Chaussons in The Streets: Sodomy in Seventeenth-Century Paris JEFFREY MERRICK

Chaussons in the Streets: Sodomy in
Seventeenth-Century Paris
JEFFREY MERRICK
University of Wisconsin, Milwa-ukee
in recent years about die sodomitical subculture of Paris in the eighteenth century, but we know relatively little
about the seventeenth century because of the shortage of documentation.
When Louis XIV created the ofiice of lieutenant general of police in 1667,
he may have envisioned or even expected the suppression of blasphemy,
gambling, prostitution, and other religious, moral, and sexual offenses, but
Gabriel Nicolas de La Reynie and his associates could only do so much to
punish misconduct and reform Parisians.' The reorganized police did not
generate and accumulate the same sorts of records about same-sex relations
before 1700 as they did from 1715 to 1750 and during the 1780s.^ In
exploring the seventeenth century historians have necessarily relied on two
other types of sources. First, there are journals, letters, memoirs, satires, and
polemics, which contain gossip and slander about nobles, clergy, writers,
artists, and other figures of rank or note.' The list includes Louis XIV's
W E HAVE LEARNED A GREAT DEAL
My thanks for comments to Bryant Ragan and Michael Sibalis as well as Lewis Scifert, who
generously reviewed the translations and made many helpflil suggestions, and to the readers
who evaluated the article.
'See Philip Riley, A Lust for Virtue: Louis XIV's Attack on Sin in Seventeenth-Century
France (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001); and, more generally, Alan Williams, The
Police of Paris, 1718-1789 {Bzton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1979).
Ôn the eighteenth century see my articles listed at http://v\'\v\v.uwm.edu/People/jmerrick. Bryant Ragan is working on a book on same-sex relations in eighteenth-century France,
and Michael Sibalis is working on a book on gay Paris from the eighteenth century on.
'From older works such as Marc Daniel, Homines Augrand siecle: Etudes sur I'homosexualite
soils les regnes de Louis XIII et de Louis XIV (Paris: Arcadie, 1957), to newer works such as
Didier Godard, Legout de Monsieur: L'homosexualite masculine au XVIIe siecle (Montblanc:
Editions H & O , 2002), including the most useful synthesis, Maurice Lever, Les huchers de
Sodome: Histoire des Hnfdmes"{Paris: Fayard, 1985). For a more compact survey in English see
Louis Crompton's chapter "France from Calvin to Louis XTV, 1517-1715," in his Homosexuality and Civilization (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003), 321-60. The best
overview of themes in and work on the early modern period is Michael Sibalis, "Homosexuality
in Early Modern France," in Queer Masculinities, 1550-1800: Siting Same-Sex Desire in the
Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 15, No. 2, May 2006
2006 by the University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819
167
168
JEFFREY
MERRICK
brother Philippe, due d'Orleans, marshals Vendome and Villars, cardinals

Bonzi and Bouillon, the poets Theophile de Viau and Claude Le Petit, the
composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, and many others who reportedly pursued
younger males, sometimes of the same class but more commonly of lower
status: soldiers, students, and servants. Second, there are judicial proceedings, most notably a collection of ten cases adjudicated by the Parlement
of Paris between 1540 and 1726, compiled in the eighteenth century and
published in the twentieth century.* These cases, too, involve older and
younger males, age, for example, forty-three (Chausson) and seventeen in
1661, forty-five (Mazouer) and twenty-one in 1666, andfifty-six(La Contamine) and eighteen in 1671. The cases themselves are genuine, and much
of the information in the texts is accurate, but the manuscripts as a whole,
Alfred Soman has argued, are not reliable copies of the original documents
and therefore should not be read and used as such.^ Until Soman publishes
the results of his research on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries we
will not have much sense of the number and nature of the prosecutions or
the identity and experience of the individuals arrested, interrogated, and,
in some instances, executed.**
In the seventeenth century, as in the sixteenth and even more so in
the eighteenth centuries, magistrates prosecuted sodomy sporadically and
selectively, most commonly when the offense involved physical violence
and provoked public scandal. Most same-sex relations, especially involving
members of the privileged classes, did not result in prosecution, and the
Early Modern World, ed. Katherinc O'Donnell and Michael O'Rourke (Houndmills: Palgrave,
2006), 211-31. For examples of analytical work on the seventeenth century see Robert Oresko,
"Homosexuality and the Court Elites of Early Modern France: Some Problems, Some Suggestions, and an Example," in The Pursuit of Sodomy: Male Homosexuality in Renaissance and
Enlightenment Europe, ed. Kent Gerard and Gert Hekma (New York: Haworth Press, 1989),
105-28; and Lewis Seifert, "Masculinity and Satires of'Sodomites' in France, 1600-1715,"
in Homosexuality in Freneh History and Culture, ed. Jeffrey Merrick and Michael Sibalis (New
York: Haworth Press, 2001), 37-52. For some excerpts from seventeenth-century sources see
ed. Jeffrey Merrick and Bryant T. Ragan, Homosexuality in Early Modern France (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2001), 118-26.
"Bibliotheque nationale, Manuscrits, Fonds franâis 1096970; and Ludovico Hernandez,
ed., Lesprocesde sodomie auxXVIe, XVIIe, etXVIIIesiielcs,
publiesd'apreslesdocumentsjudiciaires conserves d la Bibliotheque nationale (Paris: Bibliothique des curieux, 1920). Frederic
Lachevre published the documents about one celebrated case in Le proces du poete Theophile de
Viau (11 juillet 1623-1 er septembre 1625): Publication integrale des pieces inedites des A rchives
nationales, 2 vols. (Paris: Champion, 1909; reprint, Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1968). For
the accusation of sodomy made by a witness who was eventually discredited see 1:256, 401.
'Alfred Soman, "Pathologie historique: Le temoignage des proces de bestialite aux
XVIe-XVIIe siecles," Actes du 107e Con^rcs national des societes savantes: Section de philoloîe
et d'histoire jusqu'a 1610, 2 vols. (Paris, 1984), 1:149-61, reprinted in his Sorcellerie et justice
criminelle: Le Parlement de Paris, 16e18e sieele (Hampshire, Vt.: Variorum, 1992).
*For a progress report sec Soman, "Les proces de sorcellerie au parlement de Paris,
1565-1640," Annales: Economies, Societes, Civilisations 32 (1977): 790-814, also reprinted
in his Sorcellerie.
Chaussons in the Streets
169
records of prosecution, even authentic ones, do not tell the whole story. In
sodomy cases, as in many other types of criminal cases, judicial documents
produced by local courts like the Chatelet (the royal court with jurisdiction over the capital) and appeals courts like the Parlement of Paris (which
had jurisdiction over a third of the kingdom) are usually more focused and
condensed and therefore less informative than the original reports by the district police commissioners. The papers of the commissioners, whose offices
antedated 1667, include the interrogations conducted and the depositions
recorded before any decisions about prosecution were made. More often
than not, the latter sources document cases from the outset on and from
the bottom up. They show how the police conducted the investigation and
what the neighbors, who sometimes claimed to speak for the neighborhood
as a whole, said about the offense in their own words. They provide access,
as much access as we will ever have, to the minds of people without public
voices, as opposed to the clergy and jurists who told them what they should
feel, think, and say. It would be foolish to assume that the clerks wrote
down exactiy what they heard, without any alterations, but witnesses did
have a chance to make corrections in and additions to their statements. It
would also be foolish to accept these texts as fact and dismiss the sorts of
"literary" texts mentioned above as fiction because police as well as judicial
and legal documents obviously contain omissions, interpolations, conventions, exaggerations, and deceptions.'' In spite of but also because of these
characteristics, the voluminous files of the commissioners reveal more than
any other source about ordinary men and women, young and old, life and
death, order and disorder, morality and sexuality in early modern Paris.
Everyone who has consulted them knows that many of the series include
some seventeenth-century papers, but no one, to the best of my knowledge,
has found a sodomy case in these papers, which are located in the police as
opposed to judicial archives. The scarcity of social history sources about
sodomitical relations before 1700 makes the authentic records fiôm 1666
analyzed, transcribed, and translated here all the more unusual and valuable.*
The dossier includes a complaint (documents 1-2) filed by the father of a
fifteen-year-old boy pursued by a seventy-two-year-old man, an onsite report
(3) about the man's arrest in a tavern, interrogations (4-5) of the boy and the
man, and depositions (6-12) by the tavern-keeper, his wife, and his servant,
'On the uses and limits of the papers of the police commissioners see Arlctte Farge, La vie
fragile: Violence, pouvoirs, et solidarites a Paris au XVIIIe siecle (Paris: Hachette, 1986); and
David Garrioch, Neighborhood and Community in Paris, 1740-1790 {dmhridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1986), 11-12. For original and influential analyses of judicial and legal documents see Natalie Davis, Fiction in the Archives: Pardon Tales and Their Tellers in SixteenthCentury France (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1987); and Sarah Maza, Private
Lives and Public Affairs: The Causes Celebres of Prerevolutionary France (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1993).
Ârchives nationales Y12242,21 June 1666. My thanks to Jacob Melish, Ph.D. candidate
in history at the University of Michigan, for sharing this material with me.
170
JEFFREY
MERRICK
a young clerk who worked with the boy and the head clerk who ran the office, a friend of the boy's father, and the father of another boy molested by
the same man. These records provide multiple accounts of a septuagenarian's
relations with teenagers and of the incident that eventually prompted his apprehension and incarceration, all against the background of daily life in the
busy streets of the capital.' They allow us not only to reconstruct the story
but also to understand how the witnesses constructed it within the network
of neighborhood connections and communications. Inasmuch as they document sexual conduct and attimdes that antedated 1700 and, no doubt, 1666
as well, they also allow us to locate this case within scholarship on sexual
activities and categories in early modern Europe. But before exploring textual
issues, not to mention the larger questions, it makes sense to identify the cast
of characters and oudine the chronology of events.
Jean Perrin, known as Grisy, had a longstanding reputation for sexual
misconduct. In 1658 or 1659 he frequented the house of Gabriel Brussart
in the Saint-Antoine quarter on the Right Bank of the Seine and one day
took Brussart's fifteen-year-old son to a tavern, where he tried to violate
the boy. Some years later he was reportedly imprisoned for trying to corrupt another boy in another quarter, but he continued to consort with
adolescents after his release.'" Some of them talked about him, and so did
adults in the neighborhoods where he lived. In the spring of 1666 the
seventy-two-year-old Grisy accosted fifteen-year-old Germain Lesueur and
subsequendy spoke to him many times, mostly at the office of his master
(Charles de Henault, notary) but also around the house of his father (Jean
Lesueur, bourgeois de Paris)." He took the boy on walks and to taverns,
'For background on and questions about Parisian life in the seventeenth century see Orest
Ranum, Paris in the Age ofAbsolutism: An Essay (New York: Wiley, 1968); Leon Bernard, The
Emerging City: Paris in the Age of Louis XIV (Durham, N . C : Duke University Press, 1970);
Georges Dethan, Paris au temps de Louis XIV (Paris: Association pour la publication d'une
histoire de Paris, 1991); and Andrew Trout, City on the Seine: Paris in the Time of Richelieu
and Louis XIV (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996). Homosexuality and sodomy are not
indexed in any of these books. For general and local reference see Alfred Fierro, Histoire et
dietionnaire de Pan.f (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1996); and Jacques Hillairet, La rue Saint-Antoine
(Paris: Editions de minuit, 1970).
'"I have not managed to verify the previous imprisonment for sexual misconduct, but
Grisy's silence, when Devendosme asked if he had been taken into custody before, suggests
that he would have had to answer the question affirmatively. The registers of the Conciergerie
prison (my thanks to Olivier Blanc) document his incarceration on 29 December 1657 because
of financial problems. Paris, Archives de la prefecture de police, AB45, fol. 108. The index
contains another entry for Grisy in the volume for September 1663 to October 1664, but
the indexer must have made a mistake, because there is nothing about him on the page listed
(AB51,fol. 150).
"The title "bourgeois de Paris" indicates that Lesueur had lived in the capital for more
than a year and owned property and paid taxes there. The lack of any occupational identification suggests that he lived off the income from property and investments. Throughout this
essay Lesueur (unless modified by the adjective "young" or "younger") refers to Jean rather
than his son Germain.
171
sometimes hugged, pressed, caressed, fondled, groped, and kissed him, and
repeatedly offered to give him some money and show him a good time.
He also had conversations witli and made propositions to Germain's fellow
clerk, seventeen-year-old Louis Fleuret. The head clerk, Etienne Legay,
eventually asked them about Grisy and then reported their escapades not
to his employer, who played no role in the case, but to Jean Petre, syndic
of the corporation of master inspectors of signatures and letter writers (so
called because they verified signatures on documents). During the third
week of June Petre questioned Fleuret and then told his friend Lesueur
what was going on. No longer in the dark, Lesueur confronted his son
and instructed him not to see Grisy anymore. On Sunday the 20th Grisy
looked for Germain and asked him to take a walk with him, which the boy
declined to do. On the 21st Lesueur filed a complaint with district police
commissioner Nicolas Devendosme. On Sunday the 27th Grisy looked for
Germain again and arranged to take him to breakfast the next morning.
On the 28th Lesueur learned of the rendezvous and asked Devendosme
to investigate. At the Plump Grape tavern, run by Pierre Soirat and his
wife, Barbe Goquille, with the assistance of their servant Edme Mondat,
he caught Grisy in flagrante delicto. The commissioner interrogated him as
well as the boy and sent Grisy to the Grand Chatelet prison. Devendosme
took four depositions that day and three more in July. It is not clear from
these documents or other sources what happened to Grisy.'^
Taking the texts in documentary order, from the older Lesueur's complaint to the older Brussart's deposition, or in chronological order, from the
younger Brussart's escape from one tavern to the younger Lesueur's rescue
at another tavern, the residents of the parish of Saint-Paul lined up against
Grisy. The old (also tall, shapely, and ruddy) man operated in the same quarter
and in the same manner for at least seven or eight years. He also prowled the
largest island in the Seine and one or more neighborhoods on the other side
of the river, but the events described in this dossier took place largely in the
Saint-Antoine quarter. When people there and elsewhere talked about his
interest in and pursuit of adolescents, they not only repeated what they had
heard from others but also reported what they had seen for themselves. In
spite of his reputation and imprisonment, Grisy courted fifteen year olds in
public, which indicates that he had more confidence than prudence and that
'Î have not found any information about this incident in the surviving and accessible
records of the Grand Chatelet, Chatelet, Conciergeric, or Parlement. The registers of the
Grand Chatelet (my thanks to Michael Sibalis) and the records of the criminal tribunal of
the Chatelet do not include the year 1666, so I do not know when Grisy was sentenced and
transferred, if he was sentenced, to the Conciergerie for review of the case by the criminal
tribunal of the Parlement. Without the dates of sentence and transfer to work with, it is difficult
to know where to look in the other series, weeks or months after 28 June. There is nothing
about Grisy in the registers of the Conciergerie for the months of July and August 1666 (but
perhaps the Chatelet did not deliver its sentence until sometime in 1667), and the relevant
criminal records of the Parlement (series X'Â and X^B) are no longer accessible to readers.
172
JEFFREY
MERRICK
he expected indifference or at least tolerance from the populace. The elder

