Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-05-29
TRICKS BY CROOKS.
the METHODS OF PARTISAN THIEVES
TO SECURE RICH BOOTY.
noruos with ssm ana Tact-Hew They
Entrap the Unwary and Connding
pedcs,rfan and Merchant.
New York Horsld.l

unite Guido London and Now YORK 40 tue
fayorite home Of tho checdlier dtndnstrie
That the Paris thieves have earned their
reputation may be inferred from the fact
that their dryo. or slang, Is among the most
rich in words and phrascology. Most OF
this. OF course. has been invented as
means of self-protection.
Le bonjouritr, for instance, is the man
who knocks at your door early in the
morning, and II he hears no reply will
como in and take tOqitGil'e. or ticker" or
what else he can find upon your table and
mantelshelf Watches. however. may be
stolen at all hours by tho s6oat0ttrter, and
this Is only one OF his devices to gain pos
eession OF your property. A very good
by one Of our judges. He was trying
q case in which witness swore
that he could not fix the exact time OF
particular event because Ee had left his
watch ut home accidentally. The counsel
was rather sceptical about this, where
upon the Judge said: There ~ nothing
unusual in that. Why, only this morning
left my watch on the dressing-taole ana
did not recollect il till before entering the
court / wanted 10 find out the time"
When the Judge got home he found that a
messenger had visited tho house, mem
toned the Judges f0rgetfulness, described
where the watch was, and asked tor IL 10
take il TO the owner. Then the Judge re-
membered what he had said in open court;
The sans .ctGgrtn, or grlefess one,
goes into q shop and has brought out be
fore him n quantity of different articles;
He then feigns epilepsy, and with the AID
of bit of soap he foams ut the mouth. lie
has for accomplices O learned Hsculapius,
who comes IN, accompanied by fTlend;
During the fit of epilepsy the friend and
the EsculApius are ransacklng the tlll OF
otherwise earning their livelihood
The cotfD de In deUdntttre, or ShOp-front
trick, is more skilful than any played of
upon the poor shopkeeper, whose credull-
Nv is daily tried to the utmost. man IN
the garb OF q peasant may be seen MAKING
his way along the street, carrying with an
fculty heavy bag upon his head. just
opposite the shop of linen draper or mil
liner he staqgers beneath the burden and
falls heavily against the shop window, al
lowing his bag to crash through the large
plate of glass. The proprietor, OF course,
PUSHES out and theoretically demands that
the damage be paid for on the spot. The
rustic, with equal vehemence, protests that
he cannot and will not pay, and an alter
cation ensues. in which the shOpman seems
TO be getting anything but the best OF II.
HIS CONFEDERATE TO THE RESCUE.
At this juncture there steps out from the
crowd which has collected q well-dressed
asserts that he knows the peasant and Is
quite sure that he can afford topay. The lat
ter, with many oaths and much. reluctance,
gives in before this evidence, and at length
produces grumblingly from his pocket
Bank. Of France note for 1,OOOf. The
shopkeeper, Oyerloyed at the sight OF
it, and nothing lOath to settle the
business and get rid of the concourse OF
people, quickly pockets the note, gives the
man his change after deducting the full
value of the glass, and with thanks TO the
stranger withdraws from the scene. But
on going some time afterward to exchange
the bank-note for gold he finds that 1t is a
bad one. The whole scene had been pre-
pared beforehand by the two other actors
In 1t. and it had been foreseen that IN the
hurry of PLAYING 1t the victim would as
suredlv not be too careful IN examining the
piece of paper produced.
The coup dc Ia tdbGtiGe, or snut-bOX trick,
is still occasionally TesOrtedto, but that IN
genious race of traders, the French female
shOpkeepers. are exceedingly suspicious OF
gentlemen who are addicted 10 the prac-
tlce of taking pinch" In then, presence.
One of them has recently been VIC
t:mized in an artistic style by a
swindler of this sort. lie was accou-
tired in garments suitable TO the age
and character of a person devoted TO
shutting. and had oil the appearance OF
having attained at least his siXtleth year.
He called for watches and chains and
spoke incidentally of his granddaughter.
for whom he purpOsed on afuture occasion
10 buy wedding present at the same shop.
He then selected one of the watches and
one of the chains-nOt very costly one
put them on and inspected himself IN the
looking glass at the other end of the shop.
THREW SNUFF IN HER EYES.
l.. ha
his satisfaction to the merchdnde, and
taking out his snuf-box further testified
10 his feelings of qualification by indulglng
in good pinch. While the box was IN ms
hands il seemed polite TO offer 1t to the
lady, who did not, however, happen to be
an admirer of the brown dust She had
hardly declined the Offer when the whole
contents of the box were thrown IN her
ewes, and before she could recover from
the shock the would-be sexagenarian was
careering along the street ut pace which
would have done honor TO Paris gdG,ln or
street-bOy.
The coup du compoSitelT de muSiqie, or
musical composer trick, Is simple enough,
and the method of procedure requires no
great expense in the getting up of an
elaborate toilet or disguise, One of the
latest arrests effected was that of a young
knight of industry who pursued his call
ING among the houses in the most fashion,
able part of Paris. He called at IA house
or apartment which he had reason
TO believe was occupied by o lady
theoretically but not practically de-
voted TO music, and, being admit
ted, produced roll OF manuscript written
for the pianofOrte. This he described as a
valse OF his own composition, while ne
told at the same time a touching tale Of
his own III luck as Il professor OF the art.
He offered to dedicate this new and
striking piece 10 the lady of the house, and
proposed to leave it there and then, hlnt-
ing delicatelv that small remuneration in
hard cash would be eminently acceptable.
TRULY FRIEND IN MED.
The following is a true story which hap
pened To me and an artist friend of mine
IN July of last year. At IL O'Clock L. NJ.
we were about leaving o small house In one
of the avenues radiating from the Arc dc
Triomphe, where we had spent the evening.
Unfortunately, however, the conCierGe Gordon
was broken and he could not find the key.
IL was impossible for us to get out by the
door or for those of the tenants of the
house who were abroad to get in. The
concierge begged a tenant on the ground
floor to let US get out by one Of hls windows
and we promised to so after lock-
smith. All the shops were shut. however,
and none Of the locksmiths in the quarter
would take the trouble to answer when we
rang the bell. Under the circumstances
the proper thing TO do was to hail a police
man. but never sergeant d. Uitle could we
find. though We went long way down
each OF the avenues in turn. Failing to
find an officer we asked where was the
nearest police-station. The one in the
Ternes quarter had been shut up for a
couple hours. the one at Batignoles the
same, and at third we were simply sent
about our business.
Ii was now clock IN the morning, and
long line Of benighted tenants was drawn
up before the fast-closed door. We--their
would-be deliverers-wefe beginning 10
lose courage when a very suspIcious-look-
ing individual-there were a good many Of
that sort about-stumbled against us. My
friend. the artist, who had all his wits
about him, stopped the man quietly, and
taking off his hat said: II beg your par
don, sir, but you don't happen 10 have o
jimmy and set Of skeleton keys in your
pocket2" The man looked at both OF us
suspciOusly for a moment and then whis-
pered. =" Is il 10 crack crib?" The paint
er briefly explained the difficulty and tine
service required.
An right" said the mysterious one,
but clear of the crowd. l don't want to
give free lessons"
We returned 10 the house, announced
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