The Sun.
London, England, 1828-11-14 00:00:00

VIDOCQ ON HIS TRAVELS.

Vidocq, after qiiitting the 'band of Romans
proceeds to Lyons where he falls in with a set
of thieves and housebreakers. He is taken up
as a vagabond, and after haw, some time in.
prison, -Offers his service to the police, and is
employed in detecting, the haunts and pointing
out to the police officers t'he persons of some
Parisian robbers, who had oome down to explore,
Lyons and the neighbottilmod. Having suc-
ceeded iu this mission, he is set at liberty by the
ComMiSsary-General of Police, and quits Lyous.
He returns to his native place, 'Arras, where he
remains concealed for some timei but the police,
having got wind of him, endeavour. to take him,
but he, makes, a. desperate resistance ,and escapes.
He wanders about, Normandy as, a pedlar, is
again arrested, escapes;
,and makes his way to
the camp at Boulogne, engages himself on board
a privateer,- raid' after a cruise or two, enters the
Marine Artillery, in which' he becomes a
corporal. After some month's ,• service in.
the Artillery, under the name of Blondal, •
Vidocq is recognised and thrown into: prison,
from which in 'the course of a few days .hemakei
,his escape, an 4 takes the road to Bethune, but .is
again arrested and conducted to Douai. During
'a five months' sojourn in the prison of this city,
he contrives to captivate the .confidence of the
gaoler, and by abusing it, to' make his escape. Of
the:means by which heaacomplished this he gives
the following account:7—",. The gaoler, named
Wettu, looking upon me as pardoned (Vidocq had
addressed a petition for pardon to the' Govern-
ment, signed by the-Procurator-General) treated
me with confidence and 'kindness. We even
dined frequently tete-a-tete, in a little room,.
the only window 'of Which was Over' the river
Scarpe. It occinTed• to me 'that -through -this
window, which had no iron hars,,,l might,.soine
day or other, at the
,end of a dinner or supper,
give my host theiliP; 'With thia'view, tgot one
of my friends to have in readiriessfor me the uni-
form of an Officer of Artillery. One Sunday
,evening, Wettu and Hurtrel, the registrar of the
prison, and I, were dining together in the above-
mentioned room. Some good 'Beaume wine,'
several bottles of which I had sent for, had en,
livened these Messieurs, when Hurtrel said to
me Do you know, my gay one, that it would
'not have been 'very safe; a few years back, to have
•allowed you into a room like this, with an un-
;barredwindow—atleast,l should not have trusted
you ?' Oh ! uonsense; Papa Hurtrel,' I 'ye-
plied, one should he made of cork, to venture
upon such a plunge as that ; besides,. the Scarpe
is toO'deli, fPF
t.
one to risk it who cannot swim.
True enough, observed the gaoler, and the 'con-
vbut my resolution. Was
taken.erat ion
Shortly finished
afterlt h there,e gaolerother.sobrie. legm.pel to play at
.persons am
room,cimatr°dst,haend, a t wthe moment that he appeared td
most occupied with his game, approached the
window, and
,prccipitated myself into the ririver.f
my fall the company ran to the
ce
At the noise o
'window, whilst Wettu roared out for the turn-
keys and' guards to pursue me. Fortunately there
was scarcely enough of twilight to permit objects
to be seep distinctly.; lily bat, which I had de-
signedly thrown upon the bank of the river, made
my pursuers believe that I had immediately got
out of the water, whilst, .on the contrary, I
continued to swim in the direction of the Porte
• d'eau, under which I passed with not a little, dill.