Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-15
FRENCH COURT
GRANTS DIVORCE
COUNTESS De CASTELLANE
NOW is FREE
Tribunal Of First Instance Of the Seine
Also Gives Custody Of the
Children to Their
Mother
Rv Associatod Press.

BY Associated Press.
PARIS, Nov. 14.-The tribunal Of
First Instance of the Seine, Judge
Ditte presiding. at noon today granted
divorce to the Countess de Castellane
formerly Anna Gould of New York;,
and gave her the custody OF her two
children, who, however, will not be
allowed to be taken from France with
out the consent of their father. Count
Boni de Castellane.
The end of the famous case came
suddenly. The court brushed aside the
demand of the counts lawyers for an
examination of witnesses and as anti
cipated. the public prosecutor did not
even ask to be heard.
AS soon as court assembled Judge
Ditte handed down the judgment,
which is a sweeping victory for the
countess. In granting her petition for
divorce the court gave the countess the
custody of her children, the count le-
ing allowed only the usual rights to
see them and share in the control of
their education, which was not con-
tested
The count is given the right to see
the children at stated periods at the
home of their grandmother and keep
tneEl moItH dIihueily uui ms tiS
holidays.
The counts demand for an alimen-
tary allowance of $4,000 annually was
pronounced by the court TO oe without
foundation in law and was rejected.
The only point decided in the counts
favor was the imposition of the inhi-
bition on the countess not to take the
children out of France without their
fathers consent
Count Pays Costs
The judgment was given with costs
against the count. The decree, the
reading of which hardly consumed five
minutes, was delivered by the judge
in a voice so low as to be practically
inaudible to the eager crowd filling the
court room. Many women climbed the
chairs in vain efforts to hear the de-
cision and when they were aware that
a divorce was granted they seemed
actually to resent the loss of public
trial at which people in high socNty
would be compelled to testify.
Stripped of textual verbiage, the for
NAL counts upon which the attorneys
of the Countess de Castellane asked for
a divorce were as follows:
/. Soon after his marriage Count
de Castellane began the purchase of
furniture at ridicuIously exorbitant
prices and Immediately resold it. When
the plaintiff protested the count abused
her in the presence of servants.
@ Upon the slightest pretexts
Count de Castellane created scenes, go
ing to the extent of striking plaintiff.
In the course of one of these scenes at
Rochecotte, during the autumn of 1895,
the countess was brutally pinched by
her husband and the next day, while
she was STIR suffering from his vio-
lenee. she revealed the fact to an
American friend who was a guest at
the chateau.
3. During the summer of 1898,
and notably during a pleasure trip
which the Count de Castellane took, the
count was intimate with married
woman, Mime. Az
4. The count maintained a corre-
spondence with Nine. A., fixing the
dates for rendezvous through the inter-
mediary of Mime. x. and MN" in the
Rue de Mauheage.
5. During the summer of 1895
Count de Castellane had intimate rela-
tions with Mime. B." He had many
meetings with her. principally at the
pavilion of st. James.
Entertains Many Women
6. During June. 1905. a lady en-
tered the Count de Castellane's auto
mobile, dined with him at Villa d'Av-