The weekly intelligencer., 1898-10-22
Hoods Pills are a The fsyorite s, eathar- "a.
THE STEALING FAD.
Society asd Club Women of Chicago
Have q erase for Piifer-
ing Souvenirs.

'Kleptomania," remarked we'll
known club and society woman Of Chi
cago not long ago, sis decidedly over
worked word, and stealing an ugly one.
But the present fad or fancy for col
lecting lucky souvenirs'-abstracting
them surreptitiously from the houses
of your friends and acquaintances-
surely partakes OF the character Of one
or both.
"a year or two ago the fad began.
A popular Chicago woman remarked
one day TO an intimate friend:
"'0h, my dear, did you know that I
have begun to collect souvenirs for
luck. They do say and she laughed as
women do when not quite sure of the
approval of their consciences, that to
steal souvenir brings one the best of
luck. So borrowed with another
nervous ripple of laughter, the tiny
statue which stood upon your library
table
The woman OF whom the statue had
been borrowed felt like remonstrat-
ing in no gentle terms, for that statue
had souvenir value to her as well, and
she really cherished Il. But the bor-
rover was an old and wellloved friend.
She was taken by surprise, and hardly
knew how to act, so she let the matter
pass in silence. Perhaps by this time
she has begun TO collect souvenirs in
this manner herself, for the fad seems
to have spread fast and furiously, and
about seven out Of every ten people
whom one meets are afflicted with IT,"
"Yes," declared another Chicago
woman who has q wide and varied as-
quaintance, "T'm sorry to say 1t, but it
is growing actually unsafe to expose
anything pretty which has no excess
xive commercial value In Chicago.
Women take whatever they fancy un-
der the cover Of the new lucky SOU
venir' fad, and although they seldom
abstract anything of great cost or
worth, all manner OF dainty and sim
pie things with which the average
woman surrounds herself disappear
constantly. I had little silver paper
knife, for instance, which cost only a
couple OF dollars, but which had been
given me by dear friend, and one day
l saw woman Of my acquaintance
who is suffering severely from the
new fancy eyeing II with admiring
glances. I feared for its safety, but
could not well remark upon the inten-
tions Of which suspected her. When
she came to leave, however, she calmly
picked up the knife and slipped it into
the front Of her waist.
Lucky souvenir, my DEAR she told
me carelessly, although she really had
the grace to blush a little, and it's
so pretty that shall enjoy IT doubly.
"'Yes,' responded, a little pointed
ly, 4 notice the pretty things are
usually chosen for the so-called
''lucky souvenirs" I've lost few such
triAes myself
"'Well,' she answered, blushing a
little more, when you come to my
house you must help yourself to some
thing, too And so the matter ended.
But It's an outrageous fad, in my opin-
ion, and the women who indulge in it,
like the college boys who used to bear
away your prettiest and most cher
ished stick pins and fans before your
eyes, apparently consider that to take
thing in plain sight, or, II they do
not this, to tell you Of it afterward
quite straightens the matter out, both
socially and morally."-Chicago Trub.
une.