New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-07-12
LAST OF THE BOHEMlANS.
sAPECKs PICTURESQUE CAREER IN THE
LATIN QUARTER.
Paris, June 90.

IF
tion and retirement from the Latin Quarter 80
coon oro GREAT men forgotten. In this whirling,
soctbinr life of Paris popular favorites rise glitter
Gov momcnt and disappear. like bubbles IN n
ootorac. Who knows to-day where Pauus IL :
yot his reicn was more recent than that Of SapecK
And since the passing Of Paulus at least half n
doyan other illusttious entertainers and amusers
of the pubHc have had their day aid passed out
~ sioht. But Sapecl deserves to be recalled
for n moment. for he was not only one OF the
most brilliant and most notable Of the practical
iol,crs of BoLemia. but he was the last OF that
picturesque race.
Sapeck,s real name was Eugene Dataille' and
he was born of poor but honest parents IL
is now about fifteen years since as youth ne
came 70 Paris TO study law and settled in the
Latin Quarter There he quickly became the
loader. the king, the emperor, of the students
For this place aud for the role Of practical joker
extraordinary. nature had fitted him with with
ample endowmcnts He was living picture
from, Uuco's "NOtre Dame" lie was at least
six feet tall, perhaps mere, and was 80 siehuer
that he probably did not weigh ! 80 pounds lis
arms and legs were particularly long and 'mh'
reminding one of jOinted broomsticks. lie had q
huge shock of brick red lair; his nose was ike
the beak of an eagle, and his cheeks were so
hollow that they seemed great cavities III bis
visage lie might have made his fortune as an
impcrsonator of Don Quixote. Usually his tenn
per was melancholy, almost to mOroseness, ana Ill
manner he the quintessence OF loppishhesS
But in all Bohemia there never was man moro
versatile, more chargeful in his moods, ana more
accomplished In Disgusting and discriminating IMAM
he.
Sapecl soon abandoned the law and TOOK 10
lawbrealng in a jovial way. For few years
his whole life was devoted 10 dcvlltry OF various
kinds in all of which the entire student-Dody
followed him most Loyalty. He was constantly
coming into conflict with the authorities, or bring
ing down upon himself the Intellectual wrath Of
the public. But so prOtean we're his phases 1h"V
the victims of yesterday failed to recognize their
tormentor to-day, and we're equally sure OF beng
again deceived and bamboozled tomorrow. No
one, probably, ever succeeded in playing so many
Jokes npon the same persons in succession without
being detected At one time bis activities took
the direction Of vcntrcquisn, at which he was an
expert One day ne entered an apartment house
and sccreted himself in the hallway. Forthwith
there was heard throughout the halls and on the
stairs a most outrageous squalling Of cats and
bowling and snarling of dogs. A Whole mcnageTle
seemed to have invaded the place. The tenants
rushed to their doors and uttered volleys Of
fnnrccations. They rushed through the halls
and up and down stairs i'll search OF the pests,
bat found none. The porter was summoned ana
was driven almost 10 madness by the demands Of
the people that he should drive out the animals
whose presence was audible but not to be per
oeiVed by any other Of the senses. For an hour
this was kept up, and then, with fortis5lmo
finale of most diahocal noises, the whole menagerie
seemed TO make a mad rush for the street
few minutes later Sapecy strollcd ont unconcern-
edly as though he had been making a call on
one Of the tenants SO complete was his dis
gse that nobody suspected him of being the author
Of the tumult, and the very next day he treated
the very same house 70 an hours concert Of par
rot calls and other bird noises of tie most eXaSper
ating Kind
Another of his jokes was pcrperatcd at the
expense Of o fashionable school for girls at Mont
rouge In this he was assisted by two Of his
student followers. They arraycd themselves in
fall dress ard called or The head Of the school.
MADAME" said Sapccl, eravely, I'VE have called
to examine your pupils" The good lady was
surprised But for what" she demanded. Il" For
their singing" he replied we are the inspectors"
But there must be some mistake" said She, for
the inspector has already been here; lie was here
only last week" YES, madame" said Sapeck,
that l know full well. His examination, how
ever was purely technical one The Minister
Of Public Instruction hos decided that all pupils
must also be examined from an artistic point Of
view, and he has delegated Us TO perform that
agreeable task" The head of the school was
thus convinced of lis good faith, and she forth
with summoned her pupils TO pass the required
examination. As many of the girls were very
pretty Sapeck md his accomplces contrivcd to
make the examination last between four and five
hours Each of the girls was required to sing,
and the prcttiest Of them had their lungs sounded
the beating of their hearts listened 10, and their
throats examined. Then wiIe and other
refreshments were served by the head of
the school, and presently the three
"exauriners' went away, profuse in
their praises of the school and their tributes to
the artistic qualities of the pupils. The next
day the joke was exposed in the papers, md
there wns some talk of prosecuting SapeclS, but
it went further than talk.
Tradespeople were always fpvorite game One
day he entered BARRIERS Shop and said to tie
proprietOr 81 have come TO be shaved. II you
do your work we'll can promise YOU q great many
customers Accordingly, the barber paid special
attention to shaving him just well as possible,
the more so that while he was at work, score
Of men entered singy or in groups Of two three,
and sat down as though awaiting their turn.
Every chair was filed the staircase was
filed, and several of the last Corners
were standing As they all greeted SapeclI
on entering. the barber thought that these wcuc
certainly the promised customers. When he had
put the finishing touch or SaIecl<'s face, there
FORE he tIrncd TO them and said, Now, gentlemen,
whose turn comes next = They simply stared at
him. and Sapeck said Why, nobodys these gen.
tlemen are friends Of mine who have simply come
in here TO escape the rain" Then they all
marched out in solemn silence. leaving the barber
dumb with chagrin and impotent rage
One day he quarrelled with candle maker.
The next Day he got his revenge. lie went TO the
shop I'm the disguise of a schoolmaser. Z" | keep"
he said, a large boarding-school where we use
many candles, and | want to lay in stock for
the year. Which are your best candles?" The
shcpkeeper laid before him several different kinds
saying that they were all good Sapecll examined
them thoughtfully for a few minutes and then