Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-05-05
ABOUT SECRET DRAWERS.
Once Very Common. but the Iron
Safe Has Taken Their Place.
WERE VERY ENORMOUSLY MADE.
The Interesting story of n Lost win
and How IL Oddly Game to
De Found.

NhoWh dealer In antique furniture.
one Is always reading about them
In novels, In which they often play an
important part. and II would be In
teresting to zee how they are worked"
They are often exceedingly ingnni-
GUS" the dealer replied.
But have YOU any specimens among
your collcctiong"
AT the present moment have only
a very few, but II you will follow rae
VIII show them to you with pleasure"
He led the way through two long
rooms crowded with valuable old fur.
niture' and up flight OF stairs to tue
first floor.
Are secret drawers of considerable
antiquity"
No That is, II you except isolated
Instances. They were really introduced
on nm extensive scale In the latter half
OF the last century, when most OF the
ingenious mechanical contrlvanees In
furniture came into fashion"
AT the Chippendalo and Sheraton
period?"
Quite so, Now. this bureau has "A
hidden drawer. You might have the
thlng In your possession for a Mfo-
ulne ana never suspect It. Take out
ms little drawer Now put yuur hnnd
inside ana see II you can detect any
thing, MOP There IN nothing unugtial
10 DO ret; Hut Just press hard against
Click A strip or wood few for.
ware, ana disclosed an opening In a
part OF the bureau that had previously
appeared TO be quite solid Ii was 40
ngenlously and accurately nut together
thnt one would never have detected II
with the eye.
This cabinet over here has also a
secret drawer Have you got pin
"a pin? No"
AM Then l am afraid we can't
open II. Stay; my scnrf-pln Will do
Now nut your hand under here. Can
You feel a tiny hole2 Nor Well. ii ia
TOO small, | suppose, Tor your finger
70 detect But Know Just where to ind
II. There, you see the pin has gone
IN hnlf an inch. 1t Is pressing against
spring. Now. watch"
Cllckl Again u portion or the cnbi-
net jumped open and exposed sooret
compartment II was IN quite DIFF
forent place this time and most artfuliy
concealed
This cabinet on the other side has a
secret drawer" said the dealer and
80 has that one IN the corner, hut
they are on the same principle as the
ttculnrly ingenious one downstairs. IL
you would like to see It,"
reply having been given In the
affirmative, u descent was made to an
other room.
Nov, perhaps you would like first
to examine this bureau and try to ind
the position OF the drawer. do not
Imagine you would ever discover tho
way to reach 1t even II l showed you
whore It licH,'
Tho writer made careful cxaminn-
tion inside and out, took n few m,lls-
urements, and tapped what appeared TO
be solid wood In search of hollowness,
But he could discover nothing. Three
or four guesses that he made as to tho
position OF the secret compartment
We're NIL wrong, and he gave up the
search.
Now place your hand Into this pig,
eon-holc." the dealer said. You can
feel n strip OF wood at the top the
same MS is to be found In each Of tho
other holes. They give strength 10 tho
arch, But II you press this one very
hard TO the left, you will find that II
VIII slide about an eighth Of an inch.
Ia that so?'
yes: have shifted IT,"
Next Insert your hand here. You
nre now able TO slide that partition
forward quarter Of an inch. That IL
rlght. Now press the back OF the first
IlkfhllHLhlNt
In second piece Of ornamental
carving fell forward and disclosed a
deep, narrow slit, only about half an
Inch wide but quite large enough TO
contain important documents or n large
number of bank noteB
"ThHt contrivance gave us n lot Of
trouble said the dealer I'VE first sus-
pscted the existence OF drawer, ana
after careful search, with the aid OF
Il magnlfylng glass. we satisfied our
selves OF It's location. but II took us
nearly two months to find the way TO
open IT,"
Have you ever failed In such n
caae7"
"once. We have sold the thing or
| would show Il 10 you, II rs much too
complicated for me TO describe. Well,
It completely baflied us, and In the end
we had 10 break II open, find out how
II was worked and then restore II TO
It's original condition"
Have you ever had any treasure
trove?"
Some years ago my father. who
conducted this business before me. had
a curious case. He bought a bureau
from gentleman, In whose family II
had been for long period, and sent
II straight TO an outside cabinet maker
TO do up. He first looked at II and
came to the conclusion that there was
no secret drawer"
but there was. after all, sup
poser"
Eyes, and the cabinet-maker found Il;
and. what was more, It contained an
Important will and $50 u think that
was the amounD In Bank OF England
notes He kept the lot and said no.
thing to my father about II. But one
night he got drinking at a tavern and
told the story TO some friends. man
who happened TO oyerhear came and
told the governor"
what did he dor
well, the same day the gentleman
who had sold the bureau came into,
the. shop on other business, and my
father told him exactly what he had
heard. A straight old chap was my
father. Then the gentleman got very
1cited. and said that he hadn't doubt
that II was his late fathers missing
this. They told the cabinet-maker that
he could keep the money II he pro-
duced the will, which he did; and IL
turned out TO be Just what the gentle
man expected"
quite little romancel Now / viii
trouble you with one question and
then go. Do they make these secret
drawers In modern bureaus and cab
lnets1"
aNo. That IN to say. they are nnt
made by the trade In the regular way.
OF COURSE they can be made 10 order
II a customer wants them. But they
have quite gone out OF date since TIE
introduction OF iron safes, which ORR
not SO easily broken into. and whiah
are often firn-proof-'
With THANKS 70 the dealer Tor a very
entertaining chat. the writer took bis
HamUaa