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"KLEPTOMANIA"--THE TENDENCY TO SUPERSTITION--AN OLD KNICKERBOCKER
FAMILY--A VERY "PROPER" OLD GENTLEMAN, A MR. GARRETSON--HE
CALLS ON ME AT MY OFFICE, AND FINDS A CURIOUS-LOOKING ROOM--HIS
STORY OF WONDERS--"EVERYTHING" STOLEN--TALK ABOUT DISEMBODIED
SPIRITS--THE MYSTERY DEEPENS--PROBABLE CONJECTURE
BAFFLED--VISIT TO MR. GARRETSON'S HOUSE--MRS. GARRETSON, A
BEAUTIFUL AND CULTIVATED OLD LADY--WE SEARCH THE HOUSE--AN
ATTIC FULL OF OLD SOUVENIRS--WE LINGER AMONG THEM--MR.
GARRETSON'S DAUGHTER IS CONVINCED THAT DISEMBODIED SPIRITS ARE
THEIR TORMENTORS--SHE PUTS AN UNANSWERABLE QUESTION--A
DANGEROUS DOG AND THE SPIRITS--TEDIOUS AND UNAVAILING WATCHING
FOR SEVERAL DAYS AND NIGHTS--THE "SPIRITS" AGAIN AT
WORK--RE-CALLED--THE MYSTERY GROWS MORE WONDERFUL--THE "SPIRIT"
DISCOVERED AND THE MYSTERY UNRAVELLED--THE FAMILY SENT
AWAY--THE ATTIC RE-VISITED WITH MR. G. AND ITS TREASURES
REVEALED--A RE-DISCOVERY OF THE "SPIRITS"--THE FAMILY REVIEW
THEIR LONG-LOST TREASURES FOUND--REFLECTIONS ON THE CAUSES OF
THE MYSTERY--A PROBLEM FOR THE DOCTORS.
"Kleptomania," the delicate term of modern coinage from the old Greek,
which is used to signify a passion for thieving under peculiar
circumstances, and is mostly used when the thief is a person of some
importance and of moneyed means, so that the lust for gain is not
supposed to be his prompter to the "offence against the statute in such
cases made and provided," indicates a moral "dereliction" which not
only attacks the wakeful subject, but sometimes infuses itself into the
dreams of sleepers. Many women in a state of pregnancy are said to be
liable to this disease, so to term it, who, in any other state, would
be horrified at the bare mention of the crime of theft. They exhibit
great adroitness in their man[oe]uvres when under the influence of the
disease, and possess a boldness, too, of which, in their strictly
"right minds," they would be utterly incapable. Such establishments as
Stewart's great retail dry goods store expend large sums of money
yearly in the employment of detectives to watch the customers, to see
that they do not slyly purloin such goods as they may easily secrete in
carpet-bags, in their pockets, under shawls, or under their dresses,
and so on. Not a small number of these would-be thieves are
kleptomaniacs, and mostly women suffering under diseases peculiar to
the sex, or women in a state of pregnancy, whose blood is more or less
driven in unusual quantities into the head, and stirs there passions
and desires which they never so feel at other times. The philosophy of
this thing would be a pleasant matter of study, and falls legitimately
enough into the line of a detective's life to investigate; but here is
not the place for its discussion at any great length.
I may run some risk in the narration of this tale, of trespassing upon
the feelings of some persons who might prefer that I say nothing about
it; for the facts were known to a large circle of highly-respectable
people, mostly relatives of the "chief person of the drama," who would,
perhaps, prefer that the matter should rest in peace, and go out in
oblivion by and by. But I will endeavor to be delicate and courteous
enough, in the avoidance of names, and in my general descriptions, to
offend no one of those relatives who may read this.
There are a great many people who have a natural tendency to
superstitions of all kinds. They have excellent common sense, for
example, in everything except in matters of a religious nature. A
family of such people may be divided into religious partisans of the
bitterest stamp; the one may be a Baptist, for instance, and believe
that all the rest, who disagree with him, must be lost. Another member
may be a modern "Adventist," deny the doctrine of the essential
immortality of the soul, and think his brother, who does believe in it,
guilty of a proud and sinful assumption and godless vanity in so doing.
