The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-03 00:00:00

THE FUNERAL OF M. LAFFITTE

The funeral of M. Laffitte, which took place on Thursday,
brought together, as might be expected, an immense as-
semblage of the population of Paris. There were previously
several sinister rumours as to the intentions of the populace,
and such precautions were taken as made it almost impos-
sible that there could be any serious outbreak. The whole
of the National Guards, the immense garrison of Paris, and
the municipal guards, were all under arms ; and the num-
ber of troops on duty could not have amounted to less than
fifty thousand men, but all these precautions seemed unne-
cessary. Nothing appeared to be thought of, as far as ap-
pearances went, but the solemn ceremony which had drawn
so many people together, and the gratification of curiosity.
There was not the slightest disturbance or demonstration of
political feeling of any kind. Among those who formed part
of the procession there was an immense procession of the
mechanics of Paris, a deputation from the schools of law and
medicine, and a deputation of M. Laffitte's constituents at
Rouen. At ten o'clock the troops which were to form the
escort assembled in the Rue Laffitte abd the neighbour-
ing boulevards, but it was past twelve o'clock before
the funeral procession left for the Church of St. Roch.
The procession was preceded by two squadrons of the cavalry
of the Municipal Guard, and by the 6th Regiment of Dra-
goons. After these came the 2d and 23d Regiments of In-
fantry, and the 2d Legion of the National Guards. The
hearse, drawn by four black horses, was guarded by two
companies of the Grenadiers of the National Guard. Imme-
diately after the hearse, the deputation of the Chamber of
Deputies, the Prince of Moskowa and the other members of
the family, and almost all the Members both of the Cham-
bers of eers and Deputies, all on foot ; and these again
were followed by the deputation of the electors of Rouen, of
the schools of medicine and law, and of the mechanics, in
uniform. Then followed the friends of the deceased to the
number of thousands, the procession on foot alone extending
for more than a mile. The carriages followed. Three of the
King's carriages and the carriages of the Duchess of Orleans
and Duke of Nemours attended, besides twenty-four mourn-
ing carriages, and between three and four hundred private
carriages. The carriages of the Royal Family were escorted
by a squadron of the Municipal Guard and the 70th and 71st
Regiments of the Line. The whole of this immense proces-
sion was closed by a battalion of infantry, two battalions of
the National Guards, and a regiment of Hussars.
The procession passed along the boulevards, through the
Rue de la Paix, to the church of St. Roch, and then pro-
ceenen, after the religious ceremony, along the Rue St.
Honore, and through the Rue Richelieu back to the boule-
vards, and thence along the Boulevard Montmartre, &c., to
the cemetery of Pere la Chaise. Thipughout the whole dis-
tance through which the procession passed, an immense as-
semblage was assembled, and all the shops were closed.
The religious ceremony at the church of St. Roch was per-
formed by the Archbishop of Paris, and a funeral hymn
was sung by a choir composed of. the principal musicians in
Paris, including all the performers of the Academie Royale
de Musique.
It was half-past two when the procession left the church
of St. Roch for the cemetery of Pere la Chaise, the burying-
ground of the family, and it was near five when it reached
the burying-ground. The ceremony was not over when our
express left Paris, but it was understood that, according to
the usual custom in France, several speeches would be made
over the grave. M. Arago and 31. Thiers were spoken of as
likely to be among the speakers. It was calculated that be-
tween those who took part in the procession, and the specta-
tors, there could not have been much less than half a million
of persons assembled. The weather was beautiful, and the
whole ceremony passed off without any disturbance or con-
fusion, beyond what must necessarily take place when the
whole population of a great capital assemble.
There is a national subscription to be opened immediately
to raise a monument to the memory of M. Laffitte.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(SATURDAY.)
MANSION-HOUSE.
Sarah Ann Dyer, who had been charged before the
Sitting Magistrate at Guildhall, on Thqsday, 23d ult.,
with having endeavoured to drown herse at Southwark-
bridge, and whose statement of alleged grievances and
calamities excited much compassion, was brought before
the Lord Mayor for re-examination. She appeared to
be the most faithful representative of rustic simplicity,
and at the moment she was put to the bar, the following
certificate from the excellent and most respected chaplain
of the Giltspur-street Compter was handed in :—" I
have had a lengthened conversation with the female
Sarah Ann Dyer, and I think a more distressing case
never came under my notice. From the apparent sim-
plicity of her character I have no doubt her statement is
strictly correct. lam glad to find that she still pos-
sesses so much virtuous feeling as to manifest an anxious
desire to return to her parents, and I hope means will be
afforded to her for that purpose, and care taken to secure
her safe arrival at home."
The LORD MAYOR asked the officer, in whose custody
the woman was, what her conduct had been on the bridge?
The officer said she appeared to be in extreme grief,
and said that she was most miserable. He felt convinced
that her intention had been to throw herself over the
bridge.
The LORD MAYOR—WeII, prisoner, you have carried
on this game of humbug and hypocrisy with great skill.
The prisoner started, and covered her face with both her
hands.

The Loan MaYoa—Why, you know you have been
telling falsehoods,
when you said your father was a re-
spectable farmer at Challerton. Now, just listen to the
from the
e agentre the h
toe
the Hampshire.r accurate desciption given of you by one who knows you
well.—Here .
Lord Mayor readi Independent,
Alderman William Hunter, who presided at Guildhall
when she was first examined :
" Newport, Isle of Wight, Tuesday.
" Sir,—Having this day read an account of a young
woman named Sarah Ann Dyer being placed before you,
on a charge of endeavouring to drown herself on South-
wark-bridge, in order that the public sympathy and the
charity of the humane should not be thrown away upon
an entirely unworthy object, I beg to inform you that
her story is a tissue of lies from beginning to end. There
is no farmer of that name in Challerton ; she is the
daughter .of a labouring man, and she has not only borne
the character of an abandoned prostitute for many
years, but is well known to most of the islanders as a
convicted thief. It has occurred to me more than twice
or thrice to record her actions. Not long since she was
convicted of stealing a pair of shoes from a Mr. Pearce,
in the High-street, for which she suffered several months'
imprisonment. She was next placed at the bar, charged
with robbing a person named Edward W-- of a silver
watch, but the loser being a married man, and the loss
having occurred in a house of a certain description, to
which he had accompanied her, he was ashamed to
appear against her, and she thus escaped transportation.
She then paraded our streets as a common soldiers trull,
and accompanied a detachment out of the island, since
which I am informed .she plied her calling in the neigh-
bourhood of Southwark-bridge, and has not long since
been discharged from the infirmary. lam induced to
forward this lest her artful story should command that
commisseration to which I know she is not entitled ; and
I consider a few months at the treadmill would render
her a most efficient service."
The LORD MAYOR—What do you think of that ac-
count of you ?
&The prisoner uttered not a word, but appeared to be
very desirous to get out of the roam.
The Loan MAYOR—From several inquiries which I
have caused to be made, I find that the character given
of you by the gentleman who wrote the letter is in every
respect accurate—that you are a convicted thief, 4 com-
mon prostitute, and ati imposter of considerable skill.
I shall now convict you as a rogue and vagabond, and
sentence you to imprisonment for three months, in the
Giltspur-street Compter ; and I assure you that the next
time you make your appearance here, I shall, if possible,
send you to the Old Bailey.
The prisoner then retired, covering her face with her
hands, %%igloo mahlog Ono tia3 wiperiment of her skill
with the Lord MayBOor,
W-STREET.
Mrs. Evans landlady of the Old Drury Tavern, in
Brydges-street, Covent-garden, was summoned before
Twyford, f9r permitting prostitutes to assemble in 1