The Washington herald., 1908-03-29

Nice, March B.-The "Comtesse de Mon
tell" whom the police caught red-handed
in the act Of theft In hN4el here, showed
remarkable ingenuity and great ccclness.
Her maiden name was AnelIe Condamine.
and she Is the wife OF a II. Portal. She
is one OF a species Of thief all the more
dangerous and more difficult TO capture
because their operations are carried on in
places which the police never enter.
Among the countess papers are direc-
tons for thieves Of her stamp
She watched the habits OF her fellow
guests in hotel. and az night, when shs
was sure that they were sound asleep, en-
tered their rooms without difficulty by
the help Of lIttie instrument known as
the ''ouistiti. This is not unlike a pair
Of curling tongs. but the two prongs are
followed out so that they can be inserted
in a lock and made 20 grip the end OF a
key left In door locked from the inside.
The key is thus turned without difficulty.
Special Clothing for Job.
The countess had special clothing for
her operations. She wore a black jersey
with a short black skirt, black stockings
with felt soles. and a black hood. II her
victim was IN deep sleep. her task was
easy. But II. as sometimes happened. the
victim stirred, the countess" would lie
fat on the floor behind the bed and re-
main invisible in the gloom until the vic
tim. seeing nothing. composed himself 70
sleep again.
Sometimes the spider" as thieves Of
this type are called, used a chloroform
spray TO insure the victims sleep. Some
times she would find door with a bolt
which could not be undone IN that case
she entered the victims room in the day
tine. took away the bolt, and substituted
one that could easily be made 70 fall on
by working from outside the door.
She acted to perfection her part of be-
ing an honest woman by day and rob-
Der by night. and moved in very good So
ciety. Reports have II that al Biarritz,
ArcachOn. and other places where she
stayed she was very well considered by
the genuine nobility. who took no trouble
70 inquire into her title. The police, how
ever, learned that, although she had as
sumed the pompous title OF ''comtesse de
-" she was in reality the daughter
OF people In very moderate circumstances,
II not actually poor, and that her aged
mother was living very simply near Ma
con. The fact had also been noticed that,
whereas she Rad no known fortune from
which she could derive an income, she
nevertheless lived in great luxury. and a
peculiar coincidence was that al every
hotel where she had been stopping some
guests had always complained that they
had been robbed.
Traced by Detectives.
Two detectives finally followed her TO
the Riviera. where she stopped at one OF
the finest hotels The pseude-eountess
was quick. however, 20 suspect that she
hotel. after sending her baggage TO the
railway station. as if she were going 70
take q train But the police detectives
were not so easily hoodwinked. and fol-
lowed her 20 her new hotel. where they
took rooms near her own At O'Clock
at night the pseudo-countess, thinking
that she was no longed watched, started
out on one Of her adventures.
The detectives were surprised at the
Transformation, and watched her stealing
noiseleSsly down the dimly lighted cor
ridor until she was in front Of the room
bunch OF keys out Of her skirt pocket
and In an instant she turned the lock
and was about 70 open the door, when
the detectives stepped out Of their hiding
place and laid their hands on her shoul-
der. She looked az them. pale and aston
ished. and followed them 10 the police
station without protest.
At the station. however. she recovered
courage, and denied that she had any in
tentions OF robbing But the burglar s
keys were there 10 prove il. and when her
room was examined II was found stocked
with all sorts OF housebreaker's fnstru-
ments. small electric pocket lamps. and
keys OF ali descriptions, together with a
list Of hotels 10 be visited and the loca-
ton and numbers Of the rooms where
wealthy guests would be staying. She
had besides some 30.0oo francs worth OF
jewels and 4.6Oo francs in cash in her POS
session. When confronted with this evil
dence she refused 10 answer any further
questions Her arrest has come as a
great surprise 10 those who knew her in
Paris, as she had a wonderful reputation
for respectability and vas well received
everywhere
RObberies on Ocean Liners.
The police have found photographs OF
her in the company OF many well-known
people in New York society. and one OF
them. taken in 1901. shows the countess -
on the point OF making a balloon ascent
from the environs OF New York
Among her papers have been found
plans and careful notes OF the liner on
which she went TO New York and tina, on
which she returned. On each Of her trips
considerable property was stolen. Among
the notes are some that read:
Mr.. and Mrs. A. cabin No. -.
Leave key in lock at night. Press hard.
Mr.. B Bag on the right hand con-
tains his pocketbOok- Very rich. Eats
iittle- ,-a-.- s+rnnr- Chinrnfnrrra -