Another may become an English churchman, and gravitate from that
character into the Roman Catholic church, and feel that all the
rest,--the Baptist, the Adventist, etc.,--must "perish eternally,"
unless they come into the fold of the Roman see. And still another may
be a modern Spiritualist, and believe in the return of "departed souls"
to earth, to commune directly, or through "mediums," with poor mortals
here, etc. It seems to depend very much upon how the superstitious
element in each member of such families is first or finally addressed,
as to what each may become.
The reader will please conceive of an old, respectable family of
Knickerbockers, into whose veins was infused a little Yankee blood,
imported from near Boston, Mass., a family whose sires held in the past
high rank and official position in the state and nation--a family not a
little proud of its far-off Dutch and English stock--reared in wealth
and luxury, well bred, of course, at home, and well educated, both the
males and the females; with a large amount of landed estate in various
parts of the country, and blessed with a plenty of houses and building
lots in the cities of New York and Brooklyn; and, in fact, I have been
told that their property could be pointed out all along the road, from
Jersey City to Morristown, New Jersey. In fact it was by the possession
of city lots, and the constant increase of value thereof, that the
family acquired the larger portion of their estate. Add to this that
the relatives of the family are mostly rich, and that such of them as
are not rich, belong to that highly respectable, humdrum sort of
people, who are here and there found in the midst of the stir and
bustle of New York, who persist in representing old notions, old modes
of doing business, and whose chief pride exercises and delights itself
in talking over what their fathers did, who their grandfathers were,
etc., or in preserving, perhaps, some legend, that when Washington had
his residence near Bowling Green, their grand-uncle, or some other
relative, was a welcome visitor there. It is necessary to bring to the
mind's eye this class of people in order to comprehend the commotion
which bestirred them at the time when I was called to "work up a case"
in their midst.
One day, in the last "decade," I was waited on by a very proper old
gentlemen, neatly dressed, with long white locks smoothly combed,
hanging over his shoulders. The old gentleman possessed one of those
passionless faces, so difficult to read, unless you can get a chance to
peer down the eyes. He wore his gloves just one size too large; a
little too independent to conform to the fashion of tight gloves, and a
little too aristocratic to go without any,--(although I think a
poor-fitting glove no ornament, to say the least),--and walked with the
short, dainty, quick step of the men of note of the last century; he
was tall, that is, about five feet and ten inches in height, rather
slim, though he evidently had been a man of quite robust form.
But some name I must have--and what better can I substitute for the
real one than Garretson? I might have chosen Paulding, or Van Wyck; but
I may wish to use them yet in this. Well, such a looking man was Mr.
Garretson, as he came one day into my office, bearing me a note of
introduction from an old skipper who had his office in Pearl Street
then, near Wall Street. The note, it appeared, was written at Mr.
Garretson's, on peculiar family note paper, and bore the Garretson coat
of arms, and would, I presume, have been sealed with the Garretson
"stamp," and a pile of sealing-wax as large as one of the lead drops on
"bulls," which the Pope attaches to deeds of excommunication, or of
convocation of councils, if it had not been a note of introduction, and
therefore not proper to be sealed; for the Garretsons were never known
to do anything which was not proper, not suitable to their rank, and so
forth, to do. The old gentleman stared a little as he entered my
office, evidently expecting to find its appointments a little more to
his taste, instead of finding "everything" in the office, and nothing
in order; and asking if such were my name, and being answered in the
affirmative, he daintily handed me the note.
[Illustration: THE OLD KNICKERBOCKER IN THE DETECTIVE'S OFFICE.]
"Be seated, sir," said I, as I took it; and pointed him to a seat near
the window, which looked out on the public street, and the only empty
seat in my office save mine, the rest being filled with books, papers,
coats, hats, shackling irons, some old disguises, masks, etc., which I
had that day pulled out of a trunk to give them an airing, and had
scattered about. As I read the note, I looked at the old gentleman, and
found him looking out of the window, as if he were uneasy, and was
questioning in his mind what manner of man was he whom he had come to
visit and consult,--for so intimated the letter of my old friend, the
skipper.
I finished the perusal of the note in a minute or so, and stepping up
to the old man, offered him my hand, with the usual salutations, and
drawing my chair near him, sat down.
"Well, Mr. Garretson, our friend has intimated your business with me. I
am at your service."
There was quite a long pause, when the old man brought his cane down on
the floor between his legs, rested his hands upon the head of it, bent
over it a little, and began:--
"Really, Mr. ----, I was thinking why, on the whole, I had come here;
for the more I think, the less do I believe that you can give us any
assistance. We've tried everything ourselves."
