The Sun.
London, England, 1827-10-27 00:00:00

THE SEINE.

From an early hoar in the morning an immense
crowd stationed themselves in the avenues leading.
to the Court, and, a few minutes after the opening
of the doors, every disposable place was occupied.
In an enclosed part of the Court next the Bench
were Madame Lebon and her three grown-up
daughters (all three very haudiome), and her little
daughter Hortense, a pretty lively child, about five
years_of.age. After a brief delay, Contrafatto was
brought in by the gendarmes. He wore a shabby
black surtout, short breeches, and black stockings.
He is a' pale-faced young man, with piercing eyes, a
tonsored head, heavy.eye-brows, and thick lips. His
countenance bore an affected expression of mildness
and resignation; in speaking, he almost invariably
put his hand to his heart, raised his eyes towards
Heaven,.and heaved a deep sigh. On the motion of
the Advocate-General, for the proceedings to be
Court to be cleared of every one
heard with closed doors, the President ordered thnes
connected with the cause. An: except Advocate rose to in-
sist upon the right of the perabers of the bar to be
present, but the Court 'IW-used to hear him, and
ordered the gendarmes to put the Advocates out of
Court. The bar then retired without the interference
of the gendarmes. After the reading of the indict-
ment, the details of which are- of too abominable a
nature to be here set down, the President proceeded
to interrogate the prisoner.
You induced the little Hortense to come into your
room P—She came of her own accord, without my
asking her.

The first time you gave the child some sugar
Yes.

The second time you gave her some plums ?
No—she went to the cupboard herself, and took
them,

I must observe to you, that as the child has not
invented those circumstances which you acknow-
ledge, it is not likely that she should invent the
other facts.

To this the Apostolical Contrafatto, joining his
lands, exclaimed, " Jesus Christ was crucified for

things invented against him, and the same fate is
mine. I, who am one of his Apostles ;" then, ges-
ticulating, vehemently, striking his breast, and rais-
ing his hands and eyes to Heaven, he continued—
" Yes, I swear by Christ here present, by the Sove-
reign Pontiff, by the kingdom of Heaven, that I arm
innocent—believe me I have a sacerdotal soul, and
I'know the obligation that an oath imposes upon a
priest."
But how is it possible to Oeve that a child of
five years of age could invent stith horrors ? One day
the little girl, being in the porter's lodge, said of an
old gentleman who had just gor e out, " I do not like
that old man. Hike better the Abbe, because he is

young." I was quite confounded on hearing these
words,and said to the popteress, " How can so young
reli;S is no answer to the observation
a child speak in =miner.
PRESIDENT—
I made to you.
Several quesirons ware-here put a;, 92t, prisoner,
relative to the! aborninabl.
,re3skrettr-nitted on the
child, the ttture of whithirev/s any repetition
of them. a

The prkiiier gave a direct negative to the various
questions.
After some questions relative to the prisoner's

functions as a_prlest in Italy, a letter __found amongst
his papers was read: This letter, every word of
which was ill-spelled, was,from a woman, reproach-
ing him with not having kept a rendezvous he had
given her, and appointing another meeting; it was
signed, Votre antic. .
Several French and Italian romances of not a
very. moral description, some amatory verses, and
indecent songs were also found in his room. The
songs, he stated, he had heard sung at Marseilles,
and asked for a copy' of them merely because the
music pleased him. One of these songs concluded
by a most obscene jest upon the Angelus. The pri-
soner here banded a bundle of papers to the Presi-
dent, saying, these are • the sermons that I preached
at Rome for the great
.glory of God. I sent, with-
out paying any attention to the circumstance, the
paper containing the songs in the middle of the
sermons. • •

• What induced you to come to France ?—Being
at Naples; I said to myself, there is but one Paris in
the world; and I had the curiosity which all
fOreigners have to see that city. He then went on
to state,' that on his arrival in Paris, be laid his'
sacerdotal certificates before the Archbishop of Paris,
who authorised him to celebrate mass and hear con-
fessions ; to hear confessions," he added; " admi-
rable quality, and conformable to my habits as a
priest who knows his 'duty !" He further stated
that lie had been made Almoner to the Countess
d'Ormisson and to Mademoiselle SatiVan, the mis-
tress of a boarding-school !
What were your means of existence here ?—I had
200, 250, and sometime 300 francs a month. I
gave lessons in Italian.
It appeared that, under the pretext of giving les-
sons, you received young women in your room,
where you detained them a considerable time ?

PRESIDENT---It appears that you were in the habit
of not returning to your lodging till a very late hour
at night ?—I was always in bed at ten o'clock—un-
less once, that I remained out after midnight.
The porter, on his examination, declared that he
had returned home after twelve o'clock more than
200 times.
The prisoner was then questioned as to the dis-
turbance that took place, and the beating he got
after the discovery of his brutal conduct towards the
child of Madame Lebon.' He denied having struck
Madame Lebon, when she took him by the collar on
the staircase=saying, " It was impossible for me
to strike her. I Was assailed on all sides. I was
like a lamb surrounded by wolves. Madame Lebon,
not satisfied with the decision of the laW, had re-

course to perverse people, to destroy, publicly, reli-
gion in my person." The Abbe then went on in a
very mystical and canting strain, upon the innocence
of his heart, the wickedness of the world, &c.
The first witness called was Madame Lebon, the
mother of the child. This lady (a very fine-looking
woman) stated herself to be Isabella Cassuclialate
de Morroni, a native of Sicily, aged 38, and the wi-
dow of Colonel Lebon.* She repeated the revela-
tions made to her by her child, and the sufferings
she underwent in consequence of the brutal assault
o fthe
and thatha she had no
d consequently
sengu
etl y ac-
quaintanceno
cause to:wish hiM ill, before the infamous transaction

in question.
The prisoner being asked what he had to say to
this ; replied; that he could attribute Madame Le-
bon's conduct only to her wish to scandalise the ec-
clesiastical character, as there were' many persons
for whom a Priest was an object of hatred and ven-
geance.
The next witness ,vas iHortense, a fine little girl,
apparently about five years of age. ;.-;he was still
pale, but seemed to have recovered all the careless
vivacity so natural to childhood. On being asked
if she knew the prisoner, she replied, pointing to
him, " Yes, it is ,Monsieur l'Abbe."—The child
then described, in the most naive and explicit terms,
the two brutal attacks made upon her by the Abbe.

Madame Lebon is the daughter of the Duke of cm-
suchalate de Morroni, and niece to the Archbishop of
Tarentum.

The porter and his wife were next examined—
They deposed to the Child haVing acquainted them
with the Abbe's conduct ; his irregular way of life ;
his free language with regard to women; his receiv-
ing femlics intl3 his room, B,:c. The porteress, on
going int his room one morning at seven o'clock,
fouridn'
she sac
s•
her,oma pretendednthere
son in Italian. ri' dteoslia who, the
moment betaking
her les-

PRESIDENT—What have you to say to this, pri-
toner ?—.Arolitejudicaie et non judicabilnini, qui ma-
lusest 7naluns de altero cogitat. -
PREstDET.--Your busineS!;' here is to answer
he questions put to you, and not to cite ScriptUre.