The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-14 00:00:00

FROM THE FRENCH PAPERS.

A young woman, elegantly dressed, and accompanied
by a femme-de-chambre, having dined at the forty. sous
restaurant, in the Rue Vivienne and Passage Colbert,.
the day before yesterday, was detected in pocketing one
of the silver forks she had used, and was taken before a
Commissary of Police. While under examination, the
keeper of another restaurant, in the Rue de Honore,
having heard of the incident, and been four days before
robbed by a person of similar description, hastened to
the Commissary's-office, and there found lying on the
tabic the lost plate, which had also been found at the re-
sidence of the delinquent. She was unable to exculpate
herself, but protested the innocence of her femme-de-cham-
bre, who, in fact, was totally ignorant of the thefts of her
mistress. The latter was committed:to prison, while the
former was discharged.
Two evenings ago a man decently dressed entered a
shop on the Boulevard Montmartre, and while pretend-
ing to buy some lamp-shades, contrived to secrete various
other articles, unperceived, as ho thought, by the young
woman who served at the counter, and who was alone.
She sa.v, however, his manoeuvres, and managed to call
in a worthy cobbler, who searched the thief, but could:
find nothing in his pocket. The man blustered, and as-
serted that he was porter of a house in the Rue Bergere,
and requested the cobbler to go with him there, and
ascertain his honesty. They set out together, and ar-
rived at No. 27, which the rogue said was his dwelling,
and politely opening the door showed the cobler in first,
but instantly closed it upon him, bolted out of the gate-
way, and was no more seen.

some days ago the men employed at the Chateau de
Jonchere, near Brie-Comte-Robert, in rebuilding the
dairy which had been constructed out of an old tower,
uncovered a coffin which lay near the foundation. This
was no extraordinary occurrence, as the building had
been part of an ancient convent. The Count de V—,
proprietor of the estate, had the coffin opened, and
within was found the dried remains of a body wrapped
in a monk's dress with a large-battle sword by its side.
The head of the corpse was laid on a stone, and on one
of the fingers of the left hand was a ring turned brown
by age, and bearing the impression of a coat of arms, on
which were charged two lions superposed. This was no
doubt one of the Seigneurs of the time of Louis
some of whom, as is well known, after passing a dissolute
life, ordered themselves to be interred in convents in the
garb of monks, thinking by this mark of penitence to
insure their salvation.

The Tribunal de Premier Instance had before it yes-
terday a suit for a separation from bed and board, which
excited great interest. Mme. de N- had been con-
demned to imprisonment for adultery a short time since,
as we had occasion to mention, and her husband, an of-
ficer of hussars, had been seriously wounded in a duet
with her seducer. The lady now demanded the guar-
dianship of her only child, a daughter, on the ground of
her sex and age, and the profession of her father, which
was deemed incompatible with the proper education of
the child. Her demand was refused, on account of the
cause of the separation, aggravated by a letter which the
mother had addressed to her child, who is only four
years old, and unable to read it, containing bitter reflec-
tions upon the conduct of the father towards her. The
Court added to its judgment an injunction that the mother
should not be allewed to visit or see the child. •

A working jeweller, named Maisognon, living on the
Quay Pelletier, who has long led a disorderly life, fre-
quently ill-treating his wife because she would not give
him the money she earned to spend in his debaucheries,
came home two evenings ago in a state of intoxication,
and, irritated by her threats that she would sue for a
separation, he took up a knife and stabbed her in several
places on the shoulder and side. While they were strug-
gling, their daughter, only eight years old, in endeavour-
ing to appease them, was also seriously wounded. The
sight of the blood he had spilt so far brought 11faisognon
back to his senses, that he rushed out of the house, went
to the Prefecture of Police, and entering the huissier's
room, called upon the persons present to arrest him,
for he had murdered his wife. Ile was secured ; and,
on inquiry being made, committed to prison. The poor
woman lies in a desperate state, but the little girl is not
in danger.

