Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-10-12
Ylisesllaneuus 8eadils.
PARIS POLICE PUZZLE.
Child Steals 5000 Francs From Al.
legged Mother Whom II Denies.

PARIS POLICE PUZZLE.
Child Steals 5000 Francs From Al.
legged Mother Whom It Denies.
A strange, lost child is perplexins
the Paris police, says the London Tel
egraph. An Armenian mother Ii
claiming the girl as her daughter, but
the latter disclaims her mother. The
tangle is inextricable. The girl Is only
6 years old, but talks with astonishing
volubility. She happened Of her own
accord to call upon a policeman one
day, but as she could not speak any
apparently known language, he took
her to the police station, where all the
experts and interpreters at first failed
to understand what the girl wanted.
Finally, 1t turned out that she spoke
some sort of Armenian dialect, and
an interpreter was found. She then
said that she had been taken away
from her grandfathers home In Syria
by strange woman, who wanted TO
take her to America, and who had in
fact, brought her as far as Paris. The
little girl said that she had taken the
first opportunity to run away from
the woman.
The police were astonished at the
fiuency with which the girl talked, and
were about to send her temporarily to
home, when the strange woman Of
whom she had spoken turned up and
said that the child was her daughter.
Il am not your daughter" retorted the
little one. Il know my mother. She
is very different from this person.
The police were seriously embarrass-
ed. They put of the inquiry for the
day to obtain q second interpreter, for
the mother, or alleged mother, her
self speaks a strange mixture Of Eng
lish and French.
AS soon as the two were again
confronted with each other, the pre-
cocious child threw up her hands and
looked at the young woman In horror.
"She is not my mother" she exclaimed.
The woman then told her story.
She said that she was born at Mar
settles, but went to New York when
very young. She married an Italian In
New York when she was IA years Of
age, and had the child. Her husband
died the day that the child was born.
She kept the baby one year. then sent
her to be taken care Of by the child's
grandfather in Syria. Having heard
that the grandfather had died, she
went to Syria to fetch the child. On
the way the little girl showed terri
BILE temper, and did all the mischief
that she could. On reaching the Lyons
railway station in Paris she sat down
in the waiting room and fell asleep.
During that time she alleges the child
took the bag in which she had all her
money, amounting to some 3000f.. and
gave it to some strange women, who
disappeared. When she awoke she
slapped the child, who then ran away
into the street and she did not know
what become Of her until she saw her
picture in the papers.
The child, who does not understand
word of the mothers language, was
then told what she had said, and de-
MED 1t all. For whole hour the little
one contradicted 1t in every detail.
She said that the woman was not her
mother. Until three weeks ago she
had never seen the woman. 1t is not
true that her grandfather Is dead.
She knew her real mother very well,
for she left Syria only a year ago,
and got married again in town not
far from Jerusalem. She added:
"This woman came one day to my
grandfathers house when was alone.
She told me that my grandfather was
waiting for me in the train. I got In
and he was not there. The train start
ed away and cried and wanted to go
back. Then this woman beat me, and
the train went on. At Beyrouth she
took me on a big steamer, and we
went to Port Said, Alexandria, and
Marseilles. AS soon as we got to|
Paris I took the first chance and ran
away from her. I do not want to be
with the woman any more. She has
beaten me and made me suffer.
want to go back to srandpapa- She
says that my name Is Annette: It Is
not true. I am called Marianne"
After this both the alleged mother
and the child had a At Of crying, and
between the two contradictory state
ments the police are unable to make
out the truth. Curiously enough, how
ever, the child is wonderfully like the
woman who claims to be her mother