and had promised ,he
father that he would adopt aim and bring
him up as his own chiid provided he could
be brought to Paris; which proposals
were accepted, ami the boy was taken
away.
The correspondent adds: Since writ
Ing the above I have seen extracts from
the life OF Taiieyrand. by NJ tolmache.
~ published IN Frazers Mlgazitte. which
I think are rather consirmatorS tnah "A
refutatian OF my relation OF his birth
place and Observation-Disclosures you VIII
plainly see. that the repnted parents OF
Talleyrand have outraged all affection.
and think, rom the above statement of
Mr. Robbins and by NJ comache. Tat !
leyrand's private secretary. we may con-
clude that Talieyrand was the natural |
son OF Captain Baillic Taiieyraud. and
not the son Of the elder brother. the
Count de Tall.yrand. and that he was
born AT Mount Desert in America"
Taiieyrarli died in ISIS by his Will. his
personal memoirs were not To be- published
until thirty years thereafter. Al the eX-
piration of that time. in is6s. Napoleon
III obtained from the heirs further
j,oStponement of twenty-five years In
1890 therefore. a true account OF the les |
tators origin will appear. IL may be
added, that no settlement IL known to
have existed at Mount Desert during the
last century before 1862.
Surely there could be a no more roman |
tic story connected with the life Of the |
great Frenchman
But now from Machias Itself I am gble |
to present something of interest. The |
Union of recent date contained the fol- |
lowing. after some complimentary refer |
ence TO what the Commercial had already |
said about the circumstance in question; |
pie have died IN Machias who saw Talley- |
rand i'm Mechias In 1884,. The house is |
now standing on Bruce street where he
tarried. and the bedroom yet unchanged |
remains in which Talleyrand slept while
In town
Chambers encyclopedia gives Talley- |
rand's birth at Paris iT54 In the first
month cf the French Revolution he be- |
came allied with the governing chaiac-
tiers of the French nation. and in 1872 was |
sent to London TO confer with George |
Ill or Pitt Here he failed. Not daring |
to return to Paris he remained in Eng
land until forced u lalVe by he "Allen |
bill" and i'm February 1884, he sailed for |
the United States. |
There is no doubt whatever of Talley- |
rapds passing short time in Machias |
1t has always been said that he came TO |
Annapolis In an English vessel and made |
his way via ST. John overland to Ma |
chias thence west If. as the CONNER |
cai writer states Talleyrand. landed |
first At Wiscasset. why should he have |
gone east through woods or If by water |
more than 100 miles?
Being an exile. and not knowing the |
country. he might have drifted east. but |
it seems more probable that he landed AT |
Annapolis and travelled west. being at |
Wiscasset and other Maine towns as
stated.
After the overthrow of the Terrorists
In Paris. Talleyrand procured a revoca- |
ton of his punishment and returned TO
france entering faflS III Mlrch, lssn
''Talleyrand was in the United States |
not much over a year. He is accredited |
as the most subtitle shrewd, and unprin-
cipled of all modern diplomatists. no.
toriously bad character
Well. | confess that / am unable to |
answer the arguments of my friends of |
the Union. None of us can put his finger |
on any point in this discussion and say
commandngly 1T is thus. or "It is So"
Yet, there is so much within the entire |
matter of romance and much That |
savors of that intrigue from which, hap
PLY. we quiet freemen of this republic |
are much spared. that any view of il is
fascinating. and any discussion is bound |
to be fraught with profit and with pleas
ure.