AN INTERESTING CASE.

The office force is divided in its opinion as to whether Mr. or Mrs. John Peters Wilson is the more interesting figure in this most interesting case. As characters they are not unique; New York, all large cities, have others of their kind. It would be dignifying Mrs. Wilson too much to say she was a modern Becky Sharp, at the same time that it would be slandering Becky; and yet, at times, when studying this pair, one is reminded of that energetic, scheming, resourceful woman, more particularly when Mrs. Wilson is making strenuous endeavors to raise money on the strength of her husband's family connections, and succeeding because of her own attractive personality.

An analysis of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson's respective characters does not properly come within the scope of this article, nor will it be attempted. And yet nothing could be more interesting than a study of the man who, for love of a woman, surrendered friends, children, acquaintances, honor, and self-respect; and of the woman who, possessed of qualities and talents that would have made her to shine in respectable society, discovered them not until the stain of dishonor effectually barred her from it, and made of her an ad

venturess.

Wilson is connected by birth and a former marriage with two of the oldest and most highly respected families of New York. At one time he held a position of honor and responsibility with a firm whose name is a household word throughout the country. Through drink he lost his position and when friends came to his assistance and secured for him other work, he lost them in turn. He was not a

drunkard. He would go for months at a time without touching liquor and then suddenly the desire for strong drink would spring irresistible within him, and for a week he would be a demoniac. He finally became an epileptic; his first wife died, his children were sent away to be cared for by friends, and, while he never lost the outward semblance of respectability, while his manners never lost their polish, nor his features the stamp of good breeding, he became a physical wreck.

From the shreds of fact in our possession we can glean very little of Mrs. Wilson's early history. She is the daughter of respectable people living up-state. Trained to be a professional nurse, the life proved too commonplace for her. A sister was living a fast life in New York and she came here to join her. A woman of superior intelligence, the inevitable and speedy end of such a life was too uninviting a prospect for her, and at times she relegated it to the background and assumed the role of a petty swindler, meanwhile watching for any opportunity to better her condition in life,-not morally, but socially.

Not remarkable for her good looks, she is, nevertheless, possessed of a personality exceedingly pleasing. Her diction and accent are of the purest, her manner most refined, and she carries with her that "indescribable air of good breeding" by story-writers mentioned. Probably

the most effective part of her capital, however, is her expression, which is one of appealing, perplexed inno

cence.

It is not certain where Wilson met her. He says it was in a well-known concert hall in New York; she that it was in a certain sanitarium not

far from the city. The chances are in favor of the former place. She was an habitue of it; he, the kind that visits them. He was sent to the sanitarium by friends for treatment, and she availed herself of her neglected profession to follow

him.

Her personality and her will dominated him. It is improbable that all sense of honor and self-respect left him before this second marriage, but with a mind weakened by dissipation and a will become limp through continual failure, he was in the position to do anything, be anything, at the dictation of a stronger mind. The woman fascinated him and held him a slave. The

gentleman of good breeding, high instincts and honorable training became the plastic servant of an unscrupulous woman's will.

Various were the plans by which they raised money. As above mentioned, before her marriage, Mrs. Wilson had been a petty swindler. She was known at the large depart

ment stores as "the woman who wanted to go to Albany," claiming that she had lost her purse or had it

stolen while in the store and could not get home to Albany. At other times she would pose as a nurse with a wealthy patient somewhere out of town. She would be looking for a nurse to assist her and after finding and becoming acquainted with her, would discover that she had lost her purse, and borrow ten or twenty dollars.

But after marrying Wilson such trifling games were rarely played. Wilson's business career had been so extensive and his family connections were so widely known that it was a comparatively easy matter to raise money. On the strength of inheritances soon to be theirs, or posi

tions of importance about to be filled by him, loans of twenty-five dollars or more were secured, never to be paid.

