Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1851-11-10
From Arihur's Home Gazette.
LABAN LEES
BUTTER SPECULATION.
WHAT HE GAINED AND LOST.
, BY JOHN JONES, JR.

Mr.. Laban Lee, after his s'Drop Came
Experience, related some time since, was
q sadder ma than before. He could Dot
get oyor the loss Of his thirty dollars 1t
troubled him night and day.
"a must get il back, somehow" said the
farmer to himself, at length. ri cannot
afford 10 lose so large a sum. To think
that should have been so swindled!'-5a
81 must get it back, somehow 1t was
full three weeks, from the memorable
po cket book day, when the mind Of Laban
Lee came to this conclusion. But how
was he to get it back? The rogues who
had swindled him were not at all likely to
cross his path again. There was no hope
of restitution from them. But Lee had nc
thought of this. Then how was he TO get
back the money he had lost. =. . 81
F By cheating somebody out Of it., gentle
reader! That is. speaking out the plain
truth in plain laaguage.s He was very In.
dignant at the "drop game gentleman; yet,
even while his indignation burned holly, he
meditated wrong to his neighbor. " o
y When men have the desire to do wrong,
E suggestion Of the means is very sure to
come. At the very moment when Laban
Lee said-"I must get ii back somehow p
he was standing in his spring house or dai.
ry holding the pound weight used in weigh
ing butter for market. The round piece OF
iron out Of which this was made, had, orig.
inaliy weighed less than a pound, but been
raised TO the legal standard by the insertion
Of piece Of lead in a small indenture on
the underside. This piece of lead which
weighed some three ounces, was loose, thus
offering temptation for, its removal
And with desire TO get back his lost thir.
~ dollars, by fair or foul means, came tc
the mind Of Lee the idea Of picking out this
piece Of lead, and thus reducing the weight
of his butter so many ounces. s.'..5
No sooner thought of than done. The
lead was stealthily removed, and not even
his better half, who conducted the weighing
process, knew aught of the matter. 51-
Just fily.four pounds, or, rather, "prints'
Of butter, had Lee in his tub when he start
ed for the city on the next market day;
and yet, if the whole of this butter had
been placed in scale, it would not have
weighed over forty>four or fve pounds.
'lf | come through safely" said Lee, to
himself, as he rode along towards the city.
"Ill get back about three dollars Of what
lost; and the same thing ten times repeated,
will put me even with the world again
Butp- s,-sszf ~. s..s.=#.. ae...,4 -
The, other view Of the case was too un,
pleasant for contemplation, and so the
rougish farmer would not look at it. r.. :.
On the next morning Laban Lee took
his place in the market, with his tub Of fresh
bu,ter-and good butter it was, as regards
quality. On the top were several prints oI
full weight; these were for the scales OIL
the market clerk when he should make biz
appearance, and were very ingeniously
passed over by the farmer in making sales
. The price # butter was pretty well up
ranging as high as thirty.fiye cents. 'And
ut this rate Lee had disposed Of six ol
eigh, prints, when the sudden appearances