Brussart, after all, did not demand his arrest, since "no mishap had occurred."
Grisy offered the boys affection, entertainment (walks and meals), pleasure
(with himself as well as with a prostitute whom he called the "litde girl"),
and money, which suggests that these inducements worked, or at least that
he assumed they worked, on teenagers. We do not have his own version of
the events, of course, not a single word during the scene at the tavern, just
his answers, mosdy monosyllabic negatives, to the commissioner's numerous
questions, which were based on the evidence casually reported or officially
recorded before his interrogation (document 5).'^ For obvious reasons, Gdsy
did not explain why he spent so much time and wanted more time alone with
Germain in spite of the striking difference in their ages, and he attributed
their encounters to chance rather than design. In his defense he insisted that
it was the boy who had suggested walks and meals, asked for some money,
and pulled down his own breeches. He claimed disingenuously that he did
not understand a crude phrase attributed to him, so he could not have used
it, and that he did not have the strength to violate Germain even if he wanted
to, which he did not.
Germain's story is much more complex than Grisy's because we have
four other versions of it in addition to his own interrogation (document
4). We have, in chronological order, depositions about what Germain told
Fleuret (8), what Germain and Fleuret told Legay (10), what Fleuret told
Petre and Petre told Lesueur (11), and what Germain told Lesueur (1).
The differences among these versions obviously have something to do with
what these individuals remembered and undoubtedly have something to
do with what they decided to tell or not tell others at some point for some
reason. Germain told his comrade and contemporary Fleuret more than
anyone else, not just about walks, taverns, affection, hugging, pressing,
caressing, fondling, groping, kissing, and money but also about explicidy
sexual remarks addressed to him. His fellow clerk reported that Grisy told
Germain that he would like to sleep with him, "handle" his "little ass,"
"shake" his "litde prick," and take him to see the "little girl" and that he
subsequently expressed exasperation because Germain "did not want to do
what he wanted." Perhaps the adolescents could not figure out, between
the two of them, what the septuagenarian wanted, or perhaps they played
along with him for their own entertainment. In any event, Germain had, or
at least Fleuret indicated that he had, some misgivings about Grisy's intentions. One day they met, at the boy's request, at a tavern with a courtyard.
"There is nothing in Lesueur's complaint or Germain's interrogation about Grisy's remark
about good-for nothings, question about money, comment about the good time Germain
missed, and rendezvous with him at the Tin Dish. The most likely source for this information
is Fleuret, who gave his deposition after Grisy's interrogation but undoubtedly talked before
he testified under oath.
173
where they could sit outside (probably not just to enjoy the weather but
in order to have other people around), but after eating something the boy
was willing to accompany the old man to another tavern (Grisy already
had the Plump Grape in mind), where they could have a private room and
"speak freely." The boy apparently changed his mind after his companion
stuck his hand in the boy's breeches on the way there. According to the
clerk, Germain realized that Grisy's remarks tended to "a wicked end"
and therefore rejected his suggestion that they take a walk on the smallest
island in the Seine "because there were fewer people there." In the beginning Fleuret himself did not understand, or so he said, what was going on
between Grisy and Germain. In the end he was surprised, or so he said, that
the old man made the same kinds of physical (handling his "big prick") and
verbal (talking about "shaking") advances to him as well. By relating his
own experiences to the commissioner, Fleuret corroborated his comrade's
testimony, but there is some tension in his deposition and in many of the
others as well. On the one hand, the teenagers supposedly did not know
what Grisy wanted, so they continued to see him without worrying about
what might happen. On the other hand, they evidendy knew enough to
feel uneasy about his gestures and remarks when he made them or at least
enough to express uneasiness about them after the fact, when Petre questioned Fleuret, when Lesueur confronted Germain, and, of course, when
they testified. In the end, both enumerated Grisy's acts without characterizing them, except for their use of the generic word "wicked."
When the indulgent (or indifferent.') head clerk Legayfinallyasked them
why Grisy visited the office so frequendy, several times a day for more than
a few weeks, Germain and Fleuret did not tell him everything. They acknowledged that he was interested in Germain but did not discuss the sexual
remarks (unless those remarks were some of the "other" ones that Legay
admitted that he could not remember). In the course of his conversation
with the syndic Petre, Fleuret reported that Grisy talked about "infamous
things in dirty and shameftil words." The clerk, of course, probably did
not use those adjectives, which represent Petre's characterization of Grisy's
words, and he probably did not quote the words, which the indignant
Petre most likely would have repeated. Fleuret did note that he declined
Grisy's invitation to have "a lot of ftm" with him in a private room when
they took a walk one day, which suggests that he had some sense of what
the old man wanted, but he let the syndic enlighten him nevertheless.
Petre did not state that Fleuret enumerated all of Grisy's offenses, but the
clerk must have done so, since the syndic gave Lesueur a detailed report in
which he used two additional judgmental adjectives: "shameftil" fondling
and "lascivious" kissing. Surprised and alarmed, the father extracted the
truth from his son, though not the whole truth and nothing but the truth,
and not without difficulty. "Gonftisedly and with fear" (but evidently not
shame or remorse), Germain confessed that Grisy told him what Lesueur
174
JEFFREY
MERRICK
called "things tending to his disastrous purposes." Germain apparendy did

