Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1851-01-03

10 give information Of numerous robbercs La,
e ing been committed on the students. Tue stu
l. den's could leave nothing in the pockets
y 'helr great coats, while the grca;-coats wpr
g hanging at the Hospital, but it was almost ce,
II tain to be stolen. Property Of various descrir
d hons was constantly being lost and The gen
: tIemen were naturally uneasy about il. an
. anxious, for the credit of the Institution, tina
. the thief or thieves should be discovered Tn
cause was entrusted to me, and ! went TO tn
Hospital
Now, gentlemen said !, after we had talk
ca 1t over understand this property is usu
ally lost from one ROOM
Yes they said. 'It was.'
Il should wish, if you please said ], TO SCI
that roorr.'
1t was good-sized bare room downstairs
with few tables and forms in it, and a row o
pegs, all ronnd, Tor hats and coats.
Next, gentlemen said !, do YOU suspec
anybody?'
Yes, they said. They did suspect some.
body. They were sorry to say they suspected
one Of the por'ers.'
Il should like, said 'to have that man
pointed out TO me, and to have little time tc
look after him
lie was pointed out, and looked after him
and then went back to the Hospital, and said
Now, gentlemen, its not the porter He's nm.
fortunately for himself, little too fond of drink
but he's nothing worse. NV suspicion is that
these robberes are committed bv one of the
students: and if you'll put me a sofa into that
! room where The pegs AREAS there's no Closet
| i think shall be able to detect the thief
wish the sofa, if YOU please, to be covered
with chintz, or something of that sort, so tina, 7
may lie on my chest, underneath it. without
being sCel.'
The sofa was provided and The mex, dav
at eleven o'clock, before any Of the students
came, went there, with those gentlemen. tn
get underneath it. 1t turned ont to he one Of
those old fashioned sofas with great cross
beam at the bottom, that would have broken NV
back in no time if could ever have got below
it. We had quite a Job 10 break all this awiv
in the time however fell to work. and they
fell to work. and we broke it out, and made
clear place for me. got under the sofa, Law
down on nv chest. took out nv knife. an
made convenient hole in the chintz to look
through. 1t was then settled between me and
the gentlemen that when the students were all
MP in t e wards, one of the gentlemen shOuld
come in, and hang uo a great coat on one of
the pegs. And that that great coat should have.
in one o: the pockets, pocket-book containing
marked money.
After had been there some time, the stu.
dents began to drop into the room, by ones
and twos, and threes, and to talk about all
sorts OF things, little thinking there was any,
body under the sofa-and then to 90 up stairs
At last there came in one who remained until
he was alone in the room by himself. tall
ish, good looking young man of one or two and
twenty, with a light whi,ker. lie went TO a
particular ha'-peg took off good hat that was
hanging thee, tried it on, hung his own hat in
its place, and hung that hat on another peg.
nearly opposite to me then felt quite Ger.
tain that he was the thief, and would come
back by-and.bye
"When they were all upstairs, the gentleman,
come in with the great coat. showed him
where to hang it, so that might have a good
view of it; and lie went away; and Law un.
der the suf, on my chest, for /. couple of hours
or 50, waiting.
AT last the same Young man came DOWN
lie walked across the room, whistlinp-stop-
ped and istened-took another walk and whist
lsd-slopped again, and lisenod-then began
to 90 regularly round the pegs, feeling in the
pockets of all the coats. Wien he came to the
great coat, and felt the pocke-book, he was so
eager and so hurried that he broke the strap in
tearing it open. As he began TO nut the mon
ey in his pocket, | crawlcd out from under the
sofa and his eyes met mine.
'My face, as YOU may perceive, is brown now -,