"Yes, sir, perhaps I cannot assist you; but if you will tell me your
story, I shall probably be able to tell you whether I can or not
immediately."
"That's the trouble, sir; the question of probabilities in the matter,"
said he; "for my story is a peculiar one, and involves the disclosure
of matters which I should not like to tell you, unless you can
conscientiously say that you think you can solve one of the greatest
mysteries in the world,"--and here he paused.
"Why, sir," said I, "everything is a mystery to those who do not
understand it. I cannot assure you that I can be of any service to you;
but it is my business to unravel these matters which are mysteries to
most people, and however complicated your case may be, I dare say I can
cite many instances of as difficult ones, which have been worked out."
"I presume so," said he. "You are right. 'What man has done man may
do,' you know; but we've tried everything which seems possible to be
done, to solve the trouble."
"Doubtless all you have thought of as being practicable has been tried,
sir; but there is some solution of your trouble possible, sir, of
course."
"Yes, yes; that's true--unless there is some superior power at work in
the matter. Some of my family and friends think there is."
"O, ho! Then to find out _that_ for a certainty would be a solution
worth having; but you can only discover that by first proving that your
affair is not operated by any ordinary power. Do you mean that it's
thought to be the work of disembodied spirits?"
"Yes, and I confess I am half-inclined to think so myself; and I almost
feel sorry that I have come to you so soon," said he, in a voice and
manner which revealed to me his superstitious proclivities quite
pointedly.
"O, well, sir," I replied, "it is not proper for me to press you to
tell your story now. You must be your own judge of the propriety of
doing so; but if you wish to, you can recite your case to me
confidentially, and I will give you whatever construction of it may
occur to me."
"Well, if the matter can remain a secret with you, if you do not see a
way to solve it, I will tell you, and I do presume that you may be able
to cast some light upon it. The case is this. I live at No. 89 ----
Street, as you already know from Mr. ----'s note."
"Yes, sir; I call the house to mind; have often noticed it as I have
passed along that street."
"Well, sir, now for some eight months I've been able to keep nothing in
our house of a small kind, and valuable nature, such as spoons, napkin
rings, all sorts of silver ware, jewelry, watches, ladies' dresses, and
my own clothing, etc., in fact, anything; it is all mysteriously
carried off. I say mysteriously, for we have kept watch, night after
night, and things would disappear right before our eyes, as it were."
"Well," said I, after a pause of some length, in which the old man
seemed to be pondering whether he would go on with his story or not,
looking bewildered, as if there was something he wished to tell me
about, but did not quite dare to, or was ashamed to tell. "Well, tell
me the whole story. How many persons are there in your family?"
"My wife and myself, three unmarried daughters; two married ones spend
much time there too; and two of my sons, unmarried. They are in
business; but I like to have my family about me--"
"Are these all?"
"Yes, except the servants. I have four maid-servants in the house,
besides my coachman and butler."
"Do you suspect none of these servants?"
"No; I've tested them in every way. They have all, with the exception
of one girl, been with me for from ten to twenty-five years. I called
the women maid-servants; two of them are widows, one has been a widow
for twenty years, and has lived with us for all that time, and the
butler has been with us longer. I would trust any of them as soon as I
would my own children."
"Of course, then, you suspect no one in your house?"
"No, no; there's nobody there to do these things. We've all watched and
watched, I tell you, and the servants are as much interested as we to
know who is the guilty actor, for they have lost many things as well as
the rest of us."
"You speak of one girl who has not been there so long as the rest. How
long has she been with you?"
"About three years."
"Has she a lover who visits the house?"
"O, yes; and he's been coming there for two years."
"Why don't he marry her and take her away?"
"My wife wouldn't part with her--will keep her as long as she lives, if
she can. She thinks she's the best servant she ever saw. We should
suspect her least of all. She has lost nearly every keepsake her lover
has given her, and some very valuable things which her mother gave her
on leaving Ireland, and the poor girl has nearly cried her eyes out
over her loss."
"Well, her lover, what sort of a man is he?"
"A hard working mechanic; works at the Novelty Works, and bears an
excellent name."
"Is he Irish, too? I suppose he is."
"No; he is an Englishman--a Yorkshire man, I think."
"Is he Protestant or Catholic?"
"Protestant to be sure. She's Catholic, though."
"Have you ever talked with him about your losses?"
