Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1860-05-09
THE GAZETTE.
WEDNESDAY MORNING. MAY 9, 1860.
FrNALE SWINDLERs IN PARIS.

j ne faTlS correspondent VI VIC Doo'o1A
Traveller, in the course of a recent letter,
gives the following account of the manner IN
which strangers are swindled there:
A young fellow some days ago observed
beautiful woman elegantly attlred, IN What
is called here '.coach-house brougham,
which is public carriage above the ordinary
hack, and derives its name from standing IN
coach houses along the streets, ana not at
the hack-standS As soon as she saw she
had made an impression upon him, she
nodded her head and waved her hand. lie
made sisns to the driver to stop, as he went
IN to the carriage door, and invited the
heautv to dine with him ut the Cafe Ang!als.
She accepted, and he got in the carriag ca
scene which occurs every afternoon IN the
Champs Elysees tits incredible how many
people, especially of t'other sex, 90 there
every afternoon to find dinner which Is to
console them for the breakfast which failed
to appear at rol,call The brougham waited
M the restaurant door during dinner, and
when the banquet was over the host invited
the guests to spend the evening with him.
She went, Of course, and as she got out OF the
carriage she asked her host to pay the coach
man. How much is it, driver? The coach
man took out his watch and said: 1T is
HOW ten O'Clock. Madame took me this
morning at nine o'clock. Thirteen hours, at
two francs and half an hour, is thirty-two
francs and half" The young man, who
il quite familiar with life in Paris, refused
10 be made the victim Of a swindle, and sum-
moned a policeman, who carried the young
man and the driver to the neighborlng Com
missioner of Police, who decided the young
man 1.-THE woman having disappeared) must
pay the thirty-two francs and halt. lhe
next morning the cOachman carried back to
the woman two-thirds of the money he had
received. This is common trick by which
drivers and lorettes plumber men.
These are not the only tricks by which they
ill their purses. They are paid to frequent
the balls. The managers of Valentino, Ma
bile. the Casino, ETC., pay them to frequent
the balls and lance; they are anxious to have
many of them at their balls and to make
them dance, as they attract men who not
only pay the admittance price, but spend
great deal of money at the miserable cate,
and the numerous games billiards, pistol
shooting, etc, J found in the ballroom. At
al! the balls, two thirds of the persons seen
come III gratuitously, one-third of these
:wu-th;rds are paid to come, and the whole
burden of the entertainment, and the whole
profits of the establishment are supplied by
The remaining third, which is composed
OF strangers Sundays this proportion is not
observed The majority of the company
pay for their admission: they are BARRIERS,
t;.ilors, shupmen with their grlsetteS, scmc-
times with their wives, sons and daughters,
for there is, in French persons opinion,
no inleaning further TO virtues slide than
lecherv. If we'll dressed fellow dances a
great deal he is sure to beapproached before
the evening is over by one of the inspectors
Of the establishment, who will offer him
dozen free tickets. Many dry goods shop
man they are most favored IN these dlstri-
buttons, it being necessity OF their trade to
be we'll dreSsedl spends the hour and halt
which lies between the closing of his shop
and the close ot the balls, atthe latter, where
he is met BIZ his petticoated friend, her day
of labor being likewise ended. They dance
these ninety minutes away, and then, II
their purses be we'll filled, they adjourn to
some neighburng cafe and drink the evening
chocolate beverage tde"r busWoroiSeS az tuiO
or hot wine or German beer; this last,
however, Is never TAKEN lii lNe PuioS S0'o
very low.
Women are admitted sratuitously to al!
these balls; they are the best dec"ys. Some
women receive 4 per Roctem, others not only
receive this remuneration, buture paid to keep
away from all other balls, are pald hack hire
to enable them to come to, and return from
the bail. are paid their dress. supper, refresh
m"nts. and pocket money. III they are sue
ceSsful, they pocket al! this and make the
stranger they pick up, pay Tor everything; and
allure him into all sorts OF expenses. The
bouquet seller is their best accUmpllce. In
every ball YOU see a bouquet seller who pays
one, r two, or three. four, five hundred
francs n month for the privilege OF selling
flowers in the ballroom. The girl forces
YOU 10 buy her bouquet, which costs five
francs As soon az you quit the girl, she
carries back the bouquet TO the bouquet
seller, who pays the girl four frances
Some of these beauties of the balls, pocket as
much as twenty and thirty francs a night
from these b ,uquets, and the same boquet
is sometimes sold and reSold ten or ft-
teen times in the course of the same
evening When they are invited to sup
per they give signs to the waiter lndlcat-
ing the degree Of bleeding the victim will
bear without screaming; the bill Is inflated
ana the girl has her share of the profits obtain
ed by swindling the stranger. In this way
some of these women receive enormous sums
Of money every night during six months OF
the wear; nevertheless they are always IN
dehJ always out of money, always In the
hands of u>urers: One can no more hope to
maintain them in something like an lndepen-
dence Of fortune, than one could hope to sup
ply the pond in Boston Common with water by
means ut Il sieve.
Goose Power AS SUBSTITUTE FOR STEAM.
GA Tuesday last, quite crowd collected
on the bridge across the Cumberland, at
Nashville, to witnessthe trial OF Il novel exper-
iment in navigation-no less than the passage
of the river by washtub drawn by geese. \
large crowd was preSent-most OF whom
came TO see the rest sold" and the others
stopped to see what the crowd meant. After
n half hours suspense, during which time,
every bolg was tacetouS at every body else,
EXPENSE, The retinue made its appearance -
lst Il sklf, to be on hand in case of accident;
. |. four geese, carefully harnessed, two on
each side of Il floating tongue, to the poSterl-
or extremity of which WAS attached; Sd. the
waShtub safely perched In or upon which
was observed the adventurous navigator.
The TnioH and ImericaR records the sue
cess of the trial trip:
Will. in the middle of the stream, the Skltt