E. Phillips Oppenheim, writing as Anthony Partridge, in 1912.
Phillips Oppenheim tells the story of Monsieur Simon with his consort Josephine, who lives in the demi-monde of Paris, consorts with criminals and artists, and exacts contributions from various evil-doers in the Court of St. Simon an underground tribunal of, for, and by, the criminal class.
One evening, he brings along with the jaded youth Eugene dArgminac who falls under the spell of blood lust and becomes a criminal himself.