Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1859-08-16

Slr, tnat DrSC tneIb placeu me mere. III
exchange for that piece of silver, beholt
these heavy claims of iron on my hands
and feet. In this hand l secreted tn
money. See the hand now, locked in bolt
of iron. All, sir, warn the young lac
against the first theft!
"This successful pilfering tempted MI
again. The clerk slept in the same room
with me. When he went to bed one night
| heard money rattle in his trowsers pocke
as he flung them off upon the floor. The
idea that l might take Dinepence, ant
thai it would neyer be missed, ,..took, pos
session of me. 1t was, however, not until
l had thought it over for thee nights,
that l resolved and dared to attempt it.
He was heavy sleeper. I crept out oI
bed and along the floor, and put my hand
unseen by any but Gods great eye, into
his pocket, ielt noiselessly for a nine
pence, but there was nothing less than a
quarter OF dollar. l hesiLated, and was
startled at the idea of taking so much, and
fearful he might miss it, careless as he
was of change; but the devil urged me on,
and | took it, | hid it under corner of
the rug, so that if he missed and looked
for it, it might easily be found, and be
supposed to have rolled out. He did not
miss it, and hence my courage to take, at
another time, half dollar. All, sir, that
fourpence. .hafpenny! That was the
minnow- hook which the devil bated to
catch my soul with!
"ln the course of two months I had alb
stracted from his pocket, in bits, at least
six dollars, and from my Jather's nine dol
lars; for my success with the clerks
change tempted me to try my fathers
pockets by stealing into his bedroom when
he was asleep.
LAS few men seldom count their loose
pocket money, of these pillerings (at no
one time over half a dollar, and usually
in much less pieces was, unfortunately,
not detected, for il had been, it might
have checked my career in time.
Five months a(terI had commenced this
petty thieving, silencing my conscience
with the smallness of the Sums taken, and
that it was mostly my fathers money,
forgetting that it is as great guilt to steal
from father as from stranger, if not ac-
tually more wicked, my father left to 60
on collecting tour, and the clerk being
sick, was desired to remain in the count
ngroom to give answers to people who
came on hnsinaxs- I alen tool. eiEo lotteI Q
from the post Office. In looking these
over, saw one of them evidently had bills
[ WAS satisfied OF this by holding it up to
the light, and seeing the vignette through
he thin letter paper.
Here now, sir, was temptation, and
,ne | neve. should have had, nor the devil
nave dared to have presented to NE, but
or chat first fourpence- -halfpenny.
"'No,' said L to the devil; no. These
ire bills. That is too much. | dare not
hink of such thing So put the letter
irmly aside.
But a dozen times in the day the temp
.ation came back upon me. That night
could not SLEEP till late, for thinking OF it.
81 finally went to sleep, resolving |
would just open the letter, and see how
much was in it. l could seal it again
1t would do no harm. There was no dan
ger of my taking bill.
"The letter was from a country town
,he handwriting that of an illiterate per-
son. IL was sealed In the old-iasbioned |
way with wafer | locked the counting
Dom door, guarded against being over
ooked, and then softened the wafer on my
ongue. l opened the unresisting seal
with fear and trembling. 1t was from
customer, who had owed my father three
years, and was now only able TO send him
twenty-five dollars. The money was in a
i've, three, four twos, and the rest one
dollars bills. looked wistfully at the
bills, but folded the letter up, and put it
away with the money in it. did not re-
seal it, sir, and thus voluntarily left the
levil's door open. That evening boy
old me there was to be training in the
next town the next day, and asked me to
20 halves with him to hire gig. was
lshamed to say had no money. l wished
o go. thought Of the twenty five dol
ars, and said yes inwardly resolved to
ABSTRACT one dollar bill only, and replace
t in some way (perhaps l intended to do
t from the clerks pockets at night before
ny father came back. took the bill, sir.
"But why need detain you here, sir?
out it relieves me to tell you this. These
we're my first steps, sir, into guilt My
ather did not return for two weeks. Be-
ore that the whole twenty-five dollars had
,een taken away by me, beginning at the
smallest bill, and, as | grew bolder, ending
1t the large one. l spent it in riding,
;uppers and dissipation. | now dreaded
o meet my father. 1t would never do to
give him the letter. So destroyed it. sir.
| resolved TO be quiet, and that the writer
would suppose it had been lost in the mail.
"Well, thee weeks after my fathers
'eturn, he asked me if I had received such
/ letter. l was nearly choked with terror,
out relieved myself with lie. l said
such letter had never come that knew.
"But lies, like murders, will out The
in reply to an inquiry fir I'm my
ather, said firmly he had received and de-
ivered such letter to me. My father
hen accused me of the theft. l confessed
t, and, to escape the punishment which
,e prepared for me, | fled from his pres
,nce. l got on board sloop going down
4 E n