After a while, even the extensive list of friends and acquaintances became exhausted and then the pair sought greener fields and pastures new. They returned to New York, however, in September of this year,

and their first serious mistake was made. They applied for a loan to the Charity Organization Society, over whose doors should be inscribed, "Let all swindlers who enter here

It

leave hope of success behind." was a bold move. Within the shadow of the United Charities Building Mrs. Wilson had, a few weeks before her marriage, been locked in a room by a clergyman, and informed that if she did not return ten dollars she had secured from him, on the strength of a pitiful tale and much weeping, he would turn her over to the police. Earlier in her career she had been visited by agents of the society, investigating stories of need. Safely filed in the the registration bureau was her record, and this bold step proved their undoing.

The first record entry in the present Mr. and Mrs. John Peters Wilson case reads thus: September 25, 1900. Mr. J. P. W. telephoned the general secretary would be in about five P. M. to inquire whether

after half an hour, and stated that he would call as soon as he could reach the office. At five twenty-five Mr. W. called with his wife; stated that he is a cousin of Mr.

of

a relative of Mr. —, and acquainted with many prominent New York people; that he had just come into the city from, expecting to see one of his relatives or friends, but that every one is out of town; wished

to go where he could meet his cousin. In the absence of Mr. W. from the room, while consulting a railway guide, Mrs. W. stated that her husband is an epileptic and has had many severe attacks, that he has been taking the lymph treatment and that it is her expectation to leave him in while she takes a position as trained nurse in the South. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins Hospital.

After sending night agent to two possible sources of information near at hand without finding any one at home, and failing to identify callers from names and statements given, the general secretary loaned Mr. W. three dollars to pay their fare to taking his due bill for same, amount to be repaid September 27.

After waiting a month to hear from Mr. W. a letter was sent to the cousin in inquiring as to his whereabouts. An answer came, saying that Mr. W. had indeed called to see him, claiming relationship, but the connection was so vague as to be well-nigh lost in obscurity; however, on the strength of a pitiful tale and much weeping on the part of Mrs. W. he advanced them twenty-five dollars. He believed that they were now living at East Sixteenth street, New York.

An investigator was put on the case, and gradually their manner of living and their methods were unfolded. It was learned that while their patience lasted, Wilson's family were appealed to for money. When this scheme died of overwork, his business acquaintances and earlier friends were worked. In time this, too, failed. New York was played out, and a final help-us-to-get-out-of-the-coun

trouble-you-any-more appeal was made and granted, and they went west. Chicago proved sterile soil, and in their year's experience in that city Mrs. Wilson had actually to work. Aside from beating one of the prominent hotels out of three months' board, their record there is fairly straight, although some of Mrs. W.'s experiences in connection with patients there will not stand close scrutiny. St. Louis and Cleveland are still to be heard from.

On their return to New York in September the general public began to suffer. A prominent minister was approached, and with his tender-hearted wife, became interested in these unfortunate people who had been disowned by his family and friends because he had been a sinner and married beneath him. Not beneath him in refinement, in culture, in intelligence. Oh, no! Who could look into that innocent face and see the tears gather in those troubled eyes, and think such a thing! They were helped substantially. Their board was paid, they were supplied with pocket money, and, finally, a position was secured for Wilson in a southern city. Lest his health should break or he should have another attack of epilepsy, letters were written to some friends in the same city asking them.

to

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secure Mrs. W. a position nurse if it became necessary. The day was set for the departure, and they went uptown a mile or so, to a fashionable boarding house just off from Fifth avenue, leaving word that they had left the city.

After securing all of these particulars, identifying Mrs. Wilson as "the lady who wanted to go to

Albany," "Miss Goulet alias Page," etc., the investigator interviewed Wilson's friends to see what their attitude in the matter might be. They expressed a willingness to bear the expense of Wilson's treatment and care in a private sanitarium for an indefinite time, on the sole condition that his wife be disposed of.

