Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-08-24
STRANGE FRENCH STORIES.
work OF 4 snARp soacksEss.
New Ftslasdsv was kicked ana Imsri.
ssHrx-Bssiea Alive When Ds~nk-sisss.
Devss's CvexaItts.

ssnra-Busted Alive When Dsupk-S1sns
Dsvss's crexuI,ts.
A Parts correspondent Of the New York
Times writes: To question the TACT thal
fsppco n the cssycresf, wiitiest, aud mos'
enlich,tned nation on the globe would be
cousidertd rank hercsy by any Frcnchmsn'
The Cau, Of all classes has been brought W
IN This belief; for him every people born
bevoud the Gallo frontier are barbarians,
Of whom. n any ever do attain 10 IN ap-
nroxImstion 10 civilization. IL is simply
because Of some fortuitous relations
with children OF his favored land.
And yet queer things happen on
the soil Of France; not. however, in those
out-of-the-way provinces, the Vcndee and
Lower Brittany and the Lsndes, where
korrtgaus dance habitually every dark night
among the Druid stones ana the local
equivalents OF the hanshee wall plaintively
IN the eocklosts OF medieval castles. You
need not 60 bali an hours Journey from
any Of the great centres 20 find examples OF
Ignorance and iliberslism which would
astonish the most unlettcred peasant OF
Connaugbt or Tipperary. and Of which
hitherto the Doors Of RoumaDia and Little
Russia have alone been thought capable.
There was the ease OF that poor Finland
"
who. coming 10 Paris to lock At the .ftte
and attend nephew's marriage. was
roupced upon by the railway officials,
shut up BY them first In cattle-csr, later
In bsggags-yan, and finally lodged by
the authorities In jail, with his legs and
aims pinioned. tnd n towel stuffed into his
mouth "to keep him from biting" ex.
plsincd the station maSter-wh0 was shown
10 the inhabitants on that glorious i4th. aud
by them kicked and beaten and pel;ed with
mud and filth, all because he, knowing no
language save Finnish, could no, tell that
he hld given UP bis ticket-a Grs,-class
one-too soon. thinking TO have reached
his destination. and because some wOuld-be
wig warned a 10y stander that nc was cen
rage" meaning suffering from hydropbo-
bia.
Thep, too, there Is the case near Mar
seilIes-the other affair happened nj Creil.
where are the workshops Of the Great
Northern, OF France, railway. Jacques
Bonbommo was on spree. and very bad
one, aud he aggravated the same by an ad-
diiiCr9l lumber Of absnthe on his arrival
at BeIre from Rognac, and became lnseD-
sitle ly the roadside. which was wrong, and
q violation 81 all existing police regula-
tioIs, and vet II was hard on Jacques
10 he treated so horribly as came 10
pass, for the mayor OF the village had
bis clothes saturated and his mouth
filed with chloride Of lime, and also
bv this officials orders. one hour after his
"hody" bad been found in a ditch he WAS
reposipg under three feet OF earth In the
ntighhonng church.yaTd. 81 We distinctly
heard 1, lSic] groan and kick at the coffin
lid.- said the graye-diggers 10 the mayor !;
AZ trou
mind" said the mayor 10 the gravc-diggers,
"by this prompt burial we may excapc the
cholera" And there the matter rests,
Just as Schwartz's matter rests. though the
Procureur. General has directed an Invcsii-
CATION 10 he made OF both matters. which
win end in nothing, OF course. for IN both
Government iuniiOnaTios might be i'm
plicalcd for iiubeeility, and you know
that II is an axiom here that Government
funeiiOnaTies must Always he considered
remarkably intelligent beings, at once I'M
pcccahle and infalible, rs 20 admit the
possibility o. the other thing would be 10
diminish the Governments own prestige
Tor intelligence, impcccability, and inialli-
bility. The police agent who Killed q
madmtn, one WISER. on the Champs
Elys6ey, last wseL-Wisler, hidden tn move
on, had replied, "iOu'Te not the Empe.
ror," which much yoXed the guardian OF
the peace and prompted "his act Of en-
orgy will not even he brought 10 trial,
for be was In uniform when he did il /;
but II be had been in plain clothes when
he did II at the euillOtinc might be his
ending. However, accidents may hap
Den anywhere, and The "yclim" was
probably not very sympathetic subject.
