798 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



pay." The lion meant that he felt as strong as a lion. A smaller 

 lion a few centimetres from this meant that even as among lions 

 the stronger gains the victory over the weaker, so he, the stronger, 

 had overcome those who would play the camorrist with him. 



Never, I believe, have we had a more striking proof that tat- 

 tooing contains real ideographic hieroglyphs which take the place 

 of writing. They might be compared to the inscriptions of the 

 ancient Mexicans and Indians, which, like the tattooings we have 

 described, are the more animated history of individuals. Cer- 

 tainly these tattooings declare more than any official brief to 

 reveal to us the fierce and obscene hearts of these unfortunates. 



This multiplicity of figures proves also that criminals, like 

 savages, are very little sensitive to pain. Another fact that char- 

 acterizes tattooing is precocity. According to Tardieu and Ber- 

 son, tattooing is never remarked in France before the age of six- 

 teen years (excepting, of course, the cases of ship-boys who have 

 borrowed the custom from sailors); yet we have found, even 

 among the general public, four cases in children of from seven to 

 nine years of age; and of eighty- nine adult criminals, sixty- six 

 displayed tattooings which were made between nine and sixteen 

 years. 



Some tattoo marks are used by societies as signals of recogni- 

 tion. In Bavaria and the south of Germany the highway robbers, 

 who are united into a real association, recognize one another by 

 the epigraphic tattoo marks T. und L., meaning Thai und Land 

 (valley and country), words which they exchange with one an- 

 other, each uttering half the phrase, when they meet. Without 

 that they would betray themselves to the police.* 



What is the origin of this usage ? Religion, .which has so 

 much power over peoples and which proves so obstinate in pre- 

 serving ancient customs, has certainly contributed to maintain it 

 among the more .barbarous part of our populations; we see a 

 quasi-official proof of it at Lorette. Those who cultivate a devo- 



* Lacassagne has given us a large number of inscriptions tattooed on French criminals, 

 which all contain criminal or obscene allusions. For example, we read : 

 Eight times : " Son of misfortune." 

 Nine times : " No chance." 

 Three times : " Friends of the contrary." 

 Four times : " Death to unfaithful women." 

 Five times : " Vengeance." 

 Twice : " Son of disgrace." 

 Twice : " Born under an evil star." 

 Three times : " Child of joy." 

 Three times : " The past deceives me." 

 Once : " The m ... is worth more than all France." 

 Once : " Vive la France and fried potatoes ! Death to brutes." 

 Once : "The present torments me ; the future frightens me." 



