is great fame. Butler says, that to his dungeon
"Came ladies from all parts,
To offer up close prisoners their hearts.
Which he received as tribute due--
* * * * *
Never did bold knight to relieve
Distressed dames, such dreadful feats achieve,
As feeble damsels for his sake
Would have been proud to undertake,
And, bravely ambitious to redeem
The world's loss and their own,
Strove who should have the honour to lay down,
And change a life with him."
Among the noted thieves of France, there is none to compare with the
famous Aimerigot Tetenoire, who flourished in the reign of Charles VI.
This fellow was at the head of four or five hundred men, and possessed two
very strong castles in Limousin and Auvergne. There was a good deal of the
feudal baron about him, although he possessed no revenues but such as the
road afforded him. At his death he left a singular will. "I give and
bequeath," said the robber, "one thousand five hundred francs to St.
George's Chapel, for such repairs as it may need; to my sweet girl, who so
loyally loved me, I give two thousand five hundred; and the surplus I give
to my companions. I hope they will all live as brothers, and divide it
amicably among them. If they cannot agree, and the devil of contention
gets among them, it is no fault of mine; and I advise them to get a good
strong sharp axe, and break open my strong box. Let them scramble for what
it contains, and the devil seize the hindmost." The people of Auvergne
still recount with admiration the daring feats of this brigand.
Of later years, the French thieves have been such unmitigated scoundrels
as to have left but little room for popular admiration. The famous
Cartouche, whose name has become synonymous with ruffian in their
language, had none of the generosity, courtesy, and devoted bravery which
are so requisite to make a robber-hero. He was born at Paris, towards the
end of the seventeenth century, and broken alive on the wheel in November
1727. He was, however, sufficiently popular to have been pitied at his
death, and afterwards to have formed the subject of a much-admired drama,
which bore his name, and was played with great success in all the theatres
of France during the years 1734, 5, and 6. In our own day the French have
been more fortunate in a robber; Vidocq bids fair to rival the fame of
Turpin and Jack Sheppard. Already he has become the
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