In August 1677, the Genevan consistory, a church court preoccupied with regulating sexual sin, summoned Louise Bouffa. Louise was a single woman recently hired by the wealthy Sarasin family as a wet nurse, an occupation that signaled to the consistory that she had recently given birth. The pastors and elders wanted to know who the father was and where the child was now. Louise was at first evasive. She claimed not to know the name of the father, although she did admit that the man with whom she had had sex was “very well dressed.” She said that she had given birth not far from Geneva, in the village of Gy, where the baby had been baptized and then had died. These claims turned out to be false. The Genevan consistory contacted the pastor in Gy who denied that her child had been baptized there. Summoned to tell the truth, Louise admitted that she had given the baby away to a man named Bertet to present as his own child for baptism, although she added that she was aware he had not done so. She also revealed that the father of the infant was a well-respected Genevan citizen and lawyer, Léonard Revillod, in whose household she had been working when she became pregnant. The consistory admonished Louise for lying about the baptism and sent her and her master to the criminal court to be prosecuted. This court, an elected body called the Small Council, duly fined Léonard for having had sex with his servant and for having “obliged her to give the baby to a stranger.” As for Louise, she was merely sent back to the consistory, which excluded her from participating in communion. No further investigation of the fate of the infant ensued.

中文翻译：

---

视而不见：17 世纪日内瓦的杀婴和失踪婴儿

1677 年 8 月，日内瓦教会，一个专注于规范性犯罪的教会法庭，传唤了路易丝·布法。路易丝是一位单身女性，最近被富有的萨拉辛家族聘为乳母，这一职业向长老会表明她最近生了孩子。牧师和长老们想知道父亲是谁，孩子现在在哪里。路易丝起初是回避的。她声称不知道父亲的名字，尽管她承认与她发生性关系的男人“穿着非常好”。她说她在离日内瓦不远的 Gy 村生了孩子，婴儿在那里接受了洗礼，然后就死了。这些说法被证明是错误的。日内瓦长老会联系了盖伊的牧师，后者否认她的孩子曾在那里受洗。被召唤说真话，路易丝承认，她将婴儿交给了一个名叫贝尔泰特的男人，让她作为自己的孩子接受洗礼，但她补充说，她知道他没有这样做。她还透露，婴儿的父亲是一位受人尊敬的日内瓦公民和律师 Léonard Revillod，她怀孕时一直在他的家中工作。长老会告诫路易丝在洗礼上撒谎，并将她和她的主人送到刑事法庭接受起诉。该法院是一个名为“小议会”的民选机构，因与他的仆人发生性关系以及“强迫她将婴儿交给陌生人”而​​对莱昂纳德处以适当的罚款。至于路易丝，她只是被送回教堂，这使她无法参加圣餐。随后没有进一步调查婴儿的命运。