Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-06-28
The Nest st0usshlng Olrcum stance
Thae Ever Casne Under His Notice.
From the Green Mountain Freeman.

I'd @ &r.
From the Green Mountain Freeman.
One night during the recent trou-
bles in the Pennsylvania coal regions,
Judge Potts brother, Thomas Potts,
was round at meeting Of the mine
owners, and after the adjournment he
stepped into a tavern. While there
he met some fiends, and in the course
of an hour or two he got very intox-
icated. On his way home he lost his
hat, and q miner, who knew him,
feeling compassion for him, clappcd
on his head miners hat; and, in
order to make the dark street look
brighter, he lighted the lamp in front
of the hat. When Potts reached the
house his wife had gone to bed, and
the lights were out: but Potts felt
certain that the lamp was burning in
the hall, but he couldn't for the life
of him tell where it was.
He looked at the regular lamp and
1t seemed to be out; then hunted in
every direction for the light, but Inc
was unable to find it, although ii
seemed to shine brightly wherever he
Went. Presently he happened to stop
in front of the mirror in the hat rack
and then he saw precisely where the
light was. After brief objurgation
upon Mrs. Potts for leaving light in
such a place, he went mp to the mirror
and tried to blow it out. He blew
and blew, but somehow the flame
burned as steadily as before.
"That," said Potts, "is the most ex.
traor'nary lamps ever been my mis-
fortune L encounter
Then he took off his coat, and hold.
ing it in front of him, crept cautious
ly up to the mirror, and tried t.
crush the coat over the lamp, which
still burned brightly. He said:
"That's cer'inly very extra'nory
MOI 'stonishin' circumstanz ever com,
un'er my observation. Don'o how t,
count for it !"
1t occurred to him that perhaps Ii,
might smash the lamp with an .um
brella. Selling the weapon, he wen
up to the hat rack, and, aiming ter
rible blow at the light, he brought tn
umbrella down. He missed, an,
smashed his Sunday hat into chaos
He took aim again, and caught tn
umbrella in the lamp overhead, bring
ing it down with crash. Then h
tried a third time, and plunged I'll
ferrule of the umbrella through til
mirror, smashing it to atoms. II
felt exultant for a moment, rs tn
light disappeared from his vision, bu
he was pcrplexcd to find there wa
another light somewhere, he did no
know exactly where. So he sat dow
on the stairs and remarked:
| "Moz' 'stonishin' circumstanz eve
come un'er my observation. Whatcl
thunder doz it mean anyhow? Light
gone, an vets shinin'! Perfectly in
COMPREHENSIVE! Wish to graciou
Mrs Potts d wake up an 'slpain II
Darn + ! know what l had bette
do?" ~ ,5.ta. III.
Then Potts took. off his hat t
scratch his head, in the. hope that h
might scare up an idea, and the trutl
flashed upon him. Gazing at til
lamp for a moment, until he drank il
a full conception of the trouble it hat
caused him, he suddenly smashed
down on the floor in a rage, and ex
tinguished itafter covering two yard
of carpet with grease. Then he wen
to bed, and in the morning, Mrs
Potts informed him that some o
those horrible miners had broken in
to the house the night before, an,
left one of their hats with a lamp
Potts turned over in bed, so that sh
could not see his face, and said it tn
stern hand of the law WASH t laid up
on those rufiians soon, nobody's lif
would be safe.