The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-15
FAMOUS FRENCH PRISONERS.
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN LA VOL
SIN AND NINE. DE MONTEsPAN.

Revelations That Shocked the
King.
From the New York Sun.
VI. Funk-B rentano. the French archiv-
list, has just published in the Revue de
Paris the results of his latest doiving
among unpublished French state papers.
They relate 10 the epidemic of poisoning
in France in the reign of Louis XIV, and
| especially to Nine. de Montespan's deal
ings with prisoners. The account given
here is an abridgement of his articles.
The most celebrated or all the women
of the seventeenth century who practiced
palmistry, sorcery, divination or fortune
telling. was Catherine Deshayes, the wife
of man named Monvoisin. but common
Iy known as La Voisin."' During her
trial she confessed TO Nicholas de la Rey-
nie. chief of the Paris police. that some
of the women who consulted her asked
az once how soon they could be made
widows and marry the men Of their
choice, and that almost all came for no
other purpose The Parisians of that day
fiocked to the house of this woman to
purpose The garden around her small
house in the outskirts of Paris was al
ways crowded with a joyous thrOng Of pa
irons.
The Volsin woman's income at one time
amounted 10 1901 900 francs Of to-day, but
she spent Il all She nad many friends
whom she treated with princely liberal
ity Among them were the public exc
cutioner OF Paris. who was fated TO cut
IL rar.l
Lesage who pra cticed magic. A good
deal of her money was spent by the two
last named in searching for the secret
of the transmutation of metals for she
was a firm believer in the science of all
chemy and the existence Of the philoso-
piers stone She received her custom
ers. who came from the highest ranks
Of society, dressed in a mantle and gown
woven especially for her use. a costume
whose cost was equivalent TO 1900 modern
francs. The mantle was made of Grim
son velvet embroidered with 2O5 double
headed golden eagles. and was lined with
precious furs. The skirt was of sea-green
velvet, trimmed with priceless point of
France lace. The bills for this costume
are still in existence.
This fortune teller always insisted that
she owed her success to her knowledge of
physognomy for she read her patrons
character ana Idte more easily IN the eA-
preston and lines of their faces than In
those of their hands. She confessed TO
crimes of all kinds. especially TO sacrilege
and infantcide. and made La Rey-
ME, who had heard the confessions of
all the most famous criminals of his time
shudder by her revelations Yet she is
described by contemporaries as a plump.
pretty little woman, with extraordinary
quick and penetrating eyes. Mime. de Sc
tons and saw this culprit ascend the scat
fold. said THE Voisin woman resigned
her soul 90 the devil very pretdly." Her
confessor spoke of her end as every edify-
ingt"
Louis XIV, his ministers and his CHIEF
of police were astounded when the crimes
of this fortune teller and others like her
first came to light, for in those days chem
lists and physicians were unable to detect
traces of poisoning after the death OF the
victim. A special commission, whose mem
bers were selected from the Kings privy
council, was appointed to deal with the
matter. This tribunal was called that of
the Lighted Chamber" because formerly
similar trials were held in a room hung
with black and lighted by torches or can
dies. II sat from April, 1879, until July
1852, during which time 1t tried 367 per-
sons. OF these SO were convicted and sem
fenced to death, We're sent to the galleys
and % were banished. The most guilty
were found to have accomplices in quar-
ters so high and powerful that their pros
ecution was decided to be unwise and i'm
polite.
one or Two accounts of crimes tried in
the Court of the Lighted Chamber viii
serve as types for almost all the others.
Thus; Nine. de Dreux. wife of parlia-
mentary MAGISTRATE was 30 years old.
graceful, delcatefy pretty and of very
distinguished appearance and bearing. A
woman named Jolly, one of the fortune tel
lers on trial, testified that Nine de Dreux
was so much in love with the Duke of
Richelieu that if he only looked at another
woman she wanted to put that person out
of the way; that she had poisoned two
| gentlemen and one of her lovers to avoid
the bother of a personal rupture.
and that she. had tried 10 poison
her husband and get rid of the
Dukes wife by the practice of sorcery.
When the confession of the woman Jolly
| became known. Partisan society was inn
mensely amused, and the lady's husband
was made ridiculous by a shower of epi-
grams which Nine. de Sevigne declares
were "divinely diverting." Nine de Dreux
was really too interesting TO be condemned
and besides she was a cousin of one of
| her judges So finally il was decided to adj
monish her and let her go free. As soon ms
she got out of prison she went back TO the
clairvoyants and sorceresses and received
from them certain powders 10 poison
some one whom the Duke of Richelieu was
! fond of" A fresh order for her arrest was
| issued This time she was warned and fed
In January 1852, she was finally condemn
| ed 10 Punishment, but this sentence was
commuted into confinement in Paris in The
| same house with her husband.
While people of rank were applaudtng
the virtual acQuittal of Nine. de Dreux
! the burghers and their wives were rnur-
muring because the Widow Brunei one
| of their own class who had poisoned her
| husband, had been condemned ana eye
cuted, although no more guilty than Mime.
! de Dreux.
In the course of the judicial PROCEEDINGS
in the Court of the Lighted Chamber ana
| especially during the prosecution Of Ia
Nosin, world of crime, almost ir,,on-
oeivable, was brought to light. Hmm
| life is for sale like any article of com
merce and murder seems TO be the usual
remedy for all family perplexities. .uneod-
| illness, sacrilege and all sorts of aboni,a
y oil fr,