The Sun.
London, England, 1836-10-20 00:00:00

FRENCH POLICE.

no; following case of "doing" was brought on Friday
last Fiefore one of the Police Courts of Paris . The fair
suffi.!rer richly deserved the loss she met with, for her at-
ter apt to take advantage of the supposed rich " Goddam."
Pint the artist like style in which the whole affair was
managed was worthy of an ingenious intelligent Parisian.
No huckstering or ring-dropping, observe ; no ramming of
flash notes into the fobs of fuddled graziers ; but a consu-
mate knowledge of human nature and its weak points, and
• an evidently profitable study of " the philosophical writers
who heralded the 19th century."

The petite drama occurred so long ago as the Ist of
July last. The scene was laid between the Banque de
Paris and the Rue de I'Abbaye. The actors therein were
Betbedat, first comedian, the well-greased axle round
which the delicate machinery of the plot revolved ; Ber-
trand (a fit Bertrand for this second Macaire) ; and Ma-
demoiselle Rose --, a lady of the uncertain age, much
attached to fourpenny pieces, tenderly to five franc
pieces, and other coin of the same pale complexion, and
fond even to infatuation of yellow boys, whether louis d'ors,
or double Napoleons—in fact, without exception, either of
mintage or Royal portrait.
La Demoiselle Rose, for reasons best known to herself,
was on her way to the bank with a fine little hoard of
1,600 francs, which she carried very carefully in her reti-
cule. She skipped along with a bounding step, proud of
such a burthen, like the mule in the fable, and not much
wishing to be relieved from it. Arrived at the top of the
Pont-des-Arts she was accosted by a gentleman 'vt,ell
dressed, apparently of the middle age, and whose exte-
rior and air prepossessed at first sight. Betbedat was the

