The Sun.
London, England, 1829-08-07 00:00:00

NOMENCLATURE OF THE PARISIAN

THIEVES.

(From the Memoirs of Vidocq.)
The careers (shoplifters) are extremely skil-
ful in their profession. A woman named Caron,
the Duchess, and a Gipsy woman named
Gaspard, invented the following plan for levying
contributions upon the priests .—By a regular
attendance at church), the outward appearance of
great devotion, and a regularity in going to con-
fession and the sacraments, they recommended
themselves to the notice of different clergymen,
whose pecuniary circumstances they took care to
find out from the charwomen in the churches
of those whose duty it was to light the tapers.
As soon as they found that one of the priests
was worth powder and shot (such was their ex-
pression), they called at his house under pre-
tence of getting him to say masses for some de-
ceased relatives, or to ask advice upon a scruple
of conscience. They frequently expressed a
wish to perform some devout act, and often left
money with the priest to be divided among poor
persons whom he might consider worthy objects,
and requested him to mention their names
that they might call and give them further
assistance. As soon as these women acquired
the confidence of the priests, they took the very
first opportunity of robbing their rooms of a
watch, plate, money, or any thing they could
lay their hands to—and to carry on their villany,
they robbed the unfortunate persons whom the
clergyman had pointed out to them as fit
objects for chalky. The Gipsies not only
carry on this trade, but often add murder to the
list of their crimes—and they are the less shocked
at assassination, as they have a particular mode
of doing penance, which they think completely
absolves them. They wear a stout woollen
chemise for a year and refrain from labour
(thieving.) In France most of these people
call themselves Catholics, and affect great devo-
tion, carrying always about them beads, cruci-
fixes, &c. They say prayers morning and even-
ing, and attend the offices regularly. They
often travel in large companies through the
country to the great terror and injury of the
peasantry, whose cattle they poison or destroy.
Those Gipsies are very clever in killing
animals without leaving the slightest sign of foul
play. They kill cows by piercing them in the
heart with a long thin needle, so that an internal
extravasation of blood takes place, and it ap-
pears that the beast died of some disease. They
deprive fowls of life with sulphur, well know-
ing that the peasantry will not touch the bodies,
as they imagitie some complaint caused their
death. They consequently live well, and en-
joy the most delicious meats. Whenever
they take a liking to ham they tie a salted
herring to the end of a stick, and hold it be-
fore a pig, which follows them every where, and
they kill it the moment they arrive at a conve-
nient spot.
The rouletiers are engaged in robbing the
diligences and other vehicles for public convey-
ance. They are extremely clever in carrying off
trunks, portmanteaus, &c., from carriages ; but
they are very ignorant in other respects, as will
appear from the following occurrence :—One of
this gang had succeeded in stealing a trunk
which contained a diadem of immense value, be-
longing to the Queen of Naples. The thief, not
knowing the value of this article, and wishing to
save the expence of a silvercomb, which he had
promised to the young woman he was cohabiting
with, gave her the diadem as a present. She,
proud of this ornament, wore it at the first dance
she went to—and in this way the property was
recovered.

There is nothing so easy as to know a thief ;
he can never keep in one place, and may be said
to be in almost perpetual motion. This gives
him an opportunity of examining different per-
sons, and seeing if they are worth the trouble of
robbing. Whenever a thief approaches a crowd
he lets his hands fall carelessly, but in such a
manlier that they rest upon a stranger's pocket or
fob, i❑ order to form an idea of their contents.
If a good chance presents itself, he gives a signal
to his companions, and they commence opera-
tions. The moment a watch, purse, or any thing
else is taken, it is passed from the hands of the
principal into those of one of the subordinate
agents, who gets out of sight as quickly as pos-
sible.

There was at one period a most extraordinary
pick-pocket in Paris, who excelled every other
member of the profession. He would place
himself in front of the person whom he intended
to rob, put his hands behind his back, and, in
that manner, convey away a watch or any trinket
or jewel which his fingers could get at. This
kind of theft was called robbery a la chicane.
A pick-pocket, named Moulin, tried to rob a
gentleman of his purse as he was going into the
Theatre Francaise. The stranger felt the pull
at his pocket, but Moulin, without losing his
presence of mind, quickened the motion of his
hand, and extracted the purse. He immediately
opened it, and took out some silver to pay for a
ticket. At the same moment the gentleman said
to him, " Sir, you have taken my purse—give it
back."—" Troun de Dious !" replied Moulin,
in apparent astonishment, " are you quite sure ?"
Then looking attentively at the purse, he ex-
claimed " Bagasse—l really thought it was my
own ; upon my honour I beg your pardon." At
the same time he handed back the purse—and
the bystanders imagined that he had taken it
through accident.

Five persons have recently died at Sackville
College, East Grinstead, within a few weeks of each
other, whose united ages amounted to 440 years. Two
of them, a female named KNIGHT, and a man named
JENNER, were each 92. The writer of this paragraph
has frequently heard the latter recount the outrages com-
mitted by a gang of smugglers, culled the " Hawkhurst
gang," which infested the county of Sussex in his boyish
daye.—Brighton Gazette.