d of mind which causes an Englishman to do inexplicable
things--that is, of course, from my Gallic standpoint.

For instance, an arrested man is presumed to be innocent until he is
proved guilty. In England, if a murderer is caught red-handed over his
victim, he is held guiltless until the judge sentences him. In France
we make no such foolish assumption, and although I admit that innocent
men have sometimes been punished, my experience enables me to state
very emphatically that this happens not nearly so often as the public
imagines. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred an innocent man can at
once prove his innocence without the least difficulty. I hold it is
his duty towards the State to run the very slight risk of unjust
imprisonment in order that obstacles may not be thrown in the way of
the conviction of real criminals. But it is impossible to persuade an
Englishman of this. _Mon Dieu!_ I have tried it often enough.

Never shall I forget the bitterness of my disappointment when I
captured Felini, the Italian anarchist, in connection with the
Greenwich Park murder. At this time--it gives me no shame to confess
it--I was myself living in Soho, in a state of extreme poverty. Having
been employed so long by the French Government, I had formed the
absurd idea that the future depended on my getting, not exactly a
similar connection with Scotland Yard, but at least a subordinate
position on the police force which would enable me to prove my
capabilities, and lead to promotion. I had no knowledge, at that time,
of the immense income which awaited me entirely outside the Government
circle. Whether it is contempt for the foreigner, as has often been
stated, or that native stolidity which spells complacency, the British
official of any class rarely thinks it worth his while to discover the
real cause of things in France, or Germany, or Russia, but plods
heavily on from one mistake to another. Take, for example, those
periodical outbursts of hatred against England which appear in the
Continental Press. They create a dangerous international situation,
and more than once have brought Britain to the verge of a serious war.
Britain sternly spends millions in defence and preparation, whereas,
if she would place in my hand half a million pounds I would guarantee
to cause Britannia to be proclaimed an angel with white wings in every
European country.

When I attempted to arrive at some connection with Scotland Yard, I
was invaria