Los Angeles daily herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1873-1876, 1874-03-22
A Polish Princess Penchant.

4 .
Figaro, which has succeeded in
frightening the natives of the Vale
aux Loups, i. e., the country all about
Limours, Rambouilet, and FORCES les
Baines, with its sensational articles
about murders committed there, seems
anxious to give the Parisians turn.
Within the past few months it APP
pears that in the very heart Of the
capital young men, chiefly of the
clerk or small trader class, have sud-
denly disappeared, and no trace of
them has since been discovered. 1t is
an odd circumstance that something
of the kind occurred in Paris towards
the end of the reign of Louis XIV. In
space of about four months not less
than twenty-six young men disap-
peared. They were all between seven
teen and twenty-six years of age. The
intelligent multitude Immediately got
up a story that an illustrious princess,
| then of mature years, and suffering
| from painful complaint, resorted as
q desperate remedy, to baths of hui
man blood. Riots were the conse-
quence; a few of the ring-leaders were
hanged, but the disappearance -contin-
ued, and the lieutenant de police
La REGIME, was finally threatened
with letire de cdchet and the Bastile
if the mystery were not forthwith
cleared. Among his detectives he had
a very sharp fellow whose name has
been immortalized by Emile Gaborian
| lone Lecoq. This Lecoq was prOmis-
ed a high reward if he cleared the
matter up, and, under the double slim
illus of gain and professional amour
1oropre, he set to work in rigid earnest
Lecoq had boy of about sixteen,
| whom he had brought up to the same
business as himself-a tall, broad
shouldered, handsome youth, looking
older than his years. He dressed him
up in fashionable clothes, supplied him
plentifully with money and directed
him to mix freely with what is now
called le monde, on ron s'dn,use, and
the whole detective staff was set to
watch his movements. One fine after
noon the decoy, Longing about the
terrace of the Tuileries, was engaged
in conversation by young person of
surprising beauty, accompanied by an
elderly woman of decent appearance.
The youth was told the young
lady was Polish princess, etc.,
and, to make a long story short,
a meeting was arranged for the
following evening. RI The old woman
was to o meet the youth at a
church near the Louvre and conduct
him to the trysting-place. Lecoq, duly
apprised of this, was in attendance
with large body of well-armed po-
licemen, and followed his son and his
guide to q house of splendid appear
ance in the Quarter st. Antoine. 1t
had been previously arranged with the
youth that he should take an early
opportunity of slipping handouts on
the lssPolish princess" and then give
| admission to his father and his band
However, the youth, with character
istic foolhardiness, did not carry out
the plan. o Either he had one Of his
own, or else was not insensible to the
influence of beauty and wine, and
thought possibly that it would be
much nicer to besa Polish prince than
O tipstaff at the Chatelet. In short he
supped very merrily and forgot all
about Lecoq senior and his followers
waiting outside Presently, however,
the princess rose from the table
and Withdrew a few moments.
The youths suspicious revived !;
he tried the door, but found
| it locked; then tried another-it was
locked, too; he forced it open, and
then staggered back, perfectly palsied
with terror. The door was that of a
cupboard, and there, neatly arranged
on silver platters, were twentY-six
human heads, embalmed by some
mysterious process that enabled them
to retain their life-like appearance 1t
| is probable that young Lecoq's would
have speedily formed an addition to
this grim collection had not his father
at that very moment broken into the
house. The Polish princess was found
| to be in league with a chosen band of
cut-throats. They sold the bodies of
Kidnapped youths to medical students,
and the heads were dispatched to Ger
many, where Figaro assures us they
Were wanted for the study of phrenol-
ogy. The Polish princess and her
band were all hung, after being duly
tortured according to the law.-[The