not cite the sexual remarks, or, if he decided to do so, Lesueur decided not
to include them (he alluded vaguely to "other talk and acts of that kind")
in his complaint. In order to impress the commissioner with the gravity of
die situation, and in order to inculpate Grisy while exculpating Germain,
Lesueur emphasized his own fear that his son, who was, after all, "quite
young and only fifteen," might "innocently" succumb to the temptations
of pleasure and money or the influence of wine.
Germain sounded more vulnerable in his father's apprehensive complaint
than in his own summary interrogation a week later. With the charges against
Grisy already on file, Devendosme did not need to ask more than half a dozen
questions, but he ended with the one that no one else wanted or at least
ventured to ask: Why did the boy continue to see the old man, who wanted
to "ruin" him, even after his father instructed him not to.> Under oath,
Germain mentioned just some of the annoying and suggestive gestures that
others evidendy believed the "litde/young" "boy" or "child" (the second
adjective and noun emphasized his age) could have misunderstood. He did
not mention the sexual remarks, which were less ambiguous and therefore
more dangerous to acknowledge. If he and Fleuret, with whom he shared a
bed, actuaUy engaged in mutual masturbation, as suggested by Grisy, who
imagined himself in Fleuret's place, he had all the more reason to avoid the
subject. In any event, he maintained that he did not comprehend Grisy's
"wicked intention" until it was almost too late and that he would not have
accompanied him to the Plump Grape if he had. As for the paternal prohibidon, Germain did not diink there was "anything wrong" in seeing the old
man "enjoy himself" In other words, he followed his personal inclination
and simply misunderstood or disregarded the paternal injunction. He could
have refused to talk to Grisy at the office or to go anywhere (to the Plump
Grape or into the private room there) with him, as he did on the 20d-i, but
he probably liked and missed the diversion as well as the attention. To cover
himself, he claimed that he did not think he was forbidden to take a walk
or visit a tavern, even though those enjoyable activities subjected him to
attentions that he supposedly did not enjoy. Germain's answers were not
much more coherent than Grisy's, but Devendosme did not chastise him
for prevaricadon or disobedience, any more than he reproached Lesueur for
negligence or Legay and Petre for not intervening sooner rather than later.
The commissioner was not interested in adolescent psychology, family dynamics, or neighborly obligations in this case, which had a satisfactory ending as
well as an obvious victim and villain.
The depositions about the events of the 28th are less problematic than
those about the preceding weeks because the tavern-keeper Soirat (document
6), his wife, Goquille (9), and their servant Mondat (8), not to mendon
Devendosme (3) himself, heard and saw some of what happened for themselves. Goquille and Mondat heard Germain cry out (and, oddly enough.
175
did not investigate) before they went upstairs, but only Devendosme, oddly
enough, noted what he shouted ("Oh my God, oh my God, stop") after
they went upstairs. But they agreed about the rearranged chairs in the room,
the disarranged clothes on the boy, and the essentials of his narradve: Grisy
gave him money to "let him have his way" and then tried to "violate" him.
They all specified the number and value of the coins, but only the commissioner cited Germain's more explicit words about the attempted rape. Grisy
"wanted to put his nature in his bottom, such that he would enter," and the
boy understood that the old man, who had promised pleasure, "was going
to penetrate [literally, split] him." What did he think Grisy meant by "having
his way" and having him bend over the chairs with his shirt pushed up and
pants pulled down.> Why did he accept the money, and why did he comply up
until this moment, because he really did not know what was going to happen
or because he simply did not know it would hurt so much? Needless to say,
no one asked these questions. Germain's explanadon sounds appropriately
childish (the nouns "nature" and "bottom") and awkward (the phrase "such
that he would enter") by comparison with Devendosme's version. The commissioner asked Grisy if he did not urge the boy "to allow him to put liis
penis in his buttocks and if he did not put it in him, wishing to violate him
and commit with him the sin of sodomy and against nature." Because they
really did not want to or simply felt they did not need to talk about what
had happened on the premises, the witnesses from the tavern omitted details,
employed vague words, and avoided labels. Devendosme not only used more
frank terms (the nouns "penis" and "buttocks") but also named the offense
in religious and legal language without using any pejorative adjectives.
Judging from the depositions, one and only one other person involved
in the case had a good understanding of "the sin of sodomy and against
nature" as well as suspicions about Grisy all along. With more knowledge
of the number and meaning of his offenses, the syndic Petre viewed the
old man's relations with the young clerks in a larger context. He shared
information with and influenced the testimony of other witnesses. Petre
had heard about the "depraved" septuagenarian's "wicked conduct" and
"abominable designs" from students and adults even before the old man
stalked Germain, and he was therefore not surprised that one thing had
led to another in this case. He told Legay that Grisy was a "sodomist" and
"atheist" who had "corrupted and abused" schoolboys and spent time in
prison.'* He told Fleuret that Grisy was one of "those whom they accused
'''See Claude Courouve, "Sodomiste," in Vocabulaire de I'homosexualite masculine (Paris:
Payot, 1985), 200-204; Francois Berriot, Athcismes et atheistes au XVIe siecle en France, 2
vols. (Lille: Atelier national de reproduction de theses, 1984), 1:163-67; and Pierre Hurteau, "Catholic Moral Discourse on Male Sodomy and Masturbation in the Seventeenth and
Eighteenth Centuries," Journal of the History of Sexuality ^, no. 1 (1993): 1-26. As for the
prison, the syndic probably specified Saint-Germain des Pres, as in his own deposition, but
the clerk recorded Sainte-Genevieve.
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JEFFREY M E R R I C K
like the Chaussons" (but he probably did not use the plural) and that the
old man left the city when Chausson was executed. He told Lesueur that
Grisy lived "in a dreadftil crime," that the "whole neighborhood" regarded
him as a "renowned sodomist" (which Lesueur himself apparently did not
know), and that he was accused along with Chausson and Fabri. Petre
also told Lesueur, who told Germain, that the "crime" of sodomy was so
"abominable" that "it deserved the vengeance of God himself and "would
draw down all of Heaven's maledictions on them." He was sufficiently
concerned about the old man's "cunning and eagerness" that he urged
the father to warn the son never to "consent to his detestable brutalities"
and tofilea judicial complaint against Grisy. In the end, most if not all of
the pejorative terminology in the dossier can be traced back to Petre, who
expressed much more hostility, in the language of clergy and jurists, than
anyone else did. The others were not more tolerant, just more ignorant
or reticent. By listening to and for the different voices in the documents,
we can hear witnesses engaged simultaneously in verbal subtraction (the
young clerks not talking about the sexual remarks) and addition (tbe syndic
making Grisy sound as bad as possible) in order to influence the content
and message of tbe official account of the case.
It is not surprising that Petre used conventional words like "abominable"
and "detestable" or that he alluded to the biblical story of tbe destruction
of Sodom and tbe medieval linkage of sodomy with beresy and atheism.
It is more noteworthy that he remembered the case of the clerks Jacques
Chausson and Jacques Paulmier, wbo were burned alive on 29 December
1661 for committing "tbe crime of sodomy and sin against nature" and making blasphemous and impious remarks.'^ Forty-three-year-old Chausson,
known as des Etangs, and tbirty-six-year-old Paulmier, known as Fabri,
bad a history of molesting adolescents and sometimes prostituting tbem
to nobles. On 12 August 1661 they tried to violate a seventeen year old
named Octave Julien des Valons from a noble family, who told the police
that be bad met Cbausson through "a young man named Lesueur"!^* Not
Germain, surely, since be was only ten years old tben, but perbaps an older
brother or cousin wbo also worked as a clerk? Cbausson, unemployed at
the time, lived on tbe rue Saint-Antoine near tbe intersection with the rue
Vieille du Temple, just blocks from Jean Lesueur's residence, and supported
himself by copying documents. Petre probably remembered tbis case five
years later because it took place in bis neighborhood and involved two men
from bis line of work and anotber from the family of a friend of bis. Yet
''^The account in Lever, Buchersde Sodome,210-15, is based on the documents in Hernandez, Proces de sodomie, 60-87; and Frederic Lachevre, Le libertina[e au XVIIsieele, vol. 6: Les
oeuvres libertines de Claude Le Petit, parisien brule le ler septembre 1662 {Paris: E. Champion,
1918), 202-9.
"Hernandez, Proces de sodomie, 67. There is no reason to suspect that this tantalizing
detail in the unreliable manuscripts is not authentic.
177
wby was be tbe one wbo reminded others about events tbey could not very
well bave forgotten, even if tbey wanted to.' Wbat, if anytbing, did Germain
know about Cbausson, and did be learn it from tbe "young man named
Lesueur"? Wben, if at all, did be associate Grisy witb tbe Cbaussons in bis
own mind, after tbe paternal rant or only after the attempted rape? And
wby did tbe old man say nothing to defend himself wben be was arrested?
Did be already assume tbat be would share Cbausson's fate?
Tbe magistrates (in 1661) and tbe commissioner (in 1666) did not ask
enougb questions and get enougb answers for us to connect tbe two cases
witb confidence, but tbey must bave realized tbat tbey were dealing witb
something more tban isolated misconduct in botb instances. After all, witnesses reported tbat Cbausson and Grisy bad not only acquired bad reputations but also violated or at least attempted to violate otber teenagers before
tbe younger des Valons and Lesueur. It is not altogether clear wby the two
men ended up in custody wben tbey did and not on otber occasions, but
several factors probably made a difference: tbe identity of tbe victims, tbe
infiuence or reticence of tbe families, tbe extent of public exposure, and
tbe specific circumstances of tbe offenses, including tbe nature and degree
of pbysical violence. Neigbbors sbowed up at tbe taverns wbere Grisy took
the younger Brussart and Lesueur, and tbe fathers used tbe same word
to describe wbat bad bappened or might bappen, but tbey evidently bad
somewhat different conceptions of wbat constituted a "misbap" and wbat
to do about it. In any event, tbe police and at least some Parisians knew
tbat Cbaussons (not defined in any seventeentb-century dictionary, but
obviously a type or rather a group of men wbo committed sodomitical acts
witb unwilling younger males) prowled tbe city with predatory intentions
and tbat unsupervised boys wbo talked and walked witb tbem migbt well
end up in trouble.
Like otber seventeentb-century cases (sucb as tbose included in die unreliable collection ofjudicial proceedings) and mucb of tbe gossip and slander in
more literary texts, tbis one fits tbe familiar pederastical model of same-sex
relations during tbe early modern period. Tbe common pattern of differences
in age and role (and often status as well), in reality and representation, bas
been extensively documented ftom tbe Renaissance to tbe Revolution and
across Western Europe. From Italy and Spain to England, Germany, and die
Netherlands and in France as well older males penetrated younger males.
'''To mention just a few titles in English, Michael Rocke, Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and Male Culture in Renaissanee Florence (New York; Oxford University Press, 1996);
Federico Garza Carvajal, Butterflies Will Burn: Prosecuting Sodomy in Early Modern Spain
and Mexico (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003); Helmut Puff, Sodomy in Reformation
Germany and Switzerland, i400-i (500 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003); and the
articles on London and Amsterdam by Randolph Trumbach and Theo Van der Meer listed,
along with many others, in my bibliography "Homosexuality in Early Modern Europe" at
http://www.uwm.edu/People/jmerrick/hbib.htm. The older males also typically had wives,
although the Grisy dossier contains no information about his marital status.
178
JEFFREY
MERRICK
Tbe 1666 case is typical in tbis regard and also includes specific elements that
appear in many otber cases during previous and subsequent decades, sucb as
tbe association of sodomy witb otber types of sexual deviance, sucb as male
masturbation (Grisy's remarks about "sbaking") and female prostitution (bis
use of tbe "little girl" as bait), and excbanges of money for sexual services
(tbe tbree fifteen-sol coins be gave Germain).
Tbe Grisy case bigbligbts not only continuity but also differences between
tbe seventeentb and eigbteentb centuries. After tbe death of Louis XIV tbe
police talked less about repression of sin and more about containment of tbe
visible sodomitical subculture wbose geograpby, sociology, and antbropology tbey documented in tbeir reports. If we bad complete files from the
seventeentb century, of course, not just tbe papers that bave survived, we
migbt well find more traces of tbat subculture in Grisy's time.'^ Witbout
more evidence we bave to speculate about tbe ancestry and currency of
certain sodomitical practices, but we do not bave to speculate about trends
in jurisprudence. In tbe eighteentb century tbe magistrates very rarely
prosecuted men for sodomy. Tbe two most notorious cases involved more
extreme violence than tbe Grisy case did. Tbirty-six-year-old Benjamin
Descbauffours murdered one boy in 1725, and forty-two-year-old JacquesFranfois Pascal almost killed anotber in 1783." A third well-known case,
tbat of forty-year-old Jean Diot and twenty-year-old Bruno Lenoir in 1750,
involved two adults (of admittedly different ages) and no violence.^" Tbe vast
majority of tbe cases documented by tbe police were consensual (and not
infrequently venal) in nature, but official assumptions about age, role, and
coercion changed more slowly tban patterns of sexual behavior. Tbe police
routinely assumed tbat sodomitical activity involved predatory adults like
Grisy and innocent youngsters like Germain, even wben tbe evidence tbey
collected did not support tbat scenario. As tbey accumulated information
about hundreds of ordinary Parisians, bowever, tbey encountered not only
older-younger pairs but also individuals wbo bad feminine nicknames and
mannerisms, no sexual interest in women, and sexual relations with males
of tbeir own age and class. Tbey sometimes wondered wby some men were
"On the early eighteenth century see "Extraits d'interrogatoires faits par la police de
Paris de gens vivant dans l'industrie, dans le desordre, et de mauvais moeurs et des gens de la
religion," Bibliotheque nationale. Collection Clairambault, 984-85; Archives de la Bastille, ed.
Francois Ravaisson, 19 vols. (Paris: A. Durand et Pedone-Lauriel, 1866-1904) 11:2-11; and
Rapports inedits du lieutenant de police Rene d'Argenson, ed. Paul Cottin (Paris: Librairie Plon,
1891), 72-7A. Some of these materials are translated in Merrick and Ragan, Homosexuality
in Early Modern France, 40-59; and in my "Sodomites and Police in Paris, 1715," GLQî2
(2002): 103-29.
"Accounts of the first case are largely based on the material in Hernandez, Proces de sodomie,
88-190. On the second case see Jeffrey Merrick, "'Brutal Passion' and 'Depraved Taste': The
Case of Jacques-Francois Pascal," in Merrick and Sibalis, Homosexuality in French History and
Culture, 88-104, including documents.
^Some documents in Merrick and Ragan, Homosexuality in Early Modern France,
77-79.
179
sexually attracted to men and often worried that others might acquire that
"taste" or "inclination," which was difficult if not impossible to change.
These ruminations would not have made much sense to Commissioner
Devendosme, who had less experience with sodomites of different stripes
and little curiosity about sodomy as anything more than a discrete act. The
case he investigated in 1666 underscores the significance of tlie changes in
practices and attitudes that emerged in Paris, as in London and Amsterdam,
around 1700. More such evidence from the seventeenth century would help
us understand when and why those changes occurred and help us locate
France within Randolph Trumbach's bold model of the transition from the
pederastical to the "third gender" pattern in the eighteenth century.^'
DOCUMENTS
In transcribing the texts without modernizing tliem I have preserved the

