Memoirs of a Cavalier | Page 8

to
us. We had left our two servants behind us at Calais to bring our
baggage after us, by reason of some dispute between the captain of the
packet and the custom-house officer, which could not be adjusted, and
we were willing to be at Paris. The fellows followed as fast as they
could, and, as near as we could learn, in the time we lost our way, were
robbed, and our portmanteaus opened. They took what they pleased;
but as there was no money there, but linen and necessaries, the loss was
not great.
Our guide carried us to Amiens, where we found the express and our
two servants, who the express meeting on the road with a spare horse,
had brought back with him thither.
We took this for a good omen of our successful journey, having
escaped a danger which might have been greater to us than it was to our
servants; for the highwaymen in France do not always give a traveller
the civility of bidding him stand and deliver his money, but frequently
fire on him first, and then take his money.
We stayed one day at Amiens, to adjust this little disorder, and walked
about the town, and into the great church, but saw nothing very
remarkable there; but going across a broad street near the great church,

we saw a crowd of people gazing at a mountebank doctor, who made a
long harangue to them with a thousand antic postures, and gave out
bills this way, and boxes of physic that way, and had a great trade,
when on a sudden the people raised a cry, "_Larron, Larron_!" (in
English, "Thief, thief"), on the other side the street, and all the auditors
ran away, from Mr Doctor to see what the matter was. Among the rest
we went to see, and the case was plain and short enough. Two English
gentlemen and a Scotchman, travellers as we were, were standing
gazing at this prating doctor, and one of them catched a fellow picking
his pocket. The fellow had got some of his money, for he dropped two
or three pieces just by him, and had got hold of his watch, but being
surprised let it slip again. But the reason of telling this story is for the
management of it. This thief had his seconds so ready, that as soon as
the Englishman had seized him they fell in, pretended to be mighty
zealous for the stranger, takes the fellow by the throat, and makes a
great bustle; the gentleman not doubting but the man was secured let go
his own hold of him, and left him to them. The hubbub was great, and
'twas these fellows cried, "_Larron, larron_!" but with a dexterity
peculiar to themselves had let the right fellow go, and pretended to be
all upon one of their own gang. At last they bring the man to the
gentleman to ask him what the fellow had done, who, when he saw the
person they seized on, presently told them that was not the man. Then
they seemed to be in more consternation than before, and spread
themselves all over the street, crying, "_Larron, larron_!" pretending to
search for the fellow; and so one one way, one another, they were all
gone, the noise went over, the gentlemen stood looking one at another,
and the bawling doctor began to have the crowd about him again. This
was the first French trick I had the opportunity of seeing, but I was told
they have a great many more as dexterous as this.
We soon got acquaintance with these gentlemen, who were going to
Paris, as well as we; so the next day we made up our company with
them, and were a pretty troop of five gentlemen and four servants.
As we had really no design to stay long at Paris, so indeed, excepting
the city itself, there was not much to be seen there. Cardinal Richelieu,
who was not only a supreme minister in the Church, but Prime Minister

in the State, was now made also General of the King's Forces, with a
title never known in France before nor since, viz., Lieutenant-General
"au place du Roi," in the king's stead, or, as some have since translated
it, representing the person of the king.
Under this character he pretended to execute all the royal powers in the
army without appeal to the king, or without waiting for orders; and
having parted from Paris the winter before had now actually begun the
war against the Duke of Savoy, in the process of which he restored the
Duke of Mantua, and having taken Pignerol from the duke, put it into
such a state of defence as the duke could never force it out of