10 judge from the class Of those who
demonstrated at his funeral and strewed
his bier with garlands IN TIE cemetery. As
a rule, the French policeman Is a iong-suf-
fciing creature who goes through an amount
OF abuse and illtreatment before res0rlng
TO extreme measures which would surprise
his colleagues OF the Empire city. The in.
cident itself was depression; l only spoke
81 II at all in order TO explain how the in
quests into the cruel tIearmeht Of NJ.
SCHWARTZ Shd the premature inhumatlon
Of the poor man OF Rognac would be with
out results. mean TO show that the
French are not quite as exempt from
superstiiion ns their orators, especially
Nm. Tony Reyillon and Spdllen, claimed
that they ere IN their speeches at the I'M
yelling Of the statue OF pidcrot. Dideroi
is the Frcnehman's last hobby. for the Re
yising Congress "at Versailles, now quar-
relling," is only the hobby OF q limited
number Of Frenchmcn, and II that witty
philosopher could revisit these terrestrial
spheres, he would most likely be much dis
tressed at the credulity OF bis counirymen
ut Blois. where now, one hundred Years af-
ter be had "torn down the wells Of super
stilion, the High Court is busted over the
prosecution Of professional sorcercss.
ard scores Of witnesses testify TO their be-
lief in Mme. Tantac's ability 10 defeat the
ends Of justice by her magic power.
An out-and.OUt, bona .fde sorcereSs is
Nine. Tantsc--not one OF those inpOstors
who consult backgrounds and tarots, but
a student q the black at, who Is versed In
the "ClayiCules" OF Solomon and the
Grimoires" OF Pope Ilonorius; for VI.
Jean de Wiei's" DCprgStiGiiS dGmoauTn "
has no secrets. and she has been proved to
have made up that magic ola,ment recon-
mtndod by the Spanish nocromancers wko
tell you "to collect number Of toais,
snakes, lizards, spals. and such other
ioaInsome insects as may be procurable
skin the toads and reptiles with your
teeth, put In a not with the bones OF new
born babes and the brains OF corpses stolen
from n church cemetery; boil until entire
calcinntion, and then have II blessed by the
devil" Permit me 10 apologize for the
quotation OF this receipt. That she used
70 follow its prescriptions was sworn to be
fore the tribunal. Nine. Tanlae had large
circle o. customers in the neighborh0od OF
l1lCis, where she was much yenerated foI
her gifts" aud she might have gone on
rractic.ng Indefinitely n In an evil houl
the demon had not suggested that she wa
efemuneraied insufliciently and ought &
strike 80 higher game than peasants; ant
she beaike 10 the temper, and castinl
about learned that Mime. Duval, OF tn
hamlet Of v,lleioint. "hsvlng u good dea
Of money!" was a firm believer in witch
craft and he'd strange visions. with senst
tions as Of broomsticks, and In the siillnes
OF the night heard those terrifying words
" Bdlob0LroS OroS. Alkdntagrog OT0S
Her ambition, too. was TO possess q nagi
mirror. and 10 be taught TO read intell
gently the aforementioned "Clavlcules,
In which she expressed great confidence
Ard Nine. Tantac took the train and wen
for Nine. Duyal, and told her that Will
on her way by rail from Angonteme ia
yolee-please do not confound with
yoice-had hidden her "haste 10 comfoi
thy sister in her troubles J" "The voice.
said Nine. Duyal. "did you say Il
yoiees" "Yes, dear lady. TO another b,
not 10 you, the ayowal would be painful
lam biest OF Satan. Without doubt
was he who spoke 70 me-" at Is 50, 1t
40; YES, certainly. pdiedeb6sri vdie &c
herffAnd he has spokenO In his rig