A PARLOURMAID'S SPREE.

Colonist, Volume LVI, Issue 13891, 23 December 1913, Page 2

A PARLOURMAID'S SPREE.

When Mr. and Mrs. Roland le Strange, of Ebury, London, S.W., went abroad they, left their parlourmaid, Frances Jennings, in the house, with somewhat unfortunate consequences, Mr./le Strange, on returning, found Jennings was not there, the back door and the windows, were open, and a clean an dtidy house was "a sort of derelict."

The plate chest had been unlocked by some means. On going to Jennings' bedroom he found the door locked. He burst it open, and found two pawn'tickets. in the room. A great quantity of things were missing, including some wearing apparel. When they went away there were about seven dozen bottles of wine in the cellar. There was none of it left. Silver spoons forks, and linen, worth quite, £150, had gone. Next day Mrs. le Strange received a letter from Jennings, as follows: —"Dear Madam, — I know you have discovered everything. I wish you to believe that no one is concerned with me'whatever. I am alone to blame for everything. By the time you receive thim, madam, I shall be out of this great trobue. I canno.t bear the suspense any longer. I did not think, whatever faults I have, I should ever come to this." A detective, however, arrested her at. her lodgings, and she was charged with theft at the' Westminster Court. A procession of. pawnbrokers, produced a variety of articles . pledged by her. She told the various assistants that she had been sent by her mistress, and gave various names and addresses. The detective said that when he arrested Jennings she had in. her ;possesion two packets of poison, and told him he had come just at the right moment. She said: "I started taking the things about six or seven weeks ago, and I have pawned everything. I have squandered the money in dress . ar>d drink. I. also went twice to the isio of Wight with the money I got. All the wktos from the cellar I drank. That is partly the cause of all this."

Jennings, who was in a half-fainting condition in court,- said she desired to / say nothing beyond to plead guilty and ask to be "dealt with" at once.

Mr. Hopkins: It strikes me that if ever a servant deserved punishment it is you. There was a previous conviction for stealing jewellery, and she was now Sentenced to six months' imprisonment.