Rapides gazette. (Alexandria, La.) 1869-187?, 1873-07-12
KleptOmania.

FROM an interesting article under the
above heading in the forthcoming volume
of M'Clintock and Strong's Cyclopedia OF
Biblical. Theological, and Ecclesiastical
Literature, published by Harper & Broth
ers, we take the following entertaining
anecdotes
Kleptemania Is usually exhibited by
persons who have no motive to steal, and
is frequently satisfied by purloining arti-
cles of no value. "A baronet of large for
tune stole, while bn the Continent, pieces
of old iron and of broken crockery; and in
sach quantities that tons Of these collect
ions were presented to the custom-house
officers. In the second volume of the
Medical Critic the case of female is de-
tailed whe could not resist the impulse OF
.appropriating every thing within her
reach. In searching this woman on one
occasion there were found fifteen bags
upon her person, in which there were
1852 articles, mosly worthless viz, 1874
bits of paper, 50 sewing-needles, Is old
gloves, II molds for wax leaves, 10 but
tons; 60 feathers, parcels of dried fish,
l35 bits of ribbons, 8 bottles, 81 loZenges,
and variety of other articles, the refuse
of the place, to which she had at various
times taken fancy.
| Another case reported by high medical
authority is that of q rich but eccentric
gentleman living in an old manor-hOuse
In Lincolnshire, England. He was good
business man, and managed his estate
with care and prudence, auditing his
stewards yearly accounts with the skill
of. an experts His rieighbors were all
kindly disposed toward him, and he was
charitably disposed toward the poor.
Even the servants who saw him every
day, although they confessed that he was
certainly "very peculiar at times" never
once dreamed ofimpugning his intellect,
one might have passed alifetime with him
| without discovering it. He would be
seized by certain determination to travel
| in state, with retinue of servants. After
a fortnight's or perhaps months alb
sence, he would return home. Invariably
on the morning of the next day after his
return, towels, which had been taken
from an open portmanteau, were found
scattered over the room. After break
fast, his custom was to retire to the library
and write the addresses Of all the hotel
keepers at whose houses he had slept
during his absence on so many slips Of
writing-paper, with directions to his ser
wants to inclose TO each address the mum
Der of towels specified upon each piece o.
paper, and to copy such other writings as
tthey might find there, and Send this in 8
letter, with the towels, to the hotel
keeper. This gentleman was one Of the
unhappy race of kleptomaniacs, whose
particular mania impelled him to purloir
towels. He.subsequentE gave to FRIEND
a history Of hts case, and said he wa;
goaded to these journeyings and pilfer
ings by an irresistible impulse, which he
insisted was the result of demoniacal pos
session. VHe'was never impelled second
time on the same journey, so that, while
no hotel-keeper would be likely to suspect,
during his visit, gentleman fhis rank
and style as one who would steal his
towels, itsnevers trsnspired publicly, SC
Tar as Is known, that he was thief, al.
though his own consciousness of the fact
embittered his existence. =