The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-02-03
duke HEADED. GANG
. 0 F LAvVBREAkE |
Caught Redhanded and Indicted
as Leader Of Coun-
terfeiters.
WIFE SEEKS SEPARATION
WIFE SEEKS SEPARATION
Duelling Against Law, but Prac-
tised to Some Ex-
tent.

tiSed to Some Ex-
I. tent.
by LA MARaUIsE DE FONTENOY.
JD ONA MARIA TELLER GIRON. in
her own right sixteenth Duchess
W. OF Bonavente. seventeenth Ouch
ess of Gambia, owner of many
other equally historic titles. lady
of tho palace to the young Queen OF
! Spain, and lineal descendant of the
old time Kings OF Leon. has Just in
stituted proceedings at Madrid for a
| judicial separation from her husband.
| the duke, In consequence of his cap
| ture red handed and subsequent indict-
ment as the leader of the gang of
jcounterfeiters who for several years
past have been flooding Spain. and, In
| fact. all Continental Europe, with
was originally Emilio Bessieres, and
he was a member of the Legislature
at Madrid, acquiring. according to
| Spanish law, the right to share the
ducal honors of his wife when he mar
ried the only daughter and heiress of
| the thirteenth Duke Of Osuna and
| niece of the twelfth duke of that ilk.
perhaps the most magnificent of Span
ish statesmen and ambassadors of tho
! nineteenth century
| At the coronation of Alexander ii.
OF Russia, when the Austrian special
ambassador with his diamond studded
| coat of fabulous value, which cost
( hlln ,housahds OF uollhrs eHch TINS
| that lie wore IL, OWING 10 the injury
| to the larger stones and TO the loss
of the smaller ones, Wed in splendoI
| with Emperor Napoleons plcnlpoten-
| tlary ana hal1-brothcr, tne terrlpl'
cXtravagant Due de Niorny. the Duke
| OF Osuna eXcelled them all in magni-
hcence, and his wealth was so great
that 1T was asserted al the time that
| he could have driven all the way from
Madrid TO MOSCOW, and nave slept
each night In ono of his own chateanX
| or palaces. II is said that each OF
these castles and palaces, no matter
| where he might be at the time, was
iheld in readiness for his immediate oc
cupation all the year round, the ser.
wants being in full livery every even
ing and a handsome dinner held in
readiness by the chef for his arrival,
no matter II the duke were at the
| other end OF the world. Not only
would he accept no salary or allow,
ance for his diplomatic services, but
1 he insisted on maintaining the entire
staff of secretaries, attaches, clerks
and servants of his embassy. at his
own expense. in a most luxurious man
| ner. and there are no end of stories
ltold of his utter regardlessness Of
Imoney.
Under the circumstances, il is not
altogether surprising that although at
| the outset of his career his fortune
was estimated at considerably over
| 500. oc0, 900, his affairs were in a ter
ribly embarrassed condition at his
| deaf h. while the Monte Cristo-like cx-
travagance of his widow, by birth a
| Princess Eleanor of Salm- Salm. com
pleted the ruin. She survived him for
several years, marrying the late Duke
OF Croy, of Belgium, father of Arch
| duchess Frederick of Austria, and, al
| though over forty years of age at the
time, was so fascinating as to COM
lpletely captivate the affections of the
late King Alfonso and to become the
| heroine of one OF the most sensational
lrcmancas in which he was concerned.
! Her death was followed by the sale
| by public auction of the contents of
the osnna Palace at Madrid, and OF
! the other Osuna chateauX in Spain
| The sale lasted months, and to convey
an idea of the extent of the property
| brought under the hammer, | may
mention that it included no less than
| Twenty superb gilt and crystal stage
! coaches masterpieces of eighteenth
| century panel painting and cabinet
making; an armory so extensive that
an entire regiment of medieval cavalry
might have been fully eautppyd there
/ from without exhausting its resources,
| gold and silver nlato Nv 7tbe Ton. ,,rI,a
and unique examples of medieval low.
elry. besides paintings and statuaiv
.
siastical robes of the first Duke Of
Gambia ancestor of the nineteenth
| century Dukes OF Osuna, and also OF
the present Duchess of Benavente and
OF Gambia,
This first Duke of Gambia was the
brother, of Lucrezia Borgia, a son OF
Pope Alexander VI, born prior, Of
i course, to the latter's elevation TO the
chair of st. Peter. This Duke OF Gan.
dla' after attaining the rank of cardi-
nal in the church, was relieved Nv
the Pontiff of his ecclesiastical rank
and obligations and after MARRYING.
was murdered bv the retainers OF his
brother. Caesar Borgia, the crime con-
| stituting the theme of mano dramas
| tragedies and novels, BY Victor Hugo
Ale,Xandre Dumas and others. The sec
| ond Duke of Gambia, after his fathers
murder, returned from Rome to spain,
| and towards the end of his life en-
tered those holy orders whish his faith
er had forsaltcn, became a monk, and
mas since been canonized as st. Fran
/ Gus de Borgia. The above, then. shows
me ancestry OF the Duchess of Bena-
I Vente ana of Gambia, whose husband
4 terfeiting, and with being the loader