THE BOULANGER DIVORCE SUIT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2093, 20 March 1889, Page 3

THE BOULANGER DIVORCE SUIT.

The Paris oorrwßpi>:uie: t of <: London Truth" writes to ».hat p p.T under date Deoembar 31 : — ♦• Tho BoaUioger dlvo?o&" Is now a enrrent lab'e-;a)k eaoj ct. Madame Boulanger bagan it. She now perversely wants to hold the unfortunate general m bondage, I suppose there is not In Europe another woman who Is » match foe her m the art of nagging and baiting an unfortunate husband What she calls her sentiment and amour propre and dignity are a cacaa to horoolf and everyone belonging to her. She is always fancying herself Bnubbed and sUghtod, and is niisor-ible with her grievance, and would be atili more wretched if aha bnd not cauee to feel aggrieved Hec edaoation was narrow. She belongs to a decant family, and had a son all dowry, which was • large one In the eyes of her family. Taking a dark view of things In general, •he U painfully alive to her own phortoomlngs 08 a femme dv monde. The reason she would never help Boulanger to receive at the Ministry of War w<*e the fear that she might there appear to disadvantage beside brilliant and highly-edcoated women like Madime Fioqoet, Madame Oartiot, or others whom I could nmn?. The poor lady la t ffl oted with liver complaint. This la tv extenuating olroumstanoe, bat it Ib not a happy one for those who moat abide wl'.b her Her eldest daughter has a sad, moping disposition, and a deal of amour propre and dignity, and so they boto get on well together. Bui the youngest, who Is all sonahloe and expansion, was miserable with them both, and all the' more no because the generalcss waa dead against Captain Drlant, thea Marcella Bonlaoger's suitor. Msdarue Bjolanger fanoled her husband's daughter and the captain were conspiring against her, and made it a standing grievance. She Is trta devote, and used to insist on being attended by Sisters of O rarity at the Louvre, when she was out of health there from an enlargement of the liver, This was bad for Boulanger, as a kind of Radical pretender, but he let It pass. The greatest grievance, however, has been for years Boalanger'a deep and durable affection for bis mother. That &ffjOtloa dates from 1859, when the General was for 10 months between life and death In Italy. He was suffering from a wound In the left side, met with at Solferino, and which is still unhealed. Ever since he has loved his mother more than anyone In the world. The affaoiion on his side has increased as the Infirmities of age have t*keo a greater hold upon her. It Is an inflexible rule of bla to devote to her his Sunday afternoons and evenings whenever she Ib within reach of him. No prospect of pleasure or of advantage oould iniuoe him to give op dining with hU mother on a Sunday evenirg. After dnner he tits with her, kindly and patiently, nntii it is time for htr to go to bed. When he Is far from her on Sunday he pays her the attention of telegraphing that ho is with her In thought. There is no posturing m this observance of filial duty, and one must be intimate with Bouiangor to know anythirg about it. I bye been told that when the old lady is feverlih and restless he stays with her Into the small hours of the morning, fhe generaless was never asked to submit herself to her mother-in-law, to live under the same roof with her, or even to see her. All that was required of her was for her not to upset herself if the general devoted Sunday to the old lady. He did not wish tr>be with her on a week day, unless she were 111. Oonoarning the dlvoroe, 1 am afraid that the generaless is too many for the general. She began by quitting him. ladeed, she went to a convent " to take refage " from him and to pray for him — the best way that there was for creating a had Impressing against him. He »a* hot sorry to be rid o£ her. Advised, however, by his lawyer, he summoned fcer to come back to the conjugal domicile. To his horror she at once agreed Madame Boulanger Is of Irreproaobable virtue, and her husband was un galant. If she returns 1 don't see how he can help himself, unless 1 bis friend Nsquet finds means to amend the divorce law. Bonlanger pleads that madame put herself m the wrong In quitting him for the convent, and that the summons for her to come b»ok was a pure formally. It will be fortunate for him if he can get the Divorce Court jadge before wbom his suit is to come to take this view. Though lam against Boulanger bb a pretender, I am with him as a good fellow, admire his charming and affectionate conduct towarcs hla mother, atd pity him with all my heart as a husband, I pity also Madame Boulanger. She would have been perfectly happy with a narrow-minded provincial bigot, who thought only of small savings and kveifcments, and never got Into eorapes. There are some women who enjoy being on the crests of high and stormy waves. But she Is not one of them