original titles for the sections of the dossier but condensed the formulaic
introductory and concluding lines of the individual documents, replicated
abbreviations that can be reproduced with standard characters and spelled
out the rest, enclosed all inserted (+) words as well as deleted (-) words of
any interest in curly brackets and editorial matter in square brackets, and
numbered the pages in the three sets of papers (pages 1-4 and 5-21 pinned
together and pages 22-28 separate) consecutively. In translating archaic
words I have used the dictionaries of Pierre Richelet (1680) and Antoine
Furetiere(1690).
21 June 1666
Complaint
1. Jean Lesueur, bourgeois de Paris, who lived on the rue neuve SainteCatherine [parallel to and farther from the Seine than the rue Saint-Antoine,
the main thoroughfare through the Marais], in the parish of Saint-Paul,
reported to district commissioner Nicolas Devendosme
[2] quil y a quelques Jours etiene petre M" Escriwin Lui auroit donne advis
quil avoit veu Le nomme grisy parler quelques foict a Germain Lesueur son fils
Et quayant remarque Et sceu de quelques personnes quil alloit fort souvent le
chercher en lEstude du sieur desnost ou II Va Journellement Escrire comme
son amy II vouUoit Len advertir afKn de prevenir Le malheureur qui pourroit arriver par la frequentation Et sollicitation dud. grisy qui quoyque vieux
Et dans un age fort avance vivoit dans un Crime Espouvantable Et du quel
^'Randolph Trumbach, "Are Modern Western Lesbian Women and Gay Men a Third
Gender?" in A Queer World: The Center for Lesbian and. Gay Studies Reader, ed. Martin
Duberman (New York: New York University Press, 1997), 87-99; and Sex and the Gender
Revolution, vol. 1: Heterosexuality and the Third Gender in Enlightenment London (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1998).
180
JEFFREY
MERRICK
II avoit este soupconne Et Croit mesme accuse avec Chausson Et fabry qui
avoient este faict mourrir, Le quartier Le Connoissant pour estre un fameux
sodomiste ce quayant appris avec beaucoup de surprise II auroit park a son
diet fils en particulier Et Layant oblige par Lauthorite paternelle de luy dire
(- ce qui sEstoit passe) sil estoit vrai quil Connaissoit led. grisy qui Luy en
avoit donne La Conneissance Et ce quil faisoit Lorsquil alloit avec lui, quelle
habitude II y avoit Et ou II Le menoit quand II le faisoit sortir de lEtude dud.
S^ de henault apres quelques resistances qui auroient mesme augmente sa
Crainte Et Lauroient oblige de passer Jusque au menace led. germain Leseur
son [3] fils seroit demeure daccord Et lui auroit advoue que depuis deux a
trois mois Led. grisy venoit tous Les Jours deux, trois, Et quatre fois Lappeller
a travers Les vistres Et quelquefois par la porte de lEstude Et Le faisant sortir
Lui tesmoignoit bien de lamitie Lui disant quil laymoit quil souhaictoit Le
voir Le mener promener et faire collation Et layant attire deux ou trois fois
au Cabaret et a la promenade lui auroit offer de largent Lauroit Embrasse
mis La main dans ses Chausses Et faict sur Lui des attouchements emportez
Le baisant a la bouche ou II luy fourroit sa langue et lui tenant des discours
tendant a ses fins malheureuses Et si perilleux que lui plaignant est surpris
quil n'a pas desja perdu son Enfant qui est tout Jeune Et age seuUlement de
Quinze ans, Le suivant led. grisy en tout bien Espiant Loccasion quand II
sort Les soirs de lad. Estude Et le faisant Entrer dans des allees sombres {- et
lepaullant de force Entre ses bras mesme 1 ou II lauroit presse de satisfaire a
ce quil vouUoit Lui disant quil auroit bien du plaisir quil le Carresseroit quil
lameneroit voir La petite fillette Et quils y coucheroient ensemble et autres
Entretiens Et actions de Cette nature que led. Enfant ne lui a repliques que
confiasement et avec Crainte ce qui fait croire a lui plaignant que si led. grisy
le frequentoit davantage II pourroit InfaiUiblement le surprendre tant par la
foiblesse de son age que par Les offres adroictes quil lui fait des plaisirs Et
de largent Et lEffect mesme de la debauche essayant de Ie faire prendre de
vin Et le mettre hor de toute connoissance | - pour prevenir un tel malheur
II auroit este Conseille de rendre plainte a Justice contre led. [4] grisy) Le
sollicitant tous Les Jours Incessement depuis peu de temps de lui dormer
rendesvous pour Le mener en quelque lieu soubs des promesses specieuses
Lui monstrant quantite dor Et dargent pour prevenir un si grand malheur
Et Empescher que son diet fils ne contribue Innocemment a se lattirer II
lui auroit faict deffense de voir davantage led. grisy neantmoins ayant sceu
quicelui grisy ne laissoit pas daller tousjours Le demander Et de lattendre
aux hures quil revient prendre ses repas |- affin de lengager) et de le venir
mesme trouver au sortir de la maison de lui plaignant II a este Conseille de
rendre plainte a Justice Contre Led. grisy
that several days ago Etienne Petre, master letter writer, advised him that
he had seen the man named Grisy speaking a few times to his son Germain
Lesueur and, having noticed and known from several persons that he went
181
looking for bim very often at M. de Henault's office, wbere he goes to write
every day, be wanted to alert bim, as bis friend, in order to avoid tbe misfortune that could result ftom tbe frequentation and solicitation of said Grisy,
wbo, although old and of a very advanced age, lived in a dreadftjl crime and
of wbicb he has been suspected and, he believes, even accused witb Cbausson
and Fabri, who were put to deatb, tbe neigbborbood knowing bim to be a
renowned sodomist. Having learned wbicb with mucb surprise, he spoke to
his said son privately and bound bim through paternal authority to tell bim
j - wbat had bappened) if it was true tbat be knew said Grisy, wbo introduced
bim to bim, and what be did wben be went witb bim, bow be bebaved tben,
and wbere be took bim wben be bad bim leave M. de Henault's office. After
some resistance, wbicb beigbtened bis fears even more and obliged bim to
proceed even to threats, said Germain Lesueur, his son, agreed and acknowledged to bim tbat for two or tbree montbs said Grisy came every day, two,
three, and four times, to call bim tbrougb the windows and sometimes at
tbe office door and, having bad bim come out, sbowed bim mucb affection,
telling bim tbat be loved bim, tbat be wisbed to see bim, take bim for a walk
and a meal, and, baving drawn bim two or tbree times to a tavern and a walk,
offered bim money, bugged bim, put bis band in bis breecbes, and fondled
bim passionately, kissing bim on tbe mouth, into wbicb he stuck bis tongue,
and telling bim tbings tending to bis disastrous purposes and so perilous tbat
be, the plaintiff, is surprised tbat be bas not already lost bis son, wbo is quite
young and only fifteen years old. Following bim everywbere, carefiilly looking out for an opportunity, wben he left said office in tbe evening, said Grisy
bad bim enter dark alleys j - and grasping bim by force, by bis shoulders, in
bis own arms, even), wbere be urged bim to comply witb wbat be wanted,
telling bim tbat be would bave mucb pleasure, tbat be would caress bim, tbat
he would take him to see the "little girl" [presumably a prostitute] and tbat
tbey would sleep togetber tbere, and otber talk and acts of tbat kind. Said
child only replied to bim confiasedly and witb fear, wbich makes bim, tbe
plaintiff, believe tbat if said Grisy ftequented bim longer, be could certainly
deceive bim, as mucb through tbe weakness of bis age as the clever offers
tbat be made to bim of pleasures and money and even tbrougb tbe effects of
debauchery, trying to make him drink wine and deprive bim of all consciousness |- to avoid sucb a misfortune, be bas been advised to make a judicial
complaint against said Grisy}, asking bim every day, very recently, to make
a rendezvous witb bim to take bim to some place under specious pretexts,
showing bim lots of gold and silver. To avoid sucb a great misfortune and
prevent bis said son from innocently contributing to bringing it on bimself,
be forbid bim to see said Grisy any longer, but, knowing tbat tbe same Grisy
still always went to ask for bim and wait for bim at tbe times wben be comes
home to bave bis meals {- in order to invite bim), and even coming to look
for bim wben he left bis, tbe plaintifPs house, he bas been advised to make
a judicial complaint against said Grisy.
182
JEFFREY MERRICK
28 June
Continuation
2. Jean Lesueur, baving learned
[6] que led. grisy Venoit de mener Ledict germain Lesueur son fils au
Cabaret du gros raisin, Craignant quil narrive accident Et quicelui grisy
Layant faict boire ne le surprenne . . .
tbat said Grisy bad just taken bis said son Germain Lesueur to tbe Plump
Grape tavern, fearing tbat some misbap migbt bappen and tbat the same
Grisy, having made bim drink, migbt take bim by surprise . . .
asked Devendosme, between 7 and 8 A.M., to investigate.
Report
3. Accompanied by a clerk and several police agents, Devendosme
sommes aussytost transporte aud. cabaret Et maison ou pend pour Enseigne
le gros raisin ou Estant et ayant demande a pierre soirat M" dicelle maison
sil nestait pas venu dans sondit cabaret un bomme Vieillar vestu de proguet
[= droguet] brun avec un petit garcon ayant des cbeveux blons Et sil ni
estoient pas Encor Ledict soirat nous ayant respondu quils estoient tout
deux dans une petite cbambre au premier Estage sur le devant, sommes
assiste comme dessus Et du. soirat de sa femme Et de son garcon monte a
la porte de ladicte cbambre quils nous avoient Indique ou arrivant auroit
entendu Ces paroles ab mon dieu, ab mon dieu arrestez vous ce qui nous
auroit oblige de ftapper a la dicte porte que nous aurions trouvee fermee,
Et l'ayant aussytost faict ouvrir serions Entre dans lad. cbambre ou nous
aurions trouve ledict germain Lesueurfilsayant ses chausses Et son calleôn
baissez sa cbemise a demy troussee estant a un Coin de la dicte cbambre
pres des sieges arrangez Les uns Contre Les autres comme si Ion avoit
vouUu se Coucber dessus, et led. grisy [7] estant fort Esmu son cbappeau
sur sa teste un Cousteau a la main, Et Luy ayant demande ce quil faisoit
dud. Cousteau ne sacbant que nous respondre led. Lesueurfilsauroit pris la
parole a dit que cestoit Le Cousteau avec lequel II avoit ferme La porte ce
qui nous auroit paru assez vray semblable veu que nous naurions pu ouvrir
lad. porte quoyquelle ne ferme qu'a un Loquet y ayant assez dapparance
que led. grisy Lavoit mis dans Le Jeu dud. Loquet Et davantage que led.
sueur fils (- se plaignoit Et) tenoit sans sa main quelquargent Lui aurions
demande dou provenoit led. argent Et ce qui sEstoit passe Entre lui et led.
grisy que nous Le trouvions en cet Estat a quoy II nous auroit respondu tout
haut en presence des dessus diet Et du sieur Texier exempt survenu Et de
quelques uns voisins que le bruit dicelle action y auroit attire, que led. grisy
Layant amene desjeuner dans led. Cabaret Lestant venu trouver comme II
183
se baignoit Le Jour dhyer Et Layant engage a cella aussytost quils auroient

