The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-05-18
A FOOl'S Joke,

A FOODS Joke.
Hon. Clarence Newcomb, promi-
nent member of the Young Mems
Christian Association, and son of eX-U.
S. Marshal and eX-Congressman New
comb, underwent an experience a few
days ago which he will not soon forget.
The sportive humOr of a friend led to the
preparation of joke which came near
having a serious and fatal termination.
Mr.. Newcomb had stepped into the
vault attached to the Office of Lonergan
& Thiel, of the Detective Agency, where
he is interested. The vault is used for
the storing away of valuable books,
papers, etc. A gentleman who was in
the office at the time closed the door
upon Newcomb by way of a practical
| joke. The door closed with snap,
and Mr.. Newcomb felt some misgiv-
ings as he found himself surrounded
with a darkness which was most palpa-
BILE. His fears were increased by the
recollection of the fact that, except him
self and Mr.. Thiel, no one was in pos
session of the numerical combination
by which the safe was unlocked, and
that Mr.. Thiel had stepped out few
minutes before. In the meantime the
practical joker went out eXulting in the
funny plight in which his victim must
find himself when he discovered that
he could not get out. Mr.. Newcomb' 5
reflections were becoming more and
more serious every moment. He could
not hear any sounds from the outside,
and wondered what had become of his
friend. He tried to cry out, but knew
| that his voice, even if raised to its
highest pitch, could not penetrate
through the thick walls that surrounded
him. He tried, but the reverberations
of his voice in the narrow tomb were
almost deafening. He pounded against
the walls, bruising his hand in an at
tempt that he knew must be Intellectual
to attract attention. A strong and pow
erful man, he felt himself to be a hope
less prisoner, almost without the slight
est hope of relief.
The ticking of his watch, plainly au-
dible in the dense darkness, admonished
him of the rapid flight of time. The
intervals between the seconds seemed
longer than he had ever known before
The quiet had become so intense that
he could plainly hear the beating of
his heart. 1t thumped against his side
like the sound of a pile-driver, falling
at regular intervals, and driving-so he
thOught-his burial place deeper and
deeper into the earth. He thought he
could hear his blood as it was pumped
out of his heart and coursed through
his veins. 1t reminded him of the
murmur of a brook flowing through
the woods and trickling over messy
stones. The action of his lungs had
become suddenly and strangely audi
Bile. Respirations were becoming diff
cult. The regular inhalation and eX-
| halation of his breath sounded like a
bellows that was being worked with diff
! ticulty. The labored action of his lungs,
constantly becoming harder and hard
er, brought to his mind the terrible
question how much longer he could
live in this confined atmosphere. He
calculated how much air was contained
in these narrow walls, and how 1t
would support life. AT the farthest it
appeared to him that he could not live
more than twenty minutes, and then
he would have to breath this vitiated
air over and over again. He cried out
again, but stopped at the reflection
that this was useless expenditure of
the very hydrogen on which he must de-
pend for life for some time to come.
The silence began to be broken by
murmur which he could not at first I'M
derstand. The murmur gradually in
creased to loud buzz, and then he
realized that this must be caused by
rush of blood to the head, the effect of
his continued confinement. The buzz
ing increased to a roaring thunder
He felt himself stagger and then lost
consciousness.
At this moment Mr.. Thiel came in
hurriedly, having been informed of the
| situation, and unlocked the safe. Mr.
Newcomb had tainted, but was re-
stored by the free use of water, mixed
with some StimulantS.-St. Louis Post.
They found the father of burglars in
Chicago the other day-aged seventy
five-and fined him $50 and costs.
They'll pick up the father of liars up
there some of these days. He has never
been found anywhere else, and Chica-
go would be capital location for him
so many of his kin live there.-St.
LouiS Republican.
"Is IT becoming to me?" asked she,
as she paraded IN the costume of 100
years ago before her husband. Eyes,
my dear" said he, meekly. "Don't
you wish could dress this way all the
timeP" she asked. "No, my DEAR" he
replied; 1" but | wish you had lived when
that was in style"
A FLORIDA negro mistook mule for
ghost and poked it with stick. The
verdict recited that he came to his
death by using too short a stick in prob
ing the unknowable for evidence of a
future existence. Worcester Press.
A NORRISTOwN fisherman on Friday
last caught twenty-seven trout, some of