Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-04-11
THE GREAT ROBBERY.
lchampers Jouraai.l

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don society was startled = few year.
ego BY the reports Of series OF daring
iewel robberiss. The most costly gems
seemed 10 disappear ss If by magic
under the very eye Of their owners
These robberies deied detection. a
clue In one case was upset BY the facts
In another. When my aid as private
detective was called in / resolved Il
conflne my attention to three distinct
cases, though, OF course, If useful in.
formation came In my way concerning
other matters | should know how to
take advantage OF it.
The first Of the three on my list was
The case Of the Dowsger Lady A., a
somewba. eccentric old lady, who found
her chief delight in arraying herself in
her most valuable jewels and visiting
in regular rotation all the West-End
theatres. One night, when returning
from one Of these expeditions, her car
rispe had been overturned by colliding
with an omnibus. The Dowager was
seriously injured, and within few
days she was dead. Then, apparently
for the first time, 1t was dis
covered that the whole OF the
Jewels worn by Lady A. on the
night of the carriage accident had
mysteriously disappeared. Her maid
was so overcome by the sight Of her
injured mistress that she failed alto
ee,her to remember what was done
with these jewels at the moment when
her lsdyship was undressed. 1t was
even question whether they might not
have been actually lost in the street
during the confusion Of the accident.
At ell events, no trace Of them could
be found, and it soon became evident
that in the excitement Of summoning
relatives, fetching doctors, and very
soon nurses and undertakers, half q
dozen persons might have entered the
house and walked off with the jewels
without any chance of detection.
Then | turned my attention 10 the
second case-that Of the young Countess
of b. There seemed less room for
doubt in this instance. The fashion
able wedding Of the autumn had been
that of the Earl of b. with Miss Blank.
There had been church full of people
ct St. Georges, Hanover Square, and a
host of guests at the breakfast at the
Unique Hotel. On the morning of the
wedding the Earl had presented his
bride with q magnificent tiara Of dia-
monds. AS the "happy pair" were
to start almost Immediately for the
Continent, these diamonds. enclosed in
Q case, were hastily packed in travel
ling. which the BRIDES travelling
maid was never to let out of her
sight. On arriving at Paris the bag
was apparently intact, but on
opening the jewel-case the tiara
was missing. Clearly it must have
been cleverly extracted from the case
while lying in the brides dressing
room, the empty case then being placed
in the bag. Who had stolen the
Couniess's diamonds? The maid, the
brides mother, and younger brother
bad alone, as far as it was known, en-
tered the room where the jewels were
lying. don't mind saying | had some
difficulty in believing that bona:fde
robbery had been committed. You
may not believe it, but / am convinced
that many startling robbery Of jew
els would be explained if we knew Of
oil the private debts incurred by ladies
Of fashion, and Of the sacrifices some
times made by them to screen from
disgrace themselves or some deeply-in-
volyed connection.
Meanwhile made inquiries con-
corning robbery No. 3. This was at
Colonel CTS. There the only thing
missed was q very valuable bracelet.
There had been dance at the house.
During the evening Mrs. G. had slipped
and sprained her ankle so severely that
. doctor had to be summoned, and the
party was somewhat prematurely
brought to q close. Mrs. g. distinctly
remembered wearing the bracelet, but
whether she had it on at the moment
OF falling she could not remember.
There had been naturally some confu-
sion in the ballroom and the lady had
been carried to her own room. 1t was
not for some hours that the loss Of the
bracelet was noticed. Then a search
was made, but altogether without sue
cess.
In the first and third of these cases
suspicion seemed to point at once to
some member Of the household; but
oil my inquiries failed to find any trace
Of the missing property. The servants
all willingly consented, nay, even Of
fered, to have their boxes searched, and
for some weeks l confessed myself baf-
fed. The missing property had disap-
pesred as completely as though it had
never existed.
Again and again | went over the
whole circumstances as they had been
related to me. There was, / reflected,
one circumstance common to all three
of the robberies, il robberies they were.
There had been at the time some un-
usual amount of confusion, all lending
opportunity for theft to take place
without immediate detection. The
Dowsger Lady AS diamonds had been
stolen during her illness, or about the
time Of her death. The Countess of
b. had lost her diamonds during
the excitement Of Q wedding break
fast at hotel. At Colonel C.'s
house there had been ball
on the night when the bracelet was
lost. Was there anyone, asked my
self, who by chance or intention had
been present at each place at the time
Of the robbery? Any occasional
waiter, for example, or servant Of any
kind: i could not find that there had
been. Yet, if the thief were not one OF
the household, how was it that a
stranger should in three separate in
stances fix on an establishment where
the circumstances were favorable to q
robbery Of valuable property? In two
cases there had been illness aud hasty
summoning Of doctors. That led to
another thought: Was it possible that
some experienced thief or gang Of
thieves had laid themselves out to track
the broughams Of fashionable West