New-York tribune., 1907-10-25
COUNT NIGRA'S MEMOIRS
Their Mysterious Destruction Re-
ported from Rome.

|as all his correspondence and his memoirs to
-, Asu1es not long before his demise last summer
-. ,ews comes from semi-officiaI and authorita-
..-s quarters al Rome. but. while 1t is tolerably
+sln that tie memoirs will never see the light OF
ssv some skeptlcism will quite naturally be enter
st,sd with regard TO the story that they had been
..syoed 10 ashes by their author.
A. the time Of the demise Of the count IN July
,x, mentioned IN these letters that as he had
svoted the last FIVE years OF his life following his
rstirement from the post Of ambassador at Vienna.
"a the compilation Of his memoirs and correspond
.,rs ard had put his heart into the work. this
,,ondersuIly interesting memorial OF his notable
,sreeT would soon be the market since Il was
su ready for publication in the exact shape in
vrhIch its author wished It to appear For fifty
,ssrs o. more he tad been one of the most impor-
tsnt figures IN European history. As secretary and
then the principal Lieutenant and close confdant Of
,svou- in the creation Of United Italy. italian
Ambassador in France throughout the greater part
of the reign Of Napoleon III. the preux cheyaler
n Empress Eugenie, whom he rescued at the
Tuier4es IN September. 1870, and conveyed through
the mob 10 safety IN the house OF her American
dentist the late Dr. Thomas Evans: afterward the
representative OF his country in London, in St.
Petersburg and Vienna: regarded both at home and
abroad the Nestor of diplomacy and Of state
craft. snd q favorite OF the great world IN all the
capitals where he had been stationed: possessed,
moreover. OF a most face and gifted pen and cele
traed for his wit. his memoirs would have been Of
absorbing interest, and would have constituted
most enghtening contribution TO the elucidation OF
the history Of the second half Of the nineteenth
century.
That these memoirs existed. that Count Nigra
ves proud Of them. and that he looked to them to
keep his memory green, shown By the fact that
they were q favorite theme Of his conversation
durng the last years Of his life in the so-caled
House q the Four Winds ct Rome. where he was
fond Of reading extracts from them TO hts friends
and acQusintanCes. At one Of these readings ne
gave some very interesting data regarding the
death o. Crown Prince Rudolph. he having been
Italian Ambassador at Vienna az the time OF the
tragedy OF Neyerng. Il is difficult therefore. for
any one who knew the count 10 believe that he
himself destroyed all this work, which had been TO
hin labor Of love. and il is impossible TO refrain
from the conviction that II the memoirs no longer
exist they have been destroyed by other hands ana
that they have shared the fate OF the most inter
estng portion Of the memoirs OF Crispi and OF the
iatteIs most important correspondence. which Inys-
terously disappeared shortly after his death, ana
which are missing. therefore. from the volumes ol
lis life which now being placed on the marKel'
Al the time OF Nigra's death I expressed In
these columns the fear that powerful influences
would be exercised. not only IN Italy, out also
nv foreign courts statesmen and society, TO avert
Il possible. the publication Of his long heraldeu
memoirs. and 20 prevent az all costs the dlscon-
cert;ng revelations which they were known 10 con-
tain These Influences. Il would seem, have proved
ehcacioUs. and the memoirs Of Nigra have ap-
parentiy gone the way OF certain Of Crispis Jour-
mails and patches OF letters which mysterousy ols-
appeared from his desk Immediately after his
death the envelopes IN which they had been con-
taned being found stuffed with meaningless scraps
q newspaper and showing evidence Of having had
their seals broken and Of having been somewhat
clumsily reclosed
The fate Of the memoirs of Crispi and of Nigra
Is however that 10 which the posthumous memoirs
and co-reepondence Of every great statesman lead
ting diplomat or high court diguitary are exposed.
snd to escape which the late Prince Bismarck sent
I'll his diaries and his correspondence, especially
ez- portion thereof relating the reign OF the
,-eser+ Funperor and to the circumstances in con-
nection with his own downfall from power, 70
England, where they still remain. That Nigras
memoirs would have been Of infinitely more
sensational character and would have created far
greater CONSERVATION in high quarters, If published,
than those OF Prince Hohenlohe If certain.
HOW THE ROCHEFORTS LOST VALENCAY
Gable dispatches from Paris announce that Henri
Rochefort et the age Of seven-seven has just sew
cred his connection with the ultraradical IN
traasgeant," q newspaper which he founded at
Paris more than quarter OF q century ago ana
has assumed the editorsp OF the clerical 'Patrie
They describe him as the well known pamphleteer
and journalist But they fan 10 mention that he
Is one Of the most famous art connoisseurs and
art critics ia Europe and that IN spite OF his
radical lucubrations IN print-he speaks Of them
sightngly as mere journalism"-he is an aristo-
crat by lineage, patrician in many OF ms ways
and tastes, and that he is by birth the Marquis
De RochefoTt Lucay connected by marriage with
fhe great houses Of ROhan. La Rochefoucauld,
Eontmorency. Maille and Brissac. One OF his an
asstors. Guy de Rochefort. was Chancellor OF
France and creator Of that Grand Council which
has since developed into the Council Of State the
most permanent, the most authoritative and re-
Epeced Of the various institutions Of French gov
eminent lie is historic record as having in
Rugurated the sittings Of this Grand Council with
The remark that kings are made for the people,
ars-f TgnFf a%4rf'E
granduncIe Philibert de RocbefoTt, was marshal
o; the nobility for the province Of Issoudun which
gave him the right Of precedence over all the
mobiles Of The province
The Marquis d. Rochefort Lucay. grandfather Of
Henri. ChevaIIer de St Louis among the
robles who emigrated along with Louis XVPs
brother. the Comte de Provence. at the beginning
q the Revolution the end Of the eighteenth cen
tury. and while living at Coblenz. II attendahce
Upon that prince who was subsequently, 10 reign
es Louis XVIII, was forced TO raise money az
F1nous rates on his vast lands in BerrL These
ands would represent to-day sum OF seVefal
million dollars But partly through the foreclosure
q mortgages and partly through conhscation ne
sss dlvestea Of ali Of them. including the historic
casteau de yalencay and the surrounding park
Tie Castle Of Nalencay. indeeu, had been the
lone o. tic De Rochefort Lucays for three cen
turies. But the great Talleyrand happened at tle
beginning % the nineteenth century 20 get hoio OF
fone os the mortgages Il, and taking ad-
vantage Of the MARQUIS de Rochefort Lucays
srsitened circumstances and OF his own power as
lie Influential OF all Napoleon's ministers OF
tate foreclosed and secured Nalencay at about d
iEenteth Of It's real value II stin remains in the
Possession Of the Talleyrand-Perigord family to-
esy thanks 70 the marriage portion Of Ex-Governor
Levi p Morton's daughter Helen, whose unhappy
marriage with Count Bosom de TalleyTand-Perlgord
Ass now been dissolved.
Ais UNCLE FOUND THE VENUS De MILO