The Sun.
London, England, 1829-01-27 00:00:00

tion :

" Mother Noel had re-er teen rae t Try features were I
quite unknown to her, althottel ate bad frequently heard
of my name. There was tl, -•; ,lifficulty in presenting I
myself before her, without givites; '.er any cause for
alarm; but to get her to point out to raa tha hiding place
of the men whom I eought to detect, tams the end I aimed
at, anal I felt that it would t: attain it with-
out much skill and manageMent. t I resolved on
passing myself off as a fugitive gr.ll2yilvt-. :; 7-ILA it was ne-
cessary to borrow the eame of sane taleaa7a-aa on ar
his comrades had anemic.. aal te Ler ir 4*.'": .'":,172,.119 terms.
Moreover, a little reseinl.laace .anal : atauisite, and
I endeavoured to recallect- if there r~rr r.7'.2 of the
galley-slaves whom I knew who had Z'.nlziatol with
Noel with the Spectacle:, aria i c-,uid not remem-
ber one of my age, or whose peraea and teatimes at
all resembled mine. aat last, ly dint ad- ranch effort of
memory, I recalled to raind one Germain, alias Royer,
alias 'the Caatain,' who had been an intimate acquaint-
ance of N el s, atal although our similarity cams very
slight, yet I determined en personating him.
" Germain, as well as myself, had often escaped from
the Bagres,. and that was the only point of resemblance
between. ue : he was about my age, but a Fmnller framed
man ; he had dark brown hair, mine was light ; be was
thin, and T talerably stout ; his complexion was sallow, and
mine fair, with a very clear akin ; besides, Germain had
an excessively long nose, tool: a vast deal of snuff, which
begriming his nostrils outside, and stuffiag them up within,
gave him a peculiar nasal tane of voice. I had much to do
in personating Germain ; but the difficulty did not deter
me : my hair cut, a Id mode ees liagnes, was dyed black,
as well as my heard, after it had attained a growth of eight
days ; to embrown my countenance, I washed it with wal-
rut liquor ; and to perfect the imitation, I garnished my
upper lip thickly with a kind of coffee grounds, aahich I
plastered on by means of gum arabic, and thus became as
nasal in any twang as Germain himself. My feet were doc-
tored with equal care; I made blisters on them by rubbing
in a certain composition, of which I had obtained the re-
cipe at Brest. I also made the marks of the fetters; and
when all my to let was finished, dressed myself in the
suitable garb. I bad neglected rothiug which could corn-
plete the metamorphosis, neither the shoes, nor the marks
of those horrid letters G A L. 'The costume was perfect;
and the only thing wanting Was a hundred of those com-
panionable insects which people the solitudes of poverty,
and which were, I believe, together with locusts and toads,
one of the seven plagues of old Egypt. I procured some
for money ; and as soon as they were a little accustomed to
their new domicile, which was speedily the case, I directed
my steps towards the residence of Madame Noel, in the
Rue Ticquetonne.
" I arrived there, and knocking at the door, she opened
it ; a glance convincing her how matters stood with me,
she desired me to enter, and en finding myself alone with
her, I toll her who I was. ' Ali, my poor lad,' she
cried, ' there is no occasion to tell me where you have
come from ; I am sure you must be dying with hunger ?'
Oh, yes,' I answered, ' I am indeed hungry ; I have
tasted nothing for twenty-four hours.' Instantly, without
further question, she went out, and returned with a dish
of hog's puddings, and a bottle of wine, which she placed
before me. I did not eat, I actually devoured; r stuffed my-
self, and all had disappeared without my saying a word be-
tween my first mouthful and my last. Mother Noel was
delighted at my appetite, and when the cloth was removed
she gave me a dram. ' Ah, anadani,' I exclaimed, em-
bracing her, you restore me to life ; Noel told me bow
good and kind you were ;' and I then began to give her a
statement of bow I had left her son eighteen days before,
anal gave her information of all the prisoners in whom she
felt interested. The details were so true and well known,
that she could have nil idea that I was an impostor.
"' You must have heard of me,' I continued; I have
gone through many an enterprise and experienced many a
reverse. I am called Germans, or the Captain ; you mast
know my name ?'
" ' Yes, yes, my friend,' she said, I know you well ;
my son and his friends have told me of your inisftirtuncs ;
welcome, welcome, my dear Captain. But heavens !
what a state you are in ; you must not remain in such a
plight. I see. you are infested with those wretched tor-
menting beasts who-; but I will get you a changed f
linen, and contrive something as a comfortable dress for
you.'
" I expressed my gratitude to Madame Noel; and when
I saw a good opportunity, without giving cause for the
slightest suspicion, I asked what had become of Victor
Desbois and his comrade Mongenet. Deabois and Le
Tambour? Ah ! my dear, do not mention them, I beg
of you,' she replied ; that rogue Vidocq has given them
very great uneasiness ; since one Joseph (Joseph Longue-
ville, an old police inspector), whom they have twice met
the streets, told them that there would soon be a- search

in this quarter, they have been coinl,elled to cut and run, to
avoid being taken.'
What !' cried I, with a disappointed air, ' are they
no longer in Paris ?'

" ' oh,' they are not very far distant,' replied Mother
Noel; they have not quitted the environs of the ' great
village' (Paris); I dare say we shall soon see them, for I
trust they will speedily ply me a visit. I think they will
be delighted to find you here.'
".‘ Oh, I assure you,' said I, 'that they will not be
more delighted at the meeting than myself ; and if you can
write to them, I am sure they would eagerly send for me
to join them.'
" If I knew where they were,' replied Mother Noel,
' I would go myself and seek for them to please you; but I
eo not know their retreat, and the best thing for us to do is
to be patient, and await their arrival.'
"In my quality as a new comer I excited all Madame
Noel's compassion and solicitude, and she attended to no-
thing but me. ' Are you known to Vidocq, and his two
bull-dogs, Levesque and Compere?' she inquired.

" 4 cAlas! yes,' was my reply; ' they have caught me
twice.

" In that case, then be on your guard ; Vidoeq is often
disguised ; he assumes characters, costumes, and shapes,
to get hold of unfortunates like yourself.' "
We cannot conclude our notice of this work
without recommending it strongly to those among
our readers, who have derived amusement from
perusing the pages of Ferdinand Count Fathom
--the dry, sarcastic, ironical humour of Field-
ing's masterly Jonathan Wilde—the archness of
Gusman D'Alfaranche—or the minute details
of character in Gil Blas. Those who have
found entertainment in such works will turn
eagerly to the " Memoirs of Vidocq," particu-
larly as these last have the exclusive recommen-
dation of being founded on truth.