CONTI 287 in the execution of such process they are con- sidered the officers of the court from which it issued, and therefore directly amenable to it. 2. Fraud or malpractice of attorneys, solicitors, &c. Fair dealing between them and their cli- ents will be enforced upon summary applica- tion. Non-payment of money collected by an attorney or solicitor will subject him to process of attachment. So when any improper advan- tage has been taken of a client, it will be treat- ed as a contempt, and relief granted upon mo- tion. The ground upon which courts interfere in such cases is the confidential relation be- tween attorney and client, and the disrepute which would attach to the courts themselves if any want of integrity should be tolerated in their officers. In other cases courts will punish attorneys and other officers for a breach of any prescribed duty, even when there has been no private injury. Thus, a master in chancery has been adjudged guilty of a con- tempt in carrying on a suit in the name of another solicitor contrary to statute. (See Yates's case, 4 Johnson's Rep., 317 ; 6 id., 337 ; 9 id., 395.) So if a private person brings a suit in the name of another person without his consent or privity, it is a contempt. (2 John- son's Rep., 291.) For any disorderly conduct in court, summary punishment may be inflict- ed ; in other cases an attachment issues for the arrest of the offending party, and when brought in he is usually required to answer written in- terrogatories. If the commission of the of- fence is not admitted, further proof may be taken by affidavits. Upon the admission or proof of the offence, the court adjudges the party in contempt, and may prescribe punish- ment in its discretion, which may be either fine or imprisonment, or both. The publica- tion in a newspaper of an article calculated to impair the respect and authority of the court has sometimes been punished as a contempt ; but it is generally considered that in doing this a court occupies somewhat dangerous and doubtful ground. It is nevertheless permitted in some of the United States by statute or constitution. The power in legislative bodies to punish contempts is analogous to that pos- sessed by courts, and is exercised to punish disorders in their presence or which are cal- culated to impede their free action, to compel obedience to their proper process or that of their committees, to protect their members against unlawful arrests, &c. (6 Wheaton's Rep., 204 ; 14 Gray's Rep., 226 ; 37 New Hamp- shire Rep., 450.) The courts cannot review legislative decisions in cases of contempt ; but where imprisonment is imposed as a punish- ment, it must terminate with the session of the body imposing it ; and if the party is not then released, it may be done on habeas corpus. CONTI, Princes de, a junior branch of the Conde family of France, originating from Conti or Conty, a village near Amiens. FRANCOIS DE BOURBON, who died childless in 1614, and who was a son of the first prince of Conde, 224 . VOL. v. 19 was the first to assume the title. The follow- ing are the most prominent members of the family. I. Louise Marguerite de Lorraine, prin- cess de, wife of the preceding, born about 1577, died at Eu, April 30, 1631. She was a daughter of the duke Henri de Guise, le Balafre (the scarred), and of Catharine of Cleves, and is said to have attracted the attention of Henry IV., and to have been supplanted in his affec- tion by Gabrielle d'Estrees. She married the prince de Conti in 1605. The only child by him dying soon after birth, she is said to have had a child by Bassompierre. She was one of the most dissolute, brilliant, influential prin- cesses of her day, and spent the end of her life at Eu, for having given umbrage to Richelieu by her devotion to Maria de' Medici, to whom she remained faitMul in adversity. She is con- sidered the author of Les ventures de la cour de Perse, ou, sous des noms Strangers, sont ra- contees plusieurs Mstoires d? amour et de guerre arrivees de notre temps (Paris, 1629), as well as of the Histoire des amours du grand Alcandre (Henry IV.), published in 1652, in which she figures under the name of Milagarde. II. Ai> mand de Bourbon, regarded as the chief of the Conti family, born in Paris in 1629, died in 1666. He was a son of Henry II. de Bourbon and Charlotte de Montmorency, a younger brother of the great Conde, and godson of Richelieu. He was of feeble constitution, though of fine figure, and was destined for the church, being early provided with several rich benefices. But his love of pleasure and active life, together with the influence of his sister the duchess de Longueville, toward whom he was said to entertain more than a brotherly affec- tion, led him to abandon theology,' and to en- gage in the war of the Fronde against the court. After a short imprisonment he went over to the opposite side, married a niece of Mazarin, became governor of Guienne, and commanded armies in Spain (1655) and Italy (1657). Like his sister, he became devout in the latter part of his life, and wrote reli- gious treatises. III. Louis Annand de Bourbon, elder son of the preceding, born in 1661, died at Fontainebleau in 1685. He was dissolute and brilliant like his father, and distinguished himself with Prince Eugene and others against the Turks. Louis XIV. banished him from court for having engaged in this warfare in spite of his prohibition, but subsequently pardoned him. His wife, Mile, de Blois, a daughter of Louis XIV. and Mme. de la Valliere, was re- markable for her beauty and accomplishments. IV. Francois Louis de Bourbon, brother of the preceding, born in Paris in 1664, died in 1709. After the death of his brother, with whom he had fought in Hungary against the Turks, he exchanged the title of prince de la Roche-sur- Yon for that of Conti. He was banished to Chantilly, Louis XIV. bearing him a grudge for having characterized him as a stage king in the drawing room, and a chess king on the battle- field. The great Conde on his deathbed ob-