este Entrez dans lad. cbambre II lauroit pris sur ses genoux Lui auroit mis
La main dans sa brayeste et Layant ensuite quitte auroit este fermer la porte
avec un Cousteau puis ayant range quelque sieges comme nous pourrions
voir Lui auroit desfait son haudecbausse Et son callefon Lui faisant des attoucbements Et Le vouUant faire coucber sur lesd. sieges mais que sestant
escrie Et dans ce temps Le garcon du Cabaret ayant apporte une aumelette
II auroit desrange lesd. sieges Et lui auroit fait remettre son baudecbausse
Et layant oblige de sasseoir a table a peine y auroit Ils este que led grisy se
seroit Leve de sa place auroit este refermer la porte avec Le cousteau ainsi
quil avoit desja faict et remettre les sieges au mesme [8] Endroit et Layant
mene Contre lesd. sieges lui auroit bailie Largent quil avoit dans sa main
qui estoit trois pieces de quinze sol quil auroit fait voir Et montre a tous
ceux qui estoient dans lad. cbambre Et lui disant grisy que quand II se seroit
Laisse fare II lui en donneroit Encor, Lui auroit une seconde fois baisse ses
cbausses son calleôn trousse sa cbemise par derriere et le faisant Courber
sur lesd. sieges Lui auroit vouUu mettre sa nature dans Le fondement En
sorte quil se serait entre voiant bien que led. grisy alloit Le fendre Et Leut
faict si Lon nestoit venu a son secours a laquelle declaration led. grisy nayant rien respondu au Contraire ayant repris sa place a table d'un geste qui
tesmoignoit sa surprise se seroit verse deux ou trois Coups de suite a boire
Et auroit paye ce quil auroit despense ayant tire un petit sacq dans lequel
II y avoit encor deux Louis dor Et une piece de trente sols quil nous auroit
mis dans La main avec led. sacq voiant que nous lui enseignant de nous
suivre ce quil nauroit toutesfoict pas voullu faire sans violence
went immediately to said tavern and bouse, wbere tbe sign of tbe Plump
Grape bangs, wbere being and, baving asked Pierre Soirat, master of tbe same
establisbment, if an old man dressed in brown dugget [a type of fabric made
of wool alone or in combination witb linen or silk] witb a little/young boy
baving blond bair bad not come to bis said tavern, and if tbey were not still
tbere. Said Soirat baving answered us tbat tbey were botb in a small room
on tbe second floor, on tbe front, accompanied as above and by said Soirat,
bis wife, and bis servant, we went up to tbe door of said room, wbicb tbey
pointed out to us, wbere, baving arrived, we beard tbese words, "Ob my
God, ob my God, stop," wbicb compelled us to knock on said door, wbicb
we found closed, and, baving it opened at once, we entered said room, wbere
we found said Germain Lesueur, tbe son, baving iiis breecbes and bis drawers
pulled down, bis sbirt rolled balfway up, being in a corner of said room near
some cbairs arranged one against tbe otber, as if someone wanted to sleep on
tbem. Said Grisy was very agitated, bis bat on bis bead, a knife in bis hand,
and, baving asked bim wbat be was doing witli said knife, not knowing wbat
to answer us, said Lesueur, the son, spoke up, said that it was die knife witb
wbicb be bad jammed tbe door, wbicb seemed likely enougb to us, seeing
184
JEFFREY
MERRICK
tbat we could not open said door altbougb it only closes with a latch, tbere
being appearance enough tbat said Grisy had put it in tbe works of said
latcb, and flirtber that said son (- complained and) beld some money in bis
band. We asked bim where said money came from and wbat bad bappened
between bim and said Grisy sucb tbat we find bim in tbis state, in response
to wbicb be answered us loudly, and in tbe presence of tbose above and M.
Texier, an officer who sbowed up, and some neigbbors whom tbe noise of
this proceeding bad drawn tbere, tbat said Grisy baving taken him to breakfast at said cabaret, baving come to find him wbile be was bathing yesterday
and having invited bim for this, as soon as they entered said room, be took
him on bis knees, put bis hand in bis fly, and then, baving left bim, went to
jam the door witb a knife, tben, having arranged some chairs as we could
see, undid bis breecbes and bis drawers, fondling bim and wanting to make
bim lie down on said cbairs, but baving cried out, and at tbis time tbe tavern
servant having brougbt an omelet, he disarranged said chairs and bad bim
put bis breeches back on. And having made him sit down at tbe table, tbey
were hardly tbere wben said Grisy got up ftom his seat, went to jam tbe door
again with tbe knife, as be bad already done, and put tbe cbairs back in the
same place, and baving led him up against said chairs, gave bim the money
tbat be bad in bis band, wbicb was three fifteen-sol [twenty sols = one livre]
coins, wbicb be displayed and sbowed to all wbo were in said room, and
said Grisy telling bim tbat when he let bim bave bis way, be would give bim
more of tbem, pulled down bis breecbes, bis drawers a second time, rolled
up his shirt in tbe back, and baving him bend over tbe cbairs, wanted to put
bis nature in bis bottom, sucb tbat be would enter, understanding well that
said Grisy was going to penetrate [literally, split] bim and would bave done
it if people bad not come to his belp. To wbicb statement said Grisy baving
replied nothing, on tbe contrary baving taken bis seat at tbe table again witb
a gesture tbat indicated his surprise, poured two or tbree drafts in a row to
drink, and paid wbat be bad spent, baving taken out a little bag in wbicb
tbere were still two gold louis and a tbirty-sol coin, whicb be put in our band
witb said bag, seeing tbat we were instructing bim to follow us, wbicb be,
bowever, did not want to do witbout force.
Interrogation
4. Germain Lesueur, age fifteen or so
[9] Enquis Combien II y a quil Connoit led. grisy
a dit quil y a deux mois et davantage
Dou lui est venu sa Connoissance Et qui lui a donne
a dit que led. grisy Layant veu passer un Jour II se souvient quil Le regarda
Et quil Le suivit, et quayant remarque apparament quil alloit en lEstude de
M. cbarles de henault, II Lauroit observe assez souvent, et un Jour Layant
sallue se seroit approcbe de lui Lui auroit parle demande qui II Etoit qui
185
estoit son pere son nom et sa demeure et Lui ayant declare led. grisy lui dit
aussy son nom Et quil falloit quils se vissent ensemble
sils se sont veus depuis led. Jour
a dit que led. grisy est venu le chercher Jusque a quatre foict Le Jour tant
en lad. Estude ques environs du logis de son pere
ou Jl le menoit quant II lui parloit
dit quil le menoit quelquefoict au Cabaret ou II lui tesmoignoit de lamitie
le baisant lui mettant sa main dans ses chausses et lui fourrant sa langue
dans la bouche Le pressant contre Lui et lui offran de largent
sil ne la mene quau Cabaret Et sils nont pas este ensemble dans un mauvais Lieu
dit que non mais quil lui avoit promis de l'y mener Layant Un soir faict Entrer
dans une allee ou II lauroit Encor baise Et mis sa main sans sa brayeste
Pourquoi II voioit led, grisy puisque son pere lui avoit desfendu Et quil
Le vouUoit perdre
A dit quil ne Croit pas quil y Eut du mal a le voir Jouir que led. grisy Le
persecuttoit de le fare Et estoit touct apres lui pour Le mener promener
ou au Cabaret Comme II a fait au Jourdhui ainsi quil nous la declare Et
quil n'a pas este deffendu mais que sil Eut Connu son mauvais dessein II
ne seroit pas venu
Asked how long he has known said Grisy.'
Said for two months and more.
How he made his acquaintance and who introduced him?
Said that said Grisy, having seen him go by one day, he remembers that
he looked at him and that he followed him and, having seen that he was
apparently going to M. Charles de Henault's office, he watched him quite
often, and one day, having greeted him, approached him, spoke to him,
asked him who he was, who his father was, his name and his residence, and
he having told him, said Grisy also told him his name and that they must
see each other.
If they have seen each other since that day?
Said that said Grisy came looking for him up to four times a day, both at
said office and around his father's residence.
Where he took him when he talked to him?
Said that he took him sometimes to a tavern, where he expressed affection for
him, kissing him, putting his hand in his breeches, and sticking his tongue in
his mouth, pressing him against him and offering him money.
If he took him only to the tavern, and if they were not together in a dubious place?
Said no but that he promised him to take him there, having one evening had
him go into an alley, where he kissed him again and put his hand in his fly.
Why he saw said Grisy, since his father had forbidden him and he wanted
to ruin him?
186
JEFFREY MERRICK
Said that he does not believe there was anything wrong in seeing him
enjoy himself, that said Grisy harassed him to do so and was after him to
take him for a walk or to a tavern, as he did today, as he told us, and that
he was not forbidden, but that if he had known his wicked intention, he
would not have come.
5. Jean Perrin, sieur [It is not clear why he identified himself in this way,
using the legalistic and honorific variant of "monsieur"] de Grisy, who lived
in the house of one Courtant on the rue des Rosiers [parallel to and farther
from the Seine than the rue Saint-Antoine], in the parish of Saint-Gervais
[adjacent to the parish of Saint-Paul], age seventy-two or so
[10] Enquis de quel pais II est
a dit estre de paris
pourquoy nous Larrestons
a dit par une presomption qui nest point veritable et pour l'avoir trouve avec
un petit clerc qui Lauroit prie de lui donner ce matin a desjeuner Layant
retrouve Le Jour dhyer comme II se baignoit par cas fortuit
sil est pas vray quil Connoit led. clerc nomme Lesueur depuis deux mois
et plus
a dit quil ne le connoit que par encontre a pu sappeller Lesueur qui est le
nom que led. clerc lui a dit
sil ne la pas Este demander plusieurs foict en lestude du S. de henault
notaire
a dit que non
sil na pas este a travers les vitres lui faire signe de sortir et de venir parler
a lui
a dit que non
sil n'a pas quelquefoict dit a un des clercs de le faire parler aud. Lesueur
dit a tous deux ensemblement
sil na pas mene led. led. Lesueur au Cabaret II y a quelque tems
a dit quil est vray quil a bu avec lui une chopine de vin dans une Cour dun
Cabaret rue s. anthoine
[11] sil ne parloit pas en particulier aud. Lesueur
a dit que non
ce quil lui dit
a dit rien
sil ne lui dit pas quil Laymoit quil falloit quils ve vissent Et quil le feroit
divertir
a dit que non
sil ne le baise pas Et sil ne lui mit pas sa langue dans sa bouche
a dit que non
sil ne la pas caresse un soir dans une allee
a dit que non
187
sil Lorsquil a parle a lui en particulier II ne lui a pas dit quil auroit bien du
plaisir a Coucher avec Lui
a dit que non
sil ne lui a pas mis La main dans ses chausses et a sa brayeste
a dit que non
sil ne la pas sollicite plusieurs foict daller promener avec Lui
a dit que cest lui mesme
si depuis huit jours il ne ly a pas presse plus fortement
a dit que non
si sur ce quil auroit refflise d'y aller II ne dit pas a lautre clerc son Camarade
quils estoient tous deux des gens foutres Et quils ne valloit pas un foutre
de chien
dit quil ne scait ce que cest
sil ne dit pas aud. Leseuer mon fils Je tayme as tu besoin dargent tu ne
manqueras de rien Je ten donneray as tu affaire de quelque uns
a dit que non
[12] sil ne lui avoit pas promis de le mener voir la petite fillette lui faisant
des discours sur cette matiere
a dit que non et que son camarade fleuret Auroit demande a lui respondant
quil lui fit voir quelque fille
sil navait pas demande il y eut hyer dimanche huit Jour au. Lesueur sil
vouUoit se venir promener au faubourg s. anthoine
a did que non
si sur ce quil ne flit pas II ne lui dit pas Le lendemain quil avoit tort Et quil
auroit bien passe son temps sil y estoit venu
a dit que non
sil ne lui promit pas de le mener Le lendemain mardi promener
a dit que non
sil ne fut pas hyer Le trouver ou II se baignoit
a dit que ce fut Lui qui lappelle quil ne Le voioit pas
sil ne lui donna pas hyer rendez vous pour desjeuner avec lui ce matin et
quil lattendroit sur la porte du plat destain quil navoit qua sortir quand II
Le veroit
a dit quil nest pas vray sans correction que cest bien lui respondant qui
Lui a donne rendezvous mais que led. Lesueur Le pria de lui donner a
desjeuner
Dou vient quil sattachoit a familiariser avec led. Lesuer {sic\ qui est un Jeune
Enfant et lui qui est un homme dage
a dit que cest un petit garcon quil a rencontre plusieurs fois par Cas fortuit
sans propos deslibere
[13] sil nest pas venu Ce matin au rendezvous et sil ne sest pas trouve sur
la porte du plat destain
a dit quil est venu au quartier y ayant affaire chez M. Larcher demeurant dans
l'allee des Jesuites Et que passant led. petit garcon est venu lui demander
188
JEFFREY MERRICK
a desjeuner comme II lui avoit promis hyer au soir

sil nont pas este tous deux au Cabaret du gros raisin
a dit que oui
si lui respondant na pas demande une chamb.
a dit quil a demande un Lieu pour se mettre Et quon les a Conduit a une
chamb. au premier Etage
si Lorsquil ont este seuls II na pas ferme La porte de lad. chambre avec un
Cousteau
a dit que non
sil na pas mis ledit Lesueur sur ses genoux ou II le Caressoit
a dit que non
sil ne lui a pas deffaict son haudechausse et son calleôn Et sil na pas mis
une chaise pour Le Coucher dessus
a dit que non
sil ne la pas presse de souffrir quil mit son membre viril dans ses fesses et
sil ne lui a pas mis Voullant le forcer Et commettre avec lui le pesche de
sodomye Et Contre nature
a dit que non
si sur le reffus du diet Lesueur Et sur ce quil sestoit esrie II ne sest pas retire
et dautant quon auroit apporte un aumelette quil avoit Commandee pour
le desjeuner
[14] a dit que non
si apres avoir mange La mode De Laumelette II ne soit pas Leve de table
Et ayant Encor ferme La porte avec un Cousteau II na pas remis Les chaises
Comme auparavant
a dit que non quil ny avoit quune chaise
sil na pas pris led. Lesueur Et lui ayant desfaict son haudechausse Et son
callecon Lui levant sa Chemise ayant sa nature roide II ne la pas courbe sur
lesd. Chaises pour le forcer
a dit que non et quil nest pas en pouvoir de cela a son age
Pourquoy II ne veut pas demeurer daccord de cette Verite pusiquil auroit
donne trois pieces de quinze sols aud. Lesueur affin quil Le laissat fare lui
en promettant beaucoup dautre apres
a dit que non quil est vrai que led. Lesueur lui a demande de largent pour
son divertissement qui lui rendroit et que lui respondant lui en a donne
Enquis dou vient quil ne veut pas demeurer daccor quil auroit force led.
Lesueur sil ne sestoit pas Escrie Et si nous nestions pas Entre aussytot
a dit quil ne la pas voullu forcer Et n'y faict aucune Chose Et que cest lui
enfant qui a baisse ses chausses
sil nest pas vray que nous lavons trouve Enferme dans lad. Chambre Et
pourquoy et a quelle fin II y avoit ferme la porte
a dit quil ne lavoit point ferme
sil n'a pas oste Ce Cousteau qui la fermoit lorsque nous avons frappe a la
porte
189
a dit que non

