Montprin

The house of Desnos and Montprin

Montprin, a ruined manufacturer “having lost his state and its fortune by cause of the circumstances”, member of the civil committee of the Popincourt section, had the idea to open a house of safety to remake itself. It had just joined Desnos, man equivocal. Together, they sought the adequate building, but did not find anything rather vast, rather sure, and especially rather cheap. The Dangé police officer advised to them, rather than to tire itself to achieve the necessary steps with the installation and the recording of a new establishment, quite simply to take again that of the street of Charonne, about to be reformed. He sent them to Picpus without authorization of visit, in their recommending to present his share to the caretaker. They went there at once.

In this month of February 1794, Belhomme made the very ill patient with Picpus as he had seen the others doing it at his place. Once in its room, Montprin exhorted it to yield its company to him at cheap price. To force the hand to him, Desnos affirmed knowledge “of good portion” that it would never re-examine it! Poor Belhomme, with which one required to sell off the work of all its life by explaining to him why it had already a foot in the common grave! It was indignant, pretended a faintness and sent them to feed.

Depities, the two vultures were folded back on an unused convent of the street Our-Lady-of-Fields, side of the street of Assas. The formalities were dispatched beating drum. They obtained their validation as of on February 16th.

March 31st, 1794, Desnos and Montprin submitted their leaflet to Fouquier-Tinville:

PRIVATE HOSPITAL of Citizen MONTPRIN and Company, intended for the relief and the cure of the disabled person and patients of the two sexes, established in Paris, under the authorization of the administration of police force, street Notre Dame of the Fields n°1466, section of Mucius Scaevola, German Suburb.

This house is perfectly well built, very vast, very sure, and very conveniently distributed.

There are a beautiful garden and several large courses.

This house dominates over the new Montparnasse boulevard, the garden of Luxembourg and an infinity of other superb surrounding gardens.

It is not possible to breathe in Paris a lighter air, purer nor healthier than in this house.

It is not possible to have elsewhere a more extended and more interesting sight either.

One will not save anything to get there abundantly to the disabled person and to the patients all the helps of art and all the conveniences and softnesses of the life.

to have fuller explanations, to address themselves, in the aforementioned house, with the citizens Montprin and Desnos.

The word “held” was added to the hand on the second line after the word “patients”.

The boarders of Belhomme accepted like the others of the enticing leaflets, praising the merits of a place of rest where they could spend their time of imprisonment in comfort.

On their premises were in particular locked up Jean-François of the Toothing-stone, celebrates critical arts person, who had been the friend of Voltaire; Mrs. Louise-Elisabeth de Croÿ de Tourzel, old controlling children of France, with its daughters; small Alexandrine, five years, girl of the princess Lubomirska, who had been guillotinée.

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