The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-10-23

Burglars CluD STUCK TO the dSSOCldlloil
| with new tenacity, and it is not likely
that it will ever again be superseded
| by title more respectable, If less de-
scriptive. The club fined its four men,
| bers for their breach of the rules, but
nevertheless there was desire on the
part of the whole association to again
entertain a real burglar at the expense
Of the club. lie was written to, and
most cordially invited to come, but the
| letter came, back to the club stamped
/ by the post office authorities with the
words:
mo such person known at this ad-
| dress"
| Since that time the Burglars Club
has made a rule which, so far as I
know, has never been adopted by any
other club in London. In other clubs a
| man is made member without any
| fuss other than paying his entrance fee
and yearly dues, but the Burglars
Club now initiates q member after the
fashion of certain secret societies.
The new member must enter by the
back window, as the original burglar
did he must enter alone at the hour of
twelve o'clock. when the churches in the
neighborhood are striking midnight.
A year ago the back window could
| only be opened during the time the
clocks were striking twelve, but since
that time some Of the ingenious mem
bers arranged a mechanism which
causes the sash to raise when the
clocks begin striking and lowers it ana
causes it to lock when the clocks have
| finished striking, so a candidate now
! does not need to tumble with the win
dow when he wants to get in. In the
| same manner the side door, which leads
| to the street from the back yard, can
| be opened three minutes before mid
| night but not after that hour. The
candidate enters alone from the street,
| and once inside the alley which leads
| along the house he puts on the mask
which has been given him the night
| previously, and which is supposed to be
| the one captured from the real burglar
| three years ago. If the new member
| hesitates about stepping inside the WIN
| dow he Is lost for a month at least. 1t
seems a simple thing to step over a
window sill, but 1t very often happens
that man hesitates just moment too
long. A few months ago a would-be
member was caught by the descending
sash and held there until released by
the other members of the club the fact
that the room into which he steps is
quite dark probably accounts for the
hesitation. ,s.g
| All that candidate has to do is to
| find his way to the upper hall, and
| then, after a midnight supper, he is
| full-hedged member of the Burglars
club. There is no initiation fee, but the
new members must pay for the supper,
which often amounts to as much sa
most clubs would charge for admit
tance. Once inside the candidate hears
the window close with a bang and lock
| itself, and as he stands there in the
| darkness the solid shutters behind him
crash together, covering the window and
shutting out any light which might
| come from the outside. After mo-
ments silence jubilant cock-a- doodle
doc breaks the stiffness. On the wall in
front of him appears CHASTITY square OF
yellow illumination, and upon 1t in lu-
rid crimson Is painted the words, AN
other good man gone wrong" The yell
| low light on the wall serves but to
make the darkness more intense, and
does nothing toward the general illu-
mination Of the room, but after mo-
| ment even that goes out, to be followed
| by another. after the fashion Of those
| Illuminating signs which appear and
| disappear on the high buildings of the
city.
| The second illumination shows black
| letters on a red ground, with a hand
pointing and the words: Take the ell
evator." AS the candidate looks in
| the direction of the pointing hand a
| globe of electric light suddenly shows
! the interior of an elevator, at the wire
| rope of which stands boy in buttons
ready to ascend. The electric globe in
| the elevator Eliminates the room some
| what, and when the candidate attempts
| to enter the lift he runs his head against
sheet of thick plate glass so clear
| that it gives no indication of its pres
| ence until it effectualy bars the way.
| Then the wax figure slowly raises its
hand to its nose and the electric globe
| goes out.
After this rumble is heard under
meath the floor and many candidates be-
| lieve that the floor shakes but this is
| IlOL at al IHt tdSt.NIlc5C W tiC 'Niiiho
| and entirely out Of sight, because any
| light that shows in the room, except the
one in the elevator, Is very dim and
| shaded on the top so that it throws no
rays upward, are two arms, like the
wings of a gigantic overhead fan, which
| is worked from the room above by
means of pole that comes through the
ceiling in the center of the room. At
| the end of one of these arms is phono-
graph, which begins to sing, when the
arms revolve. Depending from the 9th
| err arm is an electric light in frosted
| yellow globe.
The monograph sings very well in
deed in a tenor voice the song, when
| the Enterprising Burglar Isn't Burg
ling" The yellow electric light does
not illuminate anything, but merely
| CLOVIS with baleful eye as 1t whirls
around and around noselessly, while
| the music of the monograph at the 9TH
err end of the arm also makes a circuit
| OF the room There are four yellow and
crimson Illuminated squares on the four
| walls, each with the same motto, "The
| Old Mans Drunk Again" These flash
out and are obscured alternately as the
photograph comes opposite them. The
| effect of this operation on most candi-
| dates even though they have not tast-