ou II avoit pris Ce Cousteau quil tenoit lorsque nous [14] sommes Entrez
a dit quil nen avoit point et que sil en tenoit un que cestoit pour coupp le
pain Et non pour fermer La porte
Enquis sil estoit a table et sil mangeoit pendant que led. Lesueur avoit ses
chausses baissees
a dit quil estoit dans la chambre ou nous lavons trouve pres la porte
sil na pas fait plusieurs attouchements sur le Corps dud. Lcsuer [sic\
a dit que non quil lui a seull^ pris la main et lui a ofert son service sans autre
dessein et quil nen a Jamais Eu dautre
Asked what region he is from?
Said he is from Paris.
Why we are arresting him?
He said based on a presumption that is not at all true and for having found
him with a little/young clerk who asked him to give him breakfast this morning, having encountered him by chance yesterday while he was bathing.
If it is not true that he has known said clerk, named Lesueur, for two
months and more?
Said that he only knows him from running into him and that he could be
named Lesueur, which is the name said clerk told him.
If he did not go to ask for him several times at the notary M. de Henault's
office?
Said no.
If he did not go to signal him, through the windows, to leave and come
speak to him?
Said no.
If he did not sometimes tell one of the clerks to let him speak to said
Lesueur?
Said to both of them together.
If he did not take said Lesueur to a tavern awhile ago?
Said that it is true that he drank a mug of wine with him in the courtyard
of a tavern on the rue Saint-Antoine.
If he did not speak privately with said Lesueur?
Said no.
What he said to him?
Said nothing.
If he did not tell him that he loved him, that they must see each other and
that he would show him a good time?
Said no.
If he did not kiss him, and if he did not put his tongue in his mouth?
Said no.
If he did not caress him one evening in an alley?
Said no.
190
JEFFREY MERRICK
If, when he spoke to him privately, he did not tell him that it would give
him much pleasure to sleep with him?
Said no.
If he did not put his hand in his breeches and his fly?
Said no.
If he did not ask him several times to go for a walk with him?
Said that it was he who asked.
If, during the last week, he has not pressed him more strongly?
Said no.
If, when he refused to go with him, he did not tell the other clerk, his
comrade, that they were both good-for-nothings and that they were not
worth dog spunk [literally, sperm]?
Said that he did not know what it means.
If he did not say to said Lesueur, "My son, I love you. Do you need
any money? You won't lack anything. I'll give you some. Do you owe
anyone?"
Said no.
If he had not promised to take him to see the "little girl" [presumably a
prostitute], making remarks to him on this subject?
Said no and that his comrade Fleuret asked him, the respondent, to show
him some prostitute.
If, a week ago yesterday, Sunday, he did not ask Lesueur if he wanted to
come take a walk in the Saint-Antoine quarter?
Said no.
If, as he was not there, he did not tell him the next day that he had made a
mistake and that he would have spent his time well if he had come?
Said no.
If he did not promise him to take him for a walk the next day, Tuesday?
Said no.
If he did not go look for him yesterday where he was bathing?
Said that it was he who called to him, that he did not see him.
If he did not make a rendezvous with him yesterday to have breakfast with
him this morning and that he would wait for him at the door of the Tin
Dish [sign on a building that gave its name to a street between the rue de
Rivoli and the rue des Halles in the parish of Saint-Oppormne] that he had
only to come out when he saw him?
Said that it is not true without correction, that it was indeed he, the respondent, who made a rendezvous with him, but that said Lesueur asked
him to give him breakfast.
Why is it that he made a point of getting familiar with said Lesueur, who
is a young child, and he, who is a man of a certain age?
Said that he was a little/young boy whom he encountered several times by
chance, without any set purpose.
191
If he did not come to the rendezvous this morning, and if he was not at
the door of the Tin Dish?
Said that he came to the neighborhood having business there with M.
Larcher, living on the allee des Jesuites [now the passage Saint-Paul, which
runs from the rue Saint-Paul to the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis] and
that, going by, said little/young boy came to ask him for breakfast as he
had promised him the evening before.
If they did not both go to the Plump Grape tavern?
Said yes.
If he, the respondent, did not ask for a room?
Said that he asked for a place to sit down and that tliey led him to a room
on the second floor.
If, once they were alone, he did not jam the door of the room with a
knife?
Said no.
If he did not put said child on his knees, where he caressed him?
Said no.
If he did not undo his breeches and his drawers, and if he did not arrange
a chair in order to have him lie down on it?
Said no.
If he did not urge him to allow him to put his penis in his buttocks, and if
he did not put it in him, wishing to violate him and commit with him the
sin of sodomy and against nature?
Said no.
If, upon said Lesueur's refusal and when he cried out, he did not withdraw,
and all the more because they brought an omelet that he had ordered for
breakfast?
Said no.
If, after eating half of the omelet, he did not get up from the table and,
having jammed the door again with the knife, he did not put the chairs
back as before?
Said no, that there was only one chair.
If he did not take said Lesueur and, having undone his breeches and his
drawers, lifting up his shirt, having his nature [= penis] stiff, he did not
bend him over said chairs in order to violate him?
Said no and that he does not have the strength for that at his age.
Why is it that he does not want to concede the truth, since he gave said
Lesueur three fifteen-sol coins so that he would let him have his way, promising him many more of them later?
Said no, that it is true that said Lesueur asked him for money to have fun,
which he would pay back, and that he, the respondent, gave him some.
Asked why it is that he does not want to agree that he would have violated
said Lesueur if he had not cried out and if we had not come in at once.
192
JEFFREY MERRICK
Said that he did not want to violate him and did nothing to him and that
it is he, the child, who pulled down his breeches.
If it is not true that we found him shut up in said room and why and for
what reason he had closed its door?
Said that he did not close it.
If he did not remove this knife that jammed it when we knocked on the
door?
Said no.
Where he got this knife that he held when we came in?
Said that he did not have any and, if he held one, that it was for cutting the
bread and not for jamming the door.
Asked if he was at the table, and if he was eating while said Lesueur had
his breeches down?
Said that he was in the room where we found him, near the door.
If he had not fondled said Lesueur's body several times?
Said no, that he only took his hand and offered him his assistance without
any other design and that he never had any other.
After searching Grisy and finding some papers in his pockets, Devendosme
asked him if he had been taken into custody before. Grisy "did not want
to reply."
Investigation
6. Pierre Soirat, wine merchant, who lived at the Plump Grape tavern on
the rue Saint-Antoine, in the parish of Saint-Paul, age thirty-three or so
[ 16] A dit Et depose quil y a Envin une hure II seroit arrive dans son Cabaret un viellerd quil reConnoist pour estre laccuse avec un Jeune Enfant et
ayant led. Viellerd demande a desjeuner auroit dit au garcon de lui desposant quil les donnat une chambre Et Layant led. Garcon Conduit dans
la grande chamb sur le devant led. Vieillard ni auroit vouilu Entrer disant
quon le menat dans une petite pourquoy led. garcon lauroit faict Entrer dans
celle attenant ne scait pas lui deponant ce qui sest passe mais a seulf"' Veu
Lorsque Nous sommes arrives et que nous sommes entre dans lad. chamb
que led pedt garcon qui estoit venu avec led Viellard avoit ses chausses et
son callefon baisses Et Etoit nud en chemise se plaignant que led. viellard
Lavoit vouilu forcer Et auroit veu quil y avoit des sieges ranges a un Coin
de la chamb. sur Lesquels led. petit garcon disoit que led. vieillard Lavoit
vouilu forcer (+ Lui ayant led. Viellard bailie trois pieces de quinze sols et
lui en ayant Encor promis dautres apres quil auroit en faict}
Stated and deposed that about an hour ago an old man, whom he recognizes to be the accused, arrived at his tavern with a young child, and said
old man, having asked to have breakfast, told his, the deponent's, servant
193
to give them a room, and said servant having led them to the large room
on the front, said old man did not want to go in there, telling him to lead
them to a small room, for which reason said servant had them enter the
adjacent one. He, the deponent, does not know what happened but only
saw, when we arrived and entered said room, that the litde/young boy who
came with the old man had his breeches and his drawers down and had
nothing on but his shirt, complaining that said old man wanted to violate
him, and saw that there were chairs arranged in a corner of the room, on
which said little/young boy said that said old man wanted to violate him,
{+ said old man having given him threefifteen-solcoins and promised him
more of them after he did it.)
7. Edme Mondat, Soirat's servant, who lived in his house, age twenty or so
A dit Et depose quil y a Environ une heure un grand Vieillard quil reconnoist
pour Estre Laccuse seroit arrive dans led. Cabaret avec un Jeune |- Enfant)
gar9on et auroit demande j - une chambre) une aumelette pour desjeuner et
quon leur donnat une chamb. et layant lui reposant Conduit a une grande
chambre sur le devant led. vieillard ni auroit voullu demeurer disant quelle
estoit trop grande Et Layant faict entrer dans une petite attenant apres y
avoir mis le Couvert se seroit descendu et Comme II descendoit auroit [17]
Entendu fermer la porte ce qui Lauroit oblige de regarder par dessous la
porte par Curiosite Et nauroit veu ni led. viellard ni led. petit garcon et
comme lui deposant Leur auroit porte du vin auroit trouve led. homme
viellard assis aupres de la table Et Le petit garfon tout proche dud. viellard
qui lauroit repousse Lorsquil auroit Entendu ouvrir la porte ne scait pas
ce quil ont fait mais a vu Lorsque nous sommes arrives et Entrez dans lad.
Chambre que led. pertit garôn estoit tout nud et avoit ses chausses et son
Calle9on baisse Et quil y avoit des sieges arranges lun Contre lautre a un
Coin a main droite de lad. chamb. et auroit Entendu dire aud. petit garcon qui sescrioit j-i- que led. Vieillard lui avoit bailie trois pieces de quinze
sols Lesquelles led. petit garcon auroit monstree \+ dans sa main) disant
quil lui en avoit Encor promis dautres apres quil LAuroit Eu laisse faire)
que led. Vieillard Lavoit voullu forcer Et que sil navoit este survenu j + il
l'auroit faict) personne
Stated and deposed that about an hour ago a tall old man whom he recognizes to be the accused arrived at said tavern with a young (- child) boy
and asked for {- a room) an omelet for breakfast and that they gave him
a room. And he, the respondent, having led him to a large room on the
front, said old man did not want to stay there, saying that it was too big,
and having shown him to a small adjacent room, after having set the table
there, he went downstairs and, as he went down, heard the door shut,
which prompted him to look under the door out of curiosity, and he saw
194
JEFFREY MERRICK
neither said old man nor said little/young boy, and when he, the deponent,
brought them some wine, found said old man seated by the table and the
little/young boy very close to the old man, who pushed him away when
he heard the door open. He does not know what they did, but, when we
arrived and entered said room, saw that said little/young boy was completely naked and had his breeches and his drawers down and that there
were some chairs arranged one against the other in a corner on the right
side of said room and heard said little/young boy who cried out say |-f that
said old man gave him threefifteen-solcoins, which said little/young boy
showed j-t- in his hand), saying that he promised him more of them after
he let him have his way), that said old man wanted to violate him and that
{+ he would have done it) if no one had shown up.
At this point, Devendosme had Grisy escorted to the Grand Chatelet prison.
The commissioner continued the interrogation at his residence.
8. Louis Fleuret, son of Jacques Fleuret (shopkeeper in Amiens), de
Henault's clerk, who lived in his house on the rue Saint-Antoine, near
Saint-Paul, age seventeen or so
[18] A dit &depose i' y a deux mois & plus q' voit venir fort frequemment
deux & trois fois, Mesme Jusques a quatre par Jour en la maison dud s'
De henault {+ le nomme Grisy), demander Germain Leseur son Camarde
qui vient escrire en lestude dud s' Dehenault regardant a travers les vitres,
& lors q' ne voit personne dans lad Estude & quil ny a que le m' Clerc II
fait signe a luy depposant daller parler a luy, & luy demande sy led Leseur
y est et ou il est alle, ou bien II ouvre la porte a demy, avance sa teste Et
appelle led Leseur ou luy faict aussy quelque signe daller parler a luy, Ne
scavoit pas Lui depposant au commencement ce que led Grisy voulloit
tant aud Leseur, Mais a appris diceluy Leseur que led Grisy Lui disoit quil
Laymoit, Quil Lui voulloit donner de largent et que mesme il lauroit mene
dans une allee ou il lavoit baise luy mettant sa langue dans sa bouche &
l'Embrassant de force, le pressant contre luy, & un Jour layant faict venir
dans le Cabaret du Cerceau, sur ce que led Leseur auroit voulu estre dans
la Cour II luy auroit tesmoigne q'' auroient este mieux dans le Cabaret du
gros raisin Quils auroient eu une chamb enticuliere pour y parler en Liberte,
Ce qu'ils ne Pouvoient fre ou ils estoient [19] Neantmoings coe Us alloient
sortir apres avoir faict fre collation aud Leseur auroit led grisy mis sa main
dans les chausses dud Leseur, A Encor led Leseur dit a luy depposant que
led Grisy Lavoit mene au mail & le voulloit fre passer dans la petite Isle
Louvier, par ce q' y avoit moings de monde & que led Leseur ne layant
voullu lauroit led Grisy Entretenu longtemps de plusieurs discours tendant
a Une meschantefinluy disant qu' seroit bien aise de coucher avec luy, Quil
le bransleroit, Quil lui feroit des attouchements de tout son Coeur, Quil
195
lui feroit voir la petite fillette, & luy ayant demande sil couchoit seul led
Leseur luy ayant dit que non, & quil couchoit avec luy depposant, auroit
led Grissy dit je voudrois bien estre dans la chamb, Je me cacherois & Jirois
coucher avec toy & tu croirois que ce seroit lautre, Je te baiserois, Je te
branslerois la petite vitte, Je te manirois tant ton petit cul Et Lundy dernier
Estant led Grisy sur les huict a neuf heures du soir encor venu a la porte
de lestude il auroit appelle luy depposant luy auroit demande ou il estoit,
sil le pourroit trouver chez luy & luy, ayant dit qu' le pourrait trouver chez
son pere auroit led grisy dit Je suis venu aujourdhuy plusie foict, en ayant
parle deux a luy depposant, et quil estoit malheureux Quil ne pourroit le
rencontrer, Que cestoit un petit Jean foutre, Quil ne voulloit pas fre ce q'
voulloit, Que luy depposant en estoit aussy, & quils ne Valloient pas tous
deux un foutre de chien, Et Ensuitte ayant mis la main dans la brayette de
luy depposant auroit dit chere Louis, tu as une grosse vitte, tu peux aller
au bordel, Leseur nen a pas une sy grosse que toy, a Veu plusie foict luy
depposant led grisy Carresser led Leseur luy baiser la main, & scait que led
Grisy estoit du Nombre de Ceux quon accusoit [20] comme les Chaussons,
Que lors que Chausson ftit Executte il sestoit absente, Deppose Encor,
qu'au sortir du Cabaret du Cerceau le jour que led Leseur y avoit este avec
luy II le mena sur le boulevar, & luy demanda sil ne bransloit pas quelque
fois la petitte vitte dud Leseur puis q' couchoit avec luy & il ne le faisoit pas
quelque fois descharger, & sil Lavoit bien grosse, Est surpris luy depposant
des Entreprises dud Grisy quy est un homme de soix" & douze ans ainsy q'
luy a dit, et quy est tout blanc depose de plus & se souvient encor que led
Grisy luy a dit lui mesme que sy led Leseur avoit besoing dequelque chose
& dargent q' navoit qu'a en demander, quil ne manqueroit de rien Mesme
en a offer plusie foict aud Leseur, ainsi q' la pareillement dit a luy deposant
I-I- dit aussy que lejour dhier sur les neuf heures du soir Led Grisy Le seroit
venu trouver en lestude dud s' dehenault & Luy auroit pie au Coin de la
rue pend' un bon quart d'heure, luy demandant ou estoit led Leseur, Quil
lui voulloit pier. Et ce Jourdhuy Mattin seroit encor entre sept ou huit
heures led grisy revenu Joindre led Leseur coe il lui avoit promis le Jour
d'hier au mail ou il lauroit este trouver apres avoir pie a lui depposant ainsi
q'en Leseur luy auroit dit, Et Lauroit mene desjeuner au gros Raisin ou II
auroit este arreste)
Stated and deposed that for two months and more that he has seen (+ the
man named Grisy) come very frequently, two and three, even four times
a day, to M. de Henault's residence to ask for Germain Lesueur, his comrade, who comes to write in said de Henault's office, looking through the
windows and, when he sees no one in said office and there is no one but
the master clerk, he signals him, the deponent, to go speak to him and asks
him if said Lesueur is there and where he went, or else he opens the door
halfway, sticks his head in, and calls Lesueur or also gives him some sign to
196
JEFFREY MERRICK
go speak to him. He, the deponent, did not know in the beginning, however,
what said Grisy wanted so much with Lesueur but learned from the same
Lesueur that said Grisy told him that he loved him, that he wanted to give
him money, and that he even led him into an alley, where he kissed him,
putting his tongue in his mouth and hugging him by force, pressing him
against him, and one day, having had him come to the Hoop tavern, since
said Lesueur wanted to be in the courtyard, he claimed that they would be
better off at the Plump Grape tavern, that they would have a private room
in which to speak freely, which they could not do where they were. As they
were leaving, however, after having had said Lesueur given something to
eat, said Grisy put his hand in said Lesueur's breeches. Said Lesueur also
told him, the deponent, that said Grisy took him to the Mall [promenade
between the Arsenal and the Seine] and wanted to make him go onto the
litde Louvier island [in the Seine behind the lie Saint-Louis, subsequendy
connected to the Right Bank], because there were fewer people there, and
said Lesueur not wanting to, said Grisy for a long time told him several
things tending to a wicked end, telling him that he would be very pleased
to sleep with him, that he would shake [masturbate] him, that he would
fondle him with all his heart, that he show him the "little girl," and, having
asked him if he slept alone, said Lesueur having told him no and that he
slept with him, the deponent, said Grisy said, "I would really like to be in
the room. I would hide myself, and I would sleep with you, and you would
think that it was the other [Fleuret]. I would kiss you, I would shake your
litde prick, I would handle your litde ass so much." And last Monday, at
eight or nine o'clock in the evening, said Grisy having come to the office
door again, he called him, the deponent, asked him where he was, if he
couldfindhim at home, and he having told him that he couldfindhim at his
father's, said Grisy said, "I came several times today," having talked to him,
the deponent, about them, said that he was unhappy that he could not meet
up with him, that he was a litde good-for-nothing, that he did not want to
do what he wanted, that he, the deponent, was one, too, and that both of
them were not worth dog spunk. And then, having put his hand in his, the
deponent's,fly,he said, "Dear Louis, you have a big prick. You can go to the
brothel. Lesueur doesn't have one as big as yours." He, the deponent, saw
said Grisy caress said Lesueur several times, kiss his hand, and knows that
said Grisy is of the number of those whom they accused like the Chaussons,
that when Chausson was executed, he went away. He deposes further that
after leaving the Hoop tavern, the day that said Lesueur was there with
him, he took him to the boulevards [that replaced the old city walls] and
asked him if he did not shake said Lesueur's litde prick sometimes, since
he slept with him, if he did not make him make discharge somedmes, and
if he had a really big one. And he, the deponent, surprised by the advances
of said Grisy, who is a seventy-two-year-old man, as he told him, and whose
hair is all white, deposes moreover and also remembers that said Grisy told
197
him himself that if said Lxsueur needed something and some money, he
only had to ask for it, that he would not lack anything, even offered said
Lesueur some several times, as he likewise told him, the deponent, |+ says
also that yesterday, about nine o'clock in the evening, said Grisy came to
said de Henault's office to find him and talked to him at the street corner
for a good quarter ofan hour, asking him where said Lesueur was, that he
wanted to talk to him, and this morning again between seven and eight
o'clock said Grisy came back to meet said Lesueur as he had promised him
yesterday on the Mall, where he went to find him after having talked to
him, the deponent, as said Lesueur told him, and took him to breakfast at
the Plump Grape, where he was arrested.)
9. Barbe Coquille, Soirat's wife, who lived with him, age forty or so, unable to sign her name
A dit Et depose que ce Jourdhui Entre les sept a huit heurs du matin Elle
auroit veu arriver dans son Cabaret un Viellard assez bien faict vestu de
droguet brun et un pettit (- Enfan} garcon ayant des cheveu blond, Croioit
Elle deposant [21] que cestoit le pere Et lefilset ayant led. viellard Commande un au melette pour desjeuner auroit dit quon les baillat une chambre Et aussytost son garcon les auroit Conduit tous deux en une grande
Chambre ayant veu sur la rue st. anthoine ou led. viellard nauroit voullu
demeurer disant quelle estoit trop grande ansy quelle deposant Lauroit
appris dud. garcon qui Les auroit menes dans une petite chambre attennan Et un peu apres quoy auroit Eu porte Lau melette en lad. chambre
nous ayant este arrives Et demander led. Vieilard Elle seroit montee ave
nous a lad. chambre la porte de laquelle se seroit trouve fermee mais apres
quelle nous auroit este ouvrte y estant aussi Intree avec nous auroit veu
Lepetit garcon quelle avoit Entendu Crier d Enbas, qui avoit ses chausses
et son callecon desffaits Estant nud en chemise Et qui disoit que led. viellard Lavoit voullu for(+c)er sur des sieges quil avoit arranges dans un coin
de lad. Chambre ainsi quelle deposant auroit veu Et que led petit garcon
tenoit trois pieces de quinze sols quil disoit que led. viellard Lui avoit donne
affin quil se Laissait faire Et quil avoit ferme la porte {+ avec un Cousteau
quil avoit foure dans le loquet} de peur quon Entrat Et En Effet auroit le
garcon dElle deposant dit quaussytost quil auroit Eu mis Le Couvert on
auroit ferme la porte apres lui dont estant Surpris II auroit voullu regarder
par dessous la porte mais nauroit veu personne ni led. viellard ni led. petit
garcon qui sestoeint apparremment mis dans quelque Coin
Stated and deposed that today, between seven and eight in the morning,
she saw a rather shapely old man dressed in brown dugget [a type of fabric
made of wool, sometimes combined with silk or linen] and a little/young
|- child} boy with blond hair arrive at her tavern. She, the deponent.
198
JEFFREY MERRICK
thought that they were father and son. And said old man having ordered
an omelet for breakfast, said that they should give them a room, and her
servant immediately led them both to a large room overlooking the rue
Saint-Antoine, where said old man did not want to stay, saying it was too
big, as she, the deponent, learned from said servant, who showed them to a
small adjacent room and, a little while later, took the omelet to said room.
We having arrived and asked for said old man, she went up with us to said
room, the door ofwhich was found closed, but after it was opened to us,
having also entered with us, saw the litde/young boy whom she heard cry
out from downstairs, who had his breeches and his drawers undone, having
nothing on but his shirt, and who said that said old man wanted to violate
him on some chairs that he arranged in one corner of said room, as she,
the deponent, saw, and that said little/young boy held three fifteen-sol
coins, which he said old man gave him in order to let him have his way,
and that he jammed the door |-i- with a knife that he stuck in the latch),
out of fear that someone might come in. And, as a matter of fact, her, the
deponent's servant said that as soon as he set the table, the door was closed
after him, being surprised by which, he tried to look under the door but
saw no one, neither the old man or the litde/young boy, who apparently
placed themselves in some corner.
7 July
Continuation
10. Etienne Legay, de Henault's head clerk, who lived on the corner ofthe
rue Saint-Paul [between and at right angles to the rue Saint-Antoine and
the Seine], in the parish of Saint-Paul, age forty or so
[23] A dit Et depose que depuis six sepmaines ou Environ II a remarque
quun vieillard rouge de visage Et quil a ouy dire sappeller grisy venoit fort
frequemment plusieurs fois en un mesme Jour regarder aux vitres de lEstude
Entre ouvrir La porte dicelle |-y entrer} {-f pour} parler a Louis fleuret Et [24]
a germain Leseur aussy clercs dudict dehenaut Les faisant quelquesfois sortir
et lui deposant leur ayant demande ce quil Leur voulloit Et poLirquoy II Les
venoit chercher si souvent Us Lui auroient dit que led. vieillard En voulloit
audit Leseur quil lui tesmoignoit de lamitie Le Carressoit Et luy offiôit de le
mener promener voir lafilletteau Cabaret faire Collation Lui offroit mesme
de largent quil Lavoit desja mene boire ou II Lavoit baise |- La Langue} lui
fourant sa langue dans la bouche qu'un Jour II lui avoit mis La main dans
sa brayette qLiil Le suivoit partout Et Le pressoit de luy donner rendez vous
pour aller se divertir ensemble quil Les voulloit mener tous deux au bordel
Et plusieurs autres Entretiens de Cette nature dont lui deposant nest pas
memoratif a lui deposant oui dire au sieur petre M'^ Escrivain que led. grisy
Estoit un sodomiste Et un athee |- qu'on le Connoissoit pour tel} Et quil
Chaussons in the Streets 199

