Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1884-08-09
The Science Of Crime.

HAfA+a
Tn an old fashioned house in the Rue
u Marc, Paris, lived Monsieur Hya-
e;nthe Mercier. He was miser, gloat-
ipg over bis wealth Cay and night, and
bndly supposing that nobody knew it.
When he went ont for his daily walk he
dressed in the best broadcloth and wore
theneatest hat and boots; and yet in the
pocket of his s,ntout he would bring
home piece of stale meat, bought for a
sous in an obscure spot, ostensibly for
his dog. which was myth; in reality for
nj, own sustenance. He cooked his own
y;ctuals, made his own bed and washed
his own linen except that which he
wore when he went out; and, as he took
that off Immediately. on his, return and
mbstituted for it coarse and well patched
raiimneant, ina he was not indebted much to
outside help for anything. How much
he was worth it was hard to say, for he
communicated the state of his affairs to
no one. One thing, however was known
10 Jssques Dermy, who used to do busi-
pess for Mercier, namely, that the miser
had in his house many hundreds of
thoosapds of francs iuninvested and b
pile of bonds and jewelry, held as collat-
en-. for sundry loans. Monsieur Dermy
had at various times handled large sums
ofthe miser's horde, but never unless
nearly five per cent was the rate of in
tsfest and valuable collateral deposited.
sOne Afternoon. il was October 5, 1875,
Mercier was returning home, from his
usual stroll. rItu was just beginnipg to
dark and bis eyesight was pone Of The
best. He was therefore in. the act Of
pdtting Ills foot on the step Before he
Va aware that a man was seated there.
g@who are you?ns the miser asked ex'
citedly: "what are you doing at my door,
Where are the police?" ..5
stay, my friend" groaned the mani
Il sp suddenly taken sick. My name is
jerome Lagrais, and I am speculator OF
The Rue de Maubeuge.".
aAAfv ssclainsd NSeisrs interrofs.
tiyeIs,f fwho knew bs'hans . man more
tHebfated Nlf over Paris than himself a.
miser and usurer. what is the mat
ter, my friend?"
II suffer from heat dsease,f was tht
reply, in a faint tone; II have very
large sum of money about me, and l an
without relatives. i'll die shall b.
robbed and the thieysf escape with 10.
properly and aever b Punished. Hyo'
would call the police or let me rest il
your house-if this is your house = for
exmiputes, 1 might recover, and If
ddlypp are eyidentlyl ! gehtleman an
ScuId see that my bo1y was taken car
Of and not robbed"
.bIAJ fjspf5' said aITgisf With aitop
ofeven tenderness, "you shall rest I
my house. / will open the hdoer 'fifs
and then help you in"
fTheieupon Merftr sscended the ster
opened the door-it took him some tim
for it was locked on the same principl
as safe-and then descended and car
fully assisting the sick man to rise, hell
ed him into the passage. Then he elo
ed the door and led the stranger into th
front room and seated him on couch.
'Thank God," the sick man exclaime,
NOW am safe from those wresches tn,
prowl the streets for plhndef.rN iIH
Mercier profaibsd u lamp aha Settle
the table. Then he brought s g
glass of brandy and offered lit, to Il
stranger, who drank it eagerly.il. ri
"Your money is all safe?" Merci
asked.
The stranger felt in his pocket, ,broug
out a large wallet looked atit and sai
"Yes, thanks to your opportune arriy
and the shelterlafforded me-"
Then he had q relapse, and Nero
administered more brandy.
IF you would go for my physics
Dr.. Rechicourt, of No. IL Rue Rodi
hf& ,Rhe az II TsuF Anvergne," said
sick man, she might relieve me. He
take my wallet and use all the mon
you need. If 1 die in your )hcusst
money is yours, provided yoS bury h
MERCER greedily clutched the w
Alled wallet, and, sssdrine the stranl
of his speedy retprns quilted Ahe hors h
No soonerIwas he gpus then the s
man suddenly grew well. He drew
dark lantern from his NcbsenA d
a diligent search of u pye
various receptacleskbout his person
produced the parts of q sectional Jim
and put them together. With this
went from room to room, broke open s
era. drawers, an oak chest and two
fashioned bureaus and finally a closet
the cellar. From all these places,
especially the last, hebrew forth VI
able articles and money, all of which
bestowed in . leather bag which he d
from beneath his vest. Then with
jimmy he forced back the bolts that f
die fnont door, extinguished the liant
and departed.
Meanwhile, Mercier, having salts