The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-08-19

HOW Spies Annoyed John Mitchell
I'm Paris-Further Extracts FRI m
His JaiI journal. IS b
| MARCH, 1s98.-At last the evident atten-
tions of spies became little provoking to
1 me. AT the end Of three months I suddenly
quilted my lodgings In the Rue Richer, re-
| moving after dark, and not telling the con-
cterge where meant to 60, only asking
drove across the river and took up my abode
| In a pension of the Latin Quarter which
! had been known to me before. There were
! about thirty inmates boarding in the house.
| It was not that hoped to battle for long the
vigilance Of spies, for knew that species of
| beings too well of old but at least hoped,
when they reappeared, to be able to identify
some of them and to find out for whom or for
what they were keeping watch upon my
movements. For about three weeks saw
nothing of them but it turns out that for
| too whole weeks of this time there has
been company of three men lodged over
a wlne-shop nearly opposite the gateway
OF this house. 1t was an Eno1ishman and
Frenchman, both boarders here, who
| first told me of this. They came to me TO-
gether one day, said as did not seem to be
aware of the circumstance myself, they
thought it light to tell me that three mou-
chards were lodging in house across the
street; that I was evidently their object {;
that one Of them was always standing at
the door of the wine-shop smoking, keep
ing his eye upon our gate that | never
went out of that gate, going to other quar-
tiers Of the city, without one Of them fol-
lowing at thirty yards distance I; that if 1 en-
;G,,s Col Ill ,tol
top or in Paris their omnibuses are two
stOrie that the operations of the three
rascal had grown so notorious in the street
as to r reduce sort Of agitation and that
one of our lady boarders, whose room COM
handed a favorable view, had her windows
generally thronged with inmates Of the
house to watch the men who were watch
ing me and all this while / had observed
nothing. | thanked them for the intorma-
ton; questioned the concierge, who is
woman, and who told me at once she had
observed all these appearances, and, fur
Their, that several times in my absence one
of the spies had entered and asked her ques-
tions concerning my movements, especially
what did when at home, and who were
the persons who came to see me" Mais
des questions, Monsieur, rune plus indis-
crete que PGutre"-a form of words
which / have remarked before on SINH
lar occasions. I then desired her, if any
of those wretches should come again, in
curing after me, and if ! were in the house,
to give them the number Of my room, and
to say to them that / wished to speak to
them. The concierge said farther that she
did not believe the creatures in question
were agents Of the French police; that, in
the first place, they had produced to her
no card certifying that fact (Which is usuaD,
and in the next place that their proceedings
| were too clumsy (grossieres) for the French
police. This pleased me mnch, and gave
me an indication of the truth-these ras-
Gals, whether French or English, were
spies of Lord Cowley, the English Ambas-
sador. So much was certain. A day or
two passed the gentlemen who dwelt in
our house were becoming highly excited
against the spies, and one powerful
Young Frenchman, from Alltun, was one
day prevented with difficulty by the
prayers and tears of our good landlady, Ma
| dame Bonnerie, from executing summary
Justice on one of the wretches who had come
in to ask after me. The next morning, at
| ter our regular dejeuner, l was sitting i'll
the garden, smoking with some of the young
men of the house. One of them mentioned
that he had seen one of my friends that very
morning talking to the concierge. "Comc,'
I said, " it is time to see the meaning of all
| this" / rose and asked young BOnnerie
| to put on his hat and come with me-the
rest of the company remained smoking in
| the garden, at my request. We went
| straight to the concierge; asked her if it was
| true that some Of the mouchdrds had
been talking with her that morning
and asking questions about Inc. Yes, it
| was true; she had told them / was at
home and wished to have the pleasure
of seeing them that my room was such a
number that they had only to go upstairs,
ETC., and that Monsieur would be charmed
to receive them; they had muttcred some
thing about another time and had gone
away. care they anywhere near ut this
moment 2" | asked. "Certainly, Monsieur,
sans doute. Give yourself the trouble to
come with me to the porte cochere-the
large gateway. There they are, Monsieur"
she said "tWo of them," pointing to two
men who were leaning against the door
posts of the wine-Shop with cigars i'll their
mouths. l went straight over, young Bon
merle keeping close by me. | stopped al
| the door and took a survey of the two ruf
fans; they returned my look with per.
feet nonchalance. Then [ walked close
I'D to the first fellow and asked him
what he wanted with me. He took
his cigar slowly out of his mouth,
and said ne had not the distinguished honor
| of knowing me-there was some mistake
| "Well," | answered, you and your com.
rade here, and another man, have paid very
| particular attention to me and to my move
ments !; you and they have come many times
to the concierge of that house over there,
where l live, inquiring after my move.
ments." The scoundrel raised his eyelids
and shrugged his shoulders. Mas, Non.
sleur, / don't comprehend you, not the
least in the world" BY this time Il con-
siderable crowd, perhaps tiftyor sixty PEG.
pie, from the neighboring houses had
gathered around. My young companion,
Bonnerie, was becoming very much excited,
so were the people who surrounded us, for
the Parislans do not love spies. l said to the
man: But these people around understand
me and now take care Of yourself; if you
ever enter that gateway again underan pre-.
| tence (pointing TO our porte c0chere) you
will be flung out into the street. l do not
| answer for your miserable lives" l had to
drag away young Bonncrie by force; he
wished to take summary vengeance on the
spot. l said to him, but in tone to be
heard by the people around, Gone does
not quarrel with mOuchdrdS." In quarter
| of an hour after this scene the scoundrels
had disappeared from the street called dt
| Ldcepede, and L never after saw or hearC
of any trace of them.
| But thought it might be well to ascer
tain still more perfectly the true character
of these spies. 1t was already tolerably
clear to ME that they had no connection
with the French police, because of thcil
| aWkwardneSS and coarsenesS Of procedure
In all my sojourns in France / have beer
under the Surveillance of the French police
and it was insensible, imperceptiblc thea
| had never alarmed the quarter, nor made
scandal in clearinghouse. Therefore Ii