Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 10 — page 17: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

eee ere eee LLL LL I a Att a ammmmmamm eens 6 ces oe eee ee re + net re ee ee eee —_—- ee ee tale seeined to weigh with the judge, who hesitated; but Hurtrel and Dutilleul persisted in asserting that they were 10t mistaken, Rausson, the public accuser, came to see ne, and also said he knew me; but as I was not discon- verted, he remained in doubt, and to clear up the affair hey devised a stratagem. One morning I was told that a person wanted me at the office, and on going thither I found my mother, whom they had sent for from Arras; with what intention may be ee divined, The poor woman hastened to embrace me, but I saw through the snare, and putting her from me quietly, { said to the magistrate who was present, that it was an unmanly thing to give the unfortunate woman any hopes of seeing her son, when they were, at least, un- certain of their ability to produce him. My mother, who was put on her guard hy a signal which | managed to communicate to her, pretending to examine me atten- tively, at length declared that a wonderful likeness had deceived her, and then retired, uttering many bitter re- proaches against those who had taken her from home only to afford her but a fallacious joy. he magistrate and turnkeys were then reduced to their original state of dubiety, when a letter which arrived from l’Orient seemed to put the matter beyond a doubt. It mentioned a drawing pricked on the left arm of Duval, who had escaped from the hospital at Quimper, as a thing which would at once dispel every doubt as to the identity of the individual detained at Douai. I was again sum- moned before the examining judge, and Hurtrel, already triumphing in his penetration, was present at the interro- gation. Atthe first words I saw what was coming, and stripping my coat sleeve above my elbow, I showed them the Rigdon.” which they scarcely expected to find, and which exactly coincided with the description sent from Orient. All were in the clouds again, and what yet made the situation more complicated, was that the an- thorities of l'Orient demanded me as a deserter from the fleet. Fifteen days were thus spent without any decision having been made coneerning me; when, tired with the severities used towards me, and hoping to procure appro- bation, I wrote to the president of the criminal tribunal, declaring that I was really Vidocg. I had determined on this, under the idea that I should be sent forthwith to Bicétre with a party, and that was actually the result. It was utterly impossible, however, for me to make the least effort to escape by the way, as 1 was guarded with unre- mitting vigilance. I made my second entry at Bicétre onthe second of April, 1799, and there found some old prisoners, who, al- though alley slaves, had obtained permission to have their sentence to the Bagne remitted. I saw at Bicétre captain Labbre, who, it may be recol- lected, supplied me, when at Brussels, with papers, by means of which I had deceived the baroness d’I-—-. He had been sentenced to sixteen years at the galleys, for being concerned in an extensive robbery committed at Ghent, at the house of Champon, the aubergiste. He was with us, to depart with the first chain, the near approach of which was disagreeably announced to us. Captain Viez, knowing the gentleman who were to be confided to im, had declared, that to prevent any chance of escape, he would put on us wrist-cuffs and collars until we reached Toulon owever, Our promise induced him to forego this formidable project. After the riveting of the fetters was done (in a similar way to that in which it had been performed at my first departure) I was put at the head of the first cordon, with J ovens, one Of the most celebrated robbers of Paris and the prow» better known as the Marquis de Saint-Ar- mana de Faral, which he constantly bore. He was a man about thirty-six years old, with a gentlemanly appearance, and able to assume at will the most perfect suavity of manners. His traveling costume was that of a dandy leaving his bed-room for his boudoir. With pantaloons of silver-grey knit materials, he wore a waistcoat and cap trimmed with Astracan fur of the same color, and the whole covered with a large cloak lined with crimson velvet. His expenditure equaled his appearance, for not contented with living sumptuously at the places of repose, he also eupported three or four others of the cordon. ossas never had any education, but having entered when very young into the service of a rich colonel, whom he accompanied in his travels, he had acquired manners eufficiently good not to disgrace any circle. Thus, his comrades, seeing him in nce himself into the first society, named him the “ Passe-par-tout.”