The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-09-29
MIR. POTTS LOOKING FOR A LIGHT.
The Most Astonishing Circumstance That Ever
Came Under his Notice.

One night during the recent troubles in thu
! PENNSYLVANIA coal regions Judge Potts broth
Icr, Thomas Potts, was round 1T II meeting o
the mine owners, and after the adjournmen
he stepped into IA tavern, While there he me
some friends and in the course of an hour o.
two he got very intoxicated On his way
home he lost his hat, and miner who knew
him, feeling compassion for him, clapped on
his head Il miners hat, and in order to make
the dark street look brighter, he lighted tho
lamp in the front of the hat When Potts
reached the house his wife had gone to bed
and the lights were out; but Potts felt certain
the lamp was burning in the hail. but he
couldn't for the life of him tel whore i; was
! He looked at the regular lamp and I seemed
to be OUT then he hunted in every direction
for the light, but he was unable TO find it, al
though it 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 a
brief objurgation upon Mrs. Potts for leaving
ia light in such place he went up to the mir
ror and tried to blow it out He blew and
blew, but somehow the flame burned as stead
lily as before.
That" said Potts, sis the most extr'or'nary
lamps ever been my misfortune t. encounter"
Then he took off his coat, and holding it in
ror, and tried to crush the coat over the lamp,
which still burned brightly. He said:
That's cert'inly very extranory! MOI
'stOnishin' circumstanZ ever come un'er my
observation. Don'o how to count for it.n
1t occurred to him that perhaps he might
smash the lamp with an umbrella Selling
the weapon, he went up to the hat rack, and,
aiming terrible blow at the light he brought
the umbrella down. He missed, and smashed
his Sunday hat into chaos. He took aim again
and caught the umbrella in the lamp over
head, bringing it down with crash. Then
he tried third time, and plunged the lerrule
Of the umbrella through the mirror, smashing
it to atoms He felt eXultant for moment, as
the light disappeared from his vision, but he
was perplcXed to find there was another light
he did not know exactly where.
So he sat down on the stairs and remarked:
MOI 'stOnishln' circumstanz ever come
ncr my observation. Whaten thunder doz it
mean anyhow? Lights gone an vets shnin!
Perfectly incomprehensible. Wish to gracious
Mrs. Pottsd wake up an 'splain it. Durn f
| know what had better dor
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 moment, until he drank in IA
full conception of the trouble it had caused
him, he suddenly smashed it down on the floor
in rage, and cXtinguished it after covering two
yards Of carpet with grease. Then lac went to
bed, and in the morning Mrs Potts informed
him that some of those horrible miners had
broken into the house the night before, and
left one of their hats with Il 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 ruilians soon nobody's
life would be saie-Gree1 MouataiH FyccH,aR