To the Civil and Criminal Judge of the Royal Jurisdiction of Montreal

The King’s Attorney following the common knowledge [la commune renommée] that yesterday’s fire in this city around seven o’clock was set by a negress slave of the widow De Francheville [Thérèse de Couagne], who had escaped and set out to go to New England with a man of the name of Thibault, also working for De Francheville, and that they were arrested together at the beginning of this winter, and that the negress has often threaten her mistress and the city of setting a fire, and that on the same day she has said that her mistress and many more would not sleep in their houses that night, that she alone went to the attic where the fire started, and that she tried to prevent children from warning of the fire and from calling out to Mrs De Francheville; that she must be punished.

This considered, the King’s Attorney ask you to arrest the negress and the said Thibault being the commun rumour [le bruit commun] that he was with her last night and to interrogate them.

Foucher