The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-06-16

which was an unnecessarily brutel
crime. Then comes the arrest of the
murderer In the Chateau Rouge; then his
CONFORMATION with the corpse OF his
Victim In the morsue; then his cell, with
him sitting smilingly on the bed in It;
then his march to the RYilotine, and
finally tho instant in which his head
dropped into the basket. Other MO
lures are there of like oheerful CHAR
aoter. Murder or the punishment for
murder plays q part In every one or
them. Skeletons and Isolated skulls,
the guillotine and the gaQows, cofffns
and specters orc strewn indmeisninate-
ly over the four walls and the cell
ing. This Is part Of tho same ETench
love for the horrible thnt made four
thousand people visit the morgue
one dry Inst. week to vis,Y tho 20
mains of two children who lad been
drowned.
Here again came 4 song. It was not
the song of the anarchist, or Of nny
cult except pure viciousness. 1t ealled
for the Fighting of no wrongs, it was
inferior to the horrible dittics which
we had just listened TO at Pere Lu-
nette's, because it dealt simply with
filth and wickedncss for their own
salles only. The whole party of six or
seven roared its outrageous chorus out
without expression other than relish
for its inconccivabl nastiness and gen
eral approval of all those things which
are against the law OF the land, from
murder down. Its verses wero sung by
one man alone, whose voice was
~ oil md h-- 1,-,,> Il. 4
leers and generally repulsive face
would have been enough to turn weak
person sick.
He formed my escort when, few
moments later, went to the upper
rooms OF the old palace. Only one Of
them is given over to the crowd which
swarms in from the dark places Of the
city every night. Tho others are re-
served by the proprietor for his own
uses and those of his family. This ono
room was once the salon of the beauti-
ful but wicked woman for whom the
house WAS built, and its ceiling IS with
out question the original. Even tho
awful dirt Of the Chateau Rouge has
not accumulated thicl<ly enough to hide
the ccnterpiece, which bears the arms
and royal crest of Louis XIV, just rs
do the ceilings of the royal palace at
Versailles. But what q sight this royal
crest looks down uponl
Packed 80 closely on the floor that
one cannot by any possibility get
across the room without stepping upon
them, were men asleep. They had no
beds They lay on the baro boards.
Some of them had taken of their
clio Of ,ooJo tAo,.
up into bundles, which they used for
pillows, but that was al. The room
was rocking with the odor Of this hun
dred of the awful poverty brigade which
was bivouacked upon its floor, and
when the gas was suddenly turned up,
the glare was greeted by chorus of
horrible curses from the men whom 1t
disturbed tho faces it revealed were
by all odds the most horrible that
could still bear the human imprint.
have seen the mob of desperates and
dcstitutes which slept on the floor of
the Stephen Merritt mission on Eighth
avenue, New York. during the, distress
of the hard times of two wears ago,
and l have many times been through
the worst of the lodging houses in Lon
don, but never saw such faces in any
OF them rs l saw that night at the
Chateau Rouge, and l never want to
see such faces again. All were bearded
and all were dirty. Not ono but
wes marked by the incffaccable stamp
left there by misery and crime. I felt
no hesitation in believing that there
were among the crowd, PROSTATE and
cursing ut the intrusion upon tho
floor, men who had done tho worst
that human being can. Two We're
pointed out TO ne us returned frora the
convict colony at New Caledonia. and
| found that this was true LAYER when
they told me many stories about the
life there. bundle of rags over IN
one corner moved, and finally began TO
curse with vigor md originality
which was greater than any that had
been developed even by this crowd OF
experts. The voice wns not tina. of q
man, and questioned my guide.
That is the only woman who ever
sleeps up here he said. "She is IA
nous throughout the slums of Paris ne
woman who served her time in the
French army and lived for years In
the goldfelds as a man doing mans
work and having no associates but men.
She is old now and can no lonrer stausl
the hardships of the rough life she used
to love 50 well; all that she can Go Is to
come 10 this miserable place an9 herd