"Yes; and he and Mary, the girl, have watched several times, sitting up
to keep my wife company, who was watching too; sitting up half the
night, and things would disappear then."
"So you have no reason for suspecting him. Well, the case _does_ look a
little strange, I confess," said I; "but I would like to have you go
into detail all about your premises; where the things taken were, who
were in your house at the time, the kind of locks you have on your
doors; what searches you have made, at what hours, or between what
hours, the things have been taken; for how long, in consecutive days or
weeks, things have been stolen; if there's been any cessation of these
pilferings for any length of time since they began; if you have ever
discovered any traces of anybody's having gotten into the house at this
or that window; what part of the house has been rifled the most,"--and
every other query I could then think of, I added.
This drew from the old gentleman a minute story of the whole affair. I
found the locks were the best; that he had a ferocious watch-dog loose
every night in the lower and middle part of the house, but excluded
from the chambers, on the servants' account, who were afraid of him;
that all parts of the house were rifled alike, and it seemed from what
he said that the thefts were accomplished from about the time of the
family's retiring until morning, for they had watched sometimes till
near morning, and then on rising would find something gone, mostly
things of value, too; but sometimes trivial things, such as the
grand-children's tops, etc., when they happened to be visiting there.
The relatives of the family had been called in to watch too; but things
went when they were there the same, and when the watch was most
complete as to the number of watchers, then it was that the most
valuable things were missed, and injury (evidently out of pure
malevolence) done to valuable furniture; and finally Mr. Garretson told
me that there had been two obvious attempts to fire the house,--and
this he uttered with tremulous emotions.
From all I could gather from him I could not make up my mind to any
conclusions upon which it could rest, and I told him I must visit the
premises, and make examinations for myself. But I could not go till the
next day or night, for that night I had engaged to meet some parties in
counsel upon an important matter; "but which," said I, to him, "was
more mysterious, a week ago, than anything you have told me, and which
has been worked out. Now we are to consult as to how best to get the
guilty parties into our hands, for we know who they are." This seemed
to encourage Mr. Garretson for a little, and we parted, I to call at
his house some time next day, at my convenience.
I went as appointed, and was presented by Mr. Garretson to his wife, a
fair-looking old lady, of the blonde school. Indeed, she was a
motherly, sweet woman to look upon, and had evidently drunken at the
"fountain of youth" somewhere; for although she was only five years
younger than Mr. Garretson, as I learned, she looked thirty years his
junior. Her face was a blending of the Greek and modern German in
style, nose aquiline, and head broad, and not lacking in height; a
pleasingly-shaped head to look upon; and there was all the mercy,
tenderness, and kindness in her eye and voice which one could desire to
find in a woman.
There was a sweet, unostentatious dignity, too, about her which
compelled respect. She gave me a long account of the household's
troubles, of her own watchings night after night, of the hypotheses she
had had about the matter, and how one by one they had been exploded;
and she and Mr. Garretson took me all over the house, even up into the
attic, among piles of old "lumber," such as boxes, old trunks, old
furniture, that had been set aside to make room for new, piled up with
hosts of things which almost any other family would have sent off to
the auction shops, or sold to second-hand furniture men. But she
explained that some of these things had belonged to her grandfather,
and other deceased relatives, and that a large old Dutch wooden chest,
with great iron clasps all over it, was brought over by Mr. Garretson's
ancestors from Europe. These she couldn't bear to sell, she said; "and
often," said she, "they afford me great pleasure, for when Mr.
Garretson and the girls are gone from home, I sit up here in this old
chair" (and she pointed to a large chair, the posts of which were large
enough each to make a modern chair out of), "and muse, read, and think
over the past, and dwell upon heavenly things to come."
In her talk, Mrs. Garretson became quite animated, and we waited up
there, listening to her stories about the old furniture and her
ancestors, quite a long while. I noticed that with the excitement of
the hour her face had become quite rosy, and that there was a peculiar
spot on each cheek, not unlike the hectic flush upon the cheeks of the
consumptive. But she was, apparently, in the full vigor of health; a
tall, but solidly-made woman, and evidently had no trouble in her
lungs. But the spots gave her face a peculiar expression, and withal
seemed, somehow, to give her eyes the look of subtle intelligence,
which I had not observed before. I found that although Mr. Garretson
was a sensible old man, well educated, and, withal, courtly, yet Mrs.
