[Illustration: Fig. 375.--The Blind and the Poor Sick of St. John.--From
painted Hangings and Tapestry in the Town of Rheims, executed during the
Fifteenth Century.]
The Grand Coesre levied a tax of twenty-four sous per annum upon the young
rogues, who went about the streets pretending to shed tears (Fig. 374), as
"helpless orphans," in order to excite public sympathy. The _marcandiers_
had to pay an ecu; they were tramps clothed in a tolerably good doublet,
who passed themselves off as merchants ruined by war, by fire, or by
having been robbed on the highway. The _malingreux_ had to pay forty sous;
they were covered with sores, most of which were self-inflicted, or they
pretended to have swellings of some kind, and stated that they were about
to undertake a pilgrimage to St. Meen, in Brittany, in order to be cured.
The _pietres_, or lame rogues, paid half an ecu, and walked with crutches.
The _sabouleux_, who were commonly called the _poor sick of St. John_,
were in the habit of frequenting fairs and markets, or the vicinity of
churches; there, smeared with blood and appearing as if foaming at the
mouth by means of a piece of soap they had placed in it, they struggled on
the ground as if in a fit, and in this way realised a considerable amount
of alms. These consequently paid the largest fees to the Coesre (Fig.
375).
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