. He was £0 completely identified with this character, that at the Bague, when confined im double irons, and mingling in- Geerhningay with men of the most miserable appear- ance, he still kept up a portion of his grandeur, thoagh disguised in a convict’s cassock. Having provided him- elf with a splendid dressing-box, he bestowed an hour daily on his toilet, and was extremely particular about the appearance of his hands, which were certainly very handsome. Jossas was one of those thieves of whom, fortunately, but few are now in existence. He meditated and pre- pores an enterprise sometimes as long as a year before- and. Operating principally by means of false keys, he began by taking first the impression of the lock of the oulee dvor. The key made, he entered the first part; if stoppes by another door, he took a second impression, had a second key made; and thus in the end attained his object. It may be judged, that only being able to get on during the absence of the tenant of the apartment, he must lose much time before the fitting opportunity would resent itself. He only had recourse to this expedient when n despair, that is, when it was impossible to introduce him- self to the house; for if he could contrive to procure admit- tance under any a apc he soon obtained impressions of all the locks, and when the keys were ready he used to invite the LRereons to dine with him, and whilst they were at table accomplices stripped the apartments, from whence he had also contrived to draw away the servants, either by asking their masters to bring thei to help to wait at table, or by e ng the attention of the waiting- raaids and cooks by lovers who were in the plot. The orters saw nothing, because they seldom took anything ut jewels or money. If >, chance any large parcel was to be removed, they folded it up in dirty linen, and it was thrown out of window to an accomplice in waiting with a washerwoman’s wheelbarrow. In society, where he passed as a Creole of Havana, he often met inhabitants of that place, without ever letting snything escape him which could betray him. He fre- quently led on families of distinction to offer him the hand of their daughters. care always, during the many conversations the to learn where the dowry was de- posited, he invariably carried it off, and absconded at the moment appointed for s the contract. But of all bie tricks, that played off on the most astonishing. Ha the ways of the house, under ecounts and negotiations, in a aequainted “himeelt: with ac- "abort time. an fatisnney Vidocq, the irench Police Spy. ee arose, which gave him the opportunity of getting the im- pression of all the locks except that of the cash-chest, of which a secret ward rendered all his attempts unavailing. On the other hand, the chest being built in the wall, and cased with iron, it was impossible to think of een it ut open. The cashier, too, never parted from his key; these gbstacles did not daunt Jossas. Having formed a close inftimacy with the cashier, he proposed an excursion of pleasure to Collonges; and on the day appointed they went in acabriolet. On approaching Saint Rampert they saw by the river side a woman apparently dying, and the blood spouting from her mouth and nostril: Denide her was @ man, who appeared much distressed, assisting her, Jossas, testifying considerable emotion, told him that the best method of stopping the effusion of blood was to apply a key to the back of the female. But no one had a key except the cashier, who at first offered that of his apartment. ‘That had no effect, The cashier, alarmed at seeing the blood flow copiously, took out the key of his cash-chest, which was applied with much success be- tween the shoulders of the patient. It has been alread guessed that a piece of modelling wax had been place there previously, and that the whole scene had been pre- concerted. Three days after the cash-box was empty. Jossas spent money with the facility of a man who comes easily by it. He was very charitable; and I could cite many instances of his whimsical generosity. Amongst others, the following: One day he penetrated into an apartment in the Rue du Hazard, which he had been in- formed would yield a rich booty. At first the wretched- ness of the furniture surprised him, but the proprietor might be a miser. He went on searching, buret open all, broke everything, and only found in a desk a bundle of awnbrokers’ duplicates. He took from his pocket five ouis, and placing them on the mantel-piece, wrote on the glass these words, ‘‘ Payment for broken furniture; he then retired, after closing the doors carefully, lest any other robbers less scrupulous should carry off what he had respected. _ When Jossas set out with us for Bicétre it was his third journey. He afterwards escaped twice, was retaken, and died at the Bagne at Rochefort in 1806. On our way to Montereau I was witness of a scene which may as well be known. A convict named Mauger knew a young man of the city, who was believed by his parents to be sentenced to the galleys; and recommend- ing his next neighbor to hide his face with his handker- chief, he told several persons we met on our way that the person who thus concealed himself was the young man in question. The chain went onwards, but scarcely were we a quarter of a league from Montereau when a man, run- ning after us, gave the captain fifty francs, produced by a collection made for the “man with the handker- chief.”’ These fifty francs were in the See distrib- uted amongst the plotters of the scheme without any other pees iy but themselves knowing the cause of such liberality. At Sens Jossas YA hi another comedy. He had sent for a man, named Sergent, who kept the auberge de l’Ecu; and on his arrival this man testified the most ex- cessive grief. ‘* What!’’ he exclaimed, with tears in his eyes, ‘“‘ you here, my noble marquis! You, the brother of my old master! I, who thought you on your return to Germany! Oh heavens! what a misfortune!”’ It may be forges that in some expedition Jossas, being at Sens, 1ad passed himself for an emigrant, returned clandestine- ly, and the brother of a count with whom Sergent had been cook. Jossas explained to him how, being appre- hended with a forged passport at the moment he was raining the frontier, he had been sentenced as a forger. he good aubergiste did not confine himself to. empty lamentations, but sent the galley-slave an excellent din- ner, which I partook with an appetite greatly constrasted with my wretched situaition. Save and except a tremendous chastisement inflicted on two convicts who had tried to escape at Beaume, nothing extraordinary occurred until we reached Chalons, when we were put on board a large boat, filled with straw, very similar so those which convey charcoal to Paris; the whole covered with a thick cloth. If, to cast a glance over the country, or breathe e@ purer air, a convict ven- tured. to raise a corner, a shower of blows rained instantly on his shoulders. Althongh free from snch treatment, I was not the less affected at my situation; scarcely could the gayety of Jossas, who was never downcast, avail in making me for a moment forget, that, on reaching the Bagne, I should be the object of a special vigilance that must frustrate every hope of escape. This idea doubly i! yee me when we reached Lyons. n seeing the Ile Baslie, Jossas said to me, ‘‘ You are going to see seb apere new.” I saw, on the quay of the Seine, an elegant carriage, which seemed to be awaiting the arrival of the boat. As soon as it came in sight, a fe- male put her head from the window, and waved a white handkerchief. ‘“Itis she,’’ said Jossas, who replied to the sigpal, The boat having been moored to the quay, the lady descended, and mixed in the crowd of lookers-on; I could not see her face, which was concealed by a very thick black vail. She remained there from four in the afternoon till evening, and the crowd then dispersing, Jossas sent Lieutenant Thierry to her, who soon returned with a sausage, in which were concealed fifty louis. I learnt that Jossas, having made a conquest of this lady under his title of ma Se had informed her by letter of his condemnation, wh ch he doubtlessly accounted for as he had done with the aubergiste at Sens. These sorts of intrigues, now very rare, were at this period very common. Ignorant of the stratagem plotted to deceive her, the vailed lady reappeared the next day on the quay, and re- mained there until our departure, to the great satisfaction of Jossas, who not only was recruited in finance, but was assured of an asylum in the event of effecting his es- cape. e had nearly reached the termination of our naviga- tion, when, two leagues from Pont St. Esprit, we were overtaken by one of those teriffic storms so common on the Rhone. It was announced by distant rumblings of thunder. Soon afterwards the rain descended in torrents; sts of wind, such as are only Paced under the ropics, blew down honses, uprooted 8, and drove the waves mountain high which threatened at each moment to overwhelm us with destruction, At this moment the ctacle that presented itself was horrific; by the rapid ashes of lightning were to be seen two hundred men. chained so as to deprive them of the remotest hope of safety, and expressing by fearful cries the anguish of ap- roaching death, rendered inevitable by the weight of heir fetters: on their sinister countenances might be read the desire to preserve a life disputed by the scaffold, a life henceforward to be spent in misery and degradation. Some of the convicts evinced an absolute passiveness; many, on the contrary, delivered themselves up to a frantic joy. If unfortunate wretch, mindful of his innocent youth, out the fragment of a prayer, his next compan- i ion would perhaps shake his fetters, whilst he howled an obscene song, and the prayer expired in the midst of lengthened howls and shrieks. What redoubled the general consternation was the de spair of the mariners, who seemed to have given all over for lost. The guards were not more confident, and even gave symptoms of an intention to quit the boat, which was visibly filling fast with water. Then matters took a fresh turn, and they urged on the argonsins, crying, **Make the shore; let all