G. was the chief spirit of the house, and so I consulted her further
when we came from the attic. We visited each chamber, and looked into
each closet, of course; and the windows of the house in front and rear
were all examined, and I satisfied myself too that there was no easy
approach, and no way of getting in without great risk to life or limb
from the other adjoining houses; and I examined the basement as
thoroughly, talked with the servants, and finally with the daughters,
two of whom were then at home, and who came in from making morning
calls. One of these daughters had settled down upon the conviction that
the thefts were the work of disembodied spirits; but to my query if she
meant by these words "departed _friends_," she smiled, and said, "Not
exactly;" and went on to tell me her religious notions about "evil
spirits," as well as good ones, etc. The father fell in with her views
considerably; but the clear-headed old lady, the mother, in a kind way,
combated them with great force. But there was no answering the daughter
when she retorted,--
"Well, perhaps it is not the work of spirits; but will you tell me
whose work it is--who does it?"
Of course the family could have nothing to reply. They had exhausted
their powers to solve the mystery, and I confess I began to think a
particle less lightly of ghosts, hobgoblins, and "spirits of departed
men," than ever before. That dog, too, which was chained up below, and
was let loose of nights, was a savage-looking fellow, and it seemed to
me that he would catch and tear to pieces anything but a spirit that
might be prowling about the house.
I was at my wits' ends to conceive a theory which should throw light
upon the subject, or even to make anything at all like a reasonable
conjecture. But I could not help feeling that perhaps out of the
daughter's suggestion of "spiritual" interference might be wrought
something in the way of a solution of the vexatious mystery; and so I
brought up the topic in that phase again, and we all entered into a
general discussion.
It appeared that things had more frequently been missed when all the
outer doors and all the windows of the house had been closed and
locked, than at other times, when some of the upper windows especially
had been opened; more in the winter than in the summer time. The
articles taken, then, could hardly have been borne by "spirits" even,
through the solid doors, or the glass of the windows; and so I inquired
if it was sure that every trunk and every hiding-place in the house had
been searched, and was assured by all, father, mother, and daughters
that such search had been frequently made by them; and they explained
how they had gone to the bottom of trunks and boxes, and had "shaken
out sheets," etc., for in the early period of these thefts, it had been
conjectured that the things missed had simply been mislaid. The
daughter gave me her reasons extendedly for supposing the thefts the
work of spirits, and I had to confess that some of her reasoning seemed
good, "provided always," as a lawyer would say, that there are any such
existences as "spirits" at all. But the family believed in "spirits;"
whether they could or did communicate with "things on earth," or not,
was the whole question with them; but the mother's judgment seemed to
settle the question for the father and the other daughter, which was,
that these thefts were not committed by spirits; and to this point we
got during my tarry there that day, and it was agreed that I should
return in the evening and pass the night in the house.
I left Mr. Garretson's, and being a little weary, when I returned home
threw myself on my bed, and managed to secure about four hours' sleep,
which I needed in view of my prospective watching that night, and I
arrived at Mr. G.'s about half past ten o'clock. A room had been
prepared for me on the first flight, above the parlor, its door opening
into the broad hall, which room I took after a half hour's conversation
with the family. It appeared that things were missed equally on nights
when the gas was burning dimly about the house, as when it was shut
off; and I deemed it best to have a slight light burning in the halls,
parlors, and so forth, which was permitted. Bidding the family good
night (having concluded to not let the dog loose for fear, in my secret
mind, that he might attack me if loose, and I should be about the
house; but which thought I did not then reveal, saying only that he
might make a noise, and I could perhaps listen better if I heard
steps). I betook myself to my room, and drawing a lounge near to the
door, which was open a few inches, I stretched myself upon it, and
began to muse upon the probabilities in the case. There I lay. The
clock struck twelve--again it struck one--and I had no occasion to move
from my position, and began to conceive that possibly the "spirits"
wouldn't work with me in the house. A half hour more went on, when
suddenly I discovered the light in the hall go out. Quickly leaving the
lounge, I rushed into the hall, only to discover that it was total
darkness all over the house, save in my room. When Mrs. Garretson,
hearing me, stepped to her door, and said,--
"Is that you, Mr. ----?"
"Yes, madam. I saw the light go out, and I came to see what it means."
"O," said she, "I put out the light, for somehow, I found it
oppressive--the sense of it--and could not sleep, and I guess we shall
not be disturbed to-night."
