The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-25
DIVORCE IN FRANCE.
An Example of Domestic Crime and Judicial
Hardship in Paris.

An Example of Domestic Crime and Judicial
Hardship in Paris.
Special to New York Herald.
The upper ten thousand as well as the millions
who hew wood and draw water have been aroused
by one of those criminal trials that give passing
glimpse of the inner life of Paris horrible, and
W hich has had the effect of bringing once more
to the fore the burning question of divorce
A ticket-of-leave man, who has just served out
his term of five years for robbery meets one of
his old pals. who greets him: Have you heard
about your wife3 ITEMS. ellie s'est joliement con-
solee. She has set up Housekeeping with Pierre.
They get on together like turtle doves, and, by
the wav, your little son has now got nalfsister
and the braea Of children go trotting about
together with hair nicely eOmbed and brushed
and wear new clothes and leather Shoes"
The ticket-of-eave-man scowls. Before he
was sentenced to prison he used to leave his
wife and child alone in misery while he wasted
his scant earnings in the cabaret, to return home
only to beat his wife with his wooden shoe. The
wife after two years of agony in married life
tried co obtain divorce q legal separation,
but all in vain. Finally the husband, who is
notorlously bad egg In every sense, gets
sentenced to prison for five years. The wife is
pretty and only twenty-five years old. She
meets Pierre. Pierre possesses a large. warm
heart. He is sober, thrifty, Industrious. They
, ,ail in love with each other. Pierre places her
under the 8gs of his strong right arm. Pierre
loves her, supports her. treats her child as if it
were his own, and, in the course of time. even
playmate. The complaisant neighbors recog-
nlzed the cOnvict's wife as Nine. Pierre, and
sanctioned the new menage, which they regard
as model of thrift, industry and happiness
Last Saturday, at O'Clock in the morning, a
loud knock at the door startled the happy pair.
"Qui peut venir2" they tremblingy WHISPERED.
"OuvreZ au nom de la lOli" was the stern reply.
The ticket-of1eave man had lodged with the
tribunals a criminal charge of adultery against
his wife. The cOmmissary of police finds them
in fagrante delctO. Nine. Pierre is dragged off
to Saint-Lazare jail and for three days and
nights is locked up in cell filled with the lowest
kind of female criminals She is then brought
before the tribunals and sentenced to three
months imprisonment. She bows her head In
silence. She cries, but says not a word in her
own defense. The judge prouounces SEN
thence on Pierre of eight days imprison-
ment. Mme Pierre at once raised her head,
looks Tdefiantly at the judge and excaims
In her indignation: 'This Is too much. Do
what you please with me. My former home vas
IA perfect hell. Pierre took me from it and cared
for me and my child. Why should you punish
himf He is the father of my second child. We
lived so happily. You judges have no heart"
For contempt of court four more months were
added to the original sentence, making seven
lawful wife remain indissOlubly bound together,
both dragging at different ends of a chain which
they cannot break, but which gals their hands
and hearts. This case has aroused the warmest
sympathy from all classes in Paris, and in con
sequence hundreds of petitions have been ad-
dressed to the Senate that has sanctioned the
removability of judges and other radical meas
ures, but still refuses to yield to the universal
clamOr for divorce.