PARISIAN DIVORCE SCANDAL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 299, 22 December 1906, Page 15

PARISIAN DIVORCE SCANDAL.

COTOT DE CASIEUANE'S EXTBA- '"' VaGAXCES; '■'■-".'■ '

Interest in tie dtvorce suit ■■which has itseen tbroag&t agaOcst her husband by tae :Countess- de CaeteUane ia Earls Js not confined to France. Hie Countess is- a daughter of the late ..."jay Gould. Maltre Croppi," speaking on Wednesday, Novejnbef 7, on. behalf ~of the Cooniess, reaS.'ietters from women, in. all rants-,0f., society, addressing ;the, Count in. endearing terms, and'said faccordlns to the "Telegraph"' correspondent) tfcai the only excuse that the Count corili bring was that he was a victim of, his own transcendent qualities, whieli made all women, titled and otherwise, fall instantly la love with. him. It was, perhaps, not his iault if he became the idol of the fair s.es, if all-the women in Paris admired him, ran after him, and threw themselves at his feet. Tlie -wonder.- was tha>t ,he resisted so nobly, in so manly a way, and yielded to only tea or twelve. ■ Three months after his marriage he was already driven to the extremity .of having to bully "his wife for- money.' When her signature and cheques were not forthcoming quickly enough, he had recourse to I money-lenders. He borrowed one day 360,G00£r, and she gave him another 32,000fr. At last ithe Countess left him. Then Count j Boni wrote letter after letter, .almost day after day, during the months of January, I February, and March.

His ardent epistles "were overflowing with prpteetations of the tendered affection for I his-wife:—"l>o hear mc," he wrote. "Ani. ewer mc; make an appointment with mc so that I can epeak to you heart to heart, and tell jroxr how I love you. Since you have left mfc I am like a derelict wreck floating on ttte wide ocean. If I have offended you, ' I uegjt>u'i^>'pardon mc, and if I die my last thought will be of you." His lyric effusions considerably amused the Court. la one of his letters ne saidi "To-night I am thinking ol you, dear Anna. As I write I feel as if I held you ciasped tightly in my arms with your warm lips pressed against mine", and my eyes locking I deep into yours," in another passionate I missive he wrote: "I am punished as no j- man in * France has ever been. May God ha.ye on mc and let mc see you again before I die! I*et mc send yon some flowers, and may their dying perfume convey to you the rest of my love and affection before I i join them in death!"

i These letters, said Maitre Cruppl, were written afcer divorce proceedings iv.d begun and despite the fact that the Countese had given him to unaeietand that her rokid wss j irrevocably made up. J Maitre Bonnet, in ills speech for the Count, said hia client had beea the victim of his. own prodigaJtyi but had committed so follies outside hie homo. His inheritance of £16,000 and the £32.000 which was his tshare from the sale of the family lands had i been, speat by him on the household. Debts • were incurred as much, on tiie Coumieso's behalf as en the Count's to enable her to keep her position a 3. a <±uesn of society. Maitre Bonnet ended his case urging the Court to grant an inquiry. On the case being continued on Thursday Maitre Bonnet resumed his pleading in favour ox granting an official inquiry into the i charts hia client. Me. Bonnet became very eioquent in his plea for an official inquiry. By all means let hia wife have the care of the children, but the Count must be permitted to see them sometimes, and must insist that they be brought up as French citizens, and not allowed Co go to America j vrttiioaE his written consent. \ Much. had. been made of the Count's Inj jmxjcejcl BjCCives, o"- his " anxtetj • ataiiit lEoiiey. ~repuolfft«i--.st:ch--allega-tions. His client was a man who scoraed money, who <ieated pecuniary matters with I the unpractical contempt of a grand seigneur. On the other hand, now that the Countess with her fortune of -£4,000,01)0 was anxious for divorce, it was surely unfair and irrational of her eudd-snly to withI draw from her share ot the. responsibility loi household debes incurred. When lie. Bonnet eat down, up rose in turn' ile. Cruppi. He spoke with a rapidity of retort, a keenness of logic, and withal a touch of humour which, kept the Court deeply Interested.

Counsel went on to show that inhere was no necessity for the inquiry asked for by Me. Bonnet, since the Count's numerous liaisons were amply proved by the numerous letters and correspondence he had eubmitted to the Court. Me. Bonnet had ■'Tied to show that the liaison with Mm. A. had "oeen condoned by the Countess, and that she had therefore forgiven her husband aIL "But," said Me. Cruppi, "forgiveness im-

plies thai": the person offended againet had

full knowledge of the offence. Thia the poor Countess had not. She did not then know of her husband's liaison with Mm*. B." Me. Bonnet had tried to make out that i these letters from Mme. B. were not conclusive in proving Improper conduct. "Good beavers!" exclaimed counsel, "what more can he want?" Me. Cruppi then once more produced the red pocket-book In which the Count had made so many notes of significant expenses and other details in hie own handwriting. From this pocket-book, which the Count had accidentally left ait his little place of rendezvous at St. James, Neuilly, counsel read further extracts. He pointed out that the Count h*d tried to make out t-hnf he only hired itfce place as a stable. . An affidavit put in from a stud groom in the Count's service for nine years showed that he had knowledge of no other stables bat those in the Avenue dv Eois. "Ah, yes!" exclaimed Mc, Cruppi, "the Count would hare us believe that it wa3 only the stablts he used. At ail events* it may be said that.he converted the little hoijse into a stable of Augeas." Then, refuting one after another in masterly man-

ner the Count's statements, counsel, in a

magnificat peroration, reiated the sufferings, moral and physical, which the Couutess aad undergone. Alluding, to the financial paxt of the question, lie said his learned adver-

sary had stated the Countess's fortune to

be £4*000,000. All he' could say was that if the Countess only possessed £4,000,000, then three or four years more of married life with the Count would suffice to ensuli the whole of that cum.

Counsel concluded by saying that the Countess and her children placed them-

selves under the protection of French, justice. She would bring up her children not to be profligates or libertines, but to be honest, laborious Frenchmen, who might

at least be of some use to the land of their birth.

The Court was adjourned till "Wednesday, when judgment was to be delivered. Immediately after the adjournment of the Casteiiane caett, the case tor the creditors against the Count and countess waa begun. Counsel for the plaiatlffa was Me. iLuierand, ex-Minister of Commerce. All the .tales about the Countess's simplicity of life, he declared, were humbug. On the contrary, her display was extravagant and loud. The ceiling of the Cotmtetis's uedroom in the palace In the Aveuue iiu iioia was painted by Boucher, the celebrated artist. Tie furniture of the palace cost £160,000. The Couhtese had £60,000 worth of personal Jewellery, and "she owed close upon £20,000 to Vincent, of the Eve de la Pais, her former dressmaker. For the reception givan by the Count and Countess to the King of Portugal, the couple bought an ancient Louis XIV. sofa for' £1638. The Countess refuses now either to return the sofa or to pay -for it Counsel argued that the Coonteas mart be made responalble for a portion of toe household expenses. This case has been adjourned (ill Norember 21. ' -' ~'.;'•■■• ■ [OvTr cable* here informed ns that the Cemteoa obtained the relief ebe ttrnghL-l