Litchfield enquirer., 1873-01-09
.s ...s.... From Evers Saturday. RURCLARiouSLY AND FELOMl-
 OUSLY.

iFr .-71t 0uSLY.
 We had just locked mp the safe, and had put the key in my pocket-I am the accountant of the North and South of England Bank at is Padsey Branca, ". F. Yorke.-I had got my hat on, and taken up my umbrella, when man came run ming into the bank with bag of money iii his hand
 head.
 :.Deuce take it p he said; land I'm off to Liverpool by the next train, and then to America
 ''Sorry for it." I said; ''but we cant take the money" ....--
 ssWell. then, what is to be done :? Here's twenty-two thousand pounds in this bag, and those drafts of mine come due i'll 8 couple of days. Well, youU have to take 'em up" he said; '1 can't, unless you take the money 1" tonight.
 knew that those drafts were coming due, and that our manager was a little anxious about them. for they were rather heavy, and the other names on them were not very good. Black, too,-that was the man with ihe money -bag-Black was a capital customer; and not onlys good customer himself, but he brough. good accounts with him, and we were young branch and on our mettle.
 We'll, here was the money to meet the drafts, anyhow, and l should have been great fool to send 1t away just because it was after-hours. So counted 1t all over; there was about nineteen thousand in checks and notes, and three thousand in gold. ..,
 "Come and have glass of beer with me-" said Black, ''on the way to the way to the station" s
 Iput the bag of money in my desk, and locked it up. would come back pres ently, and have it placed in the safe, I walked to the station with Black; we had some beer together, and then he went off America-wards, and on the way to Mem ophillar Villas. You see, was rather in the habit of calling for glass of beer as I weht home, and then going on; and con- sequently, from the force of habit, I'd all most got home before remembered the bag of money. It was vexing, too, be- cause we had tea-party that night, the first since our marriage, and it began at six o'clock, and I'd promised to be home an hour earlier, to draw the corks and help to get things ready. And here it was six o'clock, and I had to go all the way back to the bank. s-
 All the way back I went as hard as 1 could pelt. However, the money was all right in my desk, and now I'd put it in the safe ''Tell MT. Cousins" man ager, you know-I said to the servant who'd let me in, 'that want the key of the safe" But you had it in your pOck- ct, say you; which shows that you are not acquainted with the rules and regula- tions of the North and South of England Bank, which say that the accountant or chief cashier shall be responsible for the due custody of the cash whilst it is in This possession in the daytime, and that at night all moneys and securities shall be carefully secured within the office safe, which shall be in the custody of the man. ager, and the second in that of the &C., ssiStaps ss iShg ss p y6a had one Key ahss df want with two? There, I own. the regu- lations are obscure. They were drawn up by somebody without any literary skill; if they'd consulted me about 'em, I could have suggested good many i'm was. that the safe was to be secured by two Jocks, and that key of each, not in- Interchangeable the one with the other, was to be in the custody, &c. Now you un- derstand why wanted MT. Cousins key.
 "Eh, my P said the servant, opening her mouth wide, "and what might you want Mir. Cousins key for?'' .a
 Just as stupid as you, you see. l was mad with the girl own I always get out of temper with those Yorkshire peo- pie. If you ask 'em the simplest aues- tion, first they open their mouths and gape at you. When you've repeated the question twice, they shut their mouths and think for a bit. Then the idea seems to reach the thing that does duty with 'em for brains, and excites sort of reflex action, for, by lingo instead of answer ing your question, they go and ask you one. An that makes me so mad. Oh, they're a very dense race, those Yorkshire peogIss; :'&s, r., o,,.,,, tho of. xo, .tnn;a !" said I. "Where is hep
 Don't ye know" says she.
 "Know?" I cried in rage. "What should I ask you for, if did know?'
 ssDidn't thau know he were at thai house ?" s-e.l
 An! so he was. I'd nearly forgotten that he was one of the guests at my wife 8 party. Clearly, couldn't get the safe open. and I didn't like to leave the mon- ey in my desk, so put it in my pocket and took it home, thinking I'd give it to Cousins with my Key, to put it in the safe when he returned.
 A nice mess got into when l reached home; for you see it had been arranged that I was to go upstairs and dress be- fore anybody came; and that then our room was to be made ready for the ladies to take their bonnets off-for they were not aH carriage people. We'll, you never saw such thing When l got home and crept upstairs to dress-the people had all come, so the servant said-there were six muffs, and four bonnets, and five pork pie hats, and half Q dozen shawls on the bed; and one lady had left her everyday curls hanging over the looking glass Upon my word, Ireally didn't like to per form my toilet among all these feminine gear: and there was no lock to the door; and my dress-clothes were all smothered up amongst these muffs and things. But got through pretty we'll, and had just got one of my legs into my trousers, when bang -atrop dop-dop such rattle at the knocker, and heard my wife scuttling ! away into the hall They were the Mark bys, our trump p-cards, who kept their own carriage, and everything grand. -.s..- 1 ''.So kind of you, dear ? said my wife, kissing Mrs. Markby most affectionately; could hear the reports where I stood. ''So delighted! Really, how nicely, how beautifully you arrange everything can't have things so nice, with all my ser wants and"-- saz & saaol -a~
 ''Run up-stalrs, dear, dol" said my wife ''you know the room-my room, right hand at the top of the stairs,
 I Iheard Autter of female wings on the | stairs. What was I to do? If could have managed the other leg. I wouldn't have minded, but I couldn't. hadn't worn those dress-things for good while and don't get any thinner as grow; old CT. No, for the life of me, I couldn't dis pose of that other leg at such short notice What could do? | could only rush tC the door, and set my back against it. Did I tell you this was house-xarming party | think not. Did I tell you our landlord had altered the house for us, making oul bedroom larger by adding slp that had formed g separate room? l think not And yet ought to have told you all these circumstances, to enable you to under