The Beggars of Paris

Louis Paulian

Read by Leon Harvey

(3 stars; 2 reviews)

Here, as in France, begging is made a profession. And it is very important that the public should realize the fact, that ' thoughtless almsgiving, instead of relieving misery, promotes mendicity.'

The author of 'Paris qui Mendie' speaks with the experience of one who has put the question of mendicity to a personal test, and who has beaten the beggar in the various branches of his own trade. No one therefore is a better authority on the subject, and M. Louis Paulian's experiences will, I am sure, be welcome in England.

Good work has been done in the direction indicated by M. Paulian by the Charity Organisation and Mendicity Societies, and as regards infant suffering by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, but much remains to be accomplished. Professional beggars still abound in England, and too ready an ear is lent to their appeals. - Summary by Lady Herschell (5 hr 19 min)