The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-29 00:00:00

ABDUCTION OF A JEWESS.

The case of taking away a Jewish girl under age, tried
before the Court of Assizes of the Puy-de-Dome, of which
mention has already been made, occupied the Court the
whale of last week, and was only concluded at midnight on
Tuesday. The trial excited an extraordinary interest in the
department, but the facts were very simple. A Dutch Jew,
of the name of Meyer Linnowiel, a hawker by calling, many
years ago abandoned his wife in Holland, and formed an in-
timate connexion with ancther woman of the name of Van
Vien, who has since borne him not fewer than nine chil.
dren. This couple came to France, and in 1843, one of the
nine children, named Sarah, was born at a place called
Belle-Barmontaise, department of the Crouse. The
parents placed the child under the care of a nurse,
and for a time paid regularly for her maintenance.
But at length they fell into such distress that the
Israelite community of Clermont had to take charge of the
child. That body confided her to a married couple of the
name of Estener, shopkeepers in the town, and those per-
sons having no children of their own, conceived a, great
affection for the girl. She lived with them untillB6;o, when
they both died ; and Estener by his will left to her nearly
all he possessed, which, however, was not much. During
her long stay with that couple she frequently corresponded
with her parents, who continued to follow their calling of
hawkers ; and her father often wrote to the Esteners to ex-
press his gratitude for their kindness. Estener by his .
ll
instituted one Collat, usher of the Imperial Court at Riom,
his executor, and on his deathbed made that man and
his (Collat's) wife promise that they would take good
thecar Collate received
eCoolfthe
a while her parents wrote to say that they would take
Afterhouse
charge of her, but the Collate begged that she might remain
girl.
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irrl in theto
their death of
at tho
Rio Esteners,
with them for a time. An uncle of the girl, a tradesman
at Auxerre, also expressed a wish to receive her, but she
was not allowed to go to him. In the lifetime of the
Esteners, the Collate, unknown to the latter, had endea-
voured to convert the girl to Christianity, and had produced
such an effect on her mind that she went to a priest at Riom
and begged to be baptised, but was refused, in June, 1860,
her father arrived unexpectedly at Riom, and calling on Col-
lat and his wife required them to give up the girl; they were
greatly annoyed, and Sarah herself manifested reluctance
to leave. Some discussion took place, and at last Mme.
Collat said to her " Go away and hide yourself, Sarah I"
and the girl slipped out of the room, and secreted herself on
the roof. Her father finding that she did not return sought
for her in the house, but in vain. As soon as the father
went:out, she proceeded to the residence of an elderly un-
married female named Legay, a friend of the Collats. This
woman, who had also attempted to convert the girl,
strongly recommended her not to think of returning to her
parents and the next day sent her,lin the disguise of a domes-
tic to:the Carmelite convent at Riom. About that time the
affair of the abduction of Jewish girls by the Abbe Mallet
made a great noise and the Superior of the convent began
to conceive fears that she might incur trouble by
keeping the girl in the establishment. She accordingly ar-
ranged with Mlle. Legay to have her conveyed to Mme.
Coiffier, mother of one of the nuns, at a village a few miles
from Riom. The girl was taken there in disguise by Mlle.
Legay's servant, and in order that she might not be seen by
any one was covered carefully over in a cart. After a few
days' stay there she was removed in disguise by Mme.
Collat to the convent de Bon Secours at Riom. All this time
her father and uncle were looking for her:everywhere, but
without success. They at last complained to the law au-
thorities, who also sought for her, but the girl could not be
discovered, the Collats and Mlle. Legay repeatedly declaring
that theyknew nothing of what had become of her. At length,
the Superior of the convent de Bon Secours, becoming
alarmed at the frequent inquiries made about her, begged
Mme. Collat and Mlle. Legay to take her away ; they re-
moved her disguised as an old woman to a house of the
latter in the country. But as she was not in safety there,
they in a day or two sent her to the house of one Julien ;
and as she had to pass through Riom, they made her put
on the dress of a workman, assuming a masculine bearing,
and smoking a cigar ! After stopping some days with
Julien, she was sent to the Convent de la Misericorde at
Combrondre, and her name was changed to Marie Alex-
andra. From the fear that she might be found there, she
was after a while placed in a boarding-school at Passy,
near Paris, and was subsequently admitted to the convent
of Sainte Mathilde, near Corbeil, which is under the direc-
tion of the Abbe Ratisbonne. But the Abbe being unwil-
ling to assume the responsibility of keeping her, insisted
that she should be removed, and she was then placed in the
Convent du Sacre Coeur at Paris. Before long she was
conveyed to the Convent du Bon Pasteur, at Le Puy. At
length her father, being unable to find her, complained to
the Minister of Justice, and by order of his Excellency a
rigorous search was instituted. The result was the dis-
covery of the girl in the convent, and she was given up to
her father. In all these removals Collat and his wife,
and Mlle. Lem, were, it was alleged, concerned ; and, in
addition, it was shown, that in order to baffle the search for
the girl they had caused her to write letters in which she
declared at she had become a Christian, and would not
return to her parents, which letters they got posted at Mar-
seilles, Vienna, &c. In consequence the said three per-
sons were accused of the crime of abduction of a minor.
The number of witnesses examined was unusually great,
and it was shown that the girl herself was of an imaginative
character, and rather liked the frequent removals and dis-
guises. The jury, after a long deliberation, returned a ver-
dict'of acquittal for the three accused, as far as the charge
of abduction was concerned, but Collat was ordered to pay
3,000 f, damages to the father and mother of the girl, who
appeared as patio civik,