The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1878-11-30
POLICE COURT SCENES.
HOMEMADE ANTIQUES.

Virginia City Chronicle: The general stag
nation of business recently prevailing in
Justice Moses Court was considerably re-
lieved yesterday by the trial of one William
N. Hendricks, charged with Obtaining mon
~ under false protonses, The prosecuting
witness p,as Henry Wilkins, young man
from Gold Hill, who appeared boiling with
rage and impatient to pour into the ear of
the Justice the story Of, his wrongs. He
stated that he possessed taste for the an
tique and rare in art. And was especially
delighted with choice souvenirs of distin-
guished people. As ho expressed it, "a
tender flower from the tomb of some ingpir-
ed poet, bit of wood from some great
cathedral or a delicate twig from some fa-
NOUS historic spotis to. me source ofexquis-
ite delight" lie then told how the defend
ant had sold him a cabinet of rare curosities
for 800, representing at the time that they
were collection from the Old World, when
in reality every thing. in the lot had been
found or picked up in Storey County. He
considered his feelings, tastes, and general
love for tho associations ofthe past outraