The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-06-25
THE FRENCH FoRGERS
THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY HAD AN
OTHER DREYFUs AFFAIR.
Count Bellegurde In Prison Seven
Years for Exposing the Frauds
of Higher officials.
Baltimore Sun.

! BdltlmoTe sun.
OF the truth implied in the old saying
that history repeats itself" the famous
Dreyfus affair. which is again. and more
than ever before, stirring up the French
ration, affords another xample A writer
in LIE Matin. of Paris. records a strange
historical parallel to IL in the account of
a case that in the last century created a
similar sensation ir France and in many
respects is very much like that of the ''pris-
oner of DEVILS island"
1t was in the year III, under the in
! glorious reign of Louis XIV. Through the
Vaccinations of the Vicomtesse Dubarry,
the Kings new mistress, who succeeded
the Marquise De Pompadour, the Duke De
Choiseul, minister Of foreign affairs and
| secretary of the War Department, was sup
f! planted by a favorite of that scheming
woman, the Duke d'Aiguillon. With him a
most corrupt administration followed upon
the partly economical and just policy of
Choiseul. AT Troyes on the Seine. an i'm
portant fortress and military depot. Count
Bellegarde, appointed under the last Cab
met, was in command of a regiment of ar
| tillery. Himself a most capable and pa
triotic soldier. he soon discovered that the
| officers in charge of the arsenals and mill
tary stores located at Troyes were reck-
i ltSSly SDcHullk Tic publiC dhu ohu hf
| every way d~efrauding the government. AL
| though the Marshal Marquis De Saint Aubin,
his superior. one of the peers of the king
| dom and a near relative of the minister of
war, was at the head of this corrupt clique,
| Count Bellegarde, in his evaporation, re-
ported the state of affairs to the Duke
d'Aiguillon, forwarding at the same time
documentary proof of his assertions to the
War Department. This created a big SEN
| satiOn even at the corrupt court OF the
profigate King. All Paris was in an uproar.
| accusation was accompanied by his request
| ing an investigation. This was ordered by
a royal edict. and before long IL became
too we'll founded. Neither the Kings mis-
| tress nor the embarrassing committee" OF
longer able TO protect their favorites at
| Troyes. when, all of a sudden, a conspiracy
of the officials accused by Count Belle
| garde stepped forth with a counter accusa-
ton of high treason against the latter.
Upon the ground Of forged documents they
years been furnishing military secrets to the
court of Austria. thus betraying his King
and country. A court-martial was immeoi-
ately ordered against the unfortunate moral
! ist. who was condemned to infamous degra.
dation and twenty years prison. Several OF
| his Judges, it must be admitted, dissented
but the latter was hurried to the goal. de-
spite his protestations and a petition TO the
King. Only his wife, convinced OF her nus
bands innocence, did never cease to ask for
| audiences with the King and his ministers.
But all her efforts were In vain against the
i=ntrigges OF the Du b q yo and me in f Ssvins
the investigation into their own conduct
suppressed.
THE REVISION ORDERED.
In the year before the death of Louis XIV
! a cousin of Bellegarde published a docu-
| ment in which he plainly charged the Mar
| shall Saint.Aubin with having himself or
! dered the forgeries upon which the count
| was convincted, and paid for them. Saint
| Aubin did not respond to this. but public
opinion demanded a new investigation, and
Malesherbes. the later minister of Louis XIV,
| publicly declared that a revision Of the case
of Bellegarde. was necessary. Still. the war
Department opposed such a procedure ana
protested that the judgment of the court
martial was sacred and inviolable. After
the Kings death Nine; Bellegarde pup an,
prevailed upon Queen Marie Antoinette to
interest herself in the cause of her imprls-
oned husband. The Queen interviewed per-
of war. but the latter declared that, upon
his own examination of the court-martiaPs
former colonel was a hundred times guilty
| and deserved to be shot" This the countess
answered by a number of additional public
| public opinion for herself and her unfortu-
| nate husband, and caused the successor of
Count Morny to order a revision, under the
condition that all public polemics pro and
contra should cease. The Kings privy coun-
Gil t~hereupon referred the case to a com
mittee of the Parliament of Paris. This
body annulled the sentence of the first court
martial and appointed another one. This
second court-martial, on Feb. 10. HIS, SOL
EMMY acquitted Count Bellegarde and ad-
judged him worthy not only of being rein
stated to the command of his regiment. but
also of being. decorated with the cross of
Louis the Saint. Thus. after seven years
Imprisonment, the count was set free. A
few months later the noble woman died,
happy in the thought Of having at last sue
ceeded in restoring her husband to honor and
liberty. The anxiety over his undeserved
fate had exhausted her strength.
An entertaining anecdote. having for its
| lated by Rossignol, the famous French de-
tective, in Iris memoirs. which are appear
ing in the Paris .Matin. Ross'gnol was
often deputed TO pilot round Paris the for
eigners of distinction who desired to visit
the slums of the capital. On one occasion
he took a Russian grand duke, whose name
The imperial sightseer and his guide seated
themselves at a table and ordered some
ment. Around them was a boisterous crowd
of jewellers. Before long a young woman
to their table and asked for refreshment.
The grand duke. complying with the GUS
toms of the place, submitted good humor-
s sSeyr a taSle the f His h pers sSHn s sppedr a9Tself hat at
attracted her attention. and, stroking his
beard, she said: It's an extraordinary
u unlme, s ouo II you you v vnn : fre spea Hn,r rf haard 80
be the Grand Duke -" And she blurted
out the visitors real name. DESTROYS of
protecting his incognito, the grand duke in
dignantly disclaimed beins a Russian, and
added, in an emphatic tone, Il detest the
Russians" You do. do you?" said the
girl, promptly springing to her feet, "Ill
teach you not to like our friends, the Rus
slams" And she dealt the grand duke a re-
sounding box on the ears. There was Moth
ing for it but to pocket the affront with as
good grace as possible, but the grand duke,
cuffed. no doubt, for the first time in his
life. beat a prompt retreat from the estab-
liShment.