Bidspirit auction | LAFARGE MARIE: (1816-1852) ´ please

LAFARGE MARIE: (1816-1852) ´ please obtain for me the only happiness of being useful to those who loved me´ - LAFARGE MARIE: (1816-1852) French criminal who was convicted of murdering her husband by arsenic poisoning in 1840. Lafarge´s case is of note as being one of the early trials to be followed by the public through daily newspaper reports, and also as she was the first person convicted largely on direct forensic toxological evidence. Questions over Lafarge's guilt divided French society to the extent that it is often compared to the Dreyfus affair. A.L.S., Marie Capelle (using her maiden name), three pages, 8vo, la prison (Montpellier), 24th September 1848, to a gentleman, in French. Lafarge commences her letter stating ´Vous etes la mémoire, le conseil, la seconde volonté du ministre. Veuillez vous faire l´avocat de la cause des faibles´ (Translation: ´You are the memory, the advice, the second will of the minister. Please be the advocate of the cause of the weak´ ) and continues to explain that she has not sealed a letter to Mr. Gondechoux, as ´Je voudrais que vous lisiez ma prière avant de la lui donner afin qu´un mot de sympathie les protege´ (Translation: ´I would like you to read my prayer before giving it to him so that a word of sympathy may protect them´ ), further writing ´Soyez indulgent, Monsieur, pour mon indiscrétion sans avoir l´honneur de vous connaitre, j´espère la votre bienveillance, et j´ai foi en votre bonté. Le malheur qui effraye les faibles, altère irrésistiblement les belles ames......Comptez mes larmes Monsieur, pesez ma croix, et veuillez m´obtenir le seul bonheur d´etre utile à ceux qui m´ont aimé´ (Translation: ´Be indulgent, Sir, for my indiscretion. Without having the honour of knowing you, I hope for your benevolence, and I have faith in your kindness. The misfortune that frightens the weak, irresistibly alters good minds......Count my tears, Sir, weigh my cross, and please obtain for me the only happiness of being useful to those who loved me´ ). Rare. A couple of very light, minor creases and stains and with some slight traces of former mounting to the verso, about VG