man.
Betbedat—Really, Mademoiselle, it is very warm to-
day. (Here Rose quickened her pace.) Mademoiselle's
foot is really pretty. (Rose said not a word.) Oh, you
need not fear me, I assure you. lam not a man to insult
a woman. (Here Rose felt re-assured.)
They were now about to descend from the bridge on the
side of the Institut, when Bertrand (having the appearance
of an American) stopped before them.
Bertrand—Beg pardon, Mo'seer, here's a trifle for you
if you'll show me the way to the Abbaye de Saint Ger-
main. (Holding up to Betbedat a twenty-franc piece,
nearly a pound of our
,money.)
• Betbedat °eking the money and turning to nose)—
Voila ! A real Goddam millionnaire ! Dicu me pardonne,
twenty francs to show him the way I It's quite a windfall.
Madame, may I be so bold as to say that we will go halves ?
(Rose opened her eyes in astonishment, but did not answer
a word.)
Bertrand—l have already given two away like it to a
little blackguard to show me the way ; but I calculate he
ran slick away with it.
Rose—Oh, that was very bad indeed. It seems that
this young foreigner has a great many gold pieces ; it was
shameful to deceive him so. (They had by this time
walked on some paces together.)
Bertrand—(Drawing out a five-franc piece of Louis
Philippe, and kissing it in a transport)—Look at this
pretty partiklar genteel piece. I bought two of them yes-
terday with one of those bits of gold (twenty francs).
Betbedat (to Rose, indignantly)—Really it is quite
wretched to think what rascals there are in Paris ! To
impose on the greenness of this young English-American !
To sell him ten francs of Louis Philippe for his 20 franc
piece ! It's too bad—indeed it is.
Rose—lt is very wrong to be sure ; (the American
chinked his pockets) this stranger seems as if he was made
of gold. (The American takes out two or three rouleaux.)
It looks as if he had a decent lot of it, poor young man !
Bertrand (who continued to cuddle up his hundred
sous crown)—That be a beautiful likelihood of a King. I
wish I had a good quantity of French lillywhites of
same sort. Oh ! what fine money ! what large money !
Betbedat—Stop a bit ; let's see—if one had no such thing
• as scruples one might do a pretty stroke of business here.
Rose—To be sure one might ; but—
Betbedat—l think I know more than one person who
would be disposed to say, " After all, it is only a foreigner
—an Englishman—a Goddanz, who has hogsheads full of
it"—(apart to Rose.) But that's not the difficulty ; these
English scoundrels robbed us of so much at Aboukir and
, Trafalgar ! Whatever you may think of me, ma'am, my
father lost above 300,000 francs by these English. If one
did not put a restraint on one's self it would only be a fair
revenge to take.—(Laughing slily as he marked the con-
' currence of Rose, who smiled and opened her full eyes.)
Ha ! the devil himself might well laugh !
Bertrand (to Betbedat)—l say, would you jilt be good
enough, Mo'seer, to give me a lot of the white chaps for
this one—two—three—hundred of the little yellow-boys,
which arnt of any considerable size whatsomever.
Betbedat—'Faith, I'll run it. After all, I have seven
children to support ; the English took everything from my
respectable father, who was shipbuilder to Government—
. for all their 600 gun-ships. Bite the biter is fair play.
'F. (The money-changing begins as they continue their walk ;
the American giving his coin without taking much pains to
count it.)
Rose—This is an individual who gives me an idea of not
perfectly understanding the value of money.
Betbedat—And particularly of gold. He tells me, in his
lingo, that he has 300 casks of it at Havre. He has sold
20,000 negroes on the Coromandel coast, for 3,000 francs
a-piece ; and that only for his pocket-money while he is at
Paris.
Bertrand (fondly hugging the five-franc pieces that
Betbedat had just given him)—Thank'ee Sir ; but hark'ee,
I should like to have more ; a han'sum, considerable quan-
tity more.
Betbedat (in a whisper to Rose)—Try and keep him in
play for a short time, while I go home for a thousand
crowns, I'll be back in six minutes. (Rose kisses the
money-bag and mutters n 1,600 and 1,600 are two and
thirty hundred.")
-Bertrand (stopping short in front of a wine shop in the
Rue do Lille)—Oh ! how exceedingly hot it is, to be sure,
' for the time o' day : I'd give two or three yellow boys for a
bottle of Burgundy or even of claret.
Betbedat.—For one franc your business is done. Walk
in, good Sir ! (To Rose)—You must treat him, and then
—luck to us !
Rose (to Betbedat, as they go up stairs)—l have got
some money too, if he would like to deal with me. Ask him.
Betbedat—With all my heart ; or stop, you shall go
shares with me. Do you amuse him while Igo for my
thousand crowns. (After a moment's reflection.) But a
thought strikes me. (Apart.) There are so many swin-
dlers in Paris. If his money should be bad—l should be
done. The better part of valour is discretion. (Address-
the American.) Sir, I believe you to be an honest man ;
but, if you would give me leave, I'd rather have your gold
tried by a French refiner. The gold may be very good in
your country, for aught I know—(To Rose, " We muA
not affront him ")—but for all that it may not be quite so
good here.
Bertrand—All right, Mo'seer, to be sure ; with all my
heart. Here's my bag ; here's my key ; take it all, and go
at once. I'll wait here with this beautiful young lady.
Rose—Don't stay long. (Aside.) Gad, if he should
forget to come back, walk off with the doubloons, and leave
me alone with the English-American !
Betbedat (returning and whispering to Rose)—lf I was
to make myself scarce with his hoard, there's at least 20,000.
francs in gold. (Rose looks frightened.) Oh ! never mind ;
you may trust me. To a countrywoman, Ma'am, lam true,
for life or death ;in ten minutes I'll be here. Nothing shall
be done without you.
(In five minutes Betbedat returns : the gold proves of
the true standard.)
Bertrand—l was sure of it, d'ye see. I brought a pretty
con-siderable lot of it in hogsheads from my own country,
d'ye see.
(A few minutes afterwards, Rose, allured by the pros-
pect of a safe and easy swindle, took out her purse, counted
her money, and showed a bank note. The eyes of the
American sparkled. The bag that Betbedat had just
brought from the money-changer's was still on the table.)
Bertrand—Beg your pardon, Miss ; beg pardon, d'ye
see. I don't know anything about the bank note ; and, by
the way, the lilly-whites mayn't be good, after all. I should
like to let the refiner have a look at it. Hope no offence.
Betbedat—O, that's a very easy matter. Don't be at
all fidgetty, Madame. I'll not lose sight of him. (To the
American) I will conduct you to the place, Monsieur gen-
tilman ; but as Madame does not know you, • although she
by no means mistrusts you, had you not better leave with
her your bag of gold while we go to the money-changer ?
(To Rose in a low tone—Don't lose sight of the bag ; it
contains 20 times your 1,600 francs. In five minutes I shall
be back again. I'm going, at the same time, to fetch
3,000 francs I have at home, and we'll then go halves in all
we get.)
Bertrand and Betbedat here rose together, and, bowing
with the utmost politesse to Rose, went out, leaving her NI
of Confidence, and with eyes fixed on the bag that was to
make her so happy. Ten minutes—a quarter of an hour—
elapsed : she began to suspect that all was not right, and,
calling the wine merchant, told him the affair. They
opened the bag by means of a knife, and found about five
or six francs in sous pieces !
Here, then was the denouement, and Rose, the victim of
her knavish cupidity, lost her 1,600 francs in the endeavour
to impose on the man whom she believed to be a stranger
and unable to take care of himself.
Bertrand and Betbedat, with whom this was by no means
a first offence, were each condemned to five years' imprison-
ment and ten of surveillance.

An earthquake was, felt
[shin4 of St, Phriste late the last month in the
pher, which was rather severe ; and at
..
Lucia the weather has peen very rainy and tenipes-
'nous.,
, .