Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-09-17

1
New YoRK, September Is, 1892.
UESrS ARE G IN E R
| ~ N(M ally supposed to be per-
EYSAN O. sonal friends Of the host
| al kANNf and hostess. and yet every
| body has heard Of the
( .r~< d "quatorzieme"-the pro-
Ks I fessional fourteenth per-
\9N@FSN son. at dinners There
were men in Paris, not 80
very many years ago, who made it their BUSH
ness to serve at short notice as guests at ban
quets where the accident of thirteen at table
occurred, thus satisfying the superstitious by
adding one to the number. The individual
thus called in was introduced friend in
vited to the repast, and there was nothing
about his appearance or demeanor which could
arouse suspicion that he was not present on the
same footing with the others.
1t seems surprising to find such a custom, in
a modified form, newly introduced in New York
society. The fashionable hostess nowadays in
giving dinner commonly engages a detective
Of gentlemanlike aspect and address to take
the part Of guest at her table. He is invite
not for any superstitious reason, but to protect
the tableware and other household property
from being stolen by the other diners. Most
strange docs IL appear tnat tue eutof talHtr
| should take such q precaution against possible
dishonesty on the part Of people whom she
knows well enough to regale with intimate
hospitality, but experience has shown that 1t Is
very necessary. Such articles as solid gold
spoons are extremely apt to be pocketed, and
the fact has long been notorious that no sSpall
and costly piece of bric-a-brao is safe in the
most exclusive drawing room. 'Kleptomania
Is the term charitably applied to thieving
habit, which is not SO very rare among persons
Of good social station.
AT A NEWPORT RECEPTION.
"The other day at Newport" said the chief
Of the principal detective agency in this city,
Zone Of my men was employed to look out for
a large reception. He saw handsomely
dressed woman deliberately take and secrete
the top Of a beautiful vase. The object could
have been of no use to her, but the loss of it
would have spoiled an ornament worth $500.
He stepped up to her and said pleasantly
Madam, 1 presume that you want to have a
duplicate of that nader oh, yes! she replied,
guess that you had better put it back. and you
can get duplicate by sending your artist here.
OF course, she gave it up at once. Nothing
more was said, save that her name was reported
| to the hostess. who dropped it from her list
That is the way we always manage @ E1-
method is practiced at a dinner, where the de-
tective keeps quiet watch upon things only
eating and drinking enough to keep.up appear
ances. One lady Of my acquaintance has all
her most valuable bric-a-brac fastened securely,
so that the articles cannot be removed. She
has given up having silver-backed brushes and
other such precious toilet appurtenances in the
dressing rooms at her parties. because they
| were stolen 80 frequently. But it is at we'd
dings chiefly that the society kleptomaniacs get
in their work. At large affairs Of the kind we
| are sometimes called upon to furnish many
| as three men-One to walk about in the room
| where the presents are exposed, another to
| stand by the diamonds and a third to remain
outside on the sidewalk for the purpose of keep
ing professional thieves from entering the
house. It is fact that thieves in the regular
line of business carefully watch the announce
ments of swell weddings with Q view to rob
berry.
KLEProMANIA AN ACTUAL DISEASE.
"My observation has shown that kleptomania
is actually disease. 1t is much more common
among women than with men. Furthermore
it Is in a sense inherited, and the investigation
Of many cases has tended to show that longings
on the part Of mother will thus affect her
unborn child. SO thoroughly am 1 convinced
that victims Of it are not responsible that al
ways try to protect them from exposure. They
steal not from any necessity, but from morbid
fancy. At the same time they come under the
head of opportunity thieves'-they only yield
to the temptation when good chances offer and
/ tucy tuluA tucy drt bcCuTe lTON ueteCtlON. MOI
| long ago l caught woman Of the highest So
cial position in the act of secreting diamond
brooch at a jewelers.. / followed her carriage
home, asked to see her privately. and obtained
from her 5000 chez, which was the price Of
| the article stolen h husband is one of the
He never heard of the TRANSACTION. What
would have been the use Of creating q scandal?
KEEPING SECRETS.
"The detective often has it in his power to do
a great deal Of good by keeping a secret. On
one occasion, few years ago, girl fifteen
| years DID, the daughter of a man Of social
| prominence, became enamored Of Spanish
| artist of this city. She ran away to live with
him. 1 found her ten DAYS later, being en-
ployed for that purpose. She was overwhelm-
| ingly repentant and anxious to go back to her
| family, but shame withheld her. What do YOU
suppose 1 did? deliberately deceived my en-
ployer. Going to al hotel keeper of my init
mate acquaintance told him the whole story.
Now said to him, I want you to take this
Young woman, dress her up as a
chambernaid and employ her as such in
your hotel Then will bring her
father here, and you and your housekeeper will
both tell him that his daughter sought work
here as chambermaid ten days ago and has
been so occupied ever since, making her living
respectfully Everything was arranged as re-
quested. and the father came with me to the
hotel, where said had discovered her, and
actually found her making up the beds on the
! top floor. OF course, there was reconciliation
Nobody outside her immediate family ever
knew that the young woman had
disappeared She subsequently married well.
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE
"One Of the most mysterious disappearances
ever investigated occurred eight years ago.
girl Of sixteen. belonging to rich family,
vanished No tidings of her being obtained for
| fortnight, was employed to look her up. As
| is usual in such instances / made 1t my first
business to find out who were her acquaint-
ances OF both sexes, and particularly whether
| she had exhibited fancy for any man There
| seemed to be no clue worth mentioning. but
some tribe made me think twice about cer-
tain manufacturer, who was q friend of her
fathers: His reputation appeared to be above
reproach, but for lack Of anything more
promising put shadow on him. I found
| that he was q married man Of exemplary
habits, spent his evenings at home and was at
tentive to his business. From time to time he
was accustomed to make business trips to other
cities.
RUNNING THE RASCAL DOWN.
81 began to think that must have struck
wrong scent, but finally made the acquaint-
ance Of one of his employees, who remarked to
me incidentally that the old man was the devil