The necessity of eluding police investigations is the reason usually given for the origin of this slang. No doubt it was one of the chief causes, but does not explain the continued use of a jargon which is too well known now to serve this purpose; moreover, it is employed in poems, the object of which is to invite public attention, not to avoid it, and by criminals in their homes where there is no need for secrecy. _Pictography._ One of the strangest characteristics of criminals is the tendency to express their ideas pictorially. While in prison, Troppmann painted the scene of his misdeed, for the purpose of showing that it had been committed by others. We have already mentioned the rude illustrations engraved by the murderer Cavaglia on his pitcher, representing his crime, imprisonment, and suicide. Books, crockery, guns, all the utensils criminals have in constant use, serve as a canvas on which to portray their exploits. From pictography it is but an easy step to hieroglyphics like those used by ancient peoples. The hieroglyphics of criminals are closely allied to their slang, of which in fact they are only a pictorial representation, and, although largely inspired by the necessity for secrecy, show, in addition, evident atavistic tendencies. =FIG. 10 Drawings in Script. Discovered by De Blasio= De Blasio has explained the meaning of the hieroglyphics used by the "camorristi" (members of the _camorra_ at Naples), especially when they are in prison. For instance, to indicate the President of the Tribunal, they use a crown with three points; to indicate a judge, the judge's cap (see Fig. 10). The following is a list of some of the hieroglyphics mentioned by De Blasio: _Police Inspector_--a hat like those worn by the Italian soldiers who are called Alpini (a helmet with flat top and an upright feather on the left side). _Public Prosecutor_--an open-mouthed viper (see Fig. 10). _Carabineer_--a bugle. _Theft_--a skull and cross-bones. _Commissary of the Police_--a dwarf with the three-cornered hat worn by the _carabinieri_.