A few more words were exchanged between us, when I retired to my room,
and there watched the whole night out, waiting for some sign of noise
in the house. But I reflected that Mrs. G. had been in different parts
of the house to put out the lights, and I had not heard her move. Had
she not put out the lights I should not have known that she had
stirred. How, then, could I hear spirits, or even mortals, so far as
their footfalls were concerned? Mr. G. got up early that morning, came
to my room, and begged me to go to bed and sleep, as he should be up
and about the rest of the morning, as well as the servants, who would
soon be up. They would have a late breakfast, or I could lie till
dinner time, if I liked, and get a good rest. He closed the door as he
went out, and I lay till called for dinner. At breakfast-time Mr. G.
had made his way to my room, and finding me "snoring soundly," as he
said, let me sleep on.
At dinner, it was disclosed that some three or four things had been
missed that night; among them a very valuable gold thimble, which the
daughters knew was left in a given place, and they were the last who
retired; and a peculiar, elegant, silver-mounted sea-shell, which had
been brought from the Mediterranean, and on which had been cut some
sea-songs in the modern Greek language. I had noticed this beautiful
shell myself. Where were these gone, and who had taken them? Mrs.
Garretson was sure that she was awake a good part of the night, and
could have heard anybody moving about the house, for with a screen at
their door, her husband and herself usually left their bedroom door
open. We canvassed the matter over and over, and arrived at no
conclusion. Finally, it was determined that I should stay the coming
night. And I left, and returned in due time. This night was one of
severe watching, to no purpose. Nothing was found to be gone, and I
watched still the third night, to no purpose. No noise was there, and
nothing taken; and I gave up the matter for a while, subject to be
called in again if Mr. Garretson thought best.
[Illustration: DISCOVERING THE "SPIRITS," AT NO. 89 ---- STREET, N. Y.]
Several days, and finally three weeks passed, before I was again
called. Meanwhile this case was constantly on my mind, no matter how
busily I was employed with other matters, some of which were almost as
difficult of solution as this. I could not yet come to any conclusion;
but I had resolved, that if I should be called in again, what course to
pursue. At the end of three weeks Mr. G. called on me, and said that
the "spirits" were again at work; had visited the house the night
before, and carried off several things, this time having evidently
tried to carry away some chairs, for they found two of the parlor
chairs in the basement hall, standing against the door. This was rather
too much for my credulity, that "spirits" should do these things, and I
went that night to Mr. G.'s with the determined purpose of meeting the
"spirits" in the operation of carrying off chairs, etc., for I
concluded I could see the furniture if the spirits were indeed
invisible. The room I had before was given me, and the household
retired,--I giving them no clew to the course I intended to pursue. The
dog was chained as before, and I had taken quiet notice of the location
of everything in the parlors, and had visited the kitchen (from which
things were frequently taken, even loaves of bread, for which I
suspected the "spirits" had no use), and taken notes there. I had
visited the dog in company with Mrs. G., and gotten into his good
graces as well as I could, and made him familiar with my voice.
The family retired, and so did I, but not to sleep. In a half hour
after going to my room, there being no light in the house this night, I
took a dark lantern I had secretly brought with me, and taking off my
boots, tripped down into the parlors, out of one of which, in the
somewhat old-fashioned house, opened a closet with shelves in it, at
the top, but with room enough for me to sit comfortably in it upon an
ottoman, which I placed there, and with the door slightly ajar, there I
sat. Of course I was well armed for any emergency, and my purpose was
to shoot anything like a "spirit" I might find prowling about, provided
I could get "sight" of the wretch. There I remained for two hours and
over, when, about half after one o'clock in the morning I heard
something like a person's stumbling against a chair. I listened
intently, and heard something moving very stealthily. There was no
light in the room, and so cocking my trusty pistol, and holding it in
my right hand, I with the other brought out from its concealment my
dark lantern, and threw its full blaze into the room, and there, to my
astonishment, I found a person in a night-gown, with a sort of tunic
over it. The size indicated Mrs. G., and I was just about to apologize
to her, when she turned about, and I saw that her eyes were closed.