n'y avoit Longtemps quil Estoit sorty des prisons de s*" genevifve ou II auroit
Este arreste pour Le mesme Crime scait quil a Este surpris avec led. Leseur
au Cabaret du gros raisin ou II Lavoit mene avec Lui j -i- le lundy veille de
la feste de s' pierre sur les huit heures du mattin ou Environ Et le dimache
preceddent sur le soir, Vit Luy depposant led sieur grisy parler par deux differentes fois assez longtemps aud fleuret dans la rue proche la grille de leurditte
estude; Nentendit pas ce quils disoient Mais scait a part dud fieuret que led
grisy luy avoit demande ou estoit led Leseur, & ou il le pourrait troLiver} \ +
se souvient encor avoir ouy dire aud fleuret qu'Iceluy grisy avoit desbauche
& abuse de plusieu Escolliers dud s' pestre ainsy q' lavoit appris, diceluy s'
petre & de sa f. |
Stated and deposed that for six weeks or so he has noticed that an old
man with a ruddy face, and whom he heard is named Grisy, came very
frequently, several times in the same day, to look through the office
windows, open the door of the same partway, (- go in there} | -i- in order
to} speak to Louis Fleuret and Cermain Lesueur, also clerks of said de
Henault, having them come out sometimes. And he, the deponent, having asked them what he wanted with them and why he came looking for
them so often, they told him that said old man was after said Lesueur,
that he showed him affection, caressed him, and offered to take him for
a walk, to see the "little girl," to a tavern to get something to eat, even
offered him money, that he had already taken him drinking, at which
time he kissed |-his tongue} him, sticking his tongue in his mouth, that
one day he put his hand in his fiy, that he followed him everywhere and
urged him to make a rendezvous with him to go have fun together, that
he wanted to take them both to a brothel, and several other discussions
of this sort that he, the deponent, does not remember. He, the deponent,
heard M. Petre, master letter writer, say that said Grisy was a sodomist
and an atheist j - that he was known to be such} and that it was not long
ago that he got out ofthe prison of [formerly the abbey of} Sainte-Genevieve [located where the Pantheon stands], where he was detained for
the same crime. He knows that he was caught with said Lesueur at the
Plump Grape tavern, where he had taken him with him j-i- on Monday,
the day before the festival [23 June] of Saint Peter [of JuUy, d. 1136],
about eight o'clock in the morning or so. And the preceding Sunday, in
the evening, he, the deponent, saw said Grisy speaking at two different
times at some length to said Eleuret in the street near the office gate. He
did not hear what they said but knows from said Fleuret that said Grisy
asked him where said Lesueur was and where he could find him.} |+ He
also remembers having heard said Fleuret say that the same Grisy had also
corrupted and abused several of M. Petre's students, as he had heard from
the same M. Petre and his wife. I
200
JEFFREY MERRICK
11. Jean Petre, syndic ofthe corporation of master inspectors and letter
writers of Paris, who lived on the rue Saint-Antoine, behind the slaughterhouses [near the porte Saint-Antoine, the old city gate next to the Bastille],
in the parish of Saint-Paul, agefifty-twoor so
[25] A dit Connnoistre Le diet grisy accuse depuis plusieurs annees par
Le moien des fils des sieurs prenost Et Quieru bourgeois de Cette ville
demeurant Isle nostre dame Les quels estant ses Escolliers Lui parlerent
des Entretiens dud. grisy aux encores dautres de leur Compagnons et de
sa mauvaise conduite Lui despeignirent comme un homme perdu Et Consomme dans des vues Les plus abominables a lEndroit des Jeune garôns
dont II recherchoit La Compagnie avec Les dernieres adresses Et Empressements, Et En Effect Lui deposannt depuis deux ou trois annees allant par
la ville a ses affaires auroit veu plusieurs fois Ledict de grisy avec de Jeunes
garôns agez dEnviron quatorze Quinze ou Seize ans, ne scait pas toutefois
a quelle fin Et pourquoi II les menoit avec lui mais sestant Lui deposant
II y a deux mois au faubourg St. germain des prez II a appris que led. de
grisy Estoit arreste prisonnier dans les prisons de labbaye dud. Lieu accuse
davoir Voullu desbaucher un Jeune garf on du mesme quartier ce qui avoit
donne Lieu a lui deposant de Croire que Ce quil avoit autrefois oui dire
auxd, prenost Et quireu fils, Et a dautres gens de probite de lisle notre
dame ou demeuroit Lors Led. grisy, de la mauvaise conduite Icelui grisy
Estoit apparremment veritable Et dautan plus que depuis trois sepmaines
ou Environ Estant lui deposant en sa chambre qui a veu sur La rue s'. anthoine (- Et ayant} j-i- il auroit} veu Ledict grisy parler au nomme fleuret
Cler du s'. de henalt nost'^^ (- cela Lauroit Encor Confirme Le malheureux
penchant dans cette} pourquoy ayant lui deposant rencontre led. fieuret et
ayant quelquefois veu que led. [26] que led. grisy Le voulloit desbaucher
comme II avoit eu son Escollier feignant de [illegible] connoistre led. grisy
II Lui auroit demande qui Estoit Le viceclerc auquel II Lavoit vu parler a
la porte dud. s. dehenault son m" Et sil avoit quelque affaire a Expedier
en son Estude, Et sil scavoit son nom a quoy led. fieuret auroit respondu
quil sappelloit Le sr. de grisy quil navoit aucune affaire dans leur Estude
Et quau Contraire II y avoit deux ou trois mois quU llmportunoit et ne
lEntretenoit que dinfamies Et de paroles scalles Et deshonnestes Lui disant
quil Le meneroit voir lafillettequil Lavoit mesme mene au Cabaret, Et que
se promenant avec lui sur le boulevard de la porte st. anthoine II Lauroit
voullu persuader de monter a une quatriese chambre proche du Lieu ou
Us estoient et quil sy diverteroient bien, quil en disoit autant au nomme Le
seur son Compagnon Et lui devenu escolier de lui depposant auquel led.
grisy sattachoit plus fermement qua lui Et Luy en voulloit bien davantage
ce que Lui deposant ayant entendu II auroit faict Cormaistre aud. Fleuret
le peril ou s'^ grisy Les voulloit engager et quil se donnast bien de garde de
Consentir a aucunes de ses Volontez quelUes estoient touttes Criminelle et
201
dangereuses quil esvitast Le plus quil pourroit et sa Compagnie Et advertit

