The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-22
A MODERN CHEVALIER D'EoN.
FOR SEVENTY YEARS MILE. DE
LANCE CONCEALED HIS SEX.

and Aided by Napoleon and the
Bourbons-The secret Discovered
After His Death.
From the Revue de Paris.
The Countess Dash wrote as follows IN
describing in her Memoirs Of Other Peo-
pie" a visit to Versailles in 1904. and the
old servants of the Crown, mobiles who
had returned from exile. ruined by the
revolution and then had lodgings IN the
palace which mad been unoccupied from
October. 1883. until the Restoration:
Among others. ] noticed very singu-
lar parsonage whose history has never
| been cleared up. and whose death cast
glamour of mystery and melodrama over
the story of her life. She was an cid
maiden lady, "a demoise1o de Ss*ss+, tae
daughter Of an exiled nobleman, and her
self been driven from France by the Revo-
luton and had returned TO lead a life of
poverty and priVation. No one ever Vis-
tied her. She lived alone and did her own
homework; rose at daybreak TO procure
water food and whatever she required for
her daily needs. In the afternoon size
made her toilet and paid sundry visits
which We're tolerated because of her soc a
rank and her poverty. She had mas
I
and the walk of a gendarme: il was even
said that she shaved She used snuff CO.
pously. as the traces of it, on her huge
nose, showed
This strange person was Nile, Henriette
Genny Savalette de Lange. Her portrait.
as painted by Countess Dash, is amusing,
but not entirely correct, for the latter does
not state that after mademoiselles death
at Versailles in 1853, she was discovered
TO have been a man. Besides. when NJ le.
de LANCE came 10 lodge in the palace Of
Versailles in 1924 she was not an o d wO-
man, nor was her personal appearance
then such as the Countess describes.
Many have searched for the key TO the
| secret of Nile. de Lange's existence. Mau-
roy, in his compilation, lie CurieuX,
cites the following copy of a certificate
from the register of births of the parish
of ST. Roch, Paris, dated May y, 1870:
"Augustin Charles Theophile. born this
day, a natural son of M. Paul Charles
Pierre Savalette de Lange, one of the cur
ators of the Royal Treasury captain in
the battalion of the district OF St Roch
of the National Guard, ade-de-camp, and
of Genevieve Louise HAIRY, minor living
in the Rue de Richelieu, near st. GULL
aume's Court"
This cannot be the birth certificate of
the mysterious Mile de Lange, for, if che
was born in 1880 she would hardly have
received the following note found among
| the papers of the decedent of Versailles:
Eighth day Of Messidor, Year XII, June
! a. 18O4-To Mademoiseue Jenny Savalette
at Paris: 81 do not dare, my charming
friend, to return your veil this morning.
1t goes back to you covered with kisses
which / wish that l could give in person
to her whom l love"
The note contains a request for a meet
ing with the writer on the same evening,
at O'Clock in neighborina street, and
ends thus:
Farewell, my kind friend. I cannot
write more. 1 embrace and love you. J.
D"
The date which Mile de Lange always
! gave as that of her birth 17S6is probably
| the true one, and she would have been Is in
! 1S0i-old enough to have received and ap-
preciated the above note. 1t is not posi-
| Bile that she could have stolen the note
! from a genuine Mile de Lange, for, TWEEN
! ty years afterward, she received similar
| missiVes which can be proved to have been
| sent by this man, masquerading as a wo-
| man. From 1872 to 1858 her manner of life
! was known, and open. and can be estab-
| lished by rrefutabe documents and proofs.
1t is possible that q natural child of
! Count Paul SavaFette de Lanse, whose
| birth was kept secret, might have been
| brought up in some obscure village, where
| his sex was dis guised the better TO conceal
! his existence; that at a given time, the
| friends of Count Paul might have been
| informed of his exist nce and supposed him
to be a girl; that, having lived a lie for
years he continued to do SO in order TO
| escape military couscripGou, and TO pre-
/ serve and profit by the friendships and
acquantances which he made as a girl
! but would have lost had he made his true
sex known. Whatever his motive, he play
ed his part as a woman fOr more than sew
! enty years with minnie assurance.
In 1872 Mademoiselle de Lange was in
Paris, befriended by Nine. de Bourbon,
and probably i'm the latter's employ. On
| Feb. 49, 1872 she received the following
note from De la Myre:
II have just received, Mademoiselle, a
very flattering letter concerning yourself
which l sha be happy to show 10 you
| if you win call upon me at noon. Your de-
/ parture IS fixed for March 8. You are re-
quested to provide yourself with hats and
dresses to the amount of zO) or SO francs
which l am instructed to pay TO you. Do
not buy any body linen, or skirts, nor
night gowns; they will be furnished
In the following March Nine. de Bour-
bon wrote to her at Chateau Of SOM
mesnil that everything had turned as
! predicted, advising mademoiselle TO re
turn at once, and promis ng TO pay her
the same salary as before"
Mile. LANCE returned 10 Paris in July.
| From thencefotth this fantastic parsonage
lived by her wits, and the aid of powerful
friends Official records found among her
1872 he received a small pension from Ma
| poleon l., through what influence is I'M
known. Forty years at erward when Prince
| Napoleon became President of the Repuh-
lie, a friend, Mrs. Butler, wrote from
| Brentwood TO her: Il often think of You
and hope that the President win increase
| your pension. Is Louis Bonaparte friendly
to you? l hope that his former friendship
fer you will cause him 10 remember YOU"
Mlle. de Langes pension end with the
| First Empire. She addresses several pet-
tons to Louis XVIII and Charles y. an
of the same tenor; therein she said that
her father NJ. Savalettc de Lange, and her
| grandfather, NJ. Savalette de Mangauvine.
had been dead for many years; that they
| had advanced large sums 10 the Comte
d Artois afterwaid Charles Y and to Louis
XVI personally, in all, over six millions
/ of francs: that these transactions had
| caused the arrest of her father and grand
father during the Terror, and caused their