The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-19
A Case in which One Woman Show
ed Both Detective Ability and Her
Weakness.

From the Chicago Times-Herald. m
"Apropos of detective stories, for which
there has been such a literary hunger"
said a Chicago woman who holds an en-
viable position, II have often wondered
why women are not prominent as success
full detectives, and l asked my husband,
who is a criminal lawyer, why they were
not better known in that line of work."
what did he Sayp'
HE recalled TO my mind a small piece
of detective work that 1 had done myself
which had entirely escaped my memory.
l was in that case my own detective bu-
reau, employer and agent. And / never
was so sorry for anything in my life, al
though tracked the criminal to his lair
that is detective lingo, is 1t not?-and
then, woman-lil1e assisted him to escape
punishment.
1T was some years ago-yOu see my
hair is white now-and my husband and
boarded in a very select west side neigh
borhood 1t was before the fire, and we
had the good fortune to be very pleasantly
situated. We had both army and navy
people with US. and Gems. Grant and Sher-
ldan frequently called on the son of
Galena officer who was one of our board
ers. A son of Brigham Young was also
one of our family and French countess
of charming manners and distinguished
antecedents was highly priced. We were
happy family when our landlady, an ex-
cellent woman, was pacific. But If any of
US fell into disgrace with her we had bet
ter never have been born.
one night when 1t was extremely warm
several of US sat on sofa cushions on the
side coping of the stone steps trying TO
catch breath of air. Our landlady had
ideas about boarders who sat on the
steps, so none of us dared to sit, but
leaned and reclined, until it was suggest
ed that chairs at the top OF the flight of
steps would not be Objectionable. Then
we sent our male attendants 20 bring out
the parlor chairs-chairs of penance,
composed of horsehair, from which we
invariably and perslstenuy slipped, but
which were as the apple of her eye 10 the
good woman with whom we homed.
I'VE dragged several of them back to
their retreat, but our two, being left on
my hands. refused obstinately TO bulge,
and l left them for the man servant to
bring In when he closed the double doors
for the night. But In the morning those
night by thieves, Thomas having failed TO
bring them in.
II had not then acquired the art OF look
ing innocent and unconscious when asked
about missing objects. ! was young and
verdant, and at the first interrogation /
broke down ana confessed.
wouldn't have taken $40 for Them
said the boarding-house widow. And she
told the truth: she wouldn't have taken
$40 for them. from anyone In his right
i've trail
Il cannot see now how 1 expected TO
find those chairs. for ! did not ask the
police TO help me, and knew nothing of
pawnbrokers and their customers, but rea-
soned TO myself in this way, that IL must
have been some one who lived near. for
the chairs were too conspicuous TO carry
FAR, and too heavy, so / confined my In
quiries TO places within six or eight blocks
IN every direction, and then 1 struck a
clew.
II learned that new family had moved
into shabby house on a side street, and
that they possessed a distinguished name
that OF then popular actress, and with
this insufficient knowledge 1 raped at the
door. A woman with the saddest face 1
ever saw opened IT,
., !" Are goq Giving lessons in dramatic
oh. now" she said. I wish, indeed,
that 1 could. II I were able 10 do that
1 would not be living here
Il wished myself az home, but I felt 80
sorry for the woman that / must have
showed II in my faces for she asked me
the first things I saw were the two lost
II never knew how / got through that
Interview. The poor woman told me ali
her troubles. Her husband was a gam
bier, and out Of luck. ! promised 20 help
her, q promise kept, and ! went away
with her sad, pleading eyes following me.
Before i would tell the owner OF the
chairs where they had been found / ox-
acted a promise that there should be no
arrests. Ny husband managed the affair,
and the family were assisted 10 locate IN
a new neighborhood, but L took me a
long time to feel that my life was not IN
danger from that piece OF amateur detec-
tive work. My husband says that Is why
women do not rise 10 distinction IN that
feld-thcy let their aympathica run away
with their Judgments"