XLVII. 1847. July 13. CHAP. pany in the concession of a mine. It was sworn to by the notary of M. Pellapra that this had been confessed to him in confidence by his client, and this was admitted as evidence against M. Teste, contrary to what would have been decided in Great Britain. This statement of the notary, however, was confirmed by two written documents which proved the payment of the money. Upon this M. Teste withdrew his defence, by a letter to the President of the Court of Peers; and the evidence being considered satisfactory against the others, they were all found guilty -General Cubières, M. Teste, and M. Parmentier on the evidence, and M. Pellapra, in absence, or par contumace. General Cubières and M. Parmentier were found guilty of having bribed a Minister to obtain the concession of a mine from the Government to a company in which they were interested, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, and a fine of 10,000 francs (£400) each, as was 1 Moniteur, M. Pellapra, who surrendered a few days after. M. Teste and July was found guilty of having, when a minister, in 1842 and Regnault, 1843, accepted bribes for acts to be done by him in his July 18, 23, 1847; iii. 260,261; xxx. 241, Ann. Hist. official capacity, and sentenced to a fine of 94,000 francs (£3760), being the bribe received, and to three years' imprisonment, with civil degradation.1 243. 13. the Duchess Aug. 18, 1847. These scandalous revelations seemed almost to justify Murder of the words of M. de Lamartine: "Yes, a revolution is of Praslin approaching, and it is the revolution of contempt." But the public attention was soon arrested by a still more terrible event, which involved the Peerage in the opprobrium of a detestable crime. On the morning of the 18th August, Madame the Duchess de Praslin was found murdered in her bedroom in her own hotel in Paris. Suspicion from the very first lighted on the duke her husband, the representative of the ancient and noble house of ChoiseulPraslin, one of the most illustrious in France. The duke was in his forty-second year, and had been made a peer of France in the creation on 6th April 1845. The duchess, three years younger, was the only daughter of Marshal XLVII. 1847. 1 Moniteur, 1847; Re 261, 271; xxx. 244, Sébastiani. So suspicious were the circumstances, that, CHAP. although his privilege as a peer protected M. de Praslin at first from arrest, he was put under the surveillance of an officer of police, and detained in his own hotel. Aug. 19, At four in the morning of the 18th, the violent ringing gnault, iii. of bells had been heard in the apartment of the duchess; Ann. Hist. the servants, in consternation, hastened to the doors, which they found all locked inside, but they heard the noise of a violent struggle, accompanied by shrieks and calls of assistance from the duchess within. Unable to force the door, they, in an agony of terror, went round by the duke's room, and, to their astonishment, found the door leading from it to the duchess's apartment open. On entering, they found the unhappy victim bathed in blood. Soon after, the duke entered coming from his own room, and asked what was the cause of the tumult? Upon being shown the body of the duchess, he said only, "Poor woman! who is the monster who has assassinated 2 Ut supra. her? "2 14. the catas its termina The sequel of the tragedy was not less terrible. It appeared that a young lady named De Luzy, who had Details of been a governess in England, in a family of rank, had trophe, and entered the duke's family in 1841, to superintend the tion. education of his daughters. She was recommended by Madame de Flahault. Mademoiselle de Luzy, who possessed considerable talents, great address, and no small turn for management and intrigue, ere long acquired the complete command of the duke, while at the same time, by the most respectful demeanour, and the strict observance of all the rules of decorum, she long soothed the feelings and suppressed the jealousy of the duchess. Over the children her influence soon became unbounded; they looked upon her as more than mother. This anomalous state of things continued for several years, chiefly in consequence of the singular prudence and address of Mademoiselle de Luzy; but at length the duchess, seeing herself estranged both from the duke and her children, and reduced to a XLVII. 1847. CHAP. cipher in her own house, became melancholy and lowspirited, and several violent scenes took place between her and her husband. Her secret griefs exhaled in correspondence with her confidential friends, but external appearances were kept up, and they continued to live together. The duchess, after she had seriously taken the alarm, at first sought distraction in the pleasures of society, but she speedily found that they afforded no consolation to a wounded spirit, and she had recourse to books of religion. At length, on the recommendation of Marshal Sébastiani, Mademoiselle de Luzy, to prevent a separation, left the house, and a sort of forced reconciliation took place between the duke and duchess; but the foreign influence still continued. Mademoiselle de Luzy and he corresponded clandestinely, and a project of marriage, if the duchess was only out of the way, was entertained between them. Hitherto their friendship, how tender soever, had been entirely Platonic. On the 17th August the duke and duchess returned together with the children from Praslin to Paris, and separated at the barrier-the duke, with his