found his affairs prospering, and saw rising before
his eyes the vision of a happy life, when he was
recognised, and consequently laid under contribution,
by two former comrades from the galleys
of Brest, who at first mulcted him to the amount
of forty or fifty francs, and afterwards wanted
to live entirely at his expense. It requires no
very vivid imagination to compose the sequel of
the romance; the tyranny of these undesirable
acquaintances became at length unbearable.
They brought him stolen goods, and compelled
him to turn receiver, whether he would or no.
He was obliged to burn his carriole, or covered
cart, because he had lent it to these very dear
friends, who had made use of it for the commission
of a murder in the banlieue. A third man,
presented by the two Arcadians, insisted on
having impressions of the keys of all the drapers
with whom Vidocq was in the habit of doing
business.

Vidocq was conscious, now that henceforth
he must either be the tool and the slave of
thieves and murderers, or must be their master
and their scourge. In this dilemma, he
offered his services to M. Henry, Chief of the
Second Division of Police, on the sole condition
that he should not be sent back to the galleys,
but that he should finish the remaining term of
his sentence in any prison they liked to appoint.
His first overture was coldly received and not
accepted; his name was not even asked; and he
was obliged to hide himself disguised as an
"Invalide" who had lost his left arm. Unfortunately,
he took refuge with a couple of coiners, with
whom he ventured to remonstrate on their
dangerous and illegal trade. They, fearing some
indiscretion on his part, thought it best to
forestal him by calling the attention of the
authorities to their scrupulous lodger. He was
arrested in his shirt on the top of a roof, and
brought before M. Henry, who remembered the
advances he had lately made, and promised to
interest himself in his welfare. Three months
afterwards, due inquiry having been made, it
was decided to accept the bargain. What
Vidocq undertook to do, he did, thoroughly,
efficiently, and unflinchingly. He gloried in the
name of spy; treachery brought no shame to
his cheek: he summed up all with the satanic
exclamation, "Evil, be thou my good!" The
way in which he set about his task shows the
style of his abilities.

It would not do to let the criminal work
have the slightest inkling of the understanding
that had been come to; and therefore, when the
arrangement was concluded, he was transferred
as a convict to the prison of La Force. On
arriving at his new residence, he took great
care, in concert with the police, to spread the
report that he was implicated in a most serious
affair, for which evidence was then being
sought. M. Henry, the person by whom the
bargain was made, spoke of his protégé's
sagacity in such high terms to the Préfet of
Police, that it was agreed to put an end to his
captivity at once. But every precaution was
taken to avoid any suspicion that the prisoner
had been purposely set at liberty. When he
was fetched away from La Force, the strictest
formalities were observed; he was handcuffed
and put into the prisoners' van; but it was
agreed that he should break out of it on the
road, which he did. That same evening, the
whole staff of the police were hunting after him.
The escape made a great noise, especially at La
Force, where his friends celebrated it by drinking
his health, wishing him a pleasant journey! He
continued to be admitted, not only without
mistrust, but with open arms and a hearty welcome,
into the society and the intimate confidence of
the ruffians whom he was henceforward charged,
not merely to bring to condemnation, but to
arrest by force in case of need. It is
evident that his new speciality was not a bed of
roses. Perhaps he had even more to fear
from the jealousy of his new colleagues than
from the resentment of the associates whom he
had deserted. If his life were in danger every
day, every day also was he the object of false
reports and calumnious denunciations. M.
Henry, satisfied with his zeal and address,
promised to communicate such disparagement to
him, in order that he might answer in writing;
and, the better to testify his confidence, he
entrusted him with the most difficult missions, in
which other agents had completely failed.

Vidocq's enemies, and he had plenty of them
—first, every criminal, and, secondly, every
policeman—asserted that if he effected such
numerous arrests, it was only by preparing for
them by the odious means of provocation of
crime. He denied it stoutly; but he confessed
that he was often obliged, not to make criminal
propositions, but to pretend to accept those
that were made to him. Nor was this all; a
heap of reports, some signed, some anonymous,
accused him of taking advantage of his position
to carry on robbery on a gigantic scale. The
Chief of the Second Division replied, "If
Vidocq commits such important thefts as you
say, you must be very clumsy hands at your
business not to have caught him in the fact.
Have I ever told you not to watch his
movements, exactly as other police agents are
watched?"

When these enemies found that personal
attacks were a waste of time, they directed their
hostilities against the men belonging to his brigade,
whom they affected to call "Vidocq's gang," as if
they were a gang of robbers, or a gang of
murderers. It is certain that nine-tenths of them
came from the galleys and the central prisons.
This formed part of Vidocq's system, for he was
convinced that, in order to make war effectually
on the criminal portion of society, you must be
acquainted with their language, their manners,
and their habits. Naturally enough, the more
respectable peace-officers felt both dislike and
jealousy of the Brigade of Surety, who usurped
their most important functions. According to
them, the Brigade was the secret cause of every
robbery committed in Paris. Vidocq was in a
rage. He tried hard to discover some method
of putting the honour of his agents beyond