The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-28 00:00:00

CURIOUS CASE.

A case unexampled in French jerisprudeeee,
and which recalls to mind one recorded in Biblical
history—two women claiming to be mothers of the
same child—has just been subtnitt -d to the Civil
Tribunal. A female named Flouron called on V e
tribunal to declare her to be the mother of a boy
named Alexis, born in 1843, and now in a board-
ing-school in the Rue des Martyrs ; and in support
of her demand her advocate made a statement to
this effect :—ln 1832 this female, who was V:en
fifteen pears of age, and whose name was Perrine
Gervais, came to Paris, and having made the ac-
quaintance of a bu, cher name l Dardelle, who was
considerably her elder, she entered his service as
cashier. After a while he seduced her, and in
1834 she gave birth to a child ; but the child did
not live. Her connection with Danielle having
continued, she on the 17th January, 1843, gave
birth to another child, who was registered as the
son of Dardelle and of Perrine Gervais, and who
was baptised as the son of M. and Mine. Dardelle.
Up to that time, and for a certain period after,
Dardelle had not allowed his family to know any-
thing of his connection with Perrine Gervais ; but
she having attended him with great affection in a
serious itness with which he was afflicted, he an-
nounced his intention of marrying her, and made
his family receive Ler as his wife. Iu 1848 Dar-
dale made the acquaintance of a female named
Palmyre Foulbceuf, and became smitten with her
charms. This female, who possessed great powers
of intrigue, and was well experienced in the ways
of the world, wormed herself into the confidence of
Dardelle, and succeeded, by calumnies adroitly dis-
seminated, in' causing him to break off his connec-
tion with Perrino Gervais. The latter, however,
solemnly called on him to fulfil his promise to
marry her, but he refused, and she, in consequence,
a few months after married one Flouron, who
had been in the service of Dardelle, and was a very
honest man. Alter her rupture with Dardelle,
which took place in 1848, that person refused to
allow the boy Alexis to visit her or to go out
with her; but he permitted her from time to
time to we here at Li, ohool. In-1853, Daidelle
married Palmyre Foulbceuf, who since lus rupture
with Perrine Gervais had lived with him as his
mistress, and on the 29th Nov., 1856, he died,
leaving a fortune of between 300,000 fr. and
500,000 fr. to his widow, with remainder to his
son Alexis. On hearing of this, Madame Flouron
came forward ae the mother of the boy ; but to
her great astonishment, Madame Dardelle affirmed
that it was she, and not Madame Flouron, who
was the mother of the child. In prod of this
she produced the register of her marriage, in which
it was formally declared that " the boy Alexis
registered, as the son of Perrine Gervais, was really
the son of Palmyre Foulbceuf, that it was by error
that he was so registered, and that she and Dar-
delle, his father, formally declared him to be-their
child, and meant to make him legitimate." Madame
Flouron, knowing this declaration to be false, in-
sisted on being recognised as the mother of the
boy, but her pretensions were opposed by the-Dar-
delle family, by Mme, Dardelle,- and by a person
named de Sainte Croix, who had been appointed
guardian to the lad. She was, therefore, obliged
to bring an action to establish her right; and, in stir
port of it, she relied not only on the register of the
boy's birth, but on the facts that he had written
numerous letters to her calling her bis mother, and
that he possessed such a strong likeness to her as
to prove him to be her son ; her advocate, more'
over, urged various technical reasons to show that
her maternity could not be disputed. - In answer to
all this, the following statement was made :In
1842 Dardelle was very intimate with M. and Male.
Foulbceuf, and as he was fifty years of age, they
allowed him to go out frequently with their daugh"
ter Palmyre, then only fifteen, thinking that he
would treat her as a father ; but being a very li"
centious,man, he seduced her. Becoming enciente
she was ashamed to return home, and she was in
due time secretly delivered of a male child. That
circumstance took place in Jan., 1843, and the beg
was the child Alexis ; but to preserve her repute'
tion he was registered as the son of Perrine Ger;
vais. She, however, and not Perrine, watched
with the utmost tenderness over him, and
when he was placed in a boarding school she
alone visited him, and treated him as an affec-
tionate mother would do. Perrine Gervais having
got into an intrigue with one of his men (Flourenr,
whom she afterwards married), Dardelle conceived
bitter hatred of her, and expelled her from his
house. He then, after, a white, married Palmyre,
Foulbceuf, and thereby repaired the wrong he had
done by seducing her ; they at the same time, as
was natural, recognised the boy Alexis as their
child, and declared him legitimate. In support
of this s atemeut, it was argued that if Per-
rine Gervais had really been the mother of the
child, she would, on being expelled by bi 4
father from his house, have certainly ereieseil
him ; and that after her expulsion she would
not, as she had done, have for years given
herself no trouble about him, until she heard
that he was entitled to a large property. It vial
asserted likewise that the boy resembled Maclaine
Dardelle, and not the other woman ; that he cow
sidered the former as his mother, and had alvrail
treated her as such ; and that Dardelle himself had
written letters to Madame Dardelle before his mar;
riage to her, in which he spoke of Alexis as " our
child." On various technical grounds, moreover'
it was contended that Madame Flouron's pretest'
sions were inadmissible. The public prosecutor.
said that in his opinion the tribunal ought to order
a searching investigation into all the circumstance!
of the birth of the child to be made. Judgment
was in consequence postponed.

