Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1869-05-07

snow! Auu YET IL seems Sucn q piCy,
after that civil Mr.. Shaw has sent us these
tickets; and you know never enjoy any
thing-let it be wild beastesses, or what
not-without you, John. How fine they
look, with this picture of the lion and the
unicorn, though the bill says as the uni
corn is ad,-with Shaaos Shoao, patron
lied by all the crowned heads of Europe,
and admit the bearer with his autograph
in the corner, in red ink! Why, the
mayors own invitati 1ns are not more
| splendid"
| "Don't talk of the mayor, woman, for
| that makes me think of the mace" replied
| her husband, with shiver. don't wish
to see any show but one, and that's the
man that stole that mace, with a pair of
handouts on him, or, what would be bet,
| ter still, a-standing underneath bit of
| wood, with rope round his neck, and a
parson by his side. But there, it's no
good wishing. Upon my life, sometimes
wonder if the Devil himself is not adding
on it all to vex me-"
| "Lor, Jonn, you make me creepl'
| "Well, I can't make you fy reckon"
replied Mr.. Stott, surlily; "and yet that's
what this fellow can do, confound him
He's like a bird of the air,-a bird OF
prey"
"Wel, John, do you know can't help
sometimes thinking-only / would not
have mentioned it unless you had-that,
perhaps, after all, it is bird You know
a magpie is a thief by nature"
"And so you suppose a magpie could
have stolen the town mace, do you ?
Why, you are a greater fool than the news
papers"
Mrs. Stott, humbly.
"I wish could forget it," growled the
| chief-constable "You had better put on
your bonnet, and take my ticket round
the corner to Mrs Jones, who will be glad
enough to go with you; only take care
Shaw don't keep you both, and put you in
cage for pair of owls. There I'm sor-
ry to be so rude, Mrs. Stott; but the fact
is I feel as shall go out of my mind un-
less tackle this mystery; and l must be
left alone to think it out"
So Mrs. Stott, obedient wife as she was,
attired herself in gorgeous apparel, and,
| accompanied by her friend and neighbor,
the Parish doctors wife, honored Mr.
Shaw's menagerie with her presence. 1t
was a sort of fete which that practical stu
dent of Natural history (Which included
some knowledge of manklnd) had given
to the inhabitants of the town, and every
thing was on very splendid scale. The
show was lit up by rows of chandeliers,
made of circlets of wood and candles,
from the latter of which, as they of neces-
sity hung very low, the tallow dripped
upon the heads of the company; but that
was not found out till the next morning.
The floor and cages had been thoroughly
roh of ,Nt
had even been made, by means of un-
guents and spices (or, in other words, chic
rate of lime), to mitigate the odor that
hangs about all establishments devoted to
the reception of wild beasts. But it must
be confessed that this last refinement was
a failure-it was like the jar of Ottar,
| which, "do what you will, the scent of
the roses would cling to it still )" only in
this case the perfume was the result OF a
combination the hyena and the musk
rat, the royal Bengal tiger and the mar
moset, each contributed their soUpc0s.
In place of the usual Snowman, Mr.. Shaw
himself with an elegant white wand,
pointed out the various objects of interest,
explained their habits, and narrated anec-
dotes of their extraordinary sagacity.
The monkey cages, as usual, were the
chief attraction; their innocent gambols.
and the remarkable penchaaat they exhibit
ed for biting each others tails, were the
admiration of the beholders. Mrs. Stott,
while regarding these parodies upon man.
kind with contemplative air, was very
nearly-indeed, literally within half an
inch or so-paying great penalty for her
philosophic abstraction. A ribbed face
baboon of gigantic size, looking not un-
like one of Mr.. Cooper's Indian heroes in
his war paint, made snatch at her fin
gers, which, loaded with rings, happened
to be ungloved, for she had just been tax
| ing refreshments.
"Your charms even vanquish the brute
creation, Mrs. Stott," observed the clerk
to t,.. magistrates gallantly =" the enam-
ored animal seeks your hand"
Eyes; but, like the rest of the male sex,
for what is in it, or on it," replied Mrs.
Jones, who had been an heiress in small
| way, till her husband removed from her
that invidious distinction by spending all
her money.
The ribbed-face baboon screamed with
| disappointment, and swung by his rope
headforemost, and with his eyes shut, for
the rest of the evening.
| Tt was a. m, and the chief constable's
wife had been in bed since midnight, but
she had not fallen asleep. She was await
| ing the arrival of Mr.. Stott, in hopes that
he might have some good news to tell her,
or to comfort him with her sympathy In
case he hadn't. 1t was beautiful night,
and she had left the window open, through
which the soft fresh air came gratefully
enough after the atmosphere OF the me-
nagerie. She would be able to catch the
majestic football of her lord while it was
vet great way off, and she was listening
| for it. Presently, through the deep sum-
mer stiffness, sounded human step, which,
albeit not that she was expecting, seemed
| familiar to her 1t was step which, al
| though it moved with quickness, had a
slight limp such as she had noticed in the
| gait of Mr.. Shaw. Yet he had himself as
sured her that very evening that he was a
man of early habits, and always shut up
his house on wheels before twelve o'clock.
1t was most unlikely that on the night of
his fete, of all nights, he should have made
an exception to this salutary practice; and
vet she knew no other step than his like
that step. 1t stopped beneath the win
dow, and then there was sliding, ,scramb
ling noise, as though something were
struggling up the water pipe that ran
down the side of the house, and she felt
at once that the mystery OF these nightly
thefts was about to be solved
She was frightened, of course; but she
did not shut her eyes and put her head un-
der the bed clothes, as most ladies would
have done under such circumstances; on
the contrary, she stared so hard at the