West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-02-20

that tnc operator was sharper. which
explanation, naturally. was admitted 10
DC entirely satisfactory % his brothers
on the Bench, hOrritcd, though. all of
them, including the presiding Judge,
pretended TO bc-thcrr was not one of
the lol who had not witnc, Sed the same
comedy dozen times by the plaint-
III assertion that from the locomo.
tive TO the brakcmau's car. and cvcn
oNw the lnpcrialol on The i,lOf. every
comparlmcnt.of the train was inclosrd
within the mcShcS of This net of In
lquitN.' judge Y. of McauN. did not
IN the least cNaggeratc. and. should amy
OF Your readers be inquisitivc and nj
the same time not easily tempted. |
recommend TO them, when nc\t they
cross the ocean, visit tn the Care du
Nord or the Care de lOuSt. and even n
trip out TO the track itself on ANY race
day at one of the suburban hippo.
dromcS The spectacle is cdifyinr.
and can assure them that if they lie
lcyel-headed and stick strictly To their
role OF lockers ON they will not rvrrrt
The excursion.
Half an hour before tn starting of
the first train the philosopher" bcriu
to appear upon the scene. Fifteen
minutes aftcrward they leave the wait.
lng-roomS 20 invade the platform. and
from that moment until nightfall are
literally in possession of the station.
whore they stand about Singlv or in
couples waiting for the car door, to DE
oIencd, when they take possession a.,
the cars One worthy gets i'm. another
stands outside 10 prevent the entrance
OF any one and every one ON who's,
counienancc' are not apparent unmi,-
taxable signs of gullibility. Ii YOU look
Ike gOgO, the sentinel is amiablc and
courteous and engaging; if your face
inspires di>tru>t he becomes rude and
surly, crosses his arms, plants himself
ln front OF the closed door. and. should
You persist, tells You frankly "Mousicur.
we are going TO gamble i'm here; if YOU
mean To Join owr game YOU are vel
come; II you do not. 20 somewhere
else. And " somewhere else the
greeting is the same, and YOU may see
score OF travellers, supplemented and
bcWildcrcd, rushing about wildly in
search OF resting place, always r.
builed and finding none unless some
railroad porter take, pity ON their for
lornncss and installs them ia the den of
thieves, after which they must trust
solely to their own good sense TO escape
destruction.
In reality the icu de bonnctcau il
and always has been considered moth
ing but trick of lcgerdcmain, "a clever
robbery perpetratcd under the ewes Of
the person robbed, but the sphere i'm
which il is PLAYED off nowadays au-
pears to lave altered its character.
On the plain of Auteuil il find, victims
only
the railroad trains its professors so dis
gulsc themselves with the department
and manners OF gems du monde that IL
requires Il certain experience Of Paris
ian vices TO detect the rullian of 81.
Queu or laval in the wcIl-drcsscd
gentleman y who, i'm the coupe of "A
hrst-class carriage. cautiously inyites
yOu 20 take hand Just 10 pass away
the time. The bon bourgeois and the
honest provincial are always taken in:
they are always impressed by the ele-
gance of garment. the splendid
watches. the costly furs affected by
these spectators, and do not remark.
a do the less ingenious Partisan men
about town, those stigmata of vice and
Vulgarity which characterize the pro-
te-sion, always recruited from among
the dregs Of the cNtra-mural popu-
iation Amusing. indeed, is TO watch
their performances; hardly is the train
in motion before one party spreads "a
newspaper on his lap, takes three cards
from his portfolio, shuflles, puts down,
takes up -clumsily, il seems, TO the un-
iiatiated. a"One louis on the red. gcn-
tlemcu. he says, "Je items answer,
an accompficc from the furthe-t cor
ncr; the accomplice wins, Of course: the
stakes arc doubled; the accOmplice wins
again and again, snccring sOtto yocc,
at the DOnueteur want Of skill. and so
goes on. generally successful. until
some pigeon fancic- that hc, too. can
win, and tries it ON and keeps ON try
ing. losing -four times out of five. and
finally winding mp with am empty po.k-
ct lucky indeed. tO get of with only
the loss of his coin, for with the faint
est symptom Of hesitation 30 fork up''
or the slightest insinuat1I about foul
play the elegant card-plIycr shows that
me- is only q .urfacc-varni-hcd specimen
Of the bandit Of the Rue dc ia KcyOltc.
And all this is known 10 the railroad Of
hcials; IT is known 90 the pol cc. under
whose eyes these rObberics are commit.
ted every day and In every train. and
Yet rarely as ! have said is the crime
interfcrcd with, much more rarely rs it
punished which inexplicablc indul-
gcnce iustilic- Balzac's theory a. ur1.
Tossed by hi, hero Nautr.u. that clean
shirts. clean hands and fine clothes are
u.nc times ont Of ten sufficient to save 20
criminal from suspicion one peculiar.
ity of thc high-class bouncicur FOO which
ho differs from his British colleague.
thr humble thimbIo-riggor i- Dds ab-
-nuce from Che race-g grounds Never -
ho seen at meeting. other within or
without the sacred inclO-uro of thc
Grand stand. and when NJ Juic, Pa
iron, being zap for Judgment. wa. asked
the rca-Op Why hc explained tal
'OlhcllO.s occupation was gone upon
iho turf. incc the bOok-makcr, bad
obtained thc monopoly of public -wiud-
ling. An English writer once said that
vice is tho most powerful lcveler.' Co
which French writer replied bv the
question. "IIow win this leveling be
accomplished; viii vice rise to the level
of oar civilization or viii our civihIl-
ton descend tO the level of yiccP At
Che rate chat thing are going ON between
Paris and every French hpp0lrpmc It
look a- though tbc second term of Tue
proposition was the true one. aud before
long wo may expect Che profession of
10. H.. l..