New-York tribune., 1910-12-22
COUNTS" WIFE SCORES
DUCHESS OF CHO|SEUL
Former Miss Lunt Calls ACCuSer
of Husband and Self "Viper"
and "ShameIess Woman.
ALMOST A RIOT IN COURT
Letter Signed Duke of Choiseul.
Denying Right of Former
Mrs. Paine's Husband to
Title, Shown.
ALMOST A RIOT IN COURT

Tours, France, Dec. 21.-Sensationa
incidents occurred to-day at the trial o.
the self-styled Count dAulby de Cat
igny and his American wife. formerly
Miss Francesca Lunt. of Boston, wht
are charged with having swindled the
Duchess of Choiseul-Praelin in the sals
OF spurious pictures during the life o.
her former husband, Charles Hamilton
Paine, Of Boston. The closing moments
Of the trial this evening almost devel
oped a riot.
Countess d'Aulby. who was called
to the witness stand after her husband
bitterly attacked the Duchess of Chois
eul, designating her that viper. thai
shameless woman, who tried to wreck
my home"
D'Aulby's lawyer. NJ. Bernard, attack
ed the counsel for the duchess for allow
ing her business agent to sit beside then
at the bar and practically direct the cast
for the prosecution This unpardonabl.
breach Of etiquette of the French bar
he declared, was an insult to the dignity
Of the profession.
Cries Of sympathy broke out, and soor
the whole courtroom was on its feet
cheering and hooting. Judge Roberts
pounded helplessly, but was forced to- ce.
clare q recess, to- preserve order.
After the recess NJ Bernard sprane
another surprise. He read letter, pur-
porting to be signed by the Duke OF
Choiseul," claiming that Choiseul, the
husband of the former Mrs. Paine, had
no right to the title Of Duke of Choi-
seuF'; that he was merely the Duke OF
Praslin's representative, junior branch
son of the Duke of Praslin "of blood Y
memory
Countess" Confuees the Court.
Countess d'Aulby. unlike her f1us-
band, speaks French with wonderful
ra pidity, but nearly drove the aged Judge
TO despair by nervous lapses into foreign
words, sometimes English, especially
when the name of the duchess was men
toned. She exclaimed in anger. speak
ing with reference to the plaintiff
II didn't know her relations with my
husband until later. but if / had known
I would have driven her out like the
shameless viper she was
The witness said that she had met
dAulby in New York. and had married
him for love. being especially drawn to
him by reason of his musical a abilities.
She never mixed in her husbands husi-
ness affairs, and only knew as a fact
that he had sold pictures to Mrs. Paine
The witness refused to answer ques-
tions OF the opposing counsel which were
calculated to show that she had con-
spired to heighten the plaintiffs interest
in the pictures, saying that persons so
alleging were liars la the first degree -
To complete the day a Partisan ex-
pert who examined the paintings pur-
chased by Mrs. Paine testified that some
of them were desirable copies, others
passable, but that none was what the
catalogue pretended. He admitted, how
ever, that they might deceive the ordi-
nary amateur.
D'Aulby Asserts Good Faith.
D'AuIby's defence so far as indicated
is that in filling the galleries of Mrs.
L
Boulogne with works of art and stock
Ing the cellar with wines he acted in
good faith as the confidential agent of
Mrs Paine. an office which came to him
as the result of personal friendship.
The defendant to-day was asked re-
garding his financial resources at the
time that he met his companion. He
admitted that when he married Miss
Francesca Lunt, of Boston, his bride
brought him approximately S164 900.
D'Aulby declared that he had never
said that the pictures sold to the Paines
were genuine masterpieces, but had al
lowed them To be authenticated by
American experts and by American
newspapers which had suggested that
the works in question be exhibited a,
the Metropolitan Museum, in New York
CITY. He added that even the late T.
Fl. Hartman had been interested in his
offerings and had manifested a desire
to deal with him
The accused insisted that he had re-
ceived letter from Paine just before
ne sailed for America and shortly prior
to his death in Boston following the
sensational letter incident" reaffsrmins
the writer's option to buy u Aulby''
pictures for 100000.