Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1852-06-02
THE DAILY TIMES.
CARTOUCHE.

| touche, and as Newgate and the highways are so
much the fashion with us in England, we may be
allowed to look abroad for histories of a similar
| tendency. 1t is pleasant to- find that virtue is
| cosmopolite, and may exist among wooden
shoed Papsts well as honest Church-of- Eng
| land men.
| Louis Dominic was born in quarter of Paris
called Courtle, says the hi ,toran whose work
| lies before me;-born in the Courtille, and in the
| year 1893. Another bographer asserts that he
was born two years later, and in the Marais of
| respectable parents, of course. Thick Of the
talent that our two countries produced about this
time: Marlborough, Villars, Mandrin, Turpin,
| Boileau, Dry den, Swift, Addison, Moliere, Ra-
cine, Jack Sheppard, and Louis Cartouche,-all
famous within the same twenty years, and fight
ing, writing, robbng, a J. enui'
Well, Marlborough was no chicken when he
| began to shew his genius; Swift was but dull,
idle college lad; but if we read the histories of
| some other great men mentioned in the above
| list-I mean the thieves, espeeally--we shall
| find that they all commenced very early: they
| Showed passion for their art, as little RAJ
| phael did, or little Mozart and the history of
Cartouches knaveries begins almost with his
| bret cheS.
| Dominics parents sent him to school at the
| college of Clermont (now Louis lie Grand]; and
although it has never been discovered that the
| Jesui.s, who directed that seminary, advanced
| him much in classical or theological knowledge,
| Cartouche, in revenge, Showed, by repeated in
stances, his own natural bent and genius, which
| no difficulties were strong enough to overcome
His first great action record, although not sue
cessful in the end, and tinctured with the nno-
cence of youth, is yet highly creditable to him.
He made a general sWoop of o hundred and
| twenty night-caps belonging to his companions,
and disposed of them to his satisfaction; but as
it was discovered that of all the youths in the
coll of hn onlv was thp Of
a cap to sleep in, suspicion (which, alas was con-
firmed) Immediately fell upon him and by this
little piece of youthful naipete, scheme, prettlly
conceived and smartly performed, was rendered
naught.
Cartouche had wonderful love for good eat
ing, and put all the apple-women and cooks, who
came to supply the students, under contribution.
Not always, however, DESTROYS of rohbing these,
he used to deal with them, occasionally, GA honest
principles of barter; that is, whenever he could
get hold of his schoolfellows' knives, books,
rulers or playthipgs, which he used fairly to ex-
change for tarts and gingerbread.
1t seemed as if the presiding genius Of evil was
determined to patrenige this young man for be-
fore he had been long at college, and soon after
he had, with the greatest difficulty, escaped from
| the nightcap scrape, an opportunity occurred by
which he was enabled to crafty both his propen-
sites at once, and not only to steal, but to steal
sweetmeats. 1t happened that the principal of
the College received some pots OF NaTbonne
honey, which came under the eyes of Cartouche,
and in which that young gentleman, as soon as
ever he saw them, determined to put his fingers.
The president of the college put aside his honey
pots in an apartment within his own; to which,
except by the one door which led into the
which his reverence usually occupied, there was
no outlet. There was chimney in the room;
and windows looked into the court, where there
was porter at night and where crowds passed
by day What was Cartouche to do !-haye the
honey he must.
Over this chamber which contained what his
soul longed after, and over the presidents rooms
there ran set of unoccuped garrets, into which
the deXterous Carlouche penetrated, These
were divided from the rooms below, according to
the fashion of those days, by set of large
beams, which reached across the whole building,
and across which rude planks were laid, which
formed the ceiling of the lower story and the
floor of the upper. Some of these planks did
young Cartouche removes and having descended
by means Of rope, tied a couple others to the
neck of the honey pots, climbed back again, and
drew up his prey in safety. lie then cum
ningly fixed the planks again in their old places
and retired to gorge himself upon his booty. And
now, see the punishment of avarice. Everybody
knows that the brethren of the order OF
Jesus are bound by VOW to have no more than
a certain small sum of money in their possession.
The principal of the college Of Clermont had
amassed larger sum, in defiance of this rule:
and where do you think tie old gentleman had
hidden it In the honey pots! AS Cartouche
dug his spoon into one of them, he brought out,
besides quantity of golden honey, couple of
golden louis, which, with nnety-eight more OF
their fellows, were comfortably hidden in the
pots. Little Dominic, who, before had cut rath-
er poor figure among his fellow-students, now
appeared in as fine clothes as any of them could
boast of; and when asked by his parents on go.
ing home, how he came by them, said that
young nobeman of his ool-feloWs had taken
violent fancy to him, and made him present
of couple of his suits. Cartouche the elder,
good man, went to thank the young nobleman;
but none such could be found, and young Car
touche disdained to give my explanation of his
manner of gaining the money.
Here, again we have to regret and remark the
inadvertence of youth. Cartouche lost hundred
lous-for what +! For a pot of honey not worth
couple of shilings. Had he fshed out the
pieces, and replaced the pots and the honey, he
might have been safe, and respectable citizen
all his life after. The principal would not have
dared to confess the loss of his money, and did
not, openly; but he vowed vengeance against the
stealer of his sweetmeats, and rigid search was
made. Cartouche, as usual, was fixed upon; and
in the tick OF his bed, 10! there were found
couple of empty honey pots From this scrape
there is no knowing how he would have escaped,
had not the president himself been little anx-
GUS to hush the matter up; and accordingly
young Catouche was made to disgorge the
sdue of his i'll gotten gold pieces, old Cartouche
made up the deficiency, and his son was allowed
to remain unpunished-unti the next time
This you may fancy was not very long in COM
ing; and though history has not made US ac-
quainted with the exact crime which Louis
Dominic next committed, it must have been
serious one, for Cartouche, who had borne philo-
sophcally all the whippings and punishmcnts
which were administered to him at college, did
not dare to face that which his indignant ia
Their had in pickle for him. As he was coming
home from school, on the first days after his
crime, when he received permission to go abroad,