Litchfield enquirer., 1862-09-04

glanced to the spot where his mare should have been. She was not there! She was gone stolen! During the night some daring thief had broken into the farmhouse, had picked the lock on the door of the bedroom, had spread the blankets over the floor, so that the hoofs of the mare should make no noise, and had thus tri- umphantlY made of with his nrlze. s.s,' 1 Of course Mr, Musgrave reused his house. hold, and commenced a vigorous search after the thief It was useless. The despoiler had left no traces behind him, and so Mr. Musgrave was obliged to return home disconsolate, and to content himself with venting curses neither few nor far between upon the thief. s...- ..-, In the meantime oqr friend ,Dickey-for his aassahe ased-was apnfortably mounted upon Mir. Musgraves favoItte mare, and was every moment increasing the distance between her outraged owner and himself So great was the speed of the mare, that by break of day Dick ey felt himself secure from pursuit. He had directed his steps to the eastward, and whilst crossing Haltwhstle Fell, whom should he en- counter but the veritable owner of the oxen he had stolen two or three days before and just sold to Mir. Musgrave!
 Dickey knew the owner of the oxen we'll, but, luckily for the freebooter, that injured irdividu- al did not know h;na. He therefore accosted Dickey, and inquired if he had seen any oxen in the course of his travels similar to those which he described himself to Dick as being in search of.
 Why, to be sure l have,' replied Dickey with the very same marks sas you describe, gra- zing in Mr. Musgrave's fields at Lanercost, only yesterday. l was rather struck he continued' by their appearance, and learnt, on inquiry, from one of his servants, that Mr. Musgrave had just purchased them. Undoubtedly the oxen are yours. I would advise you to go to Laner- cost at once, and claim them.'
 Certainly l wll,' replied the other. But way to Lanercost l see you ride good beast. Will you sell her?'
 After some hard bargaining, terms were agreed upon, the purchase money was paid down on the spot, and Dckey and the farmer separa- ted the latter to seek his stolen oxen, actually from the very owner of the stolen mare he was himself riding whilst Dckey proceeded where he listed.'
 The next day the farmer reached Lauercost, and, of course, at once recognized his own OK en, grazing in the field. He forthwith rode up to an elderly man stanling near, who he judged to be the owner of the field, and exclaimed:
 I say, friend, these are my oxen in your field! How may you have como by them ?
 And I'll be d--d,' replied the other, (after taking 6 long astonished look at the animal on which his questioner was mounted) if that's not my mare you are riding How may you have come by her, pray?'
 Each of course described the person from whom they had respectively purchased the OK en and the mare and when this was done, they discovered that they had indeed been sold by rogue of no common order.
 So Imaginable, however, did the joke appear even to those who had to pay the piper in the afair-that neither party could prevent break ing into peal of merument when the articu- lars were fully disclosed.
 It was now clear that the only way to settle the affair, was for each party to take back his own property. MT. Musgrove was of course overjoyed at the recovery of his favorite mare and the Denton Burn farmer, being equally de- lighted at the recovery of his favorite oxen it fell out that, in tue general burst of rejoicing, Dickey was allowed to quietly pocket the sale money of both mare and oxen.
 Whether Dickey ultimately came to an un- timely end, or whether he reformed his ways, duly shrived,' in his own bed, history telleth not
 Certain it is, however, that to this day his deeds are household words in many parts of northumberland and the mention of his name amongst the peasantry, is considered synono- nous with cuteness. Once Week.