Since the spring of 1821, the affair of the Simple Discours had caused a great stir. From Véretz, Paul-Louis Courier, a master of the pamphlet, awaited his summons to trial in Paris and, in early July 1821, produced a new incendiary tract: Aux âmes dévotes. In this biting piece, he persisted and doubled down. The authorities responded: on 28 August, Courier appeared before the Seine assizes, together with his printer Bobée.
In the end, the only charge upheld against Courier was outrage to public morals, despite the prosecution led by the advocate general M. de Broë. Magistrates and jury alike were made to look ridiculous by the malice of the condemned man, who turned the laughter to his own side, much like Guignol outwitting the policeman or the judge.
A fine copy.
From the library of André Schuck, with bookplate.