The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-04-25
FRENCH SENATE
IN GUAM OAR Y.
Must Determine Whether Naun-
dorff Bourbon Claims Are
Well Founded.
SOME FANTASTIC TALK
Lady Sarah Wilson Now on Visit
to N ew
York.
NY =. MAnau1sE DE FoNTENoy.

by ia MARaU1sE DE ToNTENOf.
FRANCES government. and her Sen
L. ate, are in a quandary. They are
called upon to determine whether
or not the claims of the so-calied
Naundorff Bourbons, to be the lineai
descendants of Louis ENII.-that Is to
say. the only son and heir of Louis
XVI and Queen Marie Antonettc-are
we'll founded. The Naundorff Bourbons
are in business in Paris in a small way
as wine merchants. and periodically
receive circulars from them, recon-
mending certain brands of wine Wnich
they desire Inc to purchase.
In their petition. presented to tne
Senate. they explicitly renounce an
/ monarchical pretensions. profess the
to the government of the republic, and
emphasize the fact that all they are
asking for~is French citizenship; py
right of descent, and the establish
ment of their claim by inheritance 10
the name of Bourbon. At present they
are aliens, regarded as Dutch citizens,
and subjected to all the disadvantages
of foreigners. which, when engaged
in business in France, are very EN-
barrassing, and constitute severe
handicap to commercial enterprise
Now, the majority of the Senate, ana
, likewise the government OF the repup-
lie, would very much like 70 return
favorable answer to the petition of the
Naundorff Bourbons. since it would
serve to seriously discredit the mon
archical pretensions of the Duke OF
Orleans; at any rate. in the eyes OF
the French public, whic1 loes not ap-
preciate the fact that even II the Naun :
dorm legend were true, the bourgeois
/ marriages contracted by the soidisant
Dauphin, by his son and his. grand
sons. would deprive his descendants OF
any royal status In The eyes OF the
But If the Senate admits the claims
of The Naundorff Bourbons, 1t ipso
facto acknowledges the right OF the
head of tile firm of Dutch wine dealers
in Paris TO be the senior of the French
Bourbons and, in that event, despite
his professions of Loyalty and allie
glance to the republic. and notwith.
standing his explicit abandonment OF
all monarchical pretensions, he be
comes an exile from French territory
and an outlaw under the law of the
land, which explicitly states that the
senior representative of any family
that has exercised sovereignty over
tory and excluded from all the rights
of French citizenship"
In that case, the Duke of Orleans
! having ceased to be the senior repre-
sentative of the French Bourbons
would be permitted to return to
France to take up his residence there
and to resume his rights as Freitsf
citizen. His banishment would cease
The law dealing with the outlawry OF
the senior Representatives of the for
{ nlerly reigning houses would no long
I or apply to him. and the republic
! without any legal means of eXpellint
| him. save after trial BY the senate
| on q charge of high treason. would be
! compelled to tolerate In Paris. and, ir
! fact, everywhere in France, the pres
| ence of the Acknowledged leader OF
! the Royalist party-a possibility whicf
/ Ii does not contemplate with equanim
! ity despite all its professions of con
/ tempt and ridicule for the dukes pre-
/ tensions to the throne of France.
| II may be we'll to add that while
! there is abundant evidence of an ap
parently conclusive nature in favor 81
! the claims of the Dutch wine-dea!inf
! Naundorff Bourbons of Paris. Including
| the recognition by the Dutch author
| ties Of Naundorff to be the missins
! furnished by Naundorff himself, In al
/ autograph story of his escape from th'
/ Temple prison at Paris, and Of hi
adventures, including a stay IN I'M
| period from 1895, when he claims I,
| have left the Temple prison. until 1924
| when he drew up the report at Bran
denburg, signing 1t as follows:
/ II the Undersigned. swear and de
clare that in subscribing hereto IN!
| sign manual. that this biography con
tains nothing but the pure and incon
lrrovertble truth. and that guarantee
! and swear to everything that ] haV
here related. Louis Charles, formc
Dauphin of France. and Duke of Nor
mandy or Louis NN11.'
Now, of all fantastic. blood-curdlinG
! ridiculous. melodramatic and improb
/ able stories that have ever been Sc
down in writing. this so called Bran
denburg report is assuredly the mos
wildly eXtravagant. 1t teens Wit
| blowing up OF houses, with peopl
being put to sleep BY ~. means al; Of drugs rug
Ting of ships. etc, with careful
avoidance of defining any precise dat
and locality which would admit of In
| yestigation, for the sake of sccurin;
have carefully kept this Brandenbur!
report in the background, realizin;
/ how damaging it would be to thei
case, It has been produced, not b!
themselves, but apparently. by thei
foes, and has been obtained. unless
i am much mistaken, from the Prussial
/ government archives, which, at an,
rate have had 1t on file in legalize'
copy if not in thee original, since i
was officially sworn to by Naundori
himself at Brandenburg in 1924.
1t was on the strength of this repor
that the National Society of IIlstor
4 of France, composed of the most eru
4 dite authorities on history in the coun
=
4 Naundorff Bourbons In decision re
Gently rendered, which was to the eff
feet that the entire Naundorn legen
was without any historical basis Tha
the Dauphin did escape from the TEN
pie prison is pretty we'll established
But If anything were needed to de
stroy the professions of Naundorff, til
progenitor of the Dutch Bourbons, t
\ be the missing Dauphin, it would b
Y this extraordinary Brandenburg re
port OF his of the very existence G
Which few have known until now
Lady Sarah Wilson, who Is now i
A this country, staying in New York, q
the ST. Regis Hotel. with her HUSBAND
Colonel Gordon Wilson, formerly c
tho Royal Horse Guards, took part wit
Fl him in the defense of MafelSlng durin
the Boer War He was second in con
Imand to General Sir Robert Bader
J, Powell, while she did true womanl
service among the sick and WOUNDED
Ireceiving the order of the Red Cros
for the bravery which she displaye
in tending the wounded under fire, Sh
also received a medal for her service
In scouting, and in endeayoring
carry messages through the Roer line
Twice she was captured by the Boer
On the first occasion she was release
by means of an exchange of prisoner
There has always been a mystery 4