The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1868-08-14

A writer in the Pail Mall Gazette, de-
scribing q visit to the neighborhoods oc-
cupied by the thieves Of Paris, says:
"A few years ago there was gang |
known Us the Band Of the Cafe OF the |
Nineteenth Century, from the name Of
O cafe on the boulevard de Sebastopol,
which they were in the habit Of fire.
quenting. The members Of this gang,
nineteen in number, were anything but
desperadoes. Their mode Of business
was to sneak into apartments by means
Of false keys during the absence Of the
lawful tenants, and walk off with any
portable article Of value that came to
hand. They were all young men Of from
twenty to twenty-five years Of age, and
at the time of their conviction no less
than ninety robberies were proved against
them. The police captured the whole
gang at one swoop. "A remarkable gang
of thieves, whose names were always on
the books Of the prefecture observed the
the eldest police agent, was composed
of q family Of Jews, and went by the name
ofNathan's Band. Nathan had been i'm
prisoned for theft when q child, before
the time of Napoleon l.; and it was in
the reign of the present emperor that he
underwent his last punishment, when he
was seventy years old. He and his wife
with six daughters and their husbands
flor they were all married), had suffered
200 years Of imprisonment among them
at the time old Nathan was last sentenced
They were all thieves, and Nathan carried
on the trade OF receiver as WE'LL
The story reminded the narrator's COM
% pri,,n in al old
tleman whose career, however, was la
luckier one. When he was caught th'
Gendarme said to him, You unfortunate
old man, what could have induced yo'
at your time of life'-he was seyenty-on,
ito risk ending your days in prison.
'Not 20 unfortunate, my brigadier, as yo
seem to think replied the ,hoary rasca
I've been thief, man and boy, for SIX
ty-one years, and this is the first time
narchdnd de ldcets-slang for gendarm
has ever had me in his clutches Mex
/ heard of n notorious gang OF thieye
captured in the neighborhood of tn
Barrier de Fontainebleau, where we ha
been that evening. They used to frequen
one Of the low cabarets near there an,
the police soon had their eyes on them
We'll, one day. says my agent, a NUN
Der of us disguised ourselves as masoni
and went to the cabaret to drink; and afte
jingling our money about in our pocket
threw ourselves on the benches and pre-
tended to fall fast asleep The bait tool
they robbed every man Of us; whereupo
we Jumped up and carried them OF
there were eight ofthem-to the nearei
"poste dc police" When the particular
became known at the prefecture order
were given that no similar plant" Wa
TO be made in future. The chef sci
il was nothing more nor less than entic,
ny people to commit crime.
"'When we suspect that cafe or C
baret is frequented by improper cha
acters, one or more policemen in pla
clothes, and not known in that quartz
are set to watch ii, and il is their du
TO follow the more suspicious characte
about until they go to bed, when tn
leave them for the night. AS thieV
are ordinarily late risers, the agent is
ways waiting for his man before he
stirring in the morning. In this way
follows him about early and late un
he detects him attempting TO commit
robbery. No sooner has he secured hi
than he sets to work to find out his me
intimate associates, and mentioning thu
names gives his prisoner TO understal
that it was they who put the police
his track. As a natural result, the ma
highly indignant at the supposed treac
cry OF his accomplices, tells the age
all he knows 10 their disadvantage, al
in due course they arc lodged in pris'
likewise For capturing thiefs polio
agent, Il seems, receives u gratuity of2(
from a prefecture; and for arresting D mi