The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-11-16
WOMAN'S STRANGE LIFE.
Comtesse de Peragallo Beauty of Napoleon Im> SS perial Court, Strangled by Lover SE
BY PIERRE RosIER.
ARIs. November ls.-The magis

A ARIs. November 1s.-The magis-
 trates who attended the post
 mortem of the comtesse de Per agallo could not help admiring the ele- ganee of her inner clothing. Love-letters filled the pigeon-holes of a desk. The writer of the most recent probably put an end to her strange life in order to steal her jewels. She was strangled the other morning in her prettily arranged little apartment where she lived a la ga- reon. Her age was s2. yet she made her conquests to the last. This eternally pretty old lady preserved to the last her gay, reckless, happy-go-lucky disposition, her birdy lightness of step and kept her self youthful in mind and appearance. She was always spoken of cs the daugh- ter of General Froissard, governor of the late prince imperial. although believe she was, in fact, his niece.
 General Froissard made large fortunes in army contracts but lost them at play. She inherited from him a love for flash and show, also a passion for gambling Her scheme of finance had the merit of simplicity. She would pocket her win nings at Hamburg and Monaco and fall back on her string of admirers for her losses. She was at least fifty when Gen. eral Froissard entered the imperial house. hold to direct the education of the prince. Nevertheless she shown as an uncommon ly pretty and attractive dancer at the Monday evening hops" of the Empress Eugenie. In the fashionable sphere In which she moved people spoke of her as "gentleman's beauty"-that is to say, of 1a11f f1ff1 ft,7rr nevertheless. Her feet and ankles, that she somehow contrived to show, despite long skirts and voluminous crinoline, con- quered celebrity So did the small but perfectly moulded figure. which looked best In frou frou attire. The rustling noisiness of her silk dresses and founces suggested to some jealous rival the nick name of le serpent sonnettes. Donkey parties came into fashion during a so- journ of the court at Fontainebleau, and remained in for several seasons. The la- dies, of course wore their great crino- lines and ornate dresses, which quite hid the donkey. The f1ounces on upper and uderskirts showed and care had to be taken to have faultless dessous oe robes and impeccable shoes, stockings and Turkish trousers. Mile. Froissard came out triumphantly at those donkey-riding parties.
 II WoulQ De hard to describe the Ieat- ures of this sorceress. But a pair of blue eyes, limpid. candid. sunny. end confid- ing. gave singular charm to the counten- anee. I am sorry to say that such eyes often denote the utter absence of con- science, and bespeak the instinctive or at least intuitive nature It is a nature little above that of 8 spaniel, so far as moral sense goes and has sort of Gar den of Eden innocence, because incapable to distinguish between right and wrong,
 It used to be whispered that Mile F'rois- sard found a banker in Count Henckel Dennersmarck, and that in return she furnished him reports about what went on at the Tuileries. He used Mime. de Pavai for the same purpose, and ended by achievement and marriage. If he em- ployed Mile. Froissard, the sweet child ish blue eyes must have had for him piquant interest. She went to Metz at the commencement of the war of 1870, but only remained while the Emperor, with whose staff she had many links, stayed there. Police reports stated that she pushed her excursions on horseback so far as woods infested by the enemy, but that no harm befell her. The agents who