The Temps, in reply to the contradiction given by the
ministerial evening Journals to its statement relative to
the workmen employed on the fortifications of Paris,
says :—" Whether it be the rains, or whatever other
circumstance may be the cause, a portion of the work-
men usually employed upon the fortifications are without
occupation. They have been accustomed to receive from
31. to 3f. 50c. per day ; they may not have received their
discharge perhaps, or will not act upon it, for the rate
of wages which they have received has disgusted them
with less productive employment. They do not
organise themselves in bands to ravage the en-
virons like regular road thieves, and this we never meant
to assert ; but they get together wherever they can
find shelter for the purpose of passing away the time
which they cannot employ otherwise, and it is easy to
conceive what may result from their public-house meet-
ings. A patrol of ten men was lately attacked by a
bad of these workmen, and we repeat that the com-
mune of Bercy, dreading, without doubt, the nocturnal
and other disturbances likely to result from such a state
of things, has applied for and obtained the presence of a
company of infantry (we are assured that we might have
said two companies), as a garrison for the maintenance
of tranquillity. Such are the facts to which we attach
credence, notwithstanding the contradictions of the Mi-
nistry, which is not always acquainted with what is pass-
ing in Paris, and appears to be completely ignorant of
what is passing at the barrieres."
A letter from Baden-baden says---" The works of the
Strasburg and Baden railroad, between Kehl and Appen-
wyr, are so far advanced that next summer the road be-
tween Kehl and Obs, the last village before reaching Ba-
den, will, it is expected, be open to public use. This
will certainly be the most productive and important part
of the whole line, particularly during the finer portion
of the year, and will bring incalculable advantages to
Baden, by conveying into our mountains a great number
of foreigners, particularly French. Obs is three-quarters
of a league from Baden, but as the road is to run along
the valley, there will be no great difficulties to encounter,
and a company is said to be forming to execute it."
The widow of General Count Rapp had since his
death been in the receipt of the usual military pension
assigned to the relics or officers of his rank, but in conse-
quence of her subsequent marriage with the Duke de
Melfort, in 1831, the Treasury refused to continue the
payment, on the ground that her present husband was a
foreigner, and thereby she lost her quality as a French-
woman, and with it her right to the pension. An appli-
cation was made to the Council of State, but as a
question was raised as to the nationality of the Duke de
Mel fort (who is the direct eldest descendant of the Drum-
mends, Dukes of Perth, in Scotland, and Melfort in
France) the Council referred it to the Tribunal de Pre-
miere Instance. The case came to a hearing at the sitting
of yesterday, when it was proved that the present Duke,
though a descendant from James Drummond, Duke of
Perth, who came over to France with James 11., the
family,of the present Duke had long acquired the quality
of French citizens, which they had not forfeited by any
subsequent act, and therefore the marriage of Countess
Rapp with the Duke did not deprive her of her quality
or rights of a Frenchwoman, notwithstanding it was
celebrated in England. The Tribunal gave 4 decree ac-
c)rdingly.
The sale of the fine collection of paintings belonging
to the late Count de Perregaux is concluded. The com-
petition was very great, and the room was crowded to
overflowing each day. There were only 69 pictures,
and yet the amount they, produced was 441,528 f. The
works of, the Dutch and Flemish masters were most in
request. A splendid Andrea del Sarto fetched only
2,550 f. The Crossing the Ford, by Karel du Jar-
din, 26,300 f. ; and a Sea Fight, by G. Vandervelde,
were knocked down at 22,1001. The Departure for the
Chase, by' A. Vandervelde, went at 26,850 f. ; a
Cuyp, at 18,1001. ; a Landscape, by Bothe, at 21,0001. ;
the Song Broken Off, by F. Ilieris, at 99,100 f. ; the- En-
trance into the Wood, by Ilobbima, at 23,0001. ; and
the Spy, by. Philip Wouverraans, at 35 100 f The mo-
dern paintings were not so successful. The Campo