OCR Text |
Show gancc took two Englishmen to a night cafe In Montniartre ''How inuch?"th ey asked, the journey jour-ney ended "Two fraucs twenty-five," replied Luance. Ah the dial of tho taximeter marked mark-ed only 75 centimes, the KnglUamen aked the chasseur or niesso-nger of the cafe to pay for them. Like a sensible sen-sible chasseur he save Lugancc his bare fare of 75 centimes. Luganco drove off, but returning in a few moments with a broken shaft tipped with iron, struck the chasseur violently on the head and killed him. Lugance came up for trial In a few days at Ihe assizes and received a sentence of two years' Imprisonment "aveo oiirsiis." which means that he will stvc no sentence at all. It only remains to add that Maitre Henri-Robert defended him. Tho famous fa-mous criminal lawyer has been described de-scribed as a public danger, and If hi.-? eloquence allows cochers to play "Col-llgnnn" "Col-llgnnn" with impunity Paris is in dancer dan-cer of seeing that ultimate epithet lose all its force, and meaning. Paris Correspondence New York Sun. , THE PARISIAN "CABBIE." A discreet knowledge of slang Is a very useful arcompllshment for the stranger or the foreign resident In Pari. Thus, if a cabman Is rude or more than usually ' extortionate, or It he. splashes ou wilh mud from bead to foot as he passes and theu turns around to grin at tho damaw done, and cochers frequently do those very things, an Inadequate command of the niceties of the French languaco leaves all the advantage on bis side. You might call him "idiot" or "sau-vage," "sau-vage," but this would only tickle him. If. however, you were able to shout "Va done, Colllgnon!" the result of the encounter would bo at ouce wholly whol-ly In your favor. To say "Colllgncn" to a cocher 18 the Bupreme InsulL It leaves him gasping and further speech on his side useless. It Is easy to understand why. Collignon wns a coachman, who, as long ago as 1S55, went to the house of a poor professor and murdered him because he had protested against an overcharge. It Is satisfactory to know that Collignon was promptly tried, sentenced to death and guillotined. To this day, then, "Va Collignon!" remains re-mains the last word. Colllgnou has had an Imitator only recently, und in spite of the agitation In some quarters against the guillotine, guillo-tine, Paris is indignant at the wav In which Justice has dealt with him. Some time ago a cabmaa named Eu- |