The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1866-06-29
Cartouche, the RObber.

Not many months ago one Of the
sights 10 be seen in Paris was the
rather CHASTITY one of the embalmed
body of the celebrated robber Car
t1uche, who four.shed in France in the
early part OF the last century. Car
touche was sentenced, in the year
172l, to be broken upon the wheel -
According to some authorities the exc
cution did not take place, the criminal
having so ingratiated himself with one
Of his jailors that the latter agreed to
forestand the extreme penalty by
strangling him with o silkcn cord
Probably hemp was considered too
vulgar q material for the Gnal neck-tie
Of 50 famous criminal; but at any
rate. when the deed was done, the
lailor was allowed to retain The body
as his perquisite, and he made quite a
nice little sum of money by exhibiting
it at two sous a head for few days
Then the body was handed over to a
surgeon for dissection, but that pro-
fessional man happened also to be a
specializing one, and instead of cutting
up the body, he enbalmed it, and hay
ing enclosed it in glass case, made a
permanent show of it for an admission
fee of ten sous. This doctor devised
the, body to Professor Ballouret, by
whom it was presented to the Athen@-
UNI In course of time it passed
through many hands, still in per-
feet state of preservation, until ii was
acquired by its present proprietor for
sum equivalent to $4,000.
Cartouche belonged to a family of
respectable tradespeople in Paris
From his early youth he was con
slant source Of trouble to his parents,
on account of his irresistible propensi-
ty to thieving, and many We're the
scrapes into which he got himself,
through his operations, When about
ten years old, he whipped up dueh
ess' lap-dog from cushion of a car
riage that was waiting in front of a
mansion. He had seized the animal
adroitly by the muzzel, to prevent it
yelping an alarm, but somehow it got
its head free and bit his hand, where
upon he dropped it, and footman
coming up ut that moment, Master
Cartouche was treated by him to a
sound hagellation.
In the back yard Of house III the
street in which Cartouche's parents
lived there was tank in which some
ducks of valuable breed were kept.
To obtain some of these birds had
long been a pet project with young
Cartouche, but it was not SO easy TO
execute it, as the yard was guarded
by large dog. A brilliant idea, how
ever, occurred to the mind of the
juvenile delinquent. He procured
some fshingtackle of a fine but
strong description, and provided with
this he got upon the roof Of the house,
whence, by scrambling over parapets
and creeping along leads, he arrived
at the roof of the house to which the
ducks belonged. Here he baited his
hook with duck S meat of some kind,
and letting it down gently to the tank,
soon hooked the old drake, and be-
gan to haul him up, hand over hand.
When the drake was about half way
up, however, the ilaping Of his wings
against window attracted the atten-
ton OF some one within, and the trick
was discovered. The law was not
called into requsition on account d
tho youth of the delinquent, but APP
proprate justice was dealt out 10 him
by immersing him in the auek-pond
from which he had expected to make
so good "haul