Page:Memoirs of Vidocq, Volume 2.djvu/182

 One remark which I have often had occasion to make is, that efficient men are always the best seconded; perhaps in verification of the old proverb, that "birds of a feather flock together." I leave the decision of the point to wiser heads than mine; but this I know, that M. Henry had coadjutors worthy of him; amongst the number was M. Bertaux, a cross-examiner of great merit, whose particular talent consisted in sifting a thing to the bottom, however intricate it might appear. The proofs of his talent may be found in the archives of the court. Next to him, I have great pleasure in naming M. Parisot, governor of the prisons. In a word, MM. Henry, Bertaux, and Parisot, formed a veritable triumvirate, which was incessantly conspiring against the perpetrators of all manner of crimes; to extirpate rogues from Paris, and to procure for the inhabitants of this immense city a perfect security: such was their mutual aim, their only thought, and the effects amply repaid them for the attempt. It is true, that there existed at this time amongst the heads of the police, a frankness, an unanimity, and a cordiality, which have disappeared in the last five or six years. In the present day, chiefs or subalterns mistrust each other; they reciprocally fear and hate each other; a continual state of hostilities is kept up; each dreads in his comrade a foe who will denounce him; there is no longer a sympathy of action in the different departments of the administration: and from whence does this proceed? Because each man's post and duties are not sufficiently definite. Nothing is distinctly defined; and no person, even of those highest in office, is placed in the department for which he is best fitted. Most usually, the préfet himself, on being elected to fill that important situation, is wholly ignorant of the duties of the police, and yet he ascends at once to the highest rank in it, there to pass through his apprenticeship. In his train follow a crowd of protegés, whose least fault is that of being destitute of decided talent, but