The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1891-10-24
CRIME AND CRIMINALS.
THE MANY VARIETIES TO BE
FOUND IN PARIS.
Mon who VIII Murder for Few Frames
The French Criminal Has Groat
Nerve i.nd Immense Native
Ingenuity.

Oue Vi inc utHbcr5 Oh Inc low nclBn-
borhoods of Paris, says the Saturday
Evening Post is the liability to be
attacked by rodeurs. or rambling night
roughs, who will not scruple to slash
their victim with murderous knives or
stun him with knuckle-dusters for tho
sake of a few francs. The Paris po-
lice who como into conflict with these
rascals have also to brave the posi-
bility OF being shot down by their as
sailants. or Of meeting with deadly in
jury from vitriol, which may be thrown
in their eyes.
Once an evildoer for whom the
agents de la surete, or plain clothes
men, were in search. took refuge in
the scaffolding of house which was
in course of erection. They followed
him up the ladders, but the ruffian
overturned them twice, and they fell
from considerable height heavily to
the ground. At last they reached tho
top, whore a false step would have
cost them their lives; and there. in q
fierce struggle, they overmastered
their man, tied him securely, and took
him down on their backs.
Burglars OF the .'cracksmen" type
known to householders are rarely met
with except in the suburbs, where de-
tached houses surrounded by gardens
take the place OF the usual apartment
system. The concierge Of tho latter
who generally sits. eats and sleeps in
his or her little room on the ground
floor, mas an eye to everybody who
passes up and down the staircase CON-
mon to I'LL the tenants; and by mechan-
ical means he can open or secure the
front door without rising from his seat.
Nevertheless the cambrioleurs or
CROOKS" by Disgusting themselves as
tradesmen, take advantage OF the
occupiers' absence to ransack tho
rooms admission to which they obtain
by breaking the locks. They also seize
opportunities provided by removals for
theft and occasionally attempt to
overpower the hall porter. A wedding
party returned recently from church
TO find the whole place looted.
The most dangerous class are the
sharpers and swindlers termed escrocs.
II is in this department that native in
| genuity is characteristic The cheat
| ing practised includes all the inter-
national lodges, such as the well-worn
confidence trick" which is styled vol
a la Americana. The passing Of forged
tnnknotes is also common.
But 1t is not in what may be called
professional crime" that the French
show to the best advantage, or rather
disadvantage. To be sure. the cheva-
lter d'industrie Is prolific in resources;
but, after all. the tricks of one nation
closely approximate to the sharp prac-
tees OF another; and often the same
rogue Is equally successful whether he
works" on the Continent III London,
OF in America.
| A murder in France, howe yer. which
is quite e different thing from a murder
anywhere else, brings out tne charact-
eristics of the criminal and generally
proves what was stated at the garden
ths.t woman is frequently the cause
although not actually the culprit or
even the.agent That she> is. indeed,
more often the victim has leen shown
In some notorious cases of RI, ,ent years.
In most of the instances * question.
1t was noticeable that the g&ilty men
preserved the utmost coolnebs OF de-
meanor. A criminal in Fntnce has
not only to nerve his hand I'd commit
the fatal act but he has to prepare
himself for the possibility of having to
face the most exquisite mental torture
and to be ready to reply colle,,tedly to
the most searching questions addressed
to him by experts. in the prssence. II
may be. OF the still bleeding corpse, and
on the actual scene of the tragI,dy. And
yet, invariably, the guilty mi n comes
out Of the ordeal with perfeS uncon-
Germ. Quite lately. however. a man
who had murdered woman and her
master shrank from this CONFEDERATION.
He fell into At at the sight of one
victim, and positively refused to face
the corpse Of the other. On the other
hand, Gabrielle Bompard andI Eyraud
suspected Of the murder OF MI Gouffe,
assisted at the constitution" oil
the crime with the most perfect air
of innocence. It Is said that the pub
licity given to the details Of this scene
will lead to an alteration OF police
practice in PariA and the detectives
will no longer be permitted to make
lay figures of Themselves in the cause
Of justice.