CITY OF LONDON SCHOOL—The following distinctions
, have been gained at Cambridge by pupils of this school
during the present term :—Mr. J. R. Seeley, first chilli;
cellor's medallist, and bracketed senior classic ; Mr. 5-•
Skelton, sixth wrangler; Mr. J. H. Bridge, twenty'
second wrangler ; Mr. S. J. Lidgett, thirty-third wrans•
ler. Five pupils of the City of London School have
taken their degrees at Cambridge during the present
term, of whom four have been thus distinguished.
APOTHECARIES' HALL. —The following gentleme°,
passed their examination in the science and practice of
medicine, and received certificates to practise, on Thiir
day, March 26 :—John Tatham, Barton-on-Lonschile,
Yorkshire ; William Brooks Pod, Canterbury, Sent;
Herbert Sedgwick Barnes, Chelsea ; David Shorter
Skinner, Headcorn, Kent ; George Fielding Blandfordo
Fifield, Wiltshire ; John Narbert Casanova, London;
Jarman Patrick, Kent ; Humphrey Purnell Blackmore,
Salisbury ; William Edward Caird, Exeter; Samuel
Prall, Rochester; William Dresser, Coventry; Williao
Thomas Carr, Newcastle-on-Tyne; Charles James
Devonshire, Hampton, Middlesex; John Bridger,
Newick, Sussex ; and Robert Leever, Army.
THE POST-OFFICE EMPLOYES AND THE FRANCRISE.*:
The following circular notice, signed by Mr. Rowland
Bill, has been pel'ona ly served upon each person era'
ployed in the service of the Post-office, and a receipt
taken of the same To all postmasters, sub-post'
masters, postmasters' clerks, letter-carriers, letter-
receivers, and others employed in the receivins
collecting, or managing the revenues of the Post-office.
Interference in election of members of Parliament. A 8
a general election is about to take place, I am directed
by the Postmaster-General to remind you that no post-
master, clerk, letter-carrier, letter-receiver, or any other
person employed in the receiving, collecting, or managing
the revenues of the Post-office can either vote or inter-
fere in any manner whatsoever at the election for mem-
bers of Parliament, under the severest penalties, as laid
down in the acts of 9th Anne, cap. 10, sec. 44; and 20
Geo. 111., cap. 41, sec. 1, extracts from which are an'
nexed ; and I am desired by his grace to state that any
officer of the Post-office guilty of this offence will be
instantly dismissed the servic-, in addition to being sub-
jected to the penalties inflicted by law."—Civil Servi:e
Gazette.

THE EAST INDIA CIVIL SERVlCE.—lntelligence ha,
been received at Bombay of the murder of Mr. H. Years,
the newly-appointed deputy-postmaster at Ahmednug•
gur, supposed to have been committed by robbers. The
dead body of the unfortunate man was found near a vil-
lage about eight miles from Atimednuggur. The Secre-
tariate at Bo.nbay is, it is said, about to undergo several
very important changes. The department of Public
Works is to be amalgamated with the Military depart-
ment,of India have Banc-
meat, and placed under the control of Ci.lonel Melvill.
siOonntehr of
erencoangmeonodna,titohne
Governmentof Major Phayre, the commie-
tinned an increase to theestahlishment of the Protestant
Church at Rangoon.—Civil Service Gazette.
CIVIL SERVICE —War Department.—Mr. F. G. Read,
of the Custorns Waterside and Warehouse Department,
has e
Chief Commissary Storekeeper for
China, e
Tl
ralty.—A vacancy has been caused
in the Department
A
of the Accountant General. Prize
appointeday
trid(:ni
Branch, Somerset-house, by the death of Mr. Thomal
Cuiliford Barrow, clerk of the first class. A vacancy
in the Storekeeper General's Department has been
caused .by the promotion of Mr. John Easthope,
second-class clerk, who has been appointed Store
Receiver at Woolwich-yard, vice Mr. P. Mergar;
retired on superannuation. Lieutenant J. A rkwright
bas been appointed agent in charge of mails in
contract steamers. General Post-office.—A vacancy
haa been caused in the Circulation Department, Dead
Letter Branch, by the retirement, on pension, of Mr.
Frederick Tillyard, Deputy-Controller. Customs—Mr.
Henry Mill,.r has been promoted, from second to first
class clerk in the Examiner's office, London ; Mr. Augus-
tus C. Raitt has been promoted from third to second
class clerk in the Examiner's office, London ; Mr. Geo.
Dudley has been promoted from fourth third-class clerk
in the Examiner's office, London ; Mr. George F.
Nedham has been promoted from fifth to fourth class
clerk in the Examiner's office, London. East Indies--
Mr. C. K. Dove has been appointed to officiate as Post-
master-General of Bengal during the absence of Mr.
Bennett ; Mr. T. Garrett has been appointed to officiate
as .1% puty Postmaster-General in Ca'cutta in the room
of Mr. Dove ; Mr. A. R. Young has been appointed
Secretary to the Government of Bengal, and Mr. E. S.
Liishington has been appointed Junior Secretary to the
Board of Revenue,--Civil ISeiTiCO Gazette.