New-York tribune., 1884-03-23
KLEPTOMANIA.
AND OTHER EVILS CAUSED BY HIGH PRESS
URE LIFE IN PARIS.

occun;as q bigh nositiop In the Chamber as an ora
tor When we were at table. tho bell OF the outer
door was ruug and presently the servant pro"sn' -
n avisitine-card We read on 1t the titie Oh i'uS
Of rreat social station. whose family name ID o'os''
associated with the history of Brittany IRON It,
80 ,,cr;od nm TO the time of the Revolution.
gWbat, asked my friend. " can a person OF such
ora,;tv want with a Republican like meF lie
made signs to the servant to say that he was nor AT
home but then suddenly changing his mind ran
into the drawng.room into which she had been
shown AT the end of about half an hour he re-
turned to finish his d6jeuner. Well" inquired his
Wife q hone Won have had pleasant time 10 COM
pensate you for the spoiled repast. What pretext
had the fine lady for coming to disturb youf" "A
very painful one" he answered; " she was in tears
md sobbing; her distress has quite upset me-" is
she Young and pretty. that she was able TO thus
move YOU
@No, she is Misunderstanding old lady. Her
object in calling was TO get me to use nv IN
Auence TO hush up an affair which If it transplrcs
will disgrace her family and be cause of domestic
misery The wife of her only son was caught steal
ing the other day in the Louvre and is in detentoh
She is Neptomaniac After she was arrested
search was made in her house and drawers ana
presses were found stuffed with those ruboishy
articles which are placed on tables at the doors OF
large dry goods stores TO tempt ladies to buy things
which tley really do not want. She had enough 10
sst I'D q small storekeeper in trade. and had been
evidently collecting them Ito judge from tho tash-
ions in which they were done upl for nearly eleven
wears Here and there among them there was an
article Of some value. But the bulk of the stolen
articles was of the most trumpery quality.
sho was married in 1867, made sensation by
her beauty. aud has in her own right fortune
which brings her in revenue Of about 2OO,OOo
francs year. Her husband. we all know. is very
thxy and n ROValist member OF the \ er-
sailles Assembly. 1t was he who urged his mother
70 como and imploTo me to use my influence IN be-
half 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. racketne
existence of a fashionable woman broke down early
tho nerves of her daughterinlaw and that she took
TO morphine 10 soOhe her irrability. Its effect on
her was TO deprive her OF the power to discern be-
tween right and wrong and. in short TO obliterate
moral sense The only OF her original virtues
which she retained was generosity. She was always
gviag away money 10 poor people. and the dowager
showed me pile of letters written to her by persons
whose dstressos she had relieved
When she first began TO steal she used TO 60 to
tell her confessOr of her weakness. He subjected
her to what he thought wl-braclng discipline;
and then insisted on her allowing him to come and
tell her family of her weakness. She was ulti-
sho remained for sOmo time. When she came
back she threw herself into fashionable disspatOnS
The nerves again broke down and morphine was
uesorted 70. But she did not feel that she was in
any danger Of rclapsing into heptomania. One
day however, she went to the Louvre dry goods
stores to pick up bargains which were advertised in
tho journals. When thore she saw q lady who was
examining lace scarfs at a counter and who' when
the shopman turned his back. toal one ana stuffed
..Io-.- n, h.a cntt
thief and those Of the w-cOmer met. The former
stared at hoT and went purloining, while the
latter who was seized with a fit of nervous
trembling rapidly and if fascinated by her, fol-
lowed her example and thrust lace oravats into her
pocket and muf. She wenthOmc and sat up the
whole night admring her plunder d~nd arranging it
into bows and Trimming bonDets with IL. AT day
break she undid all her nocturnal work and care
fully folded and put away the cravats. She found
that she was seized with uncomfortable desire to
shoplft and went on for years undetectcd She re-
pounced going TO confession; but TO lull suspicion
used to pretend she still discharged her customary
religious duties and had changed her cOnfessor AT
night she used to be in state of terror because pur
sued with fear Of detection. Good resolutions
were made and for some time kept. The sight of
ono of the stolen articles always revived the mania,
and out she would go to pilfer.
ain her last shopliftng expedition she purloined
three remnants of ribbon marked fifty centimes
each A number of persons were looking at her as
she took them from a table and walked of. When
stopping into her carriage she was arrested.
shopInau, placing his hand on her shoulder. said,
sYou are a thief, madame Yes, monsieur she
quietly replied, an, and have been one this long
time. l can't be anything else On being taken
before the police commissary. she betrayed no emo
ton. daresay she will be released when it is |
shown TO what oxtent she is irresponsible, and that
aba bo rlacpd a0ain under lVdrOuathiC treat |
mept."
There was an eminent doctor present as this con- |
sequence Of fashionable dissipation was being re-
lated. He said that there is hardly lady who |
shines in society whose nerves are not either broken
down or in q way to break down" In his opinion
oil civilized States are suffering from what he calls
the madern neurOse but most particularly the
wealthy classcs, and Of them the women. Our nery
ous systes grew up he said i'll quiet jog trOt times
and quite unprcparcd for the feverish excite
ment and racket which steam locomot4on; electric
teiegraphy and the great development OF the press
have OccasIoned.
What the doctor asserted and opinod may well set
people to thinking. One notable circumstance seems
to be the wait Of all sense Of proportion in the
gard paid to " sensations" The Java volcano. the
inassa' re Of llieis Pachas army. Marie Coombiers
indecent biography of Sarah Barnum,' and Emma
Neyadas christening. are events each of which has
excited the Partisan public in an equal degree. No
body tries to react against the nervc-ex hausting in
fuonces which everywhere at work. When the
Paris season is over, there Is rush. not 10 quiet
county and seaside place put to resorts 9i fashion
lette and, card tables are in full swing in the
Casinos Tho virtue of patience has died out.
People not satisfied to wait quietly for their
turn TO new play or opera. Ihey rush and
strive 80 be in the crush at the first, second third
representation. although every one knows that a
theatrical piece is always better acted when 1t has
been tilue before the public pcnury of great
men is very noticeable all over Europe. Those who
overtOp the crowd are old men-Blsmarck and Glad |
stone, to wit Gordon remains great because his ,
life. when no is not engaged III some great work. is
Que OF meditation and solitude. lie goes into deserts
to commune with his own heart, and TO ponder over
the ways of God in dealing with the human soul |
Nor has he read newspaper for tine last i've years
taken the smallest nte est IN those eyelts which
excite the public. Sarah Bernhardt and MaTle Co