The Merry Past 



trand, and Louisa Perrani, who were all present, 

 and proved their acts of marriage, before the 2nd, 

 4th, and 9th municipalities of Paris. During the 

 trial it came out that the prisoner had made it, 

 for years, a regular practice to marry a new wife 

 wherever he went with his regiment ; and to the 

 knowledge of his own brother he had already fourteen 

 French wives, besides one Italian, one Swiss, and 

 two Dutch women, who had been married to him in 

 those countries, when in garrison or encamped there. 

 Before he was eighteen he had been divorced, ac- 

 cording to the laws of the Republic, from five wives, 

 not included in the above number, by whom he had 

 six children ; and the three wives now before the 

 tribunal all declared themselves to be in a state of 

 pregnancy by him. Being asked by the Public 

 Accuser if he had many children by the other women 

 not present, though known to be married to him, 

 he answered very coolly, " I had at least one with 

 each woman, and I believe I have as many children 

 alive as I can count years." He offered to give the 

 name and place of residence of as many wives as he 

 could remember to have married, and gave in the names 

 of eleven, in eleven different departments. To gain 

 time to enquire after these women, the Commissary 

 of Government proposed, and the tribunal consented, 

 to put off this trial until the sixth Germinal, on which 

 day eight of those women, each with a child, came 

 before the tribunal, and identified their faithless 

 husband, who had the impudence to declare that if 

 he had been a grand Sultan he should have kept 



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