Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-16
HERSPARKLERS GONE
A New York Bankers Wife Robbed
of Diamonds Worth $4,000.
SHE BLAMES A FRENCH MAID
To Whom She Had Given the Key to the
Box in Which She Kept Them.
TIE GIRL PLACED UNDER ARREST

nPEc1AL TELEGRAM TO THE D1sPArcHI
NEW YORK, November 15.-Mrs. Arthur
E. Bateman mourns the loss of two beauti-
full diamond necklaces and a diamond
pendant in consequence, as she supposes, Of
misplaced confidence in a French nurse.
Mr.. Bateman is the banker at 81 Broadway.
He was formerly Vice Commodore of the
American Yacht club and owner of the
Meteor, and now owns the fine schooner
yacht Coronet. The family lives at No.
Fifth avenue.
Ten months ago Mrs. Bateman engaged
young French woman named Louise
Lachat as nurse for her two little chill
dren, bright boy and remarkably pretty
girl. The new nurse could speak no En-
glish, said she was not married
and had just come to this coun-
try. She was rather stout, of medium
height, with a pleasant, fat, rather stupid
face. The children soon became attached
to her, and Mrs. Bateman congratulated
herself upon having secured such an honest,
atectionate girl to take care of her children.
JUST BACK FROM EUROPE.
Last spring the Batemans went to Europe
for the summer in their yacht Coronet, tax
ing the nurse and the children with them.
They returned to New York last Sunday.
Mr.. Bateman experienced some bad
effects from the long voyage, and
was compelled to take to his
bed. He did not occupy his own room,
which is on the second floor of the Fifth
avenue house, but was in a room on the
third floor which contained tall, beauti-
fully inlaid ehifonnier, with locks of un-
usual strength in the drawers and compart-
ments.
Mrs. Bateman's diamonds were set in two
necklaces and a pendant containing in all
As stones, all of which were of
able size. The pendant was esps-
cially beautiful. While the value at
ordinary sale would not be more than
S12, 900 yet the cost of such jewels would be
much more than that. Mrs. Bateman valued
the jewels especially because many of them
were heirlooms, while many more were we'd
| ding presents. Sunday night Mrs Bateman
put the diamonds in the topmost compart-
ment of the chifonnier.
On Wednesday afternoon Mrs. Bateman
again gave her the key to the chiffonnier
| drawer and told her to get her some jewelry
| out of it. Mr.. Bateman was awake
| and in careless way watched the girl at
| the drawer. But neither on this occasion
nor in the afternoon before did he see
exactly what she took. On Wednesday
evening the girl went out and was gone over
| two hours.
| DISCOVERY OF THE LOSS.
On Thursday morning Mrs. Bateman
went into the room with her husband. She
| happened to think of the diamonds, and
went to the drawer to look at them. She
had her ring of keys with her. She opened
| the drawer and screamed. The diamond
necklaces are gomez"
| Mrs. Bateman talked the matter over
with her husband and a note was
sent to Inspector Byrnes setting forth
that diamonds of great value had
been stolen and that detective was
wanted. The inspector found that two hours
of the girls absence on Wednesday
evening were not accounted for, and diseov-
cred further that Louise LaChat had lied to
Mrs. Bateman about herself in many ways;
that instead Of being a single woman. she was
married. When confronted with this the urse
said her husband lived in Paris and had
never been on this side OF the Atlantic
The girl was arrested. She denies her guilt.
To-day Justice O'Reilly committed her for
trial at the General Sessions under $40, 900
| bail.