Year: 1877

Thieves by Birth.


I was invited to a Jail in Massachu-
sets by young lawyer, who has since
become United States Senator, TO ex'
anime the head of client of his whom
he was to defend on the charge of steal
ing. No information was given as to
his alleged crime, and we described the
Young man as being abnormally ac'
ouisitive. or selfish in respect to pos
session; that he had very strong vener'
alton, and would manifest much re-
ligious devotion, and would be sincere
in il; while with his small cautiousness
and conscentiousness, and very large
acouisitiyepess he woald be likely to
trespass pom the rights Of others in the
way of stealing.


At this point the lawyer told the
Young man he might tell me what he
had told him (the lawyer. He went
on to relate that he had been IN the
habit of stealing everything, whether
he wanted it or not; that he would 60
to PRAYER meeting and take the oppor-
tuniity of praying two or three times
during the evening, and sometimes on
the way home he would be inspired
with a devotional feeling, and would
kneel down in the corner of the fence
alone. and have season OF prayer that
was sweet and heavenly to him and,
strange as it may seem, if he saw hoe
hanging on farmers fence, or whit
fie.tree, or chain, or pin OF cart neaP,
or a beetle and wedges, or an old axe,
half.worn, he would steal it, and alter
ward il would occur to him that he
could not use the articles, nobody would
buy them, and his only way was to CON
ceal them and he remarked that there
was hollow log lying in small piece OF
wood in which he had secreted the artl-
cles which he had stolen because he dare
not carry them home nor offer them for
sale. But it seemed to him that he
could not help stealing them; the i'm
palse came on, and though he was sin
core in his religious devotions, and
exceedingly happy in their performance,
he seemed to himself to be LETT to the
temptation of the devil when anything
which might be stolen was left in his
way


< man who was a minister called for
an examination, and at the end Of a long
and sharp analysis of his character, in
which acqusitiveness and secretiveness
had been described as strongly devel.
eped and very active, and also censcien'
tiousness and cautiousness had been
estimated as large, he seemed unwilling
to go, but walked up and down the room
for several minutes, as if he had some
burdened question he wanted to ask and
yet was afraid to ask Turning to him
/ said: " Do you wish to ask any ques
tions ?" Yes,' he said; there is on,
thing about me which you DO not seen
to have described. 1t you will tell m,
that, will believe in phrenology."
instantly replied: You have an inclina
ton to steal but probably manage t
refrain from it." He opened his eye
with terrified astonishment, and, givin
me such a fierce gaze as never Wi
be forgotten, remarked: Sir, that
true. That is my trouble. | am


clergy man, sir, and hope that | am


true one yet | have all my life lon
| DttH W Sktdi, anu III my pa
ochial visits often have an impulse com
over re to take something; and il lie
alone in a room do take it and som,
times it fequires half an hour to find
convenient opportunity TO get the art
Gle thus taken out of my pocket an
back upon the shelf or table where


belongs. 1t may be shell which ever
Sunday-school child in the parish know'
it may be an old hymn book with


name written on it, and half worn out
things which | do not need, and cou
not use if did need them without Il
theft being detected " And he r
marked, with tears tumbling down h
face, "By the help of God | have bee
able, hitherto, to refrain from carryir
away anything which had thus, und
the impulse, stolen"


Twenty-Five years ago there was


well-to-do farmers wife in Connecticl
who had impulse to steal only one kin
of au article, and that WAS blue stocl
ings II she were driving, in the mi,
die of bright afternoon, mile fro
home, where she and the horse au
wagon were well known, and she caugi
sight of pair blue stockings hangir
on a line in the yard with other clotl
ing. she would stop her team, get out
the wagon, 60 into the yard in front
the rooms where the family were worl
ing and jerk those stockings off the lin
leaving a dozen pairs of other color
return to her wagon, whip up the team
and get out of the way. II she had bee
stranger, whose popularity is ul
known, she would have been followe
and arrested and punished but ever
body knew that she had that que,
monomania for blue stockings.


examined a mans head and de
cribed him as being very fond of none,
happening, of course, to use that tern
money, instead Of property, and it mad
quite a sensation because it was know
that he would steal money, and he di
not hesitate to talk about it himsel
But he would steal nothing else, L
matter how valuable, though he kne
he might be detecte1.--Neison Ser,
chronological journal.