The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-05-21
FRENCH PRISONERS
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN IA VoIsIy
AND NINE. DE MoNTEsPIM.

Fresh Details from Unpublished State Paperi
of the Discarded Favorite Of Louis XIV,
to Poison Him and Her Successor in Hi
Fayor-Blaok Masses to Retain His Favor
Revelations That shocked the King,
NJ. Funk Brentano. tho French archivlst.
has lust published In the Rerue de Paris the
results OF his latest delvinR among unpub-
iished French state pane RS. They relate to
the epidemic Of poisoning in France In the
reign OF Louis XIV. and especially TO Nine. de
Montsspan's dealings with prisoners. The
account given here Is an abridRement OF his
articles.
The most celebrated OF all the women OF the
seventeenth century who practiced palmistry.
sorcery. dIvination or fortune telling. was
Catherine Deshayes. the wife OF a man named
Monvoisin. but comm only known as ii
volsin." During her trial she confessed to
Nicholas de la Reynie. Chief OF tho Paris
police. that some OF the women who consulted
her asked at once how soon theycould be made
widows and marry the men Of :heir choice. and
that almost all came for no other purpose.
The Pa-isians Of that day focked 20 the house
OF this woman to consult her and made up
parties for that purpose. The garden around
her small house In the outskirts OF Paris was
always crowded with q Joyous throng OF pa
irons.
The voisin woman's income at one time
amounted to 10000 francs Of to-day. but she
spent 1t all. Sheshad many friends, whom she
treated with princsly liberality. Among them
were the public executioner OF Paris. who was
fated to.cut ofrher'haad. the alchemist Blsssis
and Lesage. who practicsd magic. A good
deal OF her money was spent by The two last
named in searching for the;secret OF the trans
mutation OF metals. for she was a firm believer
in the science OF alchemy and the existence OF
the philos opher's stone. She received her
customers. 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 5000 modern france.
Tho mantle was made OF crimson velvet en-
broidered with 205 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 physi-
ognomy. for she read her patrons character
and fate more easily In the expression and
lines OF their faces than In those of their hands.
She confessed to crimes Of all kinds. especially
to sacrileGe and infanticide. and made La
Reynis.' who had heard the confessions'of all
the most famous criminals OF his time. shuddsr
by her revelations. Yet she is described BY con-
temporaries as a plump. pretty little woman,
with extraordinarily quick and penetrating
eyes. Nine. de SeviRne. who had a mania for
seeing executions and saw this culprit ascend
the scafYold. said: The Voisin woman resigned
her soul to the devil very prettily." Her con-
lessor spoke OF her end as very edifylng!"
Louis XIV. his Ministers and his Chief Of
Police were astounded whom the crimes Of
this fortune teller and.others like her first
oame to light. for In those days hemist and
physicians we're unable to detect traces Of
poisoning after the death OF the victim. A spe-
cial commission. whose Members were select
ed from the Kings Privy Council. was ap-
pointed to deal with the matter. This tri-
bunal was called that Of the Lighted Cham
ber." because ormerly similar trials were
held In a room hung with black and lighted
by.torches or candles. 1t sat from April. 1879.
until July. 1882. during which time 1t tried
1877 persons. OF these 36 were convicted and
sentenced to death. 5 were sent TO the Rallsys
and % we're banished. The most guilty were
found to have acoomplices in quarters 30 high
and powerful that their prosecution was de-
cided to DO unwise and impolitic.
One or two accounts OF crimes tried In the
Court Of the Lighted Chamber will serve rs
types for almost all the others. Thus: Nine.
de Dreux. wife Of q Parliamentary MaRis-
trate. was 30 years old. graceful. delicately
pretty and Of very DISTINGUISHED appearance
and bearing. A woman named Jolly. one Of
the fortune tsllers on trial. testified that Nine.
dc Dreux was 80 much in love with the Duke
OF Richelieu that II he only looked at another
woman she wanted to put that person out Of
the way that she had poisoned two gentle
men and one OF her lovers to avoid the bother
Of a personal rupture. and that she had tried
TO poison her husband and get rid OF the
Dukes wife by the practice OF soroery. When
the COME ssion Of the woman Jolly became
known. Partisan society was immensely
amused. and the lady's husband was made
ridiculous by a shower OF eplRrams which
Nine. de SeviRne declares were ''divinely
divsrting." Nine. de Dreux was really too
interesting to be condemned. and besides she
was u cousin OF one OF her judges. So finally
1t was decided to admonish her and lot her
20 FREQ. As soon as she got out OF prison she
went back to the clairvoyants and sorceresses
and received from them certain powders to
poison some ono 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. 1882. she was finally con-
demned to Punishment. but this sentence was
com muted into confinement in Paris in the
same house with her husband.
the Virtual ac9uittal OF Nine. de breux. the
burRhers and their wives were murmurlng be-
VtS lev hNh hhht IL VII S'llN
demned and executed. although no more guilty
than Nine. de Dreux.
In the course OF the judicial proceedings in
the Court of the Lighted Cham Der. and espe-
cially during the prosecution Of La Voisin, a
world OF crime. almost inconceivabls. was
brought to light, Human life Is for sale like
any article OF commerce and murder seems to
ungodliness. sacrilege and all sorts OF abomi-
nations. prevail in Paris and throughout
France" wrote La kvynie.
As the investigation went on II was found to
take in an overwhelming circle of defendants
from the highest ranks OF the nobility. Apecu-
liar apprehension soon made itself universally
felt, a curious uneasiness. not fear of the poison
ers, but OF their Judges; Nine. de .Seyigne.
speaking of the Chief of Police. said: That he
still exists is proof enough that there are no
PRISONERS"
The King summoned La Reynie, the Presi-
dent OF the Court Of the Lighted Chamber and
Its Prosecuting Attorney 70 Versailles and per:
sonally impressed upon them the necessity of
doing summary Justice, and he desired them
TO examine into the matter OF the dreadful
trade in poisons as thoroughly AS, possible In
order to eXtirpate it. root and branch. He
ended by tell,ng them to mete out equal pun
ishment to all found guilty. without distinction
OF sex or rank, La Reynte needed all his cour-
age and resolution TO execute these orders in
face OF the hldeOuS revelations which were In