Page:Memoirs of Vidocq, Volume 2.djvu/264

 shop. Set at liberty the same day by the judicial police magistrate of the 2nd arrondissement (division).

"The same, sent to Bicêtre 23d Thermidor, year 10, by order of M. le préfet; discharged 28th Piuviose, year 11.

"The same, sent to Bicêtre 6th Germinal, year 11, by order of the préfet; remanded to the gendarmerie 2nd Floréal following, to be conveyed to Havre.

"The same, aged 17; a notorious pickpocket, and already frequently in custody as such; sent to Bicêtre in July 1807, to serve (voluntarily) in the colonial corps, and remanded 31st of the same month to the gendarmerie, to be conveyed to the fixed destination. Escaped from the Isle of Rhé the same year.

"The same Lacour called Coco (Barthelemy), or Louis Barthelemy, aged 21; born at Paris, a porter, living faubourg St Antoine, No. 297. Sent to the Force 1st December 1809, accused of theft. Sentenced to two years imprisonment by the Correctional Tribunal on the 18th of January 1810, and then handed over to the minister of the marine department as a deserter.

"The same, sent to the Bicêtre 22nd January 1812, as an incorrigible thief. Sent to the prefecture 3d of July 1816."

The youth of Lacour presents a sad picture of the dangers of a bad education. All I can say is, that since his liberation he has shown every symptom of an excellent natural disposition. Unfortunately, his parents were poor; his father, a tailor and porter in the Rue du Lycée, did not bestow any thought or care on the guidance of his early years, on which so frequently depends the destiny of most men. I believe, besides, that he was left an orphan at a very tender age; but certainly he grew up, nursed on the knees of his neighbours the courtezans and milliners of the "Palais Égalité;" and as they found him a nice little fellow, they were prodigal of their favours and caresses; they, at the same time, instilled into him what they termed "acuteness." These were the ladies who took care of