A STRANGE SOCIAL DRAMA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 147, 23 June 1877, Page 4

A STRANGE SOCIAL DRAMA.

* Novelists or dramatists in search of a. peg upon wbich to bang a plot would db well to visit ?'La Ville deLumiere," af Victor Hugo calls the French capital, since every Week furnishes fresh | mysteries or extraordinary crimes such af are rarely to be met with except in tl^e regions of romance. At the present moment, whilst Biiloir is waiting at La Roquette for that commutation of his death sentence which he so confidently expects, but will never greet/his anxious ears, while Moyaux is awaiting hie trial at Mazas with so little hopes of escaping the capital sentence tbat be has twice attempted suicide, the heroine of the Rue de Boulogne affair is pase'iag her days in an agony of suspense as to what fate is reserving for her. The mystery which surrounds the case is gradually being dispersed by judical sagacity, The following are the derails, of this latest Parisian drama: — Madame Eugenie de la Cour, or the widow Gras, as she is commonly called, is, or rather was, a remarkably beautiful woman, belonging to that section, of society popularly styled the demimonde. Spme^years since her face waa familiar r Jd all Paris; and her doings formed tlie faVOrite gossip in clubs, reunions, _hd~ all resorts affected by the Parisian wjortd of fashion. As sho approached middle .Jife, however, her charms, and celebrity waned, which circumstance suggested to her the advisability of making provision for tbe coming autumn of life before it was too late. Her desire was either to secure a fortune or a, well-to- Jo husband; and casting hareyes about for the' one or thV o[her. they fell upon M. La Roche, a young man of^good family, whosename figured on her list of admirers. A few d.aye prior to the laat bai masque at the opera, she wrote to her predestined prey, expressing a strong desire to go to tbe ball with bim, to which M. La Roche made answer that he would have infinite pleasure in accompanying tbe fair Eugenie, and would arrive in Paris for that purpose on the morning of the day named. The two diaed together,' repairing to . tbe lady's luxurious nest in the Rue de Boulogne to make the necessary toilette. In the Widow's dressiog-room was hidden a man named Gaudry, an artizan, who had conceived a foolish but ardent flame fdr Madame de la Cour, and bad frequently offered to risk his life to serve her. To this poor tool, whilst donning ttie elegant pink domino and mask, she bnefly stated her orders, sugaring the pill by honeyed words of hope for the" future if he asquttted himself well of b |s. task. Rejoining M. La Roche gaily, they started for the opera, remaining there till two in tbe morning. On returning to the Rue de Boulogne, .Madame Da la Cour waited intentionally : a jfew moments at the door, leaving ber companion to precede ber. A cry of anguish uttered by tbe latter brought herr in well-feigned anxiety to his side. A' -bottle of vitriol had been thrown ; it his vface by some unknown hand, with unkhow.u,.object in view. Madame de la Cour_conveyed the sufferer toTher : own. chamber^ and attended bim vyith. tlie j -lost exemplary devotion. For weeks bis .life was despaired of, and when ai ;. length -.the danger of death was passed -it; waa found that his sight, was hopelessly, lost. With returning strength,; however, certain suspicions took root in th.s sightless man's brain, which ended h{s leaving the hospitable but treacherous bouse, and returning to his family. Little circumstances linked, togethersoon formed a chain of evidence strong enough to justify tbe arrest of the widow, whose despair at finding her nicely-laid schemes had brought her to prison instead of a husband or fortune wjas so great that she courted death by starvation, and was only frustrated iu her design by nourishment being (fojcibly administered to her. Her object, as has since transpired, in inducing Gaudry to throw the vitriol at M. Lu.Roche, was lo disfigure him so-

entirly that, stimulated by the devotion she displayed in euraing him v h(^ should consent "to" marry her, , or* in ihe L evehV of death superveoing^she counted upon the effect,, SM'J _Hie4sarae jby^iyjtitical devotion to induce him to bequeath her aj gooflly- SBare of : his large fdr*tu_e; She bas happily been ; baulked; it now ir^mains to be seen what justice reserves 'for her and heV instVuoten't Gaudry. v T