Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-28

ANttUUetlyAtN 1thtes-
One Of the saddest blight spots Of the
gay capital is a certain gloomy. rulnous
pile Of buildings in the Rue du Faubourg
st. Denis. known as the prison OF st. La
Zare. 1t was originally a lepers' hospital
and then It became a convent. 1t was
while thus used that st. Vincent de Paul
died in il. Toward the end of the seven
teenth century it was transformed for a
few wears into a prison for men, and 1t
was here that Beaumarchals served the
three DAYS he got for writing the Mar
it was used partly as a wheat warehouse
and partly for lodgings, Its most famous
tenant being the poet Andre Chenier, who
wrote here his ..Jeune Captive" in honor
Of Mile. de Coigy, and his ironical
'Iambes,H that so aroused the
fury of the Republicans. During
the Consulate it was transformed
into a female prison and house of cor
Iection. and which distinction it still
retains. 1t has been fifty called ''pest-
house." for the very walls seem to be
reeking with lust, and. in spite of the good
sisters who have charge of 1t, 1t is a reg
ular conservatory of vice and hot-bed Of
corruption. There is a Superintendent at
at the head of the establishment, but all
its interior economy and discipline,
since 1859, has been under
the charge of the Marie Joseph
Sisters, who, in their long white wooden
gowns, blue and black wells, have very
much the appearance of specters as they
move about noisely through the long,
dimly-lighted passages of the prison: but
they are not the only angels VINO are to
be found in this terrestrial hell, for all
children born within its walls are allowed
to remain with their mothers until the age
of 3 years, and the sounds of infantile
cries and laughter echo weirdly through
the gloomy wards.
Now it is almost impossible to gain per-
mission to visit this prison, and yet
Madame Pasca, leading lady at the
Gymnase Theatre, the director of that
house and Mr.. Georges 0hnet, author OF
the piece now having such a successful
run in it, succeeded in securing an order
from the Minister of Justice. which en-
abled them to carry lot of useful articles
as New Years gifts to the unfortunate
inmates yesterday. One of the first cases
that attracted their notice, as, under the
guidance Of one of the sisters, they were
making the round of the institution, was
a beautiful baby boy whom its mother was
nursing. Questioned, the mother said,
seduced by her employer, a ieweler, she
was, when he wished to rid himself of a
liaisOn Of which he had grown tired, ac-
cused of theft and convicted upon his
unsupported testimony. A few steps
| further on the visitors came to a
young girl with gentle, modest look, and
who wore the uniform OF the prison with
an air of dignified resignation. "Who is
sheE' asked Madame Pasca of their guide
''She is the model inmate of this sad
place. was the reply. eve have never
had the slightest fault to find with her
since she has been here. Her sentence is
thirteen months, and she has already
served five of them. For my part | be-
lieve that she is innocent, although she
confessed to having been guilty of forging
/ 100000 francs worth of notes. The poor
I thing has very great name, and at the
/ age of p she fell so madly in love with a
man that when he lost so heavily al
gambling that he had to dec de between
committing suicide and what Frenchmen
call loss of honor, she forged these notes,
she says that she did, but / believe she
says so in order to screen the one who is
really guilty"
'Why, il is a regular romance that YOU
are telling u.s. said Madame Pasca: t.oI
rather a DRAMA" interrupted Manager
| koning. "There is in it a subject for YOU,
Mr. Ohnet. and = role FOR you, Madame
/ Pascal" Il don't know whether it is a
romance or a DRAMA" resumed the good
Sister, "but | know that day before YES.
| terday the Superintendent received an
official letter informing him that an old
General who has just died has left by his
| will 1900 francs to the prisoner whom
you have just seen. The superintendent
after consulting the Minister of Justice.
has determined to say nothing about this
fortune TO her until the day when heI
| sentence expires"