Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-07-17
N. o. WALLACE,

lHS, cNtIy LiiIllS, III clfOfl, WOTlIl
stealing, xanishes before them.
At the funeral of well-known
public official, some time ago, a
! large silver vase which had been
presented to the dead man stood
on table at the head of the cof-
: fin. 1t was as big as a small
soup tureen; yet out of this room
crowded with people and watch
ed by half a dozen servants this
cumbrous ornament was carried
unobseryed. y ~ II
Everything facilitates the fu-
neral thief's work." said ex-De-
Itective Paley. seThe fact of his
being a stranger is not noticed,
as there are always strangers,
Iacquaintances of the dead folks,
whom no one else in the family
knew, and who turn up to assist
at the burying. He is invariably
a man of good address, and, hay-
ing informed himself of some of
the deadperson's characteristics,
is able to talk glibly of the "dear
departed, poor SOUL The thieves
generally hunt in couples, man
and woman, though, Of course,
without permitting their connec-
ton to be known. You know
what chattering magpies women
at funerals are. SO you can i'm
agine how a quick-witted female
thief cam anluse and interest
while she is robbing them.
"Both male and female funer-
al thieves are provided with am
lple room for slowing anything
away that they may steal. Their
coats and skirts are perfect nests
of deep, vast pockets in which a
baby could be pat out Of sight.
/ remember once that a very
costly silver-mounted family BIZ
bic was lost from a house of
mourning. We found it, along
with a French clock and two an
tique Dresden vases, in the skirts
of Maggie Poor, a well-known
thief. The bible alone weighed
fifteen pounds
''The most daring theft of this
kind that | ever saw perpetrated
was performed by Jerry Shank
lin, a once famous shoplifter and
sneak-thief, who died a year or
SO ago of consumption on Black
Wells Island. 1t was at the flu
neral of an old West India mer-
chant on Lexington avenue. II
was sent there from the station
house,to which / was at that time
attached, to keep a sharp look
out, as a large attendance of
wealthy people was expected.
"Among the guests ! soon no.
ticed a little old man, dressed in
black, and wearing green gog-
giles He seemed to know eve
Erybody, and to be ON the best
terms with all. He went tod
ding about, talking to one and
another, and occasionally taking
a glass of wine at the sideboard,
making himself as chat home
as if the house belonged to him.
a servant said in reply to my
query, Gle Is an old friend of |
masters, sir. Knowed him in
the West Hinges. That there
is his wife, sir"
"The woman he pointed out
was an elderly, hard featured fe-
male in deep black, who was con-
versing with a number Of old
women in a corner. AT the first
glance / felt my suspicious a
reused. / would have watched
the old man all day and never
have doubted HIM; but there was
something about the woman
which excited my mistrust at
once. 'sis
"The old man spoke to her
several times, but only for a mo-
ment. / watched them closely, !
but could note no suspicious
movement on the part of either. |
At last a gentleman wished to
see what time it was, and found
his watch gone.
81 arrested the old man on the |
spot. He pretended to be amaz-
ed and highly indignant, and
many Of the guests sided with
him.. In order to silence them / !
searched him-and did not find
a single stolen article. A search
of his pretended wife resulted in
a similar disappointment and /
had to release both.
"You can imagine the position
/ was in, with the guests glover
ing at me and regarding me as a
laundering fraud, and the little
old man Safeguarding me for
Ioutraging his feelings. To make
matters worse several others now
discovered that they had been
robbed, and a general outcry a.
rose.
1T s a shame, said my little |
old friend, we're left at the mer-
cy of robbers by a laundering
BOBBY who calls himself a de-
tective, and doesn't know the
difference between a thief and
an honest man. Il, for one, will
seek safety in retiring. Come
along, my dear