The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-04-12
WOMEN WHO STEAL.
French Ladies' of the Upper Ten Who ApprO-
pirate Other Peoples Property.

WOMEN WHO STEAL.
French Ladies of the Upper Ten Who ApprO-
pirate Other Peoples Property.
Paris Letter
L was yesterday breakfasting with deputy
who occupies high position in the Chamber as
an orator When we at the table the bell
OF the outer door rang, and presently the serv-
ant brought in a visiting card. We read on it
the title of lady of great social station, whose
family name is closely associated with the his
tory OF Brittany from remote period up to the
| time of the revolution.
"What" asked my friend, "can a person of
such quality want with Republican like me-"
He made signs to the servant to say that he was
not at home, and then suddenly changing his
mind ran into the drawing room into which she
had been shown. At the end of about half an
hour he returned to finish his dejeuner. ''Well,"
inquired his wife, 'Ihope you have had pleas
ant time to compensate you for your spoiled re
past What pretcxt had the fine lady for coming
to disturb you" A very painful one he an
swered; she was in tears and sobbing; her dis
tress has quite upset me-" 'Is she young and
pretty, that she was able to thus move your
NO, she Is a magnifcent-looking old lady
Her object in calling on me was to get me to use
my influence to hush up an affair which, if it
transpires. will disgrace her family and be
| cause OF domestic misery. The wife of her only
son was caught stealing, the other day in the
Louvre, and is in detention She is a klcpto-
maniac. After she was arrested search was
made in her house, and drawers aud presses
were found stuffed with those rubbishy articles
Which are placed on tables at the doors of large
dry goods stores to tempt ladies to buy things
which they really do not want She had enough
to set up a small storekeeper in trade, and had
evidently been collecting them Ito judge from
the fashions in which they done upl for
nearly eleven years. Here and there among
them was an article Of some value. But the
bulk of the stolen articles was of the most
trumpery quality.
'She was married in 1867, made a sensation
by her beauty, and has in her own right for
tune which brings her in a revenue of about
200, 900 francs year Her husband, as we all
know is very wealthy, and was royalist mem
Der of the Versailles Assembly. 1t was he who
urged his mother TO come and implore me to
use my influence in behalf of the thief She is
not interesting, but the husband, although |
hate his politics. is not bad fellow, and the old
lady appears to me most noble being. What
she says is that the giddy, racketing existence
of fashionable woman broke down early the
nerves of her dauShter-in-law, and that she took
to morphine to soothe her irritability. Its effect
on her was to deprive her of the power to dis
Germ between right and wrong and, in short, to
obliterate moral sense The only one of her
original virtues that she retained was generOs
ity. She was always giving away money to
poor people, and the dowager showed me pile
of letters written to her by persons whose dis
| tresses she had reiived
when she first began to steal she used to go
to tell her confessor of her weakness She was
ultimately sent to a hydropathic establishments
where she remained for some time. When she
| came back she threw herself into fashionable
designations, The nerve again broke down. and
morphine was resorued to. But she did not feel
! that she was in any danger of relapsing into
kleptomania. One day, however. she went to
| the Louvre dry goods stores to pick up bargains
which were advertised in the journals When
there she saw a lady who was examining lace
| scarts at counter, and who. when the shop
man turned his back, took one and stuffed it
away under her circular mantle. The eyes
of the thief and those of the newcomer met.
The former stared at her and kept on purloin-
ing. while the latter, who was seized with
fit of nervous trembling. rapidly
and. as if fascinated by her, followed her exam
pie. and thrust lace cravats into her pocket and
mutf. She went home and sat up the whole
night admiring her plumber and arranging tinto
bows and trimming bonnetS with it. At day
break she undid all her nocturnal work. and
| carefully folded and put away the cravats. She
found that she was seized it'll an uncomfortable
desire to shoplft. and went on for years unde-
tected. She renowned going to confession but
to lull suspicion used to pretend that she still
discharged her customary religious duties and
had changed her confessor. At night she used
to be in state of terror because pursued with a
fear of detection. Good resolutions were made.
and for some time kept The sight of one of the
stolen articles always revived the MANIA and
out she would go to pilfer
In her last shopliftng expedition she pur-
Joined three remnants of ribbon marked 30 cent
times each. A number of persons were looking
at her as she took them from table and walked
off When stepping into her carriage she was
arrested A shopman, placing his hand on her
shoulder. said: You are thief madame
Yes monsieur, she quietly replied, I am, and
have been one this long time. l can't be any
thing else On being taken before the police
commissary she betrayed no emotion. daresay
she will be released when it is shown to what
extent she is Irresponsible and that she will be
pfaced again under hydropathic treatment"
There was an eminent doctor present as this
consequence of fashionable dissipation was being
related He said that there is hardly lady
who shines in society whose nerves are not
either broken down or in way to break down"
In his opinion all civilized states are suffering
from what he calls the modern neurose, but
most particularly the wealthy classes, and of
them the women. Our nervous systems grew
up he said, in quiet. jog trot times, and were
quite mprepared for the feversh excitement
and racket which steam locomotion, electric
telegraphy and the great development of the
press have occasioned