make for shore.” The ark ness, added to the confusion of the moment, affording an opportunity with impunity, the most intrepid of the cone cts rose, declaring that no person should quit the boat until it reached the bank. Lieutenant Thierry was the only one who appeared to have preserved his presence of mind: be put on a bold front, and protested that there was no danger, as neither he nor the sailors had any in- tention of nitting the vessel. We believed him the more as the weather was gradually becoming more moderate. tte appeared, and on the surface of the waters, smooth as ice, there would have been nothing to recall the disasters of the night, if the muddy tide not been strewn with dead cattle, trees, and fragments of farniture and houses. Escaped from the tempest, we landed at Avignon, and were confined in the castle. There commenced the ven- eance of the argouains; they had not forgotten what ey were pleased t term our insurrection; refreshing our memories with it by blows from their cudgels, and ther. preventing the public from giving the convicts that assist- ance which the end of the journey presented from passin through their hands. ‘ Alms to these vagabonds!”’ sai ope of them, called Father Lami, to some ladies who wished to bestow some aid; ‘‘it would be money lost. Besides, ask the captain.” Lieutenant Thierry, who ought not to be mentioned with such brutal and inhuman beings, and of whom] have already spoken, gave permission; but, by a refine- ment of villainy, the argousins made the signal for depart- uve before the distribution was finished. The rest of the journey had no features of interest; and at length, after tuirty-sever days of most painful travel, the chain entered ‘roulon. The fifteen carriages arrived at the port, and drawn up in front of the ropeyard, the convicts were ordered to alight, and were then escorted to the courtyard of the Bagne. On the way thither, those who had clothes worth mes egg all possible haste to take them off and sell or give them to the crowd which assembled at the arrival of a new chain. When the clothing of the Bagne was dis- tributed, and the manacles had been rivetted, as I had seen it done at Brest, we were conveyed on board a cut- down ee called Le Husard, used as the floatin agne. 8 soon as the convicts employed as writers had written down our descriptions, the escaped convicts were rivetted to the double chaiw. Their escape added three years additional confinement to the original sentence. As I was thus circumstanced, I was sent to No. 3, where the most suspected convicts were placed. Lest they should find an opportunity for escaping in going to the harbor, they never went to labor. ways fettered to the “banc,” lying on the bare plank, eaten up by vermin, and worn out by brutal treatment and want of nourishment and exercise, they presented a most lamentable appear ance, I found in the cell all the most abandoned scoundrele that ever assembled at the Bagne. I saw there one named Vidal, who even struck the convicts themselves with horror. Appreherded at 14 years of age, in the midst of a band of brigands, whose crimes he participated, his age alone redeemed him from the scaffold. He was senteaced to imprisonment for twenty-four years; but scarcely had he reached the prison when, at the conclusion of a quarrel, he killed a comrade with a blow of his knife. A sentence of twenty-four years’ hard labor was then substituted for that of imprisonment only. He had been for some years at the Bagne, when a convict was sentenced to death. There was not an executioner to be found in the city, and Vidal eagerly offered his services, which were accepted, and the execution was carried into effect, but a were compelled to put Vidal on the bench with the ey-guards, or else the convicts would have knocked im on the head with their fetters. The threats which menaced him did not prevent him from fulfilling his new office n, some time afterwards. Besides, he undertook to administer the sentences of bastinado on the prisoners. At length, in 1794, the revolutionary tribunal having been installed at Toulon, after the taking of that town by Dugommier, Vidal was employed to carry their sentences into effect. He then thonght he was liberated, but when the terror had ceased, he was remanded to the Bagne, where he was placed under a special surveillance. On the same bench with Vidal was the Jew Descham one of the principal of the party concerned in robbing the royal wardrobe, to the details of which the convicts listened with a sinistrous pleasure. At the enumeration of the diamonds and jewels carried off, their eyes sparkled, their muscles contracted by a convulsive motion; and by the expression of their countenances, inferences might un- erringly have been drawn of the first uses they would have made of their liberty. This disposition was particu- larly discernible in those men only convieted of petty offenses, who were taunted and bantered as only having stolen objects of small value; and then, after estima