The Washington herald., 1907-03-24
SOCIETY And THE PAWNSHOP
Jewels Most Frequently Used When
Milady Is Short Of Cash.
Trying 20 Raise Money on Dummy
Gens-PrOspect OF Coed Marriage
Goes at Money Lenders.

Some revelations Of the operations OF a
high-class loan office" are made by a
writer il the Reader It IS with the loan
Office that most Of the aristocratie pawn
ing is done in England One Of the pro-
prietors % such an office was induced to
talk about some OF the transactions in
which his firm has been concerned.
The aristocracy. ne said, are not
quite so simple-minded as most people
suppose Only one day last week a young
lady Of title had been 'plunging al bridge,
with the result that she owned $500
when she left the tables. II was impossi-
bic for her to consult her husband. who
is a man In the Guards. with hardly more
than enough 20 keep their little house in
Pont street going comfortably 50 she
came 90 us-and, curiously enough. we
had only a few weeks before had a visit
from her husband, who had lost heavily
over a horse. The jewels that this wide
awake society dame was anxious for US
10 accept as security we discovered
were a portion Of a dummy set, such
as most women have nowadays She
seemed quite surprised that We should
wish 10 test the security offered. and
when found out she only laughed. and
exclaimed that she thought either set
would do. One was worth upward of
e @0 while the other was worth hardly
as many shiilngs.
Not infrequenuy we have been asked
to advance money upon the chance OF
the person needing IL making a brilliant
and wealthy marriage.
Some months ago a lady brought her
daughter with her one afternoon. one OF
the prettest young women in London So
ciety, and asked US as she was hard up
and unable to pay her heavy dressmaking
bills, TO advance her $1,000 on the chance
Of the daughter marrying a very rich man.
We advanced her the sum she asked Her
daughter made brilliant match. and
three or four months after she sent US
a check.
One of the most romantic things that
have ever happened 10 any Of our clients
occurred with reference to a well-known
French c0mtesse. She had come over to
London for the season with her husband
and must have been betting very heavily
for a week after the Derby she was an
nounced. and on entering told US that
she must have $1,000 by the end of the
month. AS with so many women, the
only security she could give was her Jew
els, and these she knew she could not
part with in sufficient numbers without
their absence being noticed. The only
ulhs TOT hef 10 90 was 70 nave coun-
terfeit set made, and deposit the real ones
with as. This she did. and on her return
to Paris we were startled TO read that the
COmtesse Y. N. had been robbed OF her
jewels. A great stir was made and the
thieves were arrested with their supposed
booty in Brussels. During the trial the
fact OF the genuineness of the jewels
was questioned. and tt was discovered
they were limitations Within a week the
husband came over here in a terrible state
and upbraided us for advancing money
on his wife's jewelry. and at once re-
deemed those we had. But for the fact
of the burglary he would probably never
have known that his wife was not wear
ing the family heirlooms instead Of i'm
itations "