The Secret of Countess De La Motte

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Once the famous Sevastopol artist and bard Valentin Strelnikov told me that in the 50s, when he lived in the Old Crimea, he saw a burial place covered with a stone slab, Countess De la Motte, which was located next to the Armenian church.

Jeanne de Luz de Saint-Remy de Valois was born in 1756 in Bar-sur-Aub, France. Her father, Jacques Saint-Renis, was the illegitimate son of King Henry II. Her mother was Nicole de Savigny.

After the death of her father, seven-year-old Jean lived on alms. The Marquis of Boulenville was passing by her, and she became interested in her history. The marquise checked the girl's pedigree and took her to her house. When the girl grew up, she settled in a monastery in Hierres, near Paris, then in the Abbey of Longchamp.

Jean de Valois Bourbon, Countess de la Motte, Countess Gachet aka Countess de Croix, the heroine of A. Dumas' novel “Queen's Necklace”, which also served to create the image of Milady in the novel “The Three Musketeers”, really ended her life in Crimea. Writers also wrote about it: F. Schiller, brothers Goncourt, S. Zweig.

Jeanne tricked into taking possession of a diamond necklace intended for the favorite of Louis 15. When this adventure was discovered, she was arrested, and she was branded on her shoulder and imprisoned.

She married an officer of the Count of La Motte, an officer of the Count d'Artois's guard. and moved to Paris. Count Benjo describes her appearance in this way: beautiful hands, an unusually white complexion, expressive blue eyes, an enchanting smile, small stature, large mouth, long face. All contemporaries say that she was very smart. In 1781, she appeared at the court of Louis XVI and became a close friend of his wife Marie Antoinette.

Portrait of Countess De La Motte

In December 1784, a necklace of 629 diamonds, made by jewelers Boemer and Bossange for Louis XV's favorite Madame Dubarry and remaining unredeemed due to the death of the customer, was shown to Empress Marie Antoinnete. The necklace cost a whopping 1,600,000 livres. She refused to buy it. Cardinal Louis de Rogan of Strasbourg decided to buy it out. He gave them an advance. Before the cardinal had to give the remainder of the sum to the jewelers, the Italian Giuseppe Balsamo, Count Cagliostro, to whom Rogan owed a large sum, unexpectedly appeared. The cardinal was a man of honor, so he gave the debt to the count, and was left completely without money. As a result, the necklace ended up in the hands of de la Motte, and the jewelers received a fake receipt from the queen, made by Jeanne's friend Reto de Villette. The jewelers came to the queen and demanded money on a false receipt. A scandal broke out. All the participants in this story - Jeanne de La Motte, Cardinal de Rogan, de Villette - were imprisoned in the Bastille. Count Cagliostro also arrived here.

By a court decision on May 31, 1786, Rogan was defrocked, and Cagliostro was simply expelled from France, acquitted, Reto de Villette was sentenced to life in galleys, and Jeanne Valois de La Motte was whipped and branded. During the punishment, Jeanne wriggled so that the executioner missed and put a stamp on her chest, and two lilies appeared on her body at once. The second seal was given to her when she was already unconscious.

During the trial, Jeanne struck Cagliostro with a copper candlestick. The necklace was never found - 629 diamonds set in gold disappeared without a trace. Jean escaped from prison and, together with Cagliostro, who organized the escape, ended up in England. In 1787 her memoirs were published in London. “Vie de Jeanne de Saint-Rémy, de Valois, comtesse de la Motte etc., écrite par elle-même” (“Life of Jeanne de Saint-Remy, de Valois, Countess de la Motte, etc., described by herself ). Marie-Antoinette sent the Countess Polignac from Paris to buy the books of Jeanne, who agreed to give up her work for 200 thousand livres. Perhaps this book by de La Motte became one of the reasons for the French Revolution, which in 1789 destroyed not only the monarchy, but also physically Louis XVI with Marie Antoinette. Moreover, the empress was executed by the same executioner that branded Jeanne de La Motte.

