Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-30
Continued from page 2


ring. That's the way we are.
"The cairngorm lay on Ethels dressing
table. She and | were in the room, with
colored maid. When neither was looking, |
took the brooch and hid it in my dress. |
waited till the maid had gone, and then |
asked for it. The maid was accused, and,
when she denied all knowledge of it, poor
GIRL was dismissed. She had been with the
family all her life. Wasn't it awful? But it
was curious how little it affected me. There's
some sort of moral opium it distlls. One
doesn't care what wretchedness or injustice
one inficts. Oh it's hideous.
$50 it went on year after year, the steal
sometimes in shops, sometimes in the
houses of my friends, in public buildings,
anywhere the fit seized me. | took every
thing my mania fancied Often | threw the
things away as soon as had secured them.
Sometimes | replaced them. You have no
idea what queer vagarles one has, how one
will wait for days, weeks, for chance to act.
The obsession is, for the time being, the
most important thing in ones life.
"But there's one thing you must under
stand and believe. 1t was one only part1cu-
lar detail that was wrong with my moral
sense, not a general perversiOn. It's like
paranoia, it seems to have nothing to do
with other parts of ones morality. One can
be kind pure, temperate, unselhsh, IN every
thing else, in everything that doesn't bear
on this special act. You're a man, and must
perceive how such a thing can be. Haven't
erous and loyalo If man is selfish, he's
usually bad all over; but if he is drunkard
he can still be affectionate. So, hope you
won't think of me then as wholly vile. |
stole in this freakish way because | was IL
resistibly impelled to; but otherwise think
| was as good as any woman could be. In
deed, knowing my fault, | tried the harder
to make my life better in other ways.
"Have you ever heard that sometimes,
when mans shot, they don't remove the
bullet? fit lodges in part where there's no
danger or inconvenience, they let it stay,
and cyst is formed round it SO that it is
completely surrounded and it can't poison
the system. Well, this thing seemed like
that, with me. It seemed to be apart from
my normal moral sense. But moral sore
can't really heal like that, suppose. It's
always malignant. 1t has to be cut out, or
it grows.
and more became more cunning. have
never been caught or even suspected to this
day. | grew holder with every success;
bolder, but never reckless. Then came the
necklace affair That was the climax.
A YEAR ago l was in Paris with my
\ mother. We had many acquaintance,
in the best circles, in the Sorbonne, in the
Academy, in the Deputies, in the old no.
blesses of the Faubourg Saint German.
One of my best friends was Countess da
Scarpi, Roman lady of an old Italian fam
lily She had a little necklace Of rubies.
Here it is. Pretty, isn't it? Yet l always
think of it as twenty-seven drops of blood.
"That necklace l had to have! l knew
should try for it, knew should get it, knew
| should not be discovered in the theft.
did succeed. Here it is. Have you examined
it? The stones are small, but hawless. 1t is
exquisitely designed, seventeenth century
workmanship; it is worth, l should say,
about forty thousand dollars. But | have
never worn it, scarcely even looked at it,
since | got it. All my pleasure was in the
winning of it.
at cost me nothing, thought. Nothing?
God. The cost was terrific! Listen! Be-
cause of my theft two sisters became es-
tranged, an ambitious and talented young
naval Lieutenant shot himself Oh, he was
SO handsome SO splendid! A half-dozen
family servants lost their places and never
found other employment. All this l knew;
but | didn't care. Can you imagine it? l
J,,'+ I = 7 T