murdered his wife. It was impossible that it could be any one but himself. Every pre sumption pointed directly to him. And yet it was a serious matter to charge him with such a crime, and the officers of justice still hesitated. They continued their searches, they accumulated proofs. In the Duke's chamber they discovered several knives, all of which bore marks of blood. The person of the Duke was then examined. On his right arm was a recent bruise, as if made by the pressure of a finger; both hands were scratched, and the right hand was further in jured, apparently from a bite. The Duke endeavored feebly to account for these marks in a manner which bore little likelihood of being truth. An investigation into the do mestic life of the De Praslins established the fact that for some time the relations between the Duke and the Duchess had been strained, and a certain coldness had existed between them, especially since the entrance into the De Praslin mansion of a certain Mademoi selle Deluzy, who had been engaged in 1841 as a governess for the Duke's nine children. Public rumor spoke of private scandals, and a family disunited by the manoeuvres of this young woman. The whole of this investigation could lead to but one conclusion, — that the Duke was the murderer; but under the erroneous no tion that they could not commit a peer of France to prison, the authorities merely ordered him to be kept under the guard of M. Allard and some agents, in his own house. Meanwhile a messenger was sent to King Louis Philippe, then at Eu, to pray that he would at once, by special ordinance, con voke the Chamber of Peers as a High Court of Justice. This his Majesty immediately did, and the President of the Chamber di rected that the Duke should be committed to the prison of the Luxembourg. But it was too late, at least for fully carrying out the intentions of justice. On the evening of the day the murder was discovered, the Duke seized an opportunity, while alone in his room, of swallowing a strong dose of ar
senic. The effect of the poison, however, was not immediately fatal, and in the dark ness of the night, to avoid the fury of an incensed populace, the wretched Duke was conveyed to the prison of the Luxembourg. There he was examined by Chancellor Pasquier, President of the Chamber of Peers. The judge adjured him earnestly to relieve his mind by a frank confession of his crime, and when he pleaded weakness as a reason for not entering into details, the judge re plied that nothing more was requisite than yes or no. Still he urged his state of feeble ness, but to various questions of detail he re plied with sufficient readiness. The High Court of Justice was now prepared to sit on the trial of the accused, and society awaited a great judicial example. Suddenly a report spread that the Duke was dying of the poi son, — that he was dead. The effect of this news upon the public was beyond descrip tion. The report was true, however; the Due de Praslin expired in the Luxembourg. To the last he shrunk from positively deny ing the murder; and when, just as the agony of death was upon him, he was adjured to relieve his soul by an avowal of the truth, his last words were : "I am too worn out, too suffering to-day, but tell the Chancellor that I beg him to come to me to-morrow." In consequence of his death, the Chan cellor made the following report to the Peers : — "An account is due you of how we used the powers committed to us, for investigating the murder of the Duchesse de Praslin. The inquiry was conducted upon the presump tion, which proved too well founded, that her husband, the Due de Praslin, was the act ual criminal. The time the Duke was under your jurisdiction was of no long duration. At five o'clock on the morning of Saturday he was committed to the prison of the Lux embourg, in virtue of an order that I had given on Friday, but which could not sooner be put into execution He lived four days only from the date of his entering the prison, having, a few hours after the murder, taken
