New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-14
MRS. OSBORNE'S CASE
SOME REFLECTIONS BY A FOREIGNER,

London correspondent TO describe the state of pub
lie feeling manifested at the Gudhall Police Court
the other day when the unhappy wife of gallant
little Captain Osborne was brought before the
Lord Mayor criminal charge Of obtaining
money under false pretences. in connection with
the now famous Great Pearl Case" Popular
sentiment-esIecially when il proceeds from the
Unconditional honest and altogether sound Anglo
Saxon HEARTS, ordinarily correct in such ques-
tons these-a fact which is indirectly admitted
by all of those civilized nations who have adopted
trial by jury. For the jury is nothing more nor
less than the embodiment of public sentiment
There is no doubt that the latter was well
founded in the of Mrs. Osborne, and that
she not altogether responsible for her moral
alteration in stealing her friends jewels and
then selling them The perjury followed, as
matter of course But any woman he held
responsible for her acts her words-at any rate,
responsible in the same degree as n man? And
is it right for us to judge. and, above ALL to punish
the moral shortcomings of women by the same
code "a those of men? Should there not be one
standard of honor and honesty-and a very strln-
gent one-for men, and another far less severe for
women? These are problems which will have
occurred to every Thoughtful man in connection
with the Osborne case, and they merit passing
comment
woman has more heart IMAM neau luis "a
an old Russian proverb, the truth Of Which, how
ever, is apparent all the world over-n some coun-
tries perhaps more than in Others. II is this that
constitutes the greatest charm Of woman in the
eyes of man, her greatest claim on his consideration.
his affection and his love. 1t is the superiority
Of heart to head that endears woman to man
above everything else. and her attractions dimin-
ish in his eyes in proportion as she allows her
head to obtain the mastery of her heart. There
is all the difference between the woman with more
head than heart on the one hand. and the woman
with more heart than heaC the other, that there
is between a cold classical concerto performed by
highly trained but altogether soulless artist,
and Home, Sweet Home" sung by Patti, as she
alone knows how to interpret il. How rare
praise be TO Allah-is the woman who thinks be.
fore she speaks, instead of afterward, and who
weighs in advance the possible consequences OF
the words she is about to utter. AS rule.
wOman's marks-aye, and her acts as well
more due to momentary impulse than to mature
deliberaton, and when by any chance she does
concentr &c her thoughts for the purpose Of carry
ing out some pet project or plan. she looks neither
to the right 10 the left and permits no con-
sidcratons of common-sense, logic or even Of
justice to bar the way.
While it is impossible to deny that this absence
of logic, of forerhought and of proper Sc
quence, this abandonment, in fact, TO al.
most every impulse, contributes 10 render
women interesting and attractive in our eyes.
since il keeps on the qui viye and we never
know what they are going TO 90 next, nor now
soon they will require our assistance to eXtrcate
them from some tangle or other, yet it must he
acknowledged that it occasioIa ly lands them into
quandary from whence an honorable or salts
4c, rs issue is well nigh impossible. Such, for
instance, is the case of Mrs. Osborne. 1t is one
which is typical. / do not mean by this that
All charming women go about stealing their friends
iewels-athOugh it cannot be denied that their
perception of the difference existing between mcum
and tuum is just trihe less keen than ours.
But the theft of which Mrs. Osborne rendered her.
self guilty, and which has resulted in her present.
Incarceration in Holloway Prison, was clearly an
act Of impulse, done on the spur Of the moment
and without the slightest forethought of she in
evitable consequences Of the deed Mrs lIar-
graves had revealed the secret of tie drawer in
which the pearls were concealed only TO her
husband to of the latters friends whose wealth
placed him above suspicion, and TO Mrs. Osborne
Had the latter reflected for one moment she
would have at realized that tine theft would
Immediately be laid at her door, all the more as
she had made no secret of the fact that she was
at the time greatly embarrassed for want of money
\ more silly theft it would be impossible to
ceiye; and yet Mrs Osborne was by no means 4
silly or stupid woman. The ceverness of her
defence in court showed that. She was merely
like the rest of her very charming seX a creature
of impulse
have seen it stated in the newspapers that
Mrs. Osborne was led TO commit the theft by
her anxiety to raise sufficient sum of money to
save her brother from disgrace. This is untrue
The fact is that Mrs. (sborne-or Miss Ethel
Elliott as she at the time of the theft-was
heavily in debt TO various dressmakers mOdistes
and lngeres. who threatened 10 begin legal pro.
ce dlngs against her uncss sl, made pay
ment on account. \ lawsuit in her eyes involved
irremedab.e disgrace. The danger had 10 he
avert Il at all cost and without stopping one mo-
ment to consider that her theft would lead TO far
greater lgnomlny ald shame, she the impulse
of the moment. and blInu To the logical and in
cvitaDlc consequences of the crime. stole her
friends Jewels. and then raised on them a sum
of money. which she forthwith paid in part 10 her
llngele. She was not poor girl. for she had an
allowance of some $4,000 or $1,000 a year pin
money But in her purchases of articles de tot.
letle sh'. like most other women. especially IN
Europe where larger and longer credits are given
BY tradespeople than here-ordered and bought
things on tn impulse of the moment. without an
instants thought Of that dread period which the
rench graphically describe a. the Quart
dhcure de Radicals.
1t is possible that some Of In, lady readers Of
The Tribune who honor this letter with their Pc
rlsal will take exception TO the statement that
women arr accustomed 10 purchase on impulse,
without due consideration of the possibility and
Of the time Of payment. or of difficulties in which
they likely to become involved thereby. But
let them question the leading ladies' taiors, fur
riers, modstes and lingeres with regard 10 the
truth of my ass rtion. have not had the OPP
portunty of conversing with any OF these gentry
in this city, but in Paris have often discussed
the subject with some of the great fal'eurs. while
waiting for my vety superior half. during those
" pcal feminine q" i've minutes, which invariably
develop into one or even two hours. For not
only money but also time flies AT the c0utuirers'
and modises'. Their expert noes are all more or
less of the same character. namely. that the diff
iculty of getting ladies to pay their bills has the
Effect OF diminishing their annual profits no less
than 10 per cent of the capital invested In their
business They give a curious classification con
,erniDg the readiness of their customers 70 settle
heir accounts The best customers. they declare.