Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-11-30
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The BIysterfg- X Omantic PhaseE Of Par-
isiHH Life-The King Of she Thuneurs
and His Adveusurss. a9F Fot
We translate from one of the foreign
newspapers the ensuing sketch Of one Of the
phases of that motley, many-sidsd thing,
called 'liten in Paris; h
As came out of the TheNtre do Ia Porte
st. Martin, after the curtain had fallen for
the night, some two months or more ego,
was aceOsted by man who kept pao . or
two behind me- Monsieur said be in q
broken, tremulous voice, agive me some
thing for Gods sake. Believe me, / must be
at terrible extremity indeed to be forced to-
beg. assure you It is the first time in my
life ever did such thing, but my mother
ana my three sisters may die of hunger to-
night; it's three days since a crunfb OF bread
has passed their lips, so / must either beg or
see them starve." Astonished and touched,
l felt curious to see who addressed me. /
turned round and discovered young man
of aristocratic appearance. He was excess
lively pale, and his whole person attes5ed
great poverty. He evidently was not an
artisan, his appearance and manner of ex-
| pressing himself showed he was above that
rank of life. My heart sank within me, for
knew that was appealed to by one of the
most dreadful forms of human suffering
wretehedness assumes, perhaps, the worst Of
the whole hideous genera, because it is moral
| W6lA dS pnJSlCdl-l mean extreme poverty
in man obliged to wear the livery of re-
| speetability.
put my hand into my pocket; had, alas
only twenty francs left. gave them to the
young man, but, feeling how insufficient my
aims were, | said to him: This is all have
with me. Supply your most pressing wants
tonight give me your address, and to-mor-
row will try and do something more for
you" "Thank you. My name is Simon.
| We live near the st. Martin Canal, Rue st.
| Sebastian, l04." As l wended my way home
| l thought of the best way of aiding this
wretched family. / thought how horrible it
is to see a poor young man, scarcely FIVE
and-twenty years old, whose cheeks have
already been furrowed by tears. Of truth
how could he restrain his tears, at the sight
of his furnishing mother, and he unable to
alleviate her anguish2 She gave him life;
she oft sang him to slumber in her arms and
on her knee; for months her milk was his
only food; he is a man now, but he can not
procure piece OF bread for her. He is well
educated probably bachelor of arts, may
be a professional man; but of what profit is
it to him, if he can not turn his talent to
aceOunt2 Were he alone in the world, he
might enlist in the army, and there at least
his daily bread would be secure But he has
not the right to risk his lfe--he. must
support his mother; the State itself admits
the force of this obligation and exempts him
from military service. He is the widows
/ only son; he must take the place of the head
of the family. Hence it is that this evening,
finding all his efforts TO procure them money
| vain, and recollecting his mother and sisters
have eaten nothing for three days, he deter
mines to sacrifice to them every thing, his
personal dignity, his. feelings-every thing
except his honor-and he begs TO save them
from the pangs of hunger. Who would not
have emptied his pockets in this unhappy
| hand2 10. s. .... -....
Early the next moyning, BIS dat gui cito
dat, went to the indicated address. ffound
a scene of the most horrible distress. Straw
covered with rags were the only beds they
had, their kitchen utensils consisted of some
broken earthenware pots an old table and
two or three rickety chairs were their whole
! furniture. As entered the room, four
women instantly rose, and the young man
who had appealed to me the previous even
ing advanced to meet me. His mother and
three sisters were clad in sordid rags they
were painful to look upon; it was impossible
to say whether their eountenances bore the
indelible marks of vice or of wretchedness.
/ felt that had come too late, and that the
physical part themselves could alone be
| saved, the moral part seemed to be gan
grened, past all hope. l could not help
thinking that robbery and prostitution had
willing recruits there. The young man alone
completely interested me. He accepted
| without false shame, but with something
like dignity, the money brought him. He
told me he hoped to obtain place before
long, and asked for my address that he
might return what gave him some day or
another.
Some time after this adventure befel me, |
was walking with one of my friends near
the Breda Barriere, when the idea struck me
that Iwould,f pleasure in visiting one of the
Barriere balls. We bent our steps toward La
Refine Blanche, which is said to be the most
fhars II had
tered the ballroom than my attention was
completely absorbed by a young man at
tired, so far as taste is concerned, with
doubtful elegance. He wore q cravat of
some glaring color, striped velvet waist
coat, and an enormous gold chain; but he
was expensiyely dressed, and in q manner
well calculated to produce an irresistible eff
fect'in such a company. Notwithstanding
4 the complete change which had taken place
in tbe. mans costume and bearing i thought
/ recognized in him--and that he was none
other than Monsieur Simon, of Rue st. Sc
bastian, No. l04. He was boisterously laugh
ing, talking loud and pouring out Cham
payne generously tofive or six women, who
stood around him. One of the women
turned around, and | caught sight of her
face; she was the pseudo eldest sister who
gave me seat when ! visited the garret
where they lived. "a llt. t..r.
While 1 was telling my friend my adven-
/, Jure ana my discovery, saw q lau VINO used
to wait on me in furnished lodging-house
whereI once lived. "What are you doing
here, you little rogue2" said to him. at
is my day to 90 out, and I always come
heTe.n 'Then you must know the people
here; tell me who is that young man ~
"Him, who is surrounded by women ~
"Yes--the man that is drinking now" "He
is lerOi des thtlReurs.p "Where is his king
dom2-what is thuReurF "You know
what thtlne is sir, don't your" "No,
don't" "Well, sir, tklRe is the slang word
! for fve-franc piece, They call thuneur o
way Of begging which always brings Ave.
franc piece, sometimes louis or, and some
times more; but five francs is the usual sum
4 obtained-hence its name. But, lor bless
your soul II is not an easy trade, ! tell We
1t takes fellow of talents TO do it, for he!
got to steer clear Of the police in the FRS
{ place, and then be keen enough to Judge
: | from peoples faces whether they'll swallow
: the bait. lie rOi des thlalelHs never makes
/ a mistake; he speaks FIVE or six languages
| and tell ye, he makes money out of for.
eigners in the winter time at the door o.
! balls and large theaters. That's the reason
) | they call him le TOi des thlfReiIrs. lirJs,r
|. My friend and looked at each other il
: amazement. Then turned TO the lad an(
: said; Suppose some person should, instead
g / Of giving him money, ask his address il
= order to carry the money to his house, ant
8 see with his own eyes--Whether the miser,