three daughters, going to visit Mademoiselle de Luzy, from whence they returned in the evening to his hotel. At four in the following morning the catastrophe took place. Presumptive evidence being so decidedly against the duke, an ordinance directing his arrest was signed on the 21st, at the Château d'Eu, and on the same day he was brought before the Chancellor of the Peers, in the Palace of the Luxembourg. "You know," said the Chancellor, "the frightful crime with which you are charged, and the circumstances which appear so strong against you. You need not enter into details: it is enough to say yes or no." He replied: "Great strength I do not possess is required to say either yes or no. enough." He was observed to turn pale, and soon after he was taken violently ill, and breathed his last on the morning of the 24th. He had taken poison immediately after being first arrested, and thus by his death supplied the last link in the evidence of his guilt.' Aug. 21. 1 Moniteur, Aug. 25, 1847; Re gnault, 270, 272; Ann. Hist. xxx. 245, 247. XLVII. 1847. 15. of these the Revolu It is observed by the able annalist whose narrative has CHAP. thrown so much light on the last years of the reign of Louis Philippe, that the great difficulty which has been experienced in establishing the parliamentary regime in Use made France, arises from each party directing its efforts to the abuses by supplanting a rival from power, without the slightest re- tionists. gard to the public good, or the changes which were likely to advance it. Never had this evil, inherent in all constitutional monarchies in a certain degree, but pre-eminently conspicuous in France, from the absence of any check from a paramount feeling of patriotism, been so widespread and pernicious as it was at this moment. A universal feeling of uneasiness, disquietude, and dissatisfaction prevailed, and each party in the State strove to augment the discontent thence arising, in hopes to profit by it. The severe scarcity which had prevailed for nearly two years had caused the working classes to feel almost the evils of famine; the monetary crisis, which had followed in its train, had caused the distress to spread to the middle class, for long so prosperous, and with justice esteemed the firmest support of the throne. The foreign policy of M. Guizot had incurred the displeasure of the Liberals, who desired that France should place itself at the head of every revolutionary movement in Europe: the English alliance was a continual subject of complaint to the Imperialists, who had never forgiven Waterloo and the fall of the Empire. The chiefs of all the parties, seeing the minds of men thus disposed, entered into a virtual coalition to push the Government to extremities, by taking advantage of the ill-humours which were afloat; and the common cause on which they were to unite their forces was PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. This topic was Cassagnac, chosen for the war-cry, because it was likely, if successful, Dernières to lead to a change in the ruling power in the Chamber Louis Phiof Deputies, from which all the three parties, the Repub- 96; Relicans, the Royalists, and the Imperialists, hoped, strange 276, 278. to say, to profit. Whether it did so or not, it would at VOL. VII. 2 x lippe, i. 94, gnault, iii. CHAP. least overturn the common enemy of all, the Citizen King and the bourgeois-elected legislature. XLVII. 16. liamentary Reform. 1847. To a people thus agitated, and chiefs thus determined, Cry for Par- it may easily be figured what a fortunate circumstance the scandals which had come to light regarding the corruption of the electors, and the prostitution of power itself and official persons to venal influences, would immediately prove. Advantage, accordingly, was immediately taken of the unhappy occurrences which have been mentioned, to inflame the general discontent into a violent passion. Would you see, said they, what were the influences which operated with even the highest functionaries of Government?look at the revelations regarding cabinet ministers in the "Procès Cubières, Teste." Would you know what sort of functionaries they put in situations of trust and emolument, and by what means they had so long secured the support of a corrupt and venal Legislature ?-read the evidence in the "Procès Rochefort," and the unprosecuted charges in the Presse regarding the public sale of honours. The Praslin murder and suicide have sufficiently demonstrated what are the morals even of the highest classes of the aristocracy, and how vain it is to hope for any regeneration of society from its ascendancy. And to what purpose does the King wield the powers of the crown, the forces of the army, the influence of government ?-to maintain a system of resistance which is insupportable in an age of advancing intelligence, and uphold a Ministry which, justly obnoxious to the vast majority of the nation, is obstinately set upon holding the reins of power, in order to perpetuate 1 Cassagnac, the reign of venality and corruption by which it has so Regnault, long profited. Strong in the support of the King, the Circulaire peers, the army, and a decided majority of the deputies, du Comité it has hitherto successfully resisted every effort for its Gauche, overthrow; and it is now sufficiently evident that it can 1846. never be removed, or France enjoy the blessings which the Revolution should have brought in its train, till, by a 1 i. 100, 103; iii. 276,277; de la June 30, |