Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-06-26
THIEVES IN SOCIETY
STORIES TOLD BY NoNBELlEYERs lN
 KLEPTOMArSlA.

Light Fingers h the Dressing Rooms og
 Fashionable Entertainers Dnfai2 ES-
 changes Which May Be caited Robbery.
 old Things For New.
 "Oh give it any name you like--bor. rowing other peoples belongings and failing ever to return them, mistaken identity as tospecial possessions or klep- tomania, but l call it thieging, and something ought to be done about it
 This is what the blond woman in the very smart bonnet said to her nearest neighbor in. blue. whereupQn every other woman near the lea table cat short her conversation and held her cup in mfdaiy to hea1 what the discussion would bring forth
 That l do, went on the blond omt phatieally, and Dye been stolen from repeatedly No my dear, ] won talto 9 word of it back, and I am not spcal1- ing hastily In every instance it was a plain case of theft, and Two not up to date recovered a single belonging. Why, of course if it had been d glinay fingered sneak thief or too entcfIFising house maid I most naturally would have go1a to the police and detectives for protee. tion and assistance, but 1t is not quite so easy to have aH individual who wears the best French gloves whose bonpefs come from an expensive importer and who sometimes asks you to sharo her opera box, receive at her teas or taka a lift home in her hreugham, arrested and searched on suspicion,
 Well, l neyerR' remarked tbe won- an in hlue
 "Oh, that's just because You are a dear, unsophstieated little creature, and out in your western town they don't do such things. Hhe temptati6Hsare net 50 gfeat bat 1 can assure y6H tbat hafa in our big cities, at rcygU1ar intervals. polite kleptomania is simply rampant, and hardly a big function breaks ap that half the women don come away quite savage over the loss of some pretty and especially pIized belonging. EYi- dcut1y the blond was right for all the other women nodded assent. and the hostess was apparently breathloss to tell of some personal grievance on tAis scores when the first speaker broke in again;
 You see, she elaborated, tvo used to think it might have been tha servants fapiI, CT an h0aost olror. when we found ouF possessions exchanged fer others less valuable or simply disappearing, uu. til two CT three times the offenders were caught right in tho act and then came the awfully dismal consciousness that really no enc could Do trusted.
 By first experience was with very costly lace fan 1 carried to I dinner l held 8a Go it most a8fectioBatelg through out the evening, until some half dozen of Us went up to the hostess bedroom for our wraps. Thero laid itl with my yinMgaetto and 2an, on the aHasn ta= hle, and when l turned to eet them again tho fan W8s gone protested, the maid searched, but nothing came of itl and hfolzen heatedly ] vent down. ba. Walln8 my less 6a 8 syu1a5hiziHg fem. inine eempahlaa Nc went ont to our respective carriages together, bat es the butler opened the hall dcar puff of wind blew her long cloak aside, and there l saw, snug in .s pocket, my pre. cioas fan We'll, the next day l wrote } her very frankly, asking fer its return, suggesting of course she had taken ib by mistake and homo it came. But we have never spoken since,
 j That taught mn to look for higher [ offenders than maids in dressing rooms, Q who are usually accused of making way with all wraps, umbrellas, overshoes and what not that may be missing. , Ah, that is hot my trouble, chimed - ill debutaute across the tea table "Tha f favorite plan is now to exchange bad for good things am grow ing almost philosophical oyer tho deplerable ghab- biness of my wardrobe from this e0n- stant swapping. Last week. en coming ! up late to the dressing room from 0 dance, l found in place of my brand new green suede carriage oyeTsboes two overlarge, badly worn ones of rusty black velvet and ny lace head scari oz- changed for q frayed one of soiled white chiffon Naturally cross and sleepy, ] fell on tho tired maid, who wept and denied, but looked as if she could tell 8 tale
 Only to make a test case Of it Irollea my new French galochos in my 1naokin tosh, laid my card on top and put them in safe corner of tho dressing room ot q house where l went 10 luncheon the other day. But t was of no avail Zhe galoches had been metamorphosed into pair of l8uddy rubhGrs with holes in them when ! went hack, and I didn't grumhie, since my pretty umbrella was left Ihe work of the spoiler goes on in the eioalrooms when big wedding re- captions, teas, musieales and private balls are in progress.
 "At enc of the big dances uf the sea I son the hostess simply ordered her maid to issue checks for every womau's wrap, and charming to relate, moi go much aa a bairpin was lost, for at her daughter ss wedding reception, only week before, three muha got away somehow witheut their rightful oNnels, and the possesor of q @300 sable hand warner faund D serebby old astfalshan one iH its place.
 That is where the fashionable lglep 5onauiaes salve their eonsaienees by an exchange, ycu see, for rarely is anything taken hat some inferior article is ret put in it's place, and very rarely are they caught uiih them. Their position ilr aee1etJ ia ore 0i HTatvei3eitl amt tii5tf sictims ate foo fmid of p1oud to trace a clew which tce often leads right to the dcor of theil l. st friends or some woman wio Y aiding materially ln