THEFTS at SOCIETY WEDDINGS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XIII, Issue XV, 13 October 1894, Page 337

THEFTS at SOCIETY WEDDINGS.

The mother of a modern society girl has many duties to perform on the occasion of a marriage. Besides providing the trousseau, inviting the wedding guests, and making arrangements for the display of the presents in the drawingroom, the London mother of to-day has to pay a visit to the local police station, and request that a detective may be sent to her house on the day of the wedding to keep an eye on the presents and costly jewels, during the time they are on view to the invited aristocratic throng. So numerous have been the thefts of late, at weddings, that SOCIETY HOSTESSES ARE COMPELLED IN SELF-DEFENCE TO SEEK THE PROTECTION OF THE POLICE. At all the police stations situated in the aristocratic districts * a wedding present job ’ is eagerly sought after by the sergeant detectives, and no man in any one of these divisions considers his kit complete without a pair of light trousers, a black frock coat, a tall hat, and a pair of light kid gloves. The good looking and easily mannered men naturally obtain preference of choice for such functions. In fact, one officer is so much liked that hostesses frequently make a special request for his attendance. But to be more clearly understood on this subject, I will endeavour to give a pen-and-ink sketch of a familiar scene — a society wedding. Let us for the moment suppose, then, that the bride and bridegroom have been made man and wife, and are on their way home from church, and that the invited guests to the house are commencing to arrive. The first gentleman to put in an appearance is usually a * big swell,' and John, in his especially powdered wig, ushers him into the drawing-room with as much respect as he would an Earl. The first batch of guests on entering the drawingroom to look at the presents will find the swell (the detective officer) and a lady attired in wedding costume ostensibly admiring the precious gems displayed. The lady in question is generally the governess, impressed into the service of the police for the time being, so that the detective may not appear lonely, and cause inquiries to be made, ‘ Who is he!’ Whilst the hundreds of guests are admiring the presents the police officer has all bis work to do. He has to keep up a flow of conversation with his companion, and also to keep his eyes constantly travelling over the de-

licate and light fingers—sometimes too light—of the aristocratic assembly. It may be asked why is all this watching necessary in this assembly of wealth and fashion ! The answer is esay, because more thefts are perpetrated on such occasions than any sane individual would suppose to be possible. For instance, there is one lady who usually receives invitations to all the smart society functions. She is well known to the police officers, and never leaves the pre-sent-room without taking with her some of the valuables displayed on the tables. When she leaves the room she is followed closely till she returnee home, where her maid removes the stolen goods from her pocket and returns them to * the place from whence they came.* At a big society wedding held not six weeks ago, THIS LADY WAS PRESENT AND LED THE POLICE A PRETTY DANCE. She was seen to steal a diamond pin, a set of diamond earrings, and a very costly pearl scarf-pin, the articles valued together being worth many hundreds of pounds. The usual course of following the lady home was taken, and all the goods, with the exception of the pearl pin were forthcoming. The police officer who was in charge of the present room was at bis wits’ end, and when the lady in question had gone that same night to a dance, he went to her house and personally examined the dress she had worn to the wedding. The pin was not there, and the lady had evidently secreted it in some quiet corner. Early on the following morning, however, the lady’s maidservant went to the police-station and produced the pin. It appeared that whilst her mistress was dressing that morning the girl heard a scream, and ran to her mistress’s assistance. * There is a pin in my stocking,’ said the lady, * and it ran into me.’ The girl on examining the hose found the missing pearl pin stuck inside it. The lady had evidently secreted it there, as she considered it a safe hidingSlace. The lady I have endeavoured to describe is young, eautiful, and has plenty of money, but, like the Earl of Derby, suffers from kleptomania. A funny incident occurred about a year ago. In one fortnight there were THREE BIG SOCIETY WEDDINGS. ONE DETECTIVE OFFICER WAS ENGAGED TO ATTEND THEM ALL, and his lady companion was a young Frenchwoman who, peculiarly enough, was employed at all the three houses to teach the younger members of the family the language of

France. The usual dose of the kleptomania subjects and would-be thieves attended the functions, and many articles would probably have been lost if it had not been for the eagle eye of the Frenchwoman in calling the attention of the police officer to the action of several of the would-be thieves. Despite this double vigilance a diamond and sapphire pin, a diamond ring, a gold snuff-box, a set of gold and pearl earrings, and other valuable jewellery, was found to be missing from the various houses at the conclusion of the three functions. The detective officer was furious at his non-success in being able to trace the goods, and the hostesses loud in their aristocratic condemnation of what they were pleased to call the stupidity of the police force generally. A piece of luck was, however, in store for the officer. Not quite a week after the third wedding be was in Portland Place, and there met by accident the French governess. She stopped to talk to the detective, and in shaking hands with him, displayed on one of her fingers a splendid diamond ring. The officer’s suspicions were aroused and he followed the woman. He saw her enter a pawnshop and come out minus the ring. He then followed her home, and in her room discovered all the stolen jewellery. She confessed that she had taken the things from the * present rooms’ of the three weddings in question, and had succeeded in detracting the officer’s attention from herself by calling to his notice the action of other people in the room.