The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-28 00:00:00

ONE WAY TO NULLIFY A BAD LEASE

There is a shrewd and wealthy old Yankee
landlord away down in Maine, who is noted
for driving his " sharp bargains"—by which he has
amassed a large amount of property. He is the
owner of a great number of dwelling-houses,
and it is said of him that he is not over-
scrupulous in his rental charges, whenever he
can find a customer whom he knows to be
responsible. His object is always to lease his houses
for a term of years, to the best tenants, and get the
utmost farthing in the shape of rent. A diminutive
Frenchman called on him last winter to hire a dwell-
ing he owned in Portland, and which had long re-
mained empty. References were given, and the Yankee
landlord ascertaining that applicant was a man " after
his own heart" for a tenant, immediately com-
menced to " jew " him. He found that the tene-
ment appeared to suit the little Frenchman, and he
placed an exorbitant price upon it; but the lease was
drawn and duly executed, and the tenant moved into
his new quarters. Upon the kindling of fires in the
new house, it was found that the chimnies wouldn't
" draw," and the building was filled with smoke.
The window sashes rattled in the wind at night, and
the cold air rushed through a hundred crevices
about the house, until now unnoticed. The snow
melted upon the roof, and the attics were drenched
from leaking. The rain pelted, and our Frenchman
found a "natural" bath-room upon the cellar floor—
but the lease was signed and the landlord chuckled.
" I hay ben vat you sal call humbug vis zis dam mai-
son," muttered our victim to himself a week afterwards,
" but n'importe, ye sal see vot ye sal see !" Next
morning he rose bright andjarly, and passing down
town he encountered the landlord. " ALa, Bun jour,
monsieur," said be in his happiest manner,
" Good day, sir. How do you like your house ?"
" Ah, Monsieur—elegant, beautiful— magnificent ;
Eh bien, Monsieur; I hay but ze one regret—" "Ah,
What is that ?" " Monsieur, I sal live in zit house
but tree little year." " How so ?" " I have find,
by vot you sal call ze leese, zat you hay give me ze,
house for but tree year, an' I hay' ver' mooch sor-
row for zat." " But you can have it longer i you
wish—" " Ah, monsieur—l sal be ver' mooch glad
if I can hay' zat house so long as I please—eh,
monsieur ? Oh, certainly—certainly, sir." " Tres
bien, monsieur ! I sal valk rite to your offices—an'
you sal give me vot you call ze lease for zat maison
jes so long as I sal vant ze house. Eh, monsieur ?"
" Certainly, sir. You shall stay there your life-time,
if you like." "Ah, monsieur, I hay' ver mooch tanks
for zis accommodation." The old leases were
destroyed, and a new one was delivered in form to
the French gentleman, giving him possession of the
premises for " such period as the lessee may desire
the same, he paying the rent therefore promptly, &c.
&c." The next morning our crafty landlord was
passing the house just as the Frenchman's last load
of furniture was being started from the door, and an
hour afterwards, a messenger called on him with a
" legal tender" for the rent for eight days, accompanied
with a note as follows :—" Monsieur, I hay' bin
shmoke—l hay' bin drowned—l hay' bin frees to
death in ze house vot I hay' hire ov you, ' for ze period
as I may desire.' I hay' stay in ze dam house jes so
long as I please,' an' ze bearer of zis vil give you ze
key !—Bon jour, Monsieur!" It is needless to add
that our Yankee landlord has never since been known
to give up a bird in the hand for one in the bush."—
From the American Magazine.

Sir Horace St. Paul, Bart., of Ewart-park, High
Sheriff of Northumberland, who recently built schools for
his own estate at Ewart, in Doddington parish, near Wooler,
at his own cost, has now presented 100/. to the incumbent,
the Rev. William Proctor, in aid of the erection of paro-
chial schools, with residence for the teacher.— Gateshead
Observer.
At the Chelmsford sessions, on Tuesday, a man
named Ellis was sentenced to seven years' transportation for
stealing books from the Baptist chapel at Euro Colne.