XVII. La chambre de l'abbé
XVII. The Abbé's Cell
The 1844 U.S. presidential race between Clay and Polk, the Morocco peace settlement, and a prisoner's sabre murder dominate this issue.
- At rallies backing Democrat James K. Polk, processions six miles long were reported, while Henry Clay's Whig supporters staked wagers on their man winning the presidency.
- The English journal The Spectator praised France's moderation after Isly and Mogador, noting that both the National and the Morning Chronicle were furious at being 'deprived of a war.'
- Russia decreed that any new synagogue or Jewish school built in a street containing an Orthodox church must stand at least 600 feet away; Poland simultaneously added a Messiah clause to Jewish soldiers' oaths.
- Prisoner Joseph-René-Napoléon Raymond, already serving ten years for theft at Embrun, freed himself from the 'piton' wall-shackle, seized a forgotten sabre, and ran a warder through — then cheerfully thanked the jury when sentenced to hard labour in perpetuity.
- A Haitian-born fortune-teller named Sophie-Télémaque Geonroy charged a 17-year-old servant girl 16 francs for prayers and card-readings promising to identify her thief; a Paris court fined her under the article criminalising the trade of divination.
- Of the ten students competing for the Grand Prix de Peinture on the subject of Cincinnatus, the critic singled out Bénouville and Duveau as likeliest prize-winners, while gently advising Cabanel — alone among the ten — for attempting authentic Roman physiognomies.
- The third volume of Le Plutarque appeared at the Paulin bookshop, with an illustrated edition by caricaturist Gavarni announced imminently.
- A revival of Les Enfants de Troupe at the Théâtre des Variétés drew praise for Hoffmann's drum-major and confirmed the comedy's power to restore the theatre's flagging fortunes.