Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1860-08-16
From ssHousehold Words"
THIEF TAKING IN LONDON.

Your wife discovers on retiring for the
night that her drawers are void her toilette
table is bare except the ornaments she now
wears, her beauty is as unadorned as that
Of a Quakeress not a thing is left; all the
fond tokens you gave her, when her pre-
nuptial lover, are gone; your own miniature,
with it's setting of gold and brilliants her
late mothers diamonds; the bracelets ''dear
papa" presented on her last birthday the
top of every bottle in the dressing case
brought from Paris by Uncle John, at the
risk of his life, in February, 1848, (being
gold, are of;-but the bottles (being glass;
remain. Every valuable is swept away with
the most discriminating villiany; for no
other thing in the chamber has been touch
ed; not chair has been moved !; the costly
pendulc on the chimney piece still ticks
the entire apartment is as neat and trim as
when it had received the last finishing touch
of the housemaid s .duster The entire es-
tablishment runs frantically up stairs and
down stairs; and finally congregatcs in my
lady's chamber. Nobody knows anything
whatever about it, yet everybody offers a
suggestion, although they have not an idea
L
into tears; the cook declares she is going
into Mysteries and at last suggests sending
for the police which is taken as a suspicion
of, an insult on, the whole assembled house
hold, and they descend into the lower re-
gions of the house in the sulks.
X 40 arrives. His face betrays sheep
ishness combined with mystery. He turns
his bulls eyes into every corner Of the pas
sage, and upon every countenance on the
premises. lie examines all the locks, bolts
and bars, bestowing extra diligence on those
which inclosed the stolen treasure. These
he declares have been ''wiolatcd," thus con-
cisely intimating, without quoting Pope,
that there has been more than one ''Rape
Of the Lock" He then notes the non dis
turbance Of other valuablcs takes you
solcmnly aside, darkcns his lantern, and
asks, in mysterious whisper, if you sus-
pect any of your servants, which implies
that he does He then examines the upper
bedrooms, and, in the room of the female
servants, he discovers the least valuable OF
the rings and a cast off silver tooth-pic be-
tween the mattresses. You have every con-
fdence in your maids; but what can you
think You suggest their safe custody,
but your wife intercedes, and the policeman
would prefer speaking to his inspector before
he locks anybody up.
Had the whole matter remained in the
hands on X 40, it is possible that your whole
troubles would have lasted till now. A
train of legal neutrality-suspicious. for deEa-
nation of character and suits for damag ges--
would have followed, costing more than the
value of the jewels, together with the entire
execration of all our neighbors and every
private friend of our domestics. But, hap
PLY, the Inspector promptly sends plain,
earnest looking man, who announces himself
as one Of the two detectives Of the X division.
He settles the whole matter in ten minutes.
His examination is ended in five. AS a
connoiseur, can determine the painter of Il
picture at the first glance, OF a wine faster