In crime, as in politics, history is always repeating itself. The French detective force is now investigating an altair which bears a singular resemblance to the series of thefts of antiquarian treasures from country churches which took place about 20 years ago—thefts which in many cases were effected by making a copy of the coveted article and substituting the copy for the original, in the belief, generally: justified by facts, that the priest would not be enough of a connoisseur to notice the difference. In the present instance, the prosecution has been taken up at the request of a society for the protection of ancient art, headed Ly the Duc de Trévise. He alleges that a thirteenth-century painted statue of a Virgin and child was removed from the Church of Saint Sauveur-sur-Ecole, near Melun, and replaced by a modern imitation. The parish priest says that having noticed a crack in the neck of the statue, and! icing afraid that the head might fall off and hurt somebody, he asked a_ dealer in antiquities, named Mariani, to have it repaired, The statue was accordingly removed, brought back in perfect condition, and replaced in position. For this job the priest paid Frs. 300. If the Duc de Trévise is right, the statue was taken to the studio of an Italian sculptor named Belli, at Malakoff, a suburb of Paris, an exact copy was made in stone, The paintings on the stone were reproduced, and the copy was sent back to the church, the original being detained by the person who employed Belli. It is presumed that this person was another dealer. Experts are now being appointed to examine the statue in the church at Saint Sauveur and ascertain whether it is the original or a copy.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.