Feminine Fabrications.

Manawatu Herald, 11 February 1899, Page 3

Feminine Fabrications.

The ingenious nineteen-year-old female, who recently almost deluded the Christchurch police into believing that a determined burglary had been committed at her master's residence, and afterwards, when confronted with certain evidence collected by the police, confessed that she herself was the guilty person, hardly bears off the palm in her particular line. A somewhat similar case, but better conceived and executed, happened in Wellington some years ago. A certain well-to-do lady, on returning from shopping one day, was considerably upset on finding the domestic in an excited state of mind, and evidently suffering from a great shock. On the hall floor, here and there, were large spots of blood, and everything pointed to some desperate encounter. When the servant had calmed down she explained that the house had been entered by a big, dark-bearded, fierce-looking man, who had gone to her mistress' bedroom, and, after smashing open her jewel case, was making off with the jewels in a small canvas bag, when the courageous maid-servant smote him on the back of the head with a poker, and, taking advantage of his fright, snatched the bag out of his hand. A villian of such ferocity could not be allowed to remain at large as a menace to society, and the police and the detectives were soon investigating the case, but failure and disappointment dogged their every effort. The girl's master and mistress suitably recognised the bravery of their servant, and presented her with a silver watch and chain, the former being suitably inscribed with the particulars of the heroic deed. The newspapers were unstinted in their praise of her heroism, and equally scathing in their condemnation of the inefficiency of the police

force. The Inspector had a man in reserve, and when told off to sift the mystery he was not long in getting a clue. He recognised in the former em* ployer of the girl a boarding-hou9e keeper, with whom he had no difficulty in obtaining facts about the girl's character. When the canvas bag was mentioned, she immediately informed the detective that she had cut out the canvas for it, and had instructed the girl in the peculiar stitch which had been used to sew it. The detective soon got the links in his chain of evidence complete, and discovered that a man had been at the bottom of the girl's troubles, though he had had nothing to do with the alleged burglary. In short, the servant had concocted the whole story, in order to divert attention from her own misconduct. She was charged with having damaged her mistress' property, but escaped with a severe reprimand from the Bench, and imprisonment until the rising of the Court. It is noteworthy that the astute officer "who unravelled both mysteries was ChiefDetective Chrystal, at present stationed at Christchurch.