796 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



on men and horses, who had traveled, or rather wandered, a vaga- 

 bond, in Spain and Africa with women whom he left suddenly, wore 

 his whole history written on his skin. One design referred to the 

 ship L'Espe*rance (No. 1), which was wrecked on the coast of Ire- 

 land, and on which he had gone as a sailor. A horse's head (No. 

 2) represented an animal which he had killed with a knife, from 

 simple caprice, when twelve years old. A helmet (No. 7) indi- 

 cated a policeman he had tried to kill. A headless woman with a 

 heart on her neck indicated his mistress, who was frivolous (No. 

 8). The portrait of a brigand referred to a robber chief whom he 

 took for his model (No. 9). A lute (No. 3) recalled a friend, a 

 skillful player of the guitar, with whom he traveled over half of 

 Europe. The star, the evil influence under which he was born 

 (No. 4). The royal crown, "a political souvenir/' he said, but 

 rather, we say, his new trade of a spy that is, the destruction of 

 the kingdom (No. 5). 



A French deserter who desired to avenge himself against his 

 chief drew a poniard on his breast (Fig. 2, No. 1), to signify venge- 

 ance, and also a serpent. He further drew the ship on which 

 he wished to escape, the epaulets which had been taken away 

 from him, a dancing girl who had been his mistress, and then 

 the sad inscriptions which were truly appropriate to his un- 

 happy life. 



Dr. Spoto sent me a study of the tattooing of a criminal who 

 had been under his care. He wore all his sad adventures painted 

 on his arm (see Archivio di Psichiatria, June, 1889). He had one 

 hundred and five signs on his body, ten of which represented mis- 

 tresses, nine hearts, eight flowers or leaves, five animals, twenty- 

 eight names, surnames, or descriptions, and thirty-one poniards 

 or warriors (Fig. 3). On his arm he had a figure of a lady 

 winged and crowned ; winged, he said, " because I made her take 

 flight " (he had run away with her) ; crowned, because she had 

 substituted for the crown of virginity the royal crown in becom- 

 ing his mistress. She held in her hand a heart and an arrow, 

 signifying her parents, to whom her flight had caused great grief. 

 Beneath her were two branches, which signified that she kept her- 

 self always fresh. Two other of his loves explained their sad ad- 

 ventures by holding crumpled roses in their hands. In his hand 

 he had an eagle, representing the ship on which he sailed, and 

 beneath it a heart with three points, referring to the sufferings of 

 Christ, whose birthplace he had visited at Bethlehem. A heart 

 on his arm represented a mistress with whom he lived several 

 years. It was pierced with an arrow, because he had abandoned 

 the woman with two little children, who were represented by two 

 bleeding hearts. Two hearts pierced with swords, on his forearm, 

 represented two mistresses who would not yield to his desires 



