Ghost Ridden Castle: Specter of Louis XIV. Haunts French Chateau

The charming young daughter of Casimir-Perier, former president of France, who has recently been married to M. Sommier, one of France's sugar princes, whose income is said to be $10,000 a day, is to reside in the Chateau de Vaux-Praslin, said to be haunted by the specters of Louis XIV., of Fouquet, his minister of finance, and of the Duke of Praslin and his duchess, whom he foully murdered.

[Illustration Caption: THE ARREST OF FOUQUET.]

The superstitious who dwell near Vaux-Praslin, which is near Paris, and even those less credulous, declare that the apparitions of Louis Quatorze, of his thieving minister, of the murderous Praslin and his unhappy wife and victim often revisit the ancient chateau and the walks of the gardens that surround it.

Certain is it that the violent deaths of three of these personages must be forever associated with the old chateau.

Well may the restless spirit of Nicolas Fouquet seek the chateau where will reside this young bride, who, by the bye, has many fashionable relatives in America. Fouquet, viscount of Melun aud of Vaux, became Louis XIV.'s minister of finance in 1658. Fouquet, a financier of genius, had rendered indubitable service to the state, had even engaged his private fortune to pay the expenses of the court and of the army; but, being raised to his high place, this financier confounded his own purse with the public coffers, into which he plunged his greedy hands.

He rebuilt his chateau of Vaux, and it cost him 9,000,000 francs, certainly equal to 40,000,000 in our day. To lay out a park he razed three villages. In the park "were so many fountains, cascades, lakes and statues that the eye was confounded."

To this more than imperial house Fouquet invited Louis Quatorze. The supper he spread before the king cost 120,000 francs. The table groaned under the service of solid gold as well as the weight of delicacies, for which the globe had been ransacked. Of the brilliancy of the fete La Fontaine wrote, "Heaven was jealous."

The king was jealous, too; then suspicious. Soon, led by Colbert, Louis decided on a "great flnancial reform." Fouquet was arrested, thrown into the Bastille, and his papers were seized. Among them were many letters from ladies of the court thanking Fouquet--this one for a gift of 100,000 francs, that one for a house, a third for 50,000 francs. The Duke of Brancas had received from Fouquet a present of 600,000 francs, the Duke of Richelieu 200,000 francs, the Marquis of Crequi 100,000. The king himself had far less money to spend.

Fouquet was tried and found guilty of what would now be possibly called "misappropriation of funds." Nine of his judges sentenced him to death, thirteen to banishment. The king was furious.

"If he had been sentenced to death, I would have let him die!" Louis cried. Pretending to exercise his right of pardon, the king aggravated the court's sentence by "commuting" it to imprisonment for life. From his ocean of riches Fouquet was hurried to the citadel of Pignerol. All his vast estates were confiscated, but as an act of royal mercy his family was permitted to live near him. After sixteen years of such imprisonment Fouquet died in 1680.

The years rolled on. Vaux's glory declined. Most of its lands were sold. In 1760 the huge lead pipes that had fed its lakes, cascades and fountains were sold and fetched themselves the vast sum of 490,000 francs. About that year the estate, much diminished, but still splendid, passed into the possession of the dukes of Choiseul-Praslin. In 1824 Carl Laura Hugo Theobald, duke of Praslin, married Fannie, the lovely daughter of General Sebastiani, a marshal of France. She was scarcely seventeen years of age. Her husband was but three years her senior. All the oldest of the aristocracy thronged to their wedding and showered splendid gifts.

"They seemed to live for each other"--for seventeen years, until 1841. Then the duchess engaged as governess for her three eldest daughters a Mlle. Deluzy. In her choice of governess the duchess proved her confidence in her husband, for Mlle. Deluzy was beautiful, accomplished and five years younger than herself. The governess received the handsome salary of 2,000 francs a year and all her living expenses.

After months, years, under their roof the duchess at last perceived that the governess had captivated the duke. The duke and duchess continued to live together, but their apartments were no longer the same. Even under these circumstances the duchess in July, 1847, insisted that Mlle. Deluzy be dismissed and leave the chateau, where the family then was. Rather than provoke an open scandal, the duke assented to Mlle. Deluzy's dismissal, and she went to Paris, and here, it was afterward proved, the duke thrice visited her.

Scarcely more than a month after the departure of the governess, on Aug. 16, the duke, the duchess and their children left the chateau on their way to Dieppe, the famous watering place on the English channel. Arriving in Paris, their own home being closed, the family and their servants went to General Sebastiani's residence, from which he was briefly absent. The younger members of the family retired to apartments on the upper floors of the house. The apartments of the Duke and duchess, on the lower floor, adjoined. It developed that all the doors of the duchess' sleeping room were locked that night. Only the duke could have gained access to them.

Daylight of Aug. 17 arrived. Three or four dreadful shrieks sounded from the duchess' bedchamber and aroused the frightened servants. One of them afterward swore that the silence following the shrieks was broken by duke shouting, as if in horror: "My God, what can this mean? What has happened?"

The doors of the duchess' bedroom were opened to the servants by the duke, who was in his morning robe, which was marked by blood. His hands were bloody.

In the center of the room lay the duchess, dead. Twenty fearful stab wounds had killed her--pierced her bosom, her uplifted arms, her neck; one had severed her jugular vein. Besides, there were wounds made by a blunt instrument. The furniture was in disorder, the room was ensanguined. The duke, after his first shout, appeared perfectly calm and summoned a physician and the police.

All suspicion at once pointed directly at Praslin. He coolly made a statement to the police, saying in effect:

"I retired without the assistance of my vaIet, as I often do. After our journey I went to sleep almost immediately. About daybreak, I think, I was awakened by a loud cry, but that did not alarm me, because I thought it came somewhere from the neighborood. Then I heard steps in the garden. I arose, put on my morning gown and was going to the duchess' bedchamber, when I heard another cry which sounded like, 'Seize the murderer!' I hurried back, got a pistol and returned to my wife's bedchamber.

"It was perfectly dark; silent. I could hear or see nothing. I called, 'Fannie;' no answer. I went back, procured a candle and once more returned to my wife's room.

"She was lying on the floor, covered with blood. I raised her and tried to assist her and in so doing stained my dressing robe and my hands. The servants arrived before I had thought to call for them. No; I had not the courage to tell my children they had been robbed of their mother. My first thought was to send for physicians and police officials."

[Illustration Caption: IN THE CENTER OF THE ROOM THE DUCHESS LAY DEAD.]

Further investigation left not the shadow of a doubt of Praslin's guilt and drove him to self murder. Deep scratehes soon made themselves plain on the duke's face and neck and marks of teeth on his thumb. The duchess, surprised as she was in her sleep, taken at a base disadvantage, fought bravely for her life. A stiletto with a broken handle and a cavalry pistol were found in the house, and the experts swore that the wounds the duchess suffered had been inflicted with these weapons.

Praslin was arrested on Aug. 21 and incarcerated in the prison of the Luxembourg palace, where be committed suicide by poison.