The Sun.
London, England, 1828-10-15 00:00:00

EFFECTS OF JEALOUSY..

COURT OF ASSIZE OF THE SEINE.

A woman named Charnier, about 44 years of
age, who was married to a blacking-maker, had
for herneighbour a young girl, called Gabriel Ri-
tard, who kept a wine and brandy shop in the
street d'Echiquier. The business of Charnier,
who was about 60 years of age, suddenly failed,
after 28 years of good management, and became
less profitable. He himself appeared negligent,
and was observed, at least by his mate, to be ir-
regular in his hours of going to and returning
from business. The good woman was not long
before she fixed on the girl Ricard as the cause
of her husband's misfortunes ; and accordingly
she watched, on the Bth of April last, till about
eight o'clock in the evening, the usual hour of
the girl's return to her dwelling. Armed with
an Immense bludgeon, the jealous wife lay in
wait till the unfortunate maid came up, when she
set on her, and belaboured the girl so furiously
that she was confined of the wounds inflicted on
her for upwards of two months. The following
are the terms in which the poor girl made her
complaint to the audience this day. She is about
25 years of age, and very tall :—I was return-
ing home on the Bth of April last, when on a
sudden I felt myself struck from behind, and on
the arm several times with a bludgeon. Ma-
dame Charnier it was who treated me so, saying.
Where is my husband ? Madame, said I, your
husband has not been to see me these two days.
She then assailed me with the most impudent
and abusive words, which I feel reluctant to re-
peat. I defended myself with a parapluie, but
she dealt me such a blow with her bludgeon on
the breast, that from pain I fell down. Whilst
on the ground she continued belabouring me till
I became senseless ; and in the course of her
severe castigation, she inflicted two deep wounds
on the top of my, head. Madame Charnier thus
replied to the accusation—Mademoiselle did not
fall down at all. I began with her in this way.
Mademoiselle, you destroy the peace of my
household. I should like to have an explana-
tion from you. Would you be pleased to step
in with ,me somewhere to take a glass of wine
or brandy ? She refused, your Worship, and
pushed me away with her parapluie. It was
then I began to defend myself with a stick I
brought, not for the purpose of beating her, but
of supporting myself, because I was an.invalid,
and had but just got out of the Hotel Dieu.
Neither one nor the other of us fell down.

President—This account is contradictory to
that of all the witnesses ; besides the severity of
the wounds received by Mademoiselle hicard is
clearly proved.

Madame Charnier—Miss falls down very
easily. She is subject to falling in consequence
of a serious indisposition. One day she fell in
a wine-seller's garden in the midst of a heap of
glasses and plates, and broke them all. She may
have hurt herself in falling on this occasion.
President (to the girl)—Have you had any
particular intercourse with Charnier ? Gabrielle
Ricard. We never had a falling out together.
President—l-ask, had you ever a liaison—a
particular intimacy with him ? Gab. Ricard—
No, Sir. He used to come and see me, to ask
for work, as his business was not going on well.
He worked in oils, and I in wine and brandy.
Madame Charnier—Miss is no dealer. She
knows how to escape the penalties of prohibited
goods, hut she does no business otherwise.
Ricard—My business consists in purchasing
brandy outside the barriers, and selling it when
entered.

Advocate—in a word, then, you are a smug-
gler?-- Ricard—Yes, Sir ; when I am caught in
the fact of smuggling I am arrested, anti my
goods taken from me—that is all.

A labourer deposed that he was near the scene
of action between both ladies. Charnicr came
up with a bludgeon under her apron, and attack-
ed the girl, saying, " Wretch, give me my man."
Several other witnesses deposed to the same
cffect, stating that the old woman was heard
boasting of her achievement the day after ; that
the girl was found lying in a senseless condition,
and apparently dead, and that she had been con-
fined to her bed for 21 days.

All these facts went uncontradicted to the
Jury, with the allegation that the assault was
premeditated. They, however, found a verdict
of Not Guilty; on which the accused exclaimed,
This is the first time 1 have ever been before a
tribunal—l'll take care it shall be the last ; and
left the Court seemingly satisfied with the termi-
nation of the whole affair.

The following whimsical anecdote is related in
the Life of Kotzebue, translated from the German :
----" I wrote," says, Kotzebue, " a tragedy in five
acts, Demetrius, Czar of Moscow. It was founded
on the well-known story of the real or pseudo
Demetrius, who, tradition says, was murdered
when a child, at Uglitsch : but suddenly started
up some time after, and, being supported by the
Poles, dethroned the hypocritical Boris Gudenow.
It ought to be remembered that the best histo-
rians are divided upon the question, whether this
Demetrius was an impostor or not. It suited,
however, my poetical fancy not to let him appear
was finished, I read
as such. When my tragedy
it to a small select circle, which included the
Prussian Ambassador at the Russian Court, and
the president of the Academy of Arts at
Petersburg!), both men of acknowledged taste.
It was approved, and General Baur order-
ed it to be performed. Splendid scenery
and magnificent old Russian dresses were pre-
pared. As the General had been entrusted by
his Sovereign with the sole management of the
theatre, he thought it unnecessary to submit the
manuscript to the Censor, and this neglect had
nearly proved fatal ; for when the day for the
first representation of my tragedy was fixed,
and announced in all the public prints, the Minis-
ter of the Police sent one morning to the
Theatre and prohibited its performance. Fial,
the stage-manager, ran, alarmed, to General Baur,
who hastened to the Minister of Police to assure
him that the piece was perfectly harmless and
inoffensive ; but there had been an ukase issued
by Peter the Great, which expressly declared
this Demetrius an impostor. How, then, could
I have the audacity of presentinc, my hero to the
public as Czar of MOSCOW ?
egard for Gen.
Baer, however, at length induced the Minister of
Police to consent to my tragedy being acted ;
but he despatched an officer to me with the in-
junction to alter the piece so far that Demetrius
should be publicly unmasked and branded as an
arrant impostor. In vain did I represent to the
police officer that I might as well cast the whole
drama into the flames ; lac insisted upon this
single trifling alteration. The General again in-
terceded in my behalf, and the police was at last
satisfied with my own solemn declaration, that,
in conformity with the imperial ukase, I was per-
fectly convinced that Demetrius was an impostor,
and the liberty I had taken of representing him
otherwise in my tragedy was a mere poetical
license. The play was then performed, and re-
ceived with very great applause."