THE ILL-FATED LATUDE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17245, 11 January 1924, Page 4

THE ILL-FATED LATUDE.

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN PRISON. REMARKABLE HISTORICAL CASE. In 1748, in the reign of Louis XV. and the all-powerful Marquise <le Pompadour, a young man of twenty-three years of age, calling himself Jean Danry, the son of a humble servant girl and an ex-surgeon’s orderlv in the army of Languedoc, made 'his appearance in Paris. He was almost penniless, but he mad© up for his lack of material resources by the splendour and soaring scope of his ambitions (writes Maurice Tliiery in “John o’ London's Weekly ”). Wealth, luxury, and a high-sounding title—these were the things he had set his heart and mind upon. AN AMAZING PLAN. One day he conceived a most amazing plan for bringing his ambitions to pass. He told himself that if only he could enlist Madame de Pompadour in his favour, his future would be assured, his dreams would be realised. The following was the fantastic project that took shape in his head. They used to make in those days, for children to play with, little glass vessels which would explode in the hand with a fairly loud report. He procured a few of these playthings, put them together w ith some iharmless powder into a box, and, by means of a piece of wire, attached them to the lid in such a way that, when the box was opened, they would all explode. A HAIR-RAISING STORY. The box, addressed to the Marquise, was posted by Danry on April 28, 1749 Immediately after he had handed it in he himself left for Versailles. He hoped to procure admission to the favourite herself, but the way was barred by her head footman, into whose ears, in a voice trembling with emotion, he poured the following hair-raising story : “ 1 was at the Tuileries,” he said, “ when 1 happened to notice Two mysterious individuals who were holding a very animated conversation together. I approacued them without appearing to show that my suspicions were in any way aroused. Judge of my surprise when 1 got within earshot to hear them discussing some plan for compassing the death of Madame de Ppmpadour. Dissembling my horror and amazement, I resolved to follow them and observe their actions. They left shortly afterwards and made their way straight to the post office, where they put a packet into the box. Who they were and what was the packet I cannot say; but being anxious to serve dhe Marquise even unto death. I hastened thither with all the Bpeed at my command to reveal what I had seen and heard.” The footman duly reported the story to Madame de Pompadour. Next morning the packet arrived. It was opened with the greatest precautions by Doctor Quesnoy, the medical attendant of the King and the favourite. The contents of the packet exploded quite harmlessly; but appearances, at all events, seemed to suggest a cri7r!tnal intention on the part of the senders whoever they might be, and the police requested Danrv to give them a detailed account of w'hat he knew. Danry complied, but he was immediately arrested and flung into the Bastille, for the similarity between his writing and the superscription on the packet had been immediately recognised. When he told them that his sole object in inventing the story had been to secure the interest of the Marquise by appearing to save her life, his tale was scouted. The Lieutenant of Police would have it that the afctemnt had a politi cal significance, and this was the beginning of one of the most remarkable cases of imprisonment known to .history. It endured for thirty-five years. and was productive of a strange series of incidents. ANOTHER ESCAPE AND CAPTURE. Transferred to the prison at Vincennes, where the treatment was less severe than at the Bastille, Danry resolved to gain liis own fredom, for the course of justtic© was unconscionably slow, apparently, indeed, interminable. From the Vincei nes he escaped. He wrote to Madame de Pompadour, thinking she would have pity on him. and revealing his hiding place. She sent the letter to the Prefect of Po lice, and Danry was captured and clap ped into the Bastille. He'seemed to be dying of ennui, and they gave him a companion, Antoine Allegre. They planned to escape. It took them two years. TWO YEARS’ WORK. Somehow or other they made themselves implements to answer the purposes of a saw and a knifp'j these improvised tools they employed on logs ot wood they had kept in reserve, and thus they made themselves a ladder. Their body linen, with such other material as they could safely abstract from their sheets and other coverings, they made into a knotted rope two hundred feet in length. Moreover, they contrived to mak© levers, and the ex traordinary thing is that they succeeded in performing all these labours in spite of the keen vigilance of the keepers. By February 25 all their preparations were completed. They sue ceeded in sawing through the iron grating that barred the chimney and then ascended, after the manner of chim-ney-sweepers. to the summit of the tower. Then they were obliged to mak© a descent of two- hundred feet down the outside of the wall, and this they did by means of their knotted rope. The night was black as pitch and a furious gale was blowing; but they stuck manfully to their task. At length the perilous descent was accomplished ; exhausted and with bleeding I hands, they dropped into the ditch that j surrounds the tower. When they had j given themselves a little while to re cover they proceeded, with th aid ot | the ladder, to scale the parapet, and | found themselves in the Governor’s ! garden. Here they were confronted by an immense wall, which they were ut terly unable to climb. Armed with *. lever. Danry endeavoured to make a breach in the wall. After some hours of superhuman effort they did succeed, ncredible as it may seem, in boring a hole right through the thickness of tho wall. Through this aperture both or them managed to crawl, and thev found themselves outside the precincts at tho very moment that the alarm bell began to clang out the tidings of their escape. Allegre, who, by some means or other, had procured a peasant’s disguise, got across the frontier, but he wns arrested at Brussels. Very soon after the unhappy Danry was captured at Amsterdam and cast, with fetters about bis wrists and ankles, into one of the darkest dungeons of the Bastile. There he remained for three months, when he was transferred to less gloomy quarters. There he passed his time ; in writing all manner of petitions, rej monstrances, letters and incoherent

.memoranda. He sent th© King a host of schemes and projects he had thought of for the good realm, such for example as the proposal that when in battle the sergeant and officers should be armed with muskets. AN INDEMNITY DEMANDED. One day in April, 1764, he heard that Madame de Poumpadour was no more. He procured an interview with the Lieutenant of Police, who said he would try to secure his release. Danry replied that he would only accept his freedom if he was indemnified to the tune of sixtv thousand francs, and flew into a violent rage. He was cast back into the dungeon. Subsequently he was transferred to Vincenes, where he learned of the death of his father—or his reputed father—Vicomte de la Tude. Henceforward Danry assumed the name and title of Vicomte de la Tude, and increased the indemnity to 150,000 francs plus the crown of Saint-Louis. Ten years passel slowly by and then he was removed to the great asylum at Charenton. People of influence took up his case, and ho was at last released only to be imprisoned at Bicetre for endeavouring to obtain money by threats from a lady of quality. From Bicetre he- continued to pour a constant stream of written complaints in which he painted the sufferings of his captivity in language of th© utmost violence. MADAME LEGROS. One of these papers, dropped in the street by a drunken warder, who was to have delivered it to some exalted

personage, was picked up by a certain Madam© Legros, a poor milliner, who was so moved by the account Latude gave of his sufferings and misfortunes that she vowed to leave no stone unturned to secure his release. She went from door to door begging succour and support for the ill-starred prisoner. She succeeded in enlisting the good offices of such powerful intercessors as Cardinal de Rohan. The Queen even espoused liis cause, but Louis XVI. refused to set him at liberty . In 1/83 the Academi© Francaise bestowed th© Order of Merit on Madame Legros, who was strongly backed up by public opinion. The admirable perserverance displayed by tho humble little milliner was at length rewarded, and on March 25, 1784, Latude, now nearly sixty years of age, was finally given his freedom after passing thirty-five years in the royal prisons.