Mrs. Wilson was invited to call at the office of the Charity Organization Society, and an agent had a heart-to-heart talk with her. Her record was put before her, her reputation as a woman of frail virtue, and a swindler, touched upon. This proposition made: Either that she consent to give up her husband and to place him in a sanitarium for care and treatment such as he needs, or, failing to do this, go to work and support him honestly, being assured that the society would procure evidence sufficient to place them both behind prison bars for obtaining money under false pretenses, and that the first overt act would result in such prosecution being made. It was fortunate that the agent and the late investigator were one and the same, else the tears of shame and the protestations of ignorance would have overwhelmed him. If, however, a look could have killed, his brilliant career would have come to an untimely end when he interrupted her tears by saying: "Please don't cry, Mrs. Wilson; we know your tears have helped you out of more than one tight place heretofore, but we have no money to give you, and we will get along better if you will please realize that you have reached the end of this particular course and are now dealing with a society, one of whose objects it is to protect the public from just such as yourself." So Mrs. Wilson dried her eyes, promised to talk the proposition over

with her husband and departed, to return two days later with him.

They said they had talked the matter over very carefully and decided against separating. Wilson had secured a position as commission agent for two New York concerns in a southern city, and they desired to go there and begin life anew, assuring the agent that it was their firm intention to henceforth lead upright lives.

Mrs. Wilson was sent from the room and the agent tried to shake her husband's determination. He called his attention to the fact that while they might be frightened now into the desire to live honestly, away from New York, with the fear of prosecution removed, it was only a question of time when they would resort to the same old practices.

His downward career was traced for him; his own physical weakness and liability to another epileptic attack were pressed upon his attention. He was told that he was a weak man, his nerves were almost shattered, his mind weakened, his will nil; that he was, in short, a dipsomaniac, needing care. How, then, could he expect to bear the strain of any business at all, much less one on commission, with its uncertain returns? Did he count on Mrs. Wilson's working and supporting him if his health did fail again? Her record and her character were both against her. Money had come too easily through dishonor for work to be anything but a monotonous grind. Then an appeal was made to his better nature, if any remained. The quiet and careful attention, the freedom from worry and anxiety, the refined surroundings and atmosphere of an exclusive home sanitarium were put before him. He could spend the remainder of his days in

quietness and peace, and perhaps could regain the regard and wellwishes of family and friends.

Wilson listened to all this without protest, and when the agent had finished said that, while all this might be true, he loved the woman and would rather starve with her than live in luxury anywhere else. They would accept the alternative conditions laid down by the society and when they again resorted to any dishonorable practices, were ready for prosecution.

It is a baffling case. The man is probably irresponsible; his friends and acquaintances believe so, and yet, in an interview with strangers, no hint of it is given. The woman is conceded by all who have had any dealings with her to be remarkable. Perhaps they should be legally prosecuted, but for obvious reasons it is undesirable, and prosecuting witnesses do not readily volunteer in such cases. In the end it may be necessary. The investigator who had charge of the case does not think so, but he is young in years and experience.

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If any of the readers of this paper should ever be visited by a man about fifty years old, height, five feet eleven inches, of slender build, distinguished appearance, fair hair and moustache, high and broad forehead, deep-set eyes with straightforward, friendly look in them, quietly but elegantly dressed, and asking for a temporary loan, telephone to the Charity Organization Society. And if, in stead of a man of the above description, a refined-looking woman with a low, musical voice, light brown hair, pale blue eyes, a cleft in her chin and dimples in her cheeks, a tendency to wrinkle her forehead when she talks, and having an air of

straightforward honesty, and of distress that she should have to ask for assistance-stop your ears, turn your eyes back, and send for the police at once, for if you hesitate, you are lost! M. W. H.

THE WEEK ENDING DECEMBER I.

The Joint Application Bureau of the Charity Organization Society and the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor received 309 applications for aid in the week ending December I. Forty-six homeless persons were taken in charge. The investigating agents of the registration bureau of the Charity Organization Society made 411 calls to obtain information concerning the needs of those asking for assistance, and 163 new names were recorded in the registration bureau.

The new families taken in charge by the district committees number thirty-eight. At the woodyard 208 tickets were presented, each of which entitled the bearer to

perform a prescribed amount of