Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-29

TIE Wo>pEEFUI. LAIP.-One night
during the rcccn. troubles in The penn>vl-
wanna cu4l regions Judge Potts brother.
Thomas Potts. WAS rouud n Il meeting OF
mine owners. anI after the Adjournment
he stepped into a tavern. While there he
met some friends and in the course of an
hour or TWO he - very intoxicated On
his WAY home he lo~; his hat, and miner
Who know him. feeling compassion for
linn clapped on hiS head 4 miners hat;
and in order 10 make the dark street look
brighter he lighted the lamp in front of the
ha+. When Potts reached the house his
wife had gone to bel, and the lights We're
mt. but Potts felt certain the lamp was
turning in the hal. bIj he couldn't for the
lie of him tell where il waS.
II, looked at the rer llar lamp and it
-,emed to ne ON; th"m hunted in every
direction for the light, but he WAS unable
10 iind it. although il seemed II shine
5ri.shtlv whrr, yt.r he Went. Presently he
haioscned 10 sop in front f the mirror III
the hat rack. :lI tllon h" >iw precisely
whore the li.ht was. After 4 brief ohjur
cation upon Mr.. Ho.:~ for leaving light
! in such 4 l.la>c. he Went ~ - The mirror
and tried to blow il ont. iIe blew and
blew. Int somehow the flame barned aS
steadily aS before
hat" said Potts. = i> the most extra
oruarv lamps ever been my misfortune
't'tnrountcr Then hc took OF lis coat.
and holding ii in front of him crcpt c.u-
t;o'l>lv up to the mirror. ami tired I" crush
th, coat over the lamp which >tll bIrncd
brightly. lie said:
:. Tnnt's Ger inlv very cNtro nary MOI
'>.nn;-hin' circum>tanz ever come un'er
ha,
it. :"
l. occurred to him that perhaps he
mirht smash the lamp with an umbrella.
Selling the weapon he went up to the hat,
and aiming a terrible blow At the light, he
hrourht the umbrella down. He missed,
and smashed his Sunday hat into chaos
He took aim again. and caught the UNI
hrella in the lamp overhead. bringing 1t
down with crash. Then he tried a third
time. and plunged the lerule of the UNI
hrilla through the mirror. smashing 1t to
atoms: he felt eNultant for 4 moment as
the LIGHT disappeared from his vision. but
he was perplrXe,i 10 find there WAS anoth-
or lirht Somewhere, he did not know ex-
nelly where. SO he sat down on the stairs
and remarked:
Moz' 'stoni-hin' circumstanz ever
come uner my obzerVatlon- W haten
thunder doz it mean an how? Light
zone. an Vet its shinn' Perfectly IN
comprc 'nsiblc, Wish t'graeiouS Mrs.
Potts Il wake up an splain IT. Durnf
know what had better do
Then Potts took off his hat to scratch his
head in the hope that he might scare up
an idea. and the truth flashed upon him.
Gazing at the lamp for Il moment, until he
drank in 4 full conception of the trouble 1t
had caused him, he suddenly smashed 1t
down on the floor in Il rage, and eNtin-
cuished it after covering two yards OF car
pet with grease. Then he went to ped;
and in the morning Mrs. Potts informed
hin, that some of those awful miners had
broken into the house the night before
and left one of their hats with a lamp
Potts turned over in bed SO that she could
not see his face, and said if the stern hand
of the law wasn't laid upon those ruhians
soon, nobody's life would be safe,