There was a very peculiar and cunning look in her face, and she
concealed in her tunic a pair of opera glasses, and other small things,
which she took from the _étagères_ in the corner of the room. It
flashed upon my mind at once, of course, that Mrs. G. was the
troublesome "spirit" I was seeking, and I immediately turned the veil
upon my lamp, fearing that the light might disturb her operations, and
awaken her; for I suspected at once that she was in a state of partial
sleep, and was, in short, a somnambulist; and when in the condition of
one, affected with the desire to conceal things; romancing, in short,
in her dreams. I resolved to follow her, to see what disposition she
would make of her prizes; and so, when I concluded she had gotten to
the other side of the room, I brought out my lantern again, and
discovered her tripping lightly to the hall stairs, and I slowly and
softly followed. Up stairs she went, and up another flight, and finally
ascended the attic stairs. I followed, as near as I could, without
disturbing her, and with my light got the opportunity of seeing her
open the big Dutch chest, of which I have spoken before. She unlocked
it, and I waited no longer, but went down to my room, and stood within
the door of it waiting for her to return. She came down after some ten
minutes had passed, as stealthily and softly as she had gone up, and
there was playing upon her face, which my light partly turned on
revealed, that same covert smile. She passed on to her bed-room door
which was open, and must have glided around the screen, which stood
within the doorway, and lay down.
I withdrew to my room, locked the door, and went to bed, and slept more
soundly than I had done for three nights before,--the solace which
comes to mental anxiety is so much more soothing than the balm which
heals only physical pains. Breakfast was called at a late hour next
morning, and I felt perfectly refreshed from my sleep, and was in one
of my jolliest moods; and when I announced at table that I had, I
thought (as I cautiously said), fully solved the mystery,--had seen the
"spirits," and knew all about the matter,--there was no little
astonishment expressed all around the board. But I got the family in a
joking mood, and held them in suspense--in half doubts. Mrs. G. was the
liveliest of all, and said they could never be grateful enough to me,
never could pay me enough for what I had done, if I had really scented
out the culprits. They asked me all sorts of questions; but I was not
ready to explain, for I was in doubt what was the best course,--whether
I should tell the mother alone, or the father, or both, or all.
At last I decided upon a course, which was, to get the daughters and
mother away from the house on some errand; to tell the father, and with
him make search of the chest, and every other conceivable hiding-place
in the house, which thing,--the sending off of the mother and
daughters,--was readily accomplished after I had slyly taken the father
to my room, when the ladies were occupied with their cares and
pleasures, and told him that I wished he would ask no questions why,
but that I desired he would send out his family.
Fortunately they were projecting a visit that day to some friends in a
distant part of the city, and the old gentleman encouraged it; and
finally ordered out his carriage, and sent them off with the driver, in
great glee, in their expectancy of "the great revelation when we get
home," as the spiritualistic daughter expressed it.
They had not gotten well away before I asked the father to hunt up
whatever keys he could find in the house; and he was not long in
finding two or three bunches, and several other single ones besides,
and, without explaining anything, I told him to follow me, and
proceeded at once to the attic. A half dozen trials of the keys
resulted in the chest's yielding up its deposits. There we found all
sorts of things secreted away in old boxes placed within the chest, and
all covered with a blanket, and over all this small piles of time-old
newspapers, brown and faded. The chest was very capacious, and
contained a great deal of the silver ware that had been taken, valuable
little articles of _virtu_; a large quantity of jewelry, and all sorts
of small things which are ordinarily to be found in the houses of
wealthy people. These were all nicely laid away. Considerable order was
observed in their arrangement, which accounted for the hours of
solitary comfort which Mrs. G. told me, on the first visit to the
attic, that she spent there among the old mementos of the past. But
when we had gotten everything out of the chest, Mr. G. called to mind
many things which had been missed, which were not found there; so we
made the most scrupulous search into old trunks, and other things in
the attic, without much avail, finding a few things, however. At last,
in removing some old boxes which stood atop of each other, and against
the chief chimney running through the attic, we came across a
fireplace, which Mr. G. said he had forgotten all about. Long years
before the house had been extended into the rear yard (for it was a
corner house), by a small "L," in which the servants were provided with
rooms. Prior to that some of them had occupied a room done off in the
attic, the board partitions of which had been removed. It was then this
fireplace was in use. A sheet-iron "fire-board" closed it up, and was
held in place by a button. As I took hold of the button, and found it
moved easily, I said to Mr. G., "We shall find treasures here;" and we
did. It was quite full of household things; and here we found some of
the largest pieces of silver ware that had been lost. A full
tea-service, etc., together with a large roll of bank bills, and five
bills of old "Continental scrip," the loss of which Mr. G. had mourned
as much as that of almost all the rest, for they were pieces which
Alexander Hamilton had given to Mr. G.'s father, upon a certain
occasion notable in the history of the latter, and bore General
Hamilton's initials in his own hand.