On August 26, 1791, Jeanne organized her own funeral. Moreover, she personally attended the procession in London and walked behind an empty coffin, looking around from under a black veil. Once free, she marries the Comte de Gachet, and changes her last name. Becoming Countess Gachet, Jeanne leaves England and appears in St. Petersburg. Here, through her friend Mitriss Birch née Cazalet, she meets Catherine-2, whom she tells about Cagliostro, who also appears in the capital at this time. Cagliostro was expelled from Russia. Ekaterina-2, wrote two plays "The Deceiver" and "Seduced", which were shown on the stages of the capital. Having sold diamonds to Count Walitsky, the Countess de Gachet lived comfortably in Russia. In 1812, the Countess took Russian citizenship. Jeanne de La Motte - Gachet lived in St. Petersburg for 10 years. The French government more than once made a request for Jeanne's extradition, but the Empress's patronage saved her. Under Empress Elisabeth, Mitriss Birch was her maid. In 1824, the Emperor Alexander Pavlovich met with Zhanna and ordered her to leave Petersburg for the Crimea. Together with her left Princess Anna Golitsyna and Baroness Krudener, her novel "Valerie" delighted her contemporaries, this book was also in the library of A. S. Pushkin, he praised the "charming story of Baroness Krudener." The ladies were also instructed to accompany a party of foreign colonists, more than a hundred people, to the Crimea.

It took six months to get to the Crimea, they sailed on a barge along the Volga and Don. During a storm on the Volga, the barge almost capsized, everyone was saved by Princess Golitsyna, who ordered the mast to be cut down. She arrived on the peninsula in 1824. In the city of Karasubazar, Baroness Barbara Krudener died of cancer, and she was buried here. At first, Jeanne, together with Juliette Berkheim, daughter of the late Baroness Krudener, settled in Koreiz with Princess Anna Golitsyna. The princess walked in wide trousers and a long caftan, always with a whip in her hand, rode everywhere on horseback, sitting in the saddle like a man. Local Tatars nicknamed her "the old woman from the mountains." The Countess de Gachet, at that time was an elderly, but slender lady, in a gray strict coat, gray hair, covered with a black velvet beret, with feathers. An intelligent, pleasant face was enlivened by the sparkle of her eyes, her graceful speech was captivating.

Soon the countess moved to Artek, in the possession of the Polish poet Count Gustav Olizar, who was hiding here from unhappy love. He asked for the hand of Maria Nikolaevna Raevskaya and was refused. He left the upper world and went to the shores of Taurida to heal mental and heart wounds. One day, traveling along the coast, he expressed his delight in the surrounding landscapes. The cabman, having found the owner of the area that the master liked, the Parthenit Tatar Khasan, from whom for only two rubles in silver, a poet in love, became the owner of four acres of land at the foot of Ayu-Dag.

Then it was the only house on the entire seven-kilometer stretch from Gurzuf to Ayu-Dag. Crimea was just beginning to develop. The house was built by a lime-burner near his ovens. The remains of these furnaces were excavated during the construction of one of the buildings of Artek.

The countess lived with her maid in this little house of Asher's dacha, which has survived to this day. Now the building houses the memorial museum of Zinovy Solovyov, the founder and first director of Artek, who lived here in the twenties. They also preached to the local population the ideas of socialism by François Fourier. The police became interested in Zhanna, and she had to move to Old Crimea. Here she lived with her maid in a small house. The Countess was unsociable, avoided communication and dressed strangely. She wore a semi-male suit, and always carried a pair of pistols with her in her belt. The locals called her Countess Gasher.

Countess Gachet died April 2 1826. She was buried in the Old Crimea. The deceased was served by two priests - a Russian and an Armenian. The grave was covered with a stone slab, which the countess had ordered in advance from the stonecutter. On it was carved a vase with acanthus leaves - a symbol of triumph and overcoming trials, under it - an intricate monogram of Latin letters. A shield was carved at the bottom of the slab, on which the name and dates are usually placed. But he stayed clean.

The old women, who were dressing her on her last journey, found a brand on her shoulder, two lilies. A messenger was immediately sent from Petersburg to find the boxes with the countess's papers.

