The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-07-23

THE ADVENTURE OF CAPr. POTTS.
aDo you know" aid Roberts, syou re-
mind me Of ftiend Of mine % much,
really thought you were the very man
when came up to you on the road.
Potts his name was-CAptain Potts; he
was London man perhaps you know
him?"
"No, I didn't know him"
"Ahi he WAS one Of the Pottscs who
smashed 90 awfully some years ago." said
my friend, indulging himself with load
gufaw at his joke. You remember the
great failure Of Potts, Pumpkins, q Cope,
the bankers, Of coursef Well, this Potts
was . nephew of Potts--Sir Tin Potts,
you know, knew nothing Of this though
when FIT met young Potta met him
on the fiv0t flshing. BE was Q good fIsh-
erman; but you Epgiishmen don't often
do much on our rivers, and then you 60
home and say there are no fish IN them.
Well, gave him some wrinkles, which
he profted by, and we got to be fast
Friends. We've nothing a. do; 20 draw up
70 the Gre, and I'll tell you story about
Potts and myself l call it the merciful
dealing Of Providence with Roberts. You
shall hear:
al lived in this town some ten years
ago. had Just married, and had lately
Commenced pEacsice aaa solicitcf. had
been axtic1ed hsre, DendinG he laet ye.r
0<3y>fimo ~A6ndon With Fudge b
Frizzeum, Of Lincoln's lima great chan
oery and agency hrn, Is I dare say You
know. Ny old master, John Jones, was
just dead, and I thought there was good
opening here. But didn't find business
come in fast You see there isn't much
litigation in these partA The big swells
are in the hands of their London lawyers !;
and If poor freebooter wants bit Of
money, he'll borrow it on note OF hand
from q neiehbor. without regular mort
gage deed, and il isn't often that any land
changes hands; and then was the only
lawyer in the place, and that was against
me. Still had al there was to be got
/ was clerk to the magistrates, clerk to
the highway, clerk to the commissioners
of this or that but these things, although
they sound large, don't bring in much.
Well, what with furnishing my house and
Office, and % on, I'd spent the little money
had, and had to borrow some; still l
knew should come right in time, and
my wife, though young,wa capital mar
sger, and would make q crown 60 a. far
as pound.
However, was very much pleased
when my eighteenth cousin, Watkins
Williams Watkins, man who had always
been very friendly to me In naughty,
distant sort Of way, commanded my At
tendance at Wyddyllum Castle. He told
me that her Majesty had insisted on. his &C
cepting the onerous but dignified post Of
High Sheriff OF the county, and that he,
w. w. W., had graciously' determined to
appoint me Under-Sherif. He was also
pleased to invite me to luncheon, and
among the distinguished party at the castle
/ found an acquaintance. Captain Potts,
who, with Lady Laura Potts, his wife,
was on visit there Potts was not one
of those fellows who are devilish friendly
by the riverside, and deuced cold in 80
ciety. He came forward at once to claim
my acquaintance, and introduced me to
Lady Laura, 0 delightful little woman, a
regular little fSiry, with such tiny hands
and feet. and little mes retr0usse, and
sparkling eyes, and such o smile! She
Elade slave of me ut once OF course
subject to my allegiance to my Mary
jane. / went home much pleased at my
reception and at the appointment had
received not that it was worth very much
in itself, but it gave one sort of standing,
and was an opening. My relative didn't,
however, forget to call upon me to find
two sureties in . thousand pogn3s each,
to indemnity him in Any action that might,
be brought s..nst him. 1t was the usual
tning> One of my sureties was my poor
cd father, who was then living in little
cottage near Llandolwen. He hadn't
much more than fifty pounds year to
live upon, 90 you may judge that the loss
of thousand pounds would have made .
pretty good hole IN his income. The
other surety was an old gentleman who
had always been very kind 70 me, and
who had accumulated little money In
travelled for Jones & Brown, Of
Manchester, for thirty years. / never
dreamed of such . thing as their being
called upon to pay anything for me
never. 1t was mere form. I thought,
and so / told them. I'd not much to do Is
Under-S Sheriff for some time. There were
OILY q few levies, which were paid out,
and which put few pounds in my
pocket; but was in great force at the
assizes. / was in much request among the
ladies to get them places in court, and
when the Judge, whom recollected IS q
leading @. @. when l was finishing in Lon
don, and whom had met at consultations
sometimes, condescerded to have Q chat
with me, and asked to be presented to
Mary Jane, I felt as If I had attained to Q
considerable elevation. After the spring
assizes, had little leisure. 1t was one
of the best fishing seasons ever remem-
Der, and used to be on the river every
day, and every day I would meet Potts
We became great friends, and Potts would
often come up to my house, and have g
smoke and a glass of grog. / was much
annoyed then, when one Tuesday NOR
-nings Post brought down ca. GA. from my
AGENTS, endorsed by the firm Of Moses &
Mosheim, commanding nae to take the
body of one Bellingham Billingsgate Potts,
and bring him before her Msjesty's Court
of Exchequer. And was to have met
Potts this very afternoonl Duty is duty,
and couldn't think of giving poor Potts
any warning of the danger that threatened
him. I sent for the two bumbailiffs who
did the few Jobs that occurred in our part
of the country. explained to them what
they had to do, and they seemed pleased
with the work. Had 1t been one of their
own countrymen who was in the mess,
they would have undertaken the business
with reluctance; but, the victim being an
ENTHUSIASTICALLY tuCy cCCmCu W 1lAC H. i
felt like despicable scoundrel as sent
these men out to track and make q
prisoner of o man whom / had come to
look upon as friend. To my horror, five
minutes after I had dismissed the men
Potts himself put in his head through my
office doorway.
Hullo, Robertsr he cried busy as
usual, old fellowl May I come inr
Ny presence of mind forsook mes I
could only gasp for breath, and point to
the door. Potts came in, alarmed What
on earth is the matterf Just then the
two bpms, who had traced Potts to my
Office, bounced in and seized Potts on each
side very roughly, almost tearing the coat
of hie back. But Potts was as nimh]e as
az He drove his elbow into the long
mans stomach, and doubled him up in an
instant; and he let fly his right into the
faceof little Jones, sending him spinning
across the room. There were two doors
opening into my Office, one led to the
outer or clerks Office; the other, opposite
opened into little back street. This lat.
ter was usually kept locked, and the key
hung on nail close to my desk. By this
door Potts and had often made our way
to the Prince Llewellyn for cur morning
beer. Potts consequently knew well
where the key was to be found, and saw
in moment the way of escape The
same idea flashed into my mind ct the
same instant Ought to have remained
GUrr arzA La