We continued our search, and found other things, which it is needless
to specify. Then Mr. G. and I held a "council of war" as to what was to
be next done. We concluded that the servants must not be allowed to
know anything about the matter, and we had not concluded whether the
daughters were to be let into the secret or not. This was after I had
told Mr. G. of my solution of the matter, which I had kept secret from
him until we came to consider what was to be done with the things. At
first we thought we would at once carry them all to his bedroom, and
place them in a large closet there. But finally Mr. G. thought it would
be more satisfying to see his wife operate, himself; and we put back
the things as well as we could, and went down. It was arranged that I
should come back that night to watch further, and that Mr. G. should
tell the family that I wished to make more investigations, and that I
was not quite satisfied after all; which he did. That night I returned,
kept excellent watch, and Mrs. G., as fate would have it, left her
room, and went prowling about as before. At the proper time I entered
Mr. G.'s room, and awakened him; and, drawing on his pantaloons, and
wrapping himself in a cloak, he followed me and watched his wife's
man[oe]uvres to his satisfaction, and retired, before she had concluded
her work.
The next day, at breakfast, the family rallied me about the things
missed the night before, Mr. G. joining in the badgering, jokingly. I
played the part of a defeated man, half covered with shame; and before
noon Mr. G. had the family out to ride again. We hastily gathered up
all the lost and found treasures, and placed them in a large closet in
Mr. G.'s bedroom; he having made up his mind to give his wife, by
herself, a great surprise, and then tell her what he had seen, and
consult her feelings as to whether the children were to ever know how
the things were gotten back, or not.
He was anxious to have me wait till she came; and we managed, without
exciting the suspicion of the girls, to get together in the bedroom,
where Mr. G. opened the door of the closet, first cautioning Mrs. G. to
make no loud exclamation, and there revealed the lost treasures.
"See what the 'spirits' have brought back to us?" said he. "Mr. ---- is
the best 'medium for business' in the city. We must give him a
certificate;" and the old man "rattled away" with his jokes, while Mrs.
G. looked on with astonishment and delight.
"You must tell me all about it," said she. "How _did_ you find these
things? Who brought them? Who is the thief? How did he get in the
house? Does he come down chimney?" and a host of other questions.
"I'll tell you all about it to-night," said Mr. G. "It is a long story;
but first the girls must be called to see the lost treasures now
restored." And the daughters were called up. To their queries, uttered
amidst the profoundest astonishment, as to how, and when, etc., the
treasures were brought back, and who was the thief, and if it was some
Catholic, who had disgorged the stolen goods through the confessional,
Mr. G. only answered, slyly winking at the spiritualistic daughter, "It
was through the means of a first-rate 'medium' that the things were
restored."
"There, there," said the daughter, too serious to understand her
father's irony, "I could have told you so. What do you think now of
spiritualism, father?"
"O, I don't know," said he in reply. "There _are_ a great many strange
things in the world, that's a fact." But he would not promise to ever
tell them how the things got back, and the ladies went to assorting
them, and commenting on each article. It was a novel sight to see the
eagerness with which they grasped at this or that article as it turned
up,--the long-lost treasures found.
I left the house duly that day, and I understood from Mr. G., who
called on me three or four days after, that when he told his wife that
night what he had seen, and how she looked, and so forth, when moving
about so slyly, that she had a "great crying spell" over it, and did
not wish the daughters to be informed of the secret state of things;
and that for fear the somnambulistic state should come upon her again,
she tied her arm or foot to the bedstead, in order to be awakened if
she should attempt to get out of bed. But she had had no more attacks
of the disease.
"Perhaps her severe crying broke it," said he.
I made many inquiries of Mr. G. about his wife's habits in life, her
general health, her peculiar troubles, if she had any, by way of
resolving this mystery of the kleptomania connected with the
somnambulism; and from all I could learn, I believe that she was one of
the most conscientious and best of mortals in her normal state, and I
was led to believe that the kleptomania, if not the somnambulism, was
caused by diseases, though slight ones, peculiar to the female sex; but
why these came on so late in life, (for Mrs. Garretson was sixty-three
years old,) I cannot conceive, but leave that for the doctors to decide.
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