, 1890-03-29

dangerous implement that it is worth
while to describe its scope and purp0rt.
Shortly before the closing OF the court two
wtll-dreSSed men, named John Murray
and Thomas Edwards, both verging on
middle age, were brought before Mr..
Partridge, charged with having in their
possession a valuable gold watch and
chain and appurtenanceS supposed To have
been stolen. The detectives, it appears,
had long suspected the prisoners as form
ing part of a gang of fC0ntinental' thieves,
who carry on their nefari0uS pursuits on
steamboats, and railways. The officers on
Saturday afternoon stopped Murray and
Edwards at Remington, and upon one Of
them found the watch and chain, TO which
was attached a spade guinea. Oae of the
men was walking with a stick. aud this
being examined turned out to be 4 most
SkiltnlIy devised machine for the purpose
of committing roOberieS. By unsorewing
the handle a powerful spring was disclosed /;
amt upon pressing this, at the OppO-
site extremity of the stick two clips we're
%protruded, which being applied to a coin
or small parcel would enable the holder
of the stick to remove property from be-
hind a counter or take money out Of a till
with the greatest ease. The stick, with
its spring and its clips, was carefully ex-
amined by the magistrate, and admitted
to be q really wonderful c%ontrivauce or
the purpose of thieving, or, as one of the
officers put it, 'lifting." 1t was said to be
called the continental magic stick lift"
but the name seems altogether too lengthy.
Surely the "tiIl-frisker, the "magic mob
bier" the "qrick-nicker," or the ''pick-me-
up would be quite as descriptive and
more concise. The use, however, of this
really eleg mt instrument would seem to
demand the services of II thief specially
trained for the particular mode of piIfering
to which it is applied. An ordinary pick
pocket wOHId scarcely be able to manipu-
late the &C Continental lift,' since it is we'll
known that the swell .nObSman never CIR
rieS either a stick or an umbrella. These
articles would be impediments to him in
the pursuit OF his vocation nay, it has
been held that to the professed cutpurSe
even gloves are III encumbranGe. An
Ancient Pistol put it, he should be Of
quick hand, and gloves might check the
agility OF his "iamhits."
1t is scarcely probable that tht"COntinpnt.
al magic stick lift" will ever attain extern.
ded popularity, since it could only be
mauutaci ured for a teI0niOuS purpose, and
nc respectable tradeSman would venture to
sell an article designed exclusively for
the use Of thieves. At the same time, it
would be unjust to ~diSparage the palpahle
clevernrSS OF the c0ntrivance as an Ella
bOrate Improvement on the clumsy old
device Of attaching a piece of cObbler'S-
wax to the end of Il stick so as to draw
away coveted objects from n shelf or from
behind II bar. The cobbler'S.wax trick
has also been tried with considerable sue.
cess in recent times for the purpose of
extracting letters from II pillar-bOx, and
for this purpose also what is called Il
''paternoSter' fishing hook, or miniature
grapnel, has sometimes been employed.
Fishing for valuableS and "Sticking them
up" are both very old forms of larceny, tho
latter having been for many years practi-
sed in frSt-clasS restaurants in Paris,
where it was customary to deck the table
with forks and spoons of solid silver. The
"Stickin cup" thief would enter one of
these establishments and dine SumptuouS-
ly. He would even pay his bill, but be.
fore he departed he would carefully
'stick" q couple of forks or spoons by
means of cobbler's-wax to the under. part
of the table. Even if the plate were miss.
ed, the "Sticker-up' could afford to be
searched with II light heart, for none of the
valuables would be found on his person, 4
Soon after he had left an accomplice would
enter, take his place at the same table,
and detach the stuck-up plate from its
adhesive bed. The greater the notoriety
given to this most Ingenious mode Of theft,
the smaller, of course, grew its chances of