Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-12-29
kteptOlnantR.

KieptOnsnts.
The recent painful case of suicide OF a clsr-
gyman Of this city Of high standing following
NJ IN his detection in the act of purIoininy
books, makes 1t matter of interest to know
fomething of the nature Of the mental disease
that brought him u his sad end The disease
is sometimes al ylei "K!Opemania." but ia mora
generally termed "Kleptomsnis." and comes
from two Greek words siynifying thefs and
madness. The books tell Us that among the or
binary phenomena OF minds that are nst re.
garded a. insane or criminal are observed in-
ordinate tendencies to acquire, to collect, to
hoard So long ~ such an impulse does not
Interfere with the rights and property of Others,
OF involve fs2rant breach OF law, il is readily
admitted as indication of diselse, or a. An
absurdity and eccentficity which may fairly
consign the individual 70 an asylum or ID con-
tempt, but concerns 10 o5e else. But when
ever the amount of the object app lpr ated, or
the circumstances under which it is purIoinef
bring the matter into a court of law, the act il
treated as a theft AMI puptshed. In many
cases, however, such conduct is the obvious re-
suit of disease. The inclination ID steal ia a
premonitorv indication OF many forms of
mental disorder; il - characteristic
symptom of many others, where yio-
lence, or delusons, or incoherence leave
no doubt as to the source itom which il springs
origin cannot be so clearly den onst -atcd; where
the mind il cle3- and coyent, the morals pure
and where theft e the only ey .dercs of irs.n
ity. There Is evidence, we are told by the SAGE
authorities, that the prop onsity to acquire NAV
become 70 irresistible ard the will so impotsnt
that the appropriation u involuntary, and the
perpetrator irresp ODslble. The qualification OF
the impulse IL frequently found sC-ociated With
physical changes and conditions which may BE-
regarded as Incompatible with the healthy dis
charge Of the functions OF the nervous system;
but the connection IS by no means invarisbIe,
and the best mode of establishing the reality of
such a disease is to consider marked cases In re-
latiOn to the character, interests and previous
department Of the iudividus to the nature of
the articles taken, and II the motives which
seem II have deter mined the action Among
the cases cited in the English works on me Ii
cal psychology is thst OF q blronst OF large for
tune, who, while on the Continent, stole pieces
of old iron, and OF broken crockery, and in such
quantities that tons of these collections were
presented to the cust0m-houss off GERS. A cIer-
gyman OF respectable bearing aud great useful.
ness distracted from bOok-shsps and stalls hmm
dreds of copies of the Bible, probably with the
intention Of distributing them amongst the
needy. A physician pocketsd some small OBJ
ject whenever he entered the apartment of a
patient; another member of the ssms profess
SIGN stole nothing but table cloths.
In this country the cases are quite as numerous
snd marked The wife OF a prominent citizen
of Baltimore is at certain periods so overcome
by this mania that. despite sll the shame and
agony from repeated cetectioDs, she is wholly
unable to re-ist the impulse, and her HUSBAND
has given q standing order 70 the dry goods and
fancy goods dealers ID take no apparent notice
OF her thefts, but 10 send the bill ID him. Many
of our Washington merchants have had experi-
ences Of goods purloinei by person. OF high
tandipg, and morals above repro.ch. Soma
inc since case occurred where a lady of posi-
ton in society, acting under this morbid i'm
pulse, resOrted to an ingenious device for car.
rying away goods that for a considerable time
baffied every effort on the part OF the merchant
TO discover how and by whom the thefts were
made. She was IN the custom OF visiting the
tore - price the goods, and it was noticed that
she usually brought in her hands a parcel,
which che Was in the habit OF placing upon the
counter while she locked about the place. Yet
II could not be seen that she ever concealed
anything about her, or took away any ,hiny
more than the bundle she brought. But one
day II was found that an article under the
bundle where che lett the latter on the counter
was missing when she Left. She was followed,
and it was ascertained that the package she
carried so constantly was in reality nothing but
while appearing 10 be q compact package az
she held it, IL was really an empty shell, and by
placing il over the article sought to be taken
she was able TO pick IL up inside the hat-boiy
and carry it away without attracting any atten-
ton. The clerk who followed her to her resi-
deuce found on the mantels and what-nots IN
her paIioIs large number of articles purloined
in this way; but it was 20 evidently case OF
mental diseaee that no exposure WAS made.
While female kleptomanisc5 scem to have an
insane desire u appropriate articles OF taste and
ornament that strike their fancy, men thus az
fected ere rather apt to ssek books. Many
years ago, when long tall cloass were worn By
men, the clerk Of a Congressional committee, a
gentleman of means and standing, entirely
beyond the temptation to take books for their
mere money value, was detected carrying away,
concealed under this garment, no less than the
seven volUmes OF library set of Humes History
OF England. Some years ago, too, the son of
high District official, who was In the habit eff
haunting bookstores and book auction rooms
aIser the manner of a confirmed ''book-wor
was caught in the act Of taking books from an
Avenue store. Subsequently his disease de-
Eeloped into other forms OF mania, and espsci-
ally in tue way Of marked eccentriSity in dress,
though be wes never violent, max ng it neces-
sary to conrne him.
Librarian Spoford has occasion to avail him
self OF wire guards TO his alcoves, and an extra
pair Of eyes 10 protect his literary treasures
from kleptomaniscs OF respectable standing,
who ere irreslsts5ly attracted by the well-filed
shelves OF the Congressional Library.
In the e2se Of the clergyman who committed
suicide Sunday morning re have q notable in
stance ofthe force OF this morbid impulse. He
was in the enjoyment Of q considerable fortune
through his wife, and had a good salary. en-
ablipg him 10 sbundsntly crafty his needs and
tastes in the way Of buying books; yet, Elk years
ago, he was detected in the Wholesale theft OF
books from an Avenue bookstore, and thou Oh
be confessed his guilt and made stonement in an
agony Of shame and grief, he was yet unable to
20 master the terrible impulse and keep his SOL
enn vows before God and men volunteers then
upon his Bonded knees, and we find him, in full
view OF his awful previous shame and warning,
rushing on 10 bis fate, with almost inevitable
detection and humiliation hanging over him.
The incongruities IN such csse1, point, the
MEDICAL authorities say, 10 the existence of
deep seated unhealth. Although each case
must be tested on its own merits, there are va
rious features, common TO . number of even