The St. Louis Republic., 1901-06-23

| gate to the ambulance which conveyed her
| to the Hotel-Dieu and the gently carino
nurse..
| such words as she Is able to utter are
merely expressions she used as . child.
Many OF these she has forgotten. and a.
she has learned no new ones during her
cruel imprisonment OF n quarter OF q cen-
\ tury. her speech is very limited, and she
| has lost the correct construction Of sem
4 tences.
Her face IS as IL carved In stone. the
skin tightly drawn over the finely-moulded
hloodiess: arms and limbs Incredibly
| thin
1T Is possible that with tenderest care
| and patient nursing she may survive. but
the hospital physicians give little hope"
This is the pitisul story OF Blanche Dc
missioners report.
The motive for this unnatural crime. per.
petrated by a mother upon her only daugh.
ter. Is said to be two fold: Religious frensy
over the love affair with the young lawyer,
and the desire to leave TO her idolized son.
Marcel the undivided fortune and estate
| OF the Marconnays.
The population of Poitiers 10 In doubt, and
ascribes the crime to either cause
Meanwhile the pilgrimage TO the Rue do
Ia Visitation Is unabated. All day long.
hundreds Of people are lined up before the
froWning gate. staring at the window which
| is pointed out as the one behind whose
sightless panes poor Blanche 10 MonniGp
breathed the foulest OF prison airs.
Marcel Monnier de Marconnay. the cruel
| son OF an tnhuman mother. and scion Of one
OF the proudest families Of Poitiers. STATED
! IN the preliminary examination that he -
near-stghted and could not see the awful
| condition Of his sister when he visited her.
The unnatural mother Is given. even In
prison. proof Of her consuming avarice. Al
though millionairess and past 90 years,
she asked the prison authorities to permits
her to pound nuts for 50 centimes . day,
an occupation which llfe-prisoner refused
| few days before.
The people Of Poitiers are more inoenss6
| at the bestowal Of Medal Of Virtue upou
an aged servant woman Of the MonniofD
than over the discovery Of the crinna. This
| woman. almost as cruel as her wealthy
mistress. had waited upon Blanche for
many years. When she grew too old to
climb the stairs to the foul and sightleso
prison In the garret. Marcel Dc Monnisa
! recommended to the Town Council that the
Medal OF Virtue be bestowed upon her. -
Is customary in France. and II was donA
Although the opinions Of the people %
Poitiers are divided as to the motives that
prompted the crime. and two factions are
discussing the admission Of testimony bears
ing upon It. the Catholic clergy Of Poiti9o
is unanimous in its condemnation
The abbey of the hospital which Shelters
Blanche de Monnier denounced the eulpF1ta
IN unqualified terms and proclaimed thoW
hypocriis Of the worst stripe.
Marcel Monnier de Marconnays wife ana
daughter, although they lived In the pos
latial residence in which this family drAAo
was enacted. knew nothing Of its tran1p1Has
ton. and have gone into . convent 1A9
daughter. a lovely girl of II. was sngAgo0
to be married to a high onicer In the Trsna1
Army. stationed at vienne. but the bos
trothal was Cancelled On account Of tho
crime Of tho girls father and grandm0eAaes