Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-17
ROBBERS BOLD WORK
Details of the Recent GobeIin
Tapestry Theft in France.
DECEIVED CHATEAU PEOPLE
Calmly Removed Booty From Walls
and Escaped.
MADAME D'ASCO'S FORTUNE
Boni de Castellane's Friends Disposed
to Hold Madam Gould Responsible
for His Debts.
Deceived CHATEAU PEOPLE
MADAME D'AsC0's FORT
Special cablesram to The Star.

Special CabieSram to The Star.
PARIS, December 11-According to all
accounts the theft of Gobelin tapestries
from the chateau OF Comte Berthier de
Wagram near Thionvile was more daring
than the theft recently committed at the
Rothschild chateau, and the trick played
by the thieves savors greatly of the
methods of the now far-famed German
Kopenic captain, who made the soldiers of
the German army aid him in robbing the
mayor.
The story is that two men whom nobody
had seen there before arrived at Thion-
vile and hired three of the best cabinet
makers in the town. saying that they had
been commissioned to take away some valu-
able tapestries from the chateau, tor which
they needed the most expert hands. and
showed letters purporting to be from Comte
de Wagram. They proceeded, accompanied
by these skilled workmen, to the Chateau
de la Grange, owned by the comte and
which contained some valuable collections
of furniture and tapestries. They showed
their letters to the servitors the chief care
takers being absent, and were allowed to
proceed.
They ordered the workmen to take from
the walls several fine panels Of Gobelin
tapestry worth $4,000 1t was done with
great precaution, and after the tapestries
were CdTeIOlly packed Uney mao lnem TAKEN
to the station. When the chief caretaker
returned from shooting excursion in the
evening he was surprised at what had
happened and Immediately telegraphed to
Comte de Wagram in Paris The latter
answered that he had given no such order.
Meanwhile the thieves had found a suit
able train and had left with their valuable
acquisition.
The railway employees say that they took
the train for Ostend. and it is now be-
lieved that they are en- route to America.
Tales Of Mime. D'Asco
Even after her death Nine Lea D'Asco,
the Belle Helene of Nice, is bound to
give rise to legendary tales The latest
report, while it distinctly states that, ac-
cording to the official inquest there can be
no doubt but that her death was accidental,
adds that the financial troubles to which
she had recently been a prey were also
dispelled and that she had just come mys-
teriously into the possession of immense
fortune A large number of people, so the
story goes, saw her with satchel full of
bank notes Many say it contained at
least $780, 900, but no one knows what be-
came of the money. She went to her
notary to deposit the money. but he was
busy and asked her to return the following
day. On that day, however, the unfortu
nate lady met her death by falling on her
revolver, DelnS SHOt lilTouSH Tie HedTl
Only $15 were found in her possession,
and naturally the stories regarding the
shooting and the loss of the money have
called forth no end of comments among the
people of that particular neighborhood.
The Castellane Creditors.
Creditors of Count Boni de Castellane,
realizing that the divorce has left him
practically penniless, are making a ire
mendous onslaught upon the late countess
and are disposed to hold her responsible
for the debts. They are bothering her in
all of the little ways which the law permits
under those circumstances. In one of the
recent suits brought by the creditors
Maitre Millerand pointed out that the coun-
tess benefited as well as her husband by
the lavish magnifcence of the Castellane
household, of which he drew an amusing
picture.
All Paris knew the powdered lackeys who
used to line the great staircase of days of
receptions, and the gold-laced porters who
stood as sentinels before their mansion in