Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1911-06-03
A ROYAL MYSTERY
One Of the Legacies Of the French
Revolution.
FATE OF THE YOUNG DAUPHIN
Whether the Son Of Louis XVI. and
Marie Antoinette Was Murdered or
Died or Was Spirited Away 10 an
Enigma Without a Solution.

Enigma Without a Solution.
Every healthy minded man or won.
an loves Il mystery. and, fortunately
for the world. history has provided
one or two problems which have been
worn threadbare without revealing
their secrets. Among these is the fate
OF the nine year-old son Of Louis XVI.
and Marie Antoinette. which Nine.
Louise Latour recently dealt with In
a lecture IN London.
A child judicially murdered or else
spirited away. another substituted for
him TO die and to be buried under n
false name. the people who reported of
these things sllenced or poisoned. the
period of events comparatively recent
the story sounds incredible. but IL
rests on basis of established fact.
The dauphln. delicate child OF nine.
was removed from his mother and
friends and given to the care of Simon.
the brutal savetler. and his wife.
After this Gll remains obscure except
that while the boy was In their care
the Simons gave up their post-in 1t.
self rather strange. as It was a lucra.
tive one--and on the day of the change
OF residence the substitution is sup
posed to have taken place. In the even
ing n child In bed was shown to the
emissaries OF the convention. and the
next morning he was removed to n
smaller room with the door nailed up.
the only air coming in by the grille
through which his food was passed.
So he remained until he became so Ill
that DR.. Dessault. who had often been
to Versailles in the old days. was sum-
moned to attend him and was amazed
to find scrofulous and dying boy.
'Ce nest pas lie petit dauphinr'
('That is not the little Dauphinp1 he
blurted out imprudently. and q day or
two later he died by poison.
Other doctors were brought who
were unacquainted with the royal chill
dren. and the child died and was bur-
led In his assumed character. He Is
generally supposed to have been lad
called Gombeau, and his mother was
actually seen by people in America.
where she admitted the wickedness of
having sold her dying son when she
was In condition OF extreme poverty.
La femme Simon talked. but her
words were discredlted by the authori.
ties. WHO declared she was drunken
and garrulous. Nevertheless. on her
deathbed she confessed to a priest and
a nurse that n substitute had been put
in the daurhin's place.
Such are the historical facts as re-
lated by Nine. Latour. and To account
for them two theories have been de-
duced. says writer In the London
Times. The FIRST, In which Nine. La.
tour believes. was that the dauphin
was judiciaty murdered by Simon In
the temple and the dying Gombeau
put In his place to hide the crime from
the world OF the second. that the
child escaped alive from bis prison.
many people are strenuous supporters.
Some OF them describe the course OF
events thus: Gombeau was brought
into the temple on the day OF the de
management In large cardboard
horse given ostensibly as q souvenir to
the royal prisoner by the femme 81.
mon. while the dauphn was carried
out by the woman In a big basket of
dirty linen Others declare that the
prince was actually kept hidden In a
garrett In the temple Until the subsu-
tute died. more than year later.
when he was taken out In n coffin With
a false bottom. the body of Gombeau
being buried In the moat.
This theory has had two startling
combinations a small coffin filed
with paper and SioWs was actually
found IN the cemetery OF La Madeleine.
and Genrr,li d'Andisne. Imprisoned In
the temple IN 1901 and allowed TO re
lieve the iedium of his confinement by
gardening. was digging IN the moat
when he found the uncotiined skeleton
OF child
But. as Mime l.atour asked. II the
dauphln escaped alive into the world
whore did he GOT No fewer than
thirty pretenders. one negro. NJ dit
ferent times have declared themselves
the son OF Louis XVI. and Marie An
toinette. Tile two who attracted most
disciples were the Due de Richemont
and "Naundorc." With regard to the
latter. II was against him that he did
not come forward until he was thirty
years OF age and he could not speak
a word Of French. Nine. Latour added
that he married middle class wife
and was an excellent matchmaker, con.
sequentiy unlike what the heir of roy
oil line ought to be- obviously the speak
er had forgotten Louis Seize and his
passion for making and mending locks.