led. Leseur son Compagnon dEn faire autant Et de venir trouver lui deposant, ce quilsfirentCe Jour mesme sur les neuf heures du soir a [illegible]
Informe led. Leseur |- de ce qui se passoit} quelle habitude II avoit avec led.
Grisy II lui auroit ansy appris et declare en maniere de plainte que led. grisy
Le venoit persecuter quil lui faisoit plusie Insolence Lui donnant des baisers
Lascifs j - faisant I {-i- voLillant faire} sur lui des attouchements deshonnestes
(- quil ne voulloit pas souffrir} dont lui deposant estant [27] fort surpris
Et prevoiant que led. grisy alloit entierement Perdre ce jeune Enfant II
lui auroit faict de vives remontrances Et represente Lenormite du Crime
ou led. grisy les voulloit Engager quil estoit si grand et si abominable quil
meritoit La vengeance de Dieu mesme et quil attireroient sur Eux touttes
les maledictions du Ciel que sur tout Us ne Consentissent Jamais ny Lui ni
Lautre a aucune de ses brutalites destables a lui deposant appris que led.
grisy avoit este arreste prisonnier ayant este surpris avec led. Leseur quil
avoit attire dans un Cabaret
Said he has known said Grisy, the accused, for several years through the sons
of M. Prenost and M. Quieru, bourgeois of this city, living on Notre Dame
island [the larger island in the Seine], who, being his students, talked to him
about said Grisy's discussions with yet others among their companions and
about his wicked conduct, portraying him as a depraved man accomplished
in the most abominable designs with regard to young boys, whose company
he sought with the utmost cunning and eagerness. And, as a matter of fact,
he, the deponent, going through the city on business for two or three years,
saw said Grisy several times with young boys age about fourteen, fifteen,
or sixteen. He does not know, however, to what end and why he led them
around with him, but, being in the Saint-Germain des Pres quarter [on
the Left Bank] two months ago, he, the deponent, learned that said Grisy
was detained as a prisoner in the abbey ofthe same name [located on the
boulevard Saint-Germain], accused of having wanted to corrupt a young
boy from the same neighborhood, which gave him, the deponent, reason to
believe that what he had heard the younger Prenost and Quieru, and other
people of integrity on Notre Dame island, where Grisy lived then, say in
the past about the same Grisy's wicked conduct, was apparendy true, and
all the more so since he, the deponent, being in his room, which overlooks
the rue Saint-Antoine, j - and having} [+ has seen) said Grisy speaking to
said Fleuret, the notary M. de Henault's clerk, for three weeks or so (- this
would have further confirmed his unfortunate inclination in this}. For this
reason, he, the deponent, having encountered said Fleuret, and having
seen several times that said Grisy wanted to corrupt him, as he had done
to his student, pretending [illegible] to know said Grisy, he asked him who
the underclerk was to whom he had seen him speaking at his master M.
de Henault's door, and if he had some business to transact at his office.
202
JEFFREY MERRICK
and if he knew his name. To which said Fleuret replied that he was named
M. de Grisy, that he had no business at their said office, and that, on the
contrary, he had bothered him for two or three months and talked to him
only about infamous things and in dirty and shameful words, telling him
that he would take liim to see the "little girl," that he even took him to a
tavern and that, walking with him on the boulevard from the porte SaintAntoine, he wanted to persuade him to go up to a fifth-floor room near
the spot where they were and that he would have a lot of ftin there, that
he said as much to said Lesueur, his companion, and him who became his,
the deponent's student, to whom [Lesueur] said Grisy was more firmly
attached than to him and was after him much more. Having heard which,
he, the deponent, made Fleuret understand the danger in which M. Grisy
wanted to involve him and that he should take good care not to consent
to any of his wishes, that they were all criminal and dangerous, that he
should avoid his company as much as he could and advise said Lesueur,
his companion, to do likewise, and to come find him, the deponent, which
they did on this very day. About nine o'clock in the evening he [illegible]
informed said Lesueur {- of what was going on} what he was in the habit
of doing with said Grisy. He thus advised him to file a sort of complaint
that said Grisy came to harass him, that he did insolent things to him,
gave him lascivious kisses, j - making} j+ wanting to) to touch him shamefially j - which he did not want to endure), about which he, the deponent,
was very surprised. And foreseeing that said Grisy was going to ruin this
young child completely, he reprimanded him sharply and showed him the
enormity of the crime in which said Grisy wanted to involve them, that
it was so great and so abominable tliat it deserved the vengeance of God
Himself and that it would draw down all Heaven's maledictions on them,
that especially that they should never, neither one nor the other, consent
to any of his detestable brutalities. And he, the deponent, learned that said
Grisy had been imprisoned, having been caught with said Lesueur, whom
he had lured to a tavern.
13 July
Addition
12. Gabriel Brussart, master tennis ball maker, who lived on the rue du
Bcautreillis [parallel to and closer to the Bastille than the rue Saint-Paul],
in the parish of Saint-Paul, age forty-six or so
A dit Et depose quil connoit depuis sept a huict ans ledict grisy accuse pour
Lavoir Este trouve Un Jour dans un Cabaret au bourg du pont mari dc nom
larche bonfils ou on le seroit venu advertir quil avoit mene francois Brussart
son fils pour Le forcer Layant led. grisy surpris par la frequcntation quil
avoit dans la maison de lui deposant et en Effect arrivant aud. Cabaret II
auroit veu quantite de monde qui estoient accouru sur Le bruit des actions
Chaussons in the Streets 203

d. grisy (- quil auroit trouve avec sonfilsLequel) et aux Cris de sondit fils
qui nauroit vouilu le souffrir Et qui au Contraire seroit [28] accourru a sa
maison Lui dire que led. grisy estoit arreste dans led. Cabaret ou II Lavoit
vouilu forcer auquel lieu luy deposant estant alle aussy tost Et sestant Informe de ce qui sestoit passe comme II nestoit point arrive daccident j - se
serait content) II auroit seullement donne quelques grondements aud. grisy
Lui remonstrant Le ton quil avoit davoir Vouilu faire une telle Entreprise
sur son Enfant age dEnviron quinze ans
Stated and deposed that he has known said Grisy, the accused, for seven
to eight years for having gone to find him one day in a tavern, named the
Good Son's Bow, in the neighborhood around the Pont Marie [bridge
between the Right Bank and the tie Saint-Louis], to which, someone came
to warn him, he had taken his son Franfois Brussart in order to violate
him, said Grisy having deceived him through the access that he had to his,
the deponent's house. And indeed, arriving at said tavern, he saw lots of
people who had come running on hearing the news about the doings of
said Grisy (whom he found with his son whom) and the cries of his said
son, who did not want to endure it and who, on the contrary, ran home to
tell him that said Grisy had been arrested at said tavern, where he wanted
to violate him, to which spot he, the deponent, having gone at once and,
having learned what had happened, as no mishap had occurred {- satisfied
himself), he only gave said Grisy some scolding, reprimanding him for the
attitude he had to have wanted to make such an attempt on his child, age
around fifbeen.

Chaussons in The Streets: Sodomy in Seventeenth-Century Paris JEFFREY MERRICK

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Chaussons in The Streets: Sodomy in Seventeenth-Century Paris JEFFREY MERRICK

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Chaussons in the Streets: Sodomy in

W E HAVE LEARNED A GREAT DEAL

brother Philippe, due d'Orleans, marshals Vendome and Villars, cardinals

Chaussons in the Streets

Chaussons in the Streets

he expected indifference or at least tolerance from the populace. The elder

Chaussons in the Streets

called "things tending to his disastrous purposes." Germain apparendy did

Chaussons in the Streets

Chaussons in the Streets

Chaussons in the Streets

In transcribing the texts without modernizing tliem I have preserved the

Chaussons in the Streets

Chaussons in the Streets

se baignoit Le Jour dhyer Et Layant engage a cella aussytost quils auroient

Chaussons in the Streets

Chaussons in the Streets

a desjeuner comme II lui avoit promis hyer au soir

Chaussons in the Streets

a dit que non

Chaussons in the Streets

Chaussons in the Streets

Chaussons in the Streets

Chaussons in the Streets

Chaussons in the Streets 199

Chaussons in the Streets

dangereuses quil esvitast Le plus quil pourroit et sa Compagnie Et advertit

Chaussons in the Streets 203

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