A TRAGEDY IN HIGH LIFE.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 61, 9 June 1863, Page 3

A TRAGEDY IN HIGH LIFE.

Now that the jojous days of masS^— -ading and revelry have passed J^ in Paris, we have to turn to the sackcloth and ashes repentance. Singular enough, the very first day of Lent has been marked by a most painful and terrible event, which has spread confusion and horror throughout the whole Faubourg St. Germain. The tale is so strange, so filled with the dements of romance, that, were it not "sure to become public in a few days, we should experience some degree of scruple in recounting it. One of the fairest and most wealthy of, the heir- . esses who inhabit the vast and princely ; mansions of the Rue St. Dotrinique has ■ just committed suicide under circumstances of the most extraordinary na- - tare. The young lady, whose beauty f tad already become celebrated, was the . daughter of the widowed Duchess , who, devoting herself entirely to the } happiness of her two children, lived in : he strictest retirement. The young .Due , J Juts t fifteen, was pursuing his U^idies at home wMler the superintenW.&ze of a tutor, — the latter a Polish - toj'^leman, remarkable for his peculiar 1 mess, being humpbacked, and al»f jt a dwarf, witfc the peculiarly large

mouth and exaggerated ears whJKk belong to persons afflicted with gibbosity. But it seems that the tutor was gifted with poetry in the highest degree ; he was enthusiastic, he was patriotic, morei over ; and when the call to arms in favor of poor, blighted, injured Poland resounded through the land, he obeyed the summons on the instant, and fled to the rescue with as much alacrity as though Dame Nature had not evidently given him the best excuse for remaining a simple spectator of the struggle. For the last few days of his stay in the family it was observed that the young lady was saddened and depressed beyond measure. While the other members of the household were busily employed in collecting every object which should render his journey more easy — for he had become a great favorite with all — she would wander ab ut the house, listless and heedless of what was going on around, and when the moment of the final farewell arrived, she was missed from the drawing-room, and so the adieux were not spoken. The young man departed, unconscious of any other eel ing than that of regret that the railway signal, which waits for no man, would compel him to leave the country without a single word of affectionate adieu to the fair and amiable young J girl whose kindness and consideration had so long helped to soothe the feeling of dependence amid which he had been living. For some little while after his departure no heed was taken of the absence of the young lady. The day was fine — the garden attached to the mansion was a large one. It was supposed that she was roaming amid its walks, and watching the progress of the spring and the shrubs and fk wers ; but when the dinner bell had rung, and still she did not appear, of course great anxiety was felt, and the whole household joined in the search. Every room in the mansion Was visited, but without result, and the terror and anxiety of the mother may be imagined when all through the grounds' the name of the young girl was shouted without bringing any reply. There is a small summer-house at the bottom of the garden far from the mansion, and damp and desolate, but seldom used. The young brother, as it were in a fit of despair, bursts open the door, little expecting to find the object of his search. It was there, however, that he found his sister — cold, pale, and motionless. She was leaning on the wooden table belonging to the place, and her hand still grasped the small i phial whose contents had sent her out •of the world the had been destined to a lorn, leaving her adoring relatives to m : pery and despair. The bottle had co itained chloroform, which had been us.nl for the soothing of the pain of toothache, and death had been instantaneous and comparatively easy. In the first paroxyism of grief, the investigation of the causr of the rash act was overlooked. Many suggestions were offered, but no reason, plain enough to be accepted, could be given. It was not till the examination of the corpse had taken place that the whole clue to the frightful mystery was discovered. Suspended by a ribbon from her neck was found a little silken satchel, containing the photographic portrait of the Polish tutor, even more u^ly in the semblance than, in nature. The portrait was accompanied by a lock of coarse, wiry hair, which the young Duke remembered to have cut one day from the head of the dwarf, and to have presented to his sister with mock solemnity, telling her that it was a souvenir of romance and beauty. A few lines, perfectly disjointed and incoherent, were written in pencil on the back of the portrait; but whether written at the moment of the dreadfu 1 determination, or on some previous occasion, no one can tell. The event has caused the utmost excitement throughout the Faubourg. The funeral, which is not to take place in Paris, but at the family chateau, in Normandy, will be attended by all the principal members of the Legitimist families, notwithstanding the distance, so great is the desire to show respect to the bereaved mother, and, above all, to display opposition to the prejudice which exists in cases, of the like nature, when death is the result of suicide.— Court Journal.