West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-02-20
SHARPERS IN FRANCE,
low Railway Cars Have Been
Made Dens Of Thieves.
Ihe Ihree-Card Monte Men Openly Doing
Prosperous Business-IIIs WAYS
OF Working Undisturbcd
10y officials.

10y OmciaIs.
Possibly YOU may not bc acquainted
with the icW dc bOURctcau. least,yisc not
recognize the institution under IL
foreign title. But when ] have eN-
planned that LoRRctcdu is game i'm
which one red cord and two black cords.
or vice versa, are the substitutes of the
one pea and the two thimbles with
which the nimble-fngered British black
leg works the oracle at Doncastcr and
on EPSON Downs, and that the GUIDING
prnciplc of its operator is the more the
punter puts down the less he is certain
To pick up, you may trace i'm il a strono
family resemblance TO pastimc i'm
vented by Americans, and called three
card monte. A terrible trick uron travel
ers has the jeu de bonneteau become i'm
thcSe latter days, and the police authori-
ueS are beginning 10 be severely called
10 account for the ineXplicablc indiGer-
ence displayed by them TO the domgs OF
the sWndlers who infcst the capital
ana Its suburbs. Autueil is the
ordinary headquarters of one
category of this gang. which
mas ITS classes, its patricians and
plebeians, just like society. and there
under the very eyes Of the police. il
performs with impunity. during the
sprng and the sum ner and the early
autumn, relieving of all supernuous
cash the pockets Of the ingenious bour-
geols and the dull-wittcd ouyrier. ON
Sundays and holidays, whenever those
interesting specimens Of the Partisan
population can be tempted TO show that.
though skeptical of the Intelligence of
everybody else, they are quite sure of
thelr own intelligence in discovering
the precise situation of the "Etrc
Joker But these operators. ragged.
repuislve-looking ruflians, escaped con
NictS and tlckct-Of leave men for tile
most part, are the small men OF the
association. Their career is generally
short, If full Of Incidents. for when the
winter comes and the banks of the
Seine are deserted they are driven 10
seek livelihood elsewhere and other
wise, and when trade is slack at the
balls muSctte- and cafes bOrgucs. plum
der some suburban villa or murder some
old man or woman suspected Of having
economies, aud. doing 80. are in
var1ably taken rcd-handed and sent TO
colonize the South Pacific. after which
they are heard of no more.
IL is not of these little iobbcrs how
ever, That propose TO tell. but OF that
| upper crust Of swiudler, which seems to
profit 50 strangely by the indulgenccs
shown by society nowadays toward
vices OF all kinds, provided they be we'll
hammered and fashionably clad This
category YOU meet everywhere: il goes
whereyera crowd goes or assemblies: It's
ordinary customers arc the frcmcntcrs
OF the race-course, whom il taccompanies
10 Dieppe and Trouvillc, as well as TO
thantilly. and Enghein, and Bois-COl-
ombes; its extraordinary customer. are
| the public OF excursions at reduced
! fares, and, in spite Of all the warnings
OF experience from both its ordinary
and its extraordinary customer. II
reaps an abundant harvest Every car
I or every train has among its occu-
pants one or more delegates of the
| brotherhood i'm the premier. arc TO-,
| dandies, with Immaculate linen and silk
/ hats and beringcd fingers; I'm the Soc
onds you sec billycOck fclts and shoot
lnR-lackets; in the trois;cmes blouse, or
tustiau coats; but whether the thcaf.r
/ OF operations be first second or third
/ class carriage, the only distinction +, I'm
the value Of the STAKES, which vary from
louis To q iltty-cpnt me piece. according
( 10 the locality; all are "-wcl m0b-.
ncni All are there to pluck pigeons.
ana ON the dOiugs Of all, as ] have -aid.
the detectives, who also travel ON pspr.
train, look with entire uucJnccfn. let
ting all severely alone save in those
most rare instance where some victim
less pusillanimou, that is 30 saw l..
afraid of scandal Orof the personal lID-
lcucc with which hc is threatened If he
"hoIlows insists upon the utcrlcr-
ence Of an agent
Last week there was case of thi-
kind In point IL was am appeal foa
higher Court from a Judgment of the
CoTectiOnnellc, which had inflicted
thirteen months. imprisonment for
cWd-sharpiug ON n philosopher nam
cd jules Patron. who had taken iu and
done for no less q parsonage than 20
Judge Of the Tribunal of MoauN Jules
sentence was cOnhrmcd'and he H. now
in dwancc yile but me defended him-
self very clcvcrlv. and considerably
embarrassed the Magistrate bv thc
question Would you have been -o in-
diRnant at gumblng in railroad wag
ON " you had won instead of lost those
800 francs which YOU stakcd of your
own free wills' 10 which Rhadomau-
thus answered never word. explain
ing merely how, on his way from
Maisons-Lotiuo TO Paris. hc had
fallen among thieves and been de-
shoiied having backed for money
his idea Of the exact Whereabouts Of
the ten OF diamonds The first
time he said he did TT thinking
90 catch the sharper afterward
mercy tU obtain iucfutable evidence