Baron I. I. Diebitsch is the chief of staff of the Emperor, writes to the Governor of Tauride D. V. Naryshkin. From 4.08.1836, No. 1325. “Among the movable estate left after the death of Countess Gashet, who died in May of this year near Feodosia, a dark blue box with an inscription was sealed; "Marie Cazalet", to which Ms Birch is entitled. By the order of the Imperial Sovereign Emperor, I humbly ask you, upon arrival of the messenger from the St. Petersburg military governor-general and upon delivery of this relationship, to give him this box in the form in which it remained after the death of Countess Gashet. " Upon receipt of the message, Naryshkin D. V., the governor of the Tauride Territory, writes to the official of special assignments to the Mayer; “Her property was described by the local town hall during the stay of the appointed Countess Gashet by word of mouth before the death of her executors; call Sec. Baron Bode, foreigner Kilius and head of affairs of the late Feodosia 1st guild, merchant Dominic Amoreti, who, by order of the provincial government, was taken into the department of noble guardianship.

In the inventory of the property, four boxes are shown, no matter what colors they are, but one, at number 88 … probably, this is the same box about which the chief of the general staff writes to me."

“… Mayer found two boxes: one dark blue, with the inscription in gold letters: Miss Maria Cazalet, the other - red, while on the key there was a ticket on the ribbon with the inscription: pou M.de Birch. But both … were not sealed and, so to speak, open, for the keys to them were in the possession of the same Baron Bode”

It turned out that Bode arrived in Old Crimea a day after the death of the countess. Baron Bode, while still alive, was instructed by the Countess to sell her property, and send all the proceeds to France, to the city of Tours, to a certain Mr. Lafontaine. Bode fulfilled the will of the decanter. The Maer, however, was most interested in the papers that were in the box. But they weren't. Local residents were questioned. They said that she was wearing another suit that tightly covered her from head to toe. Tatarin Ibrahim, a fifteen-year-old boy, said: I saw the Countess before her death, she burned a lot of papers. And she kissed one scroll and put it in the box.

Count Palen wrote to Naryshkin on 4.01.1827.” General Benckendorff forwarded to me a letter addressed to Baron Bode, from which one can see the suspicion of some persons … of the abduction and concealment of her papers. …. Additional investigation, after which Palen was reported. "It was possible to establish the fact of the theft of papers, but the names of the abductors are unknown."

Governor Naryshkin entrusted the investigation to the official Ivan Brailko. Baron Bode. Handed him two letters from Countess de Gachet. These letters, together with a report on the investigation, were immediately sent to St. Petersburg

In 1913, the writer Louis Alexis Bertrain (Louis-de-Sudak) created a Franco-Russian commission - which concluded that Countess Gachet was indeed buried in the Old Crimea. During the occupation of Crimea in 1918, German officers were photographed near the burial place of Gachet. The slab showed the royal monograms of Marie Antoinette. In 1913, the artist L. L. Kwiatkowski found a tombstone and sketched it. In 1930, another artist P. M. Tumansky also saw and sketched this slab. The drawing is now in the St. Petersburg archive. In 1956, the Simferopol local historian Fyodor Antonovsky showed the plate to R. F. Koloyanidi and her brother, Nikolai Zaikin, who photographed the slab. Subsequently, Antonovsky presented this photo to the club of Sevastopol history lovers. The grave was located near the Armenian Gregorian church Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God) … The church was demolished in 1967. In the 90s, Vitaly Koloyanidi, together with the musician Konstantin, brought this plate to his home. In 2002, Vitaly showed the plate to his friend, local historian E. V. Kolesnikov. In the 1990s, Konstantin was killed, right next to Milady's grave. Vitaly died on 9.05. 2004 year. What is interesting in 1992, when we traveled around the Crimea together with the performer of the role of Milady in the film “The Three Musketeers”, Margarita Terekhova, Margarita asked me to stop by the Old Crimea, not knowing the whole story. And now, when you go to Feodosia and Koktebel, you pass next to the ashes of Countess Jeanne de Valois Bourbon, Countess De La Motte, Countess De Croix, Countess Gachet, Milady.

Author: Hydronaut-researcher of the USSR. Anatoly Tavrichesky