The Democratic sentinel and Harrison County farmer. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1851-1852, 1851-11-26
-a.aa From Arthur's Home Gazette.
Laban Lees Butter Speculation,
What he Gained and Lost,
BY JOHN JONES, JE.

Mr.. Laban Lee, after his ''Drop Game ;
exp 'rence, related some time since, was
sadder man than before. He could not qe
over the loss Of his thirty dollars, II trou
bled him night and day, ......... ..E
81 must get it back some how" said the
farmer to himself, at length. 81 can. OF af
ford to lose SO large sum, To think tina
should have been so swindled."
g must get it back somehow !" 1t was
full three weeks from the memorable pocket.
book day, when the mind of Laban Lee
came to this conclusion, But how was he
to get it back? The rogues who had swim
died him were not at all likely to cross his
path again. There was no hope of restitu-
ton from them. Then how was he to GET
back the money he had lost Z?
BY cheating somebody out Of it, gentle
reader That is speaking out the plain truth
in plain language. He was very indignant
at the drop game gentlemen; yet, while
his Indignation burned hotly, he meditated
wrong to his1neigbbor. a4' o. 3..'
When men have the desire to do wrong,
suggestion of the means is very sure to
come. At the very moment when Laban
Lee said--'I must ge5'it buck somehow, ;"
he was stanlingin his ssprin5 house, or dairy
holding in hishand Che pound weight used
in weighing butter for market A piece Of
iron out Of which this was mide, had origi-
nally wei ghed less than pound but been
raised to the legal standard by the insertion
ola piece of lead in a spaIf indenta,ion on
the under side The piece of lead, which
weighed some three ounces, was loose, thus
Offering atemptaaon for It's removal. And
with the desire to get back his lost thirty
dollars, by fair or tOul means, came to the
mind of Lee the idea of picking out this
piece Of lead, and thus reducing the weight
OF his butter so'nlany ounces. A
No sooner thought than done. The lead
was stealthily removed, and not even his
better half, who conducted the weighing
process, knew aught Of the matter. 'I,a
Just ttty-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 bis butter had been
placed in scale, itwould not have weighed
over forty-four orfye pounds a n ya8
5"If come through safely" said Lee to
himself as he rode along towards the city,
I'll get back about three dollars Of what I
lost, and the same thing, ten times repeated,
wlltpat me even with the world again.
.Bui''--~iy i .g tt na gN m|
sThe otheriview of the subject was too
unpleasant for contemplation, and SO the
roguish firmer would not look at it, 1lr
On the next morning Laban Lee took his
place in the market, with his tub of fresh
butter--and good butter it was as regards
quality. gQni the toplwere several prints ofI
full weight, these were for the scales of the
clerk when he should make his appearance,
and were very ingeniously passed over byl
the farmer in making sales v 4 R'a" ~"
The price of butter was pretty well up,
raDgingsas high as thirty-6yc cents. And
at this rate Lee had disposed o., six or eight
prints, when the sudden appearance .of the |
clerk Of the market made Hisnheart give a
great bound, sending the tellgtale blood in
stantly. 10 his face wa N.Y., VA s.aEs, III
"AlI right here, of course, said thc clerk,
n he looked into the face of
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