[19] Boite (box): slang word for Salle de Police.
[20] The theatre of the Porte St. Martin was then the stage where historical melodrama was represented; it was associated with Frederick Lemaître and Melinge Taillhade.
[21] La fichu tête à claques.
[22] Sergots: slang for sergeants de ville (policemen).
[23] Mon salop=you piece of dirt; used as a term of comradeship.
[24] I have done with you.
[25] Central lock-up, where all persons who have been arrested the previous evening are sent in the morning. (Bailing out does not exist in France; but in case of arrest for slight reasons, such as making a disturbance, the Commissary of Police can release a prisoner after taking down his name and address. This is only done when the prisoner appears to be a gentleman.)
[26] "Salad Basket": so called because prisoners are locked up in tight compartments, and are rudely shaken like salad in the baskets used by French cooks to shake the water off after washing it.
[27] Juge d'instruction: see Appendix B.
[28] It is usual for accused and witnesses to be confronted before the Juge d'instruction.