The Secrets of the Great City: A Work Descriptive of the Virtues and the Vices, the Mysteries, Miseries and Crimes of New York CityMcCabe, James Dabney
History
The Secrets of the Great City: A Work Descriptive of the Virtues and the Vices, the Mysteries, Miseries and Crimes of New York City
McCabe, James Dabney
New York (N.Y.) -- Description and travel; New York (N.Y.) -- History
One of the most cunning and successful of adventurers is known by the
name of W----, _alias_ Jones, _alias_ several other titles. This fellow
is an undersized man, blind of one eye, but of very genteel and
prepossessing address, and is generally accompanied by his wife. The
two practice the bundle game, which is a very adroit performance. Their
_modus operandi_ is as follows: They travel with a large Saratoga
trunk, which is really well stocked with linen and clothing. Of this
fact they contrive to render the detective and officials of the house
aware, so as to quiet any suspicion. Having thus tolerably opened the
ball they keep it rolling as long as possible, till within two days or
so of the period of final settlement. Suddenly Mrs. W----, or Jones,
appears to be seized with a mania for going up and down stairs, and in
and out of the hotel, carrying little parcels in her hand to and fro to
the milliners and dressmakers, etc. Her husband also discovers that his
clothes need revision, and sends them to tailors. Messengers also come
to their rooms for bundles, etc., and at last Mr. Jones, or W----,
announces at the office that he is about to leave the next day, and
would like his bill made out up 'till to-morrow night.' Meanwhile he
goes on to state as his trunk requires some repairs he has removed his
wardrobe into the bureau drawers, etc., and has sent for a trunkman to
convey it to the nearest establishment, will they allow him a servant
to assist the trunkman with it down stairs. The servant is sent to the
room, sees that nothing is taken away but the empty trunk, and all is
well. The adventurer and his female confederate eat with gusto, walk
out arm in arm from the hotel, and are seen no more, neither their
trunk, neither their wardrobe, which examination shows has not been
removed into the bureau drawers; in short, the clothes of the worthy
pair have been taken away bundle by bundle, parcel by parcel, and left
at convenient places in the neighborhood, to be called for, while the
trunk has been deposited at a friend's till further notice.
By this system of operations the St. Nicholas, Lafarge New York, and
Howard Hotels were victimized. Their triumphant career was checked,
however, at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, by efforts of the special detective
of the house, who discovered one day a piece of paper containing W----
Jones' private memorandum of the places at which he and his wife had
left their different bundles. By confronting Jones, accusing him of his
dishonesty, presenting the paper and accompanying him _nolens volens_
to these various places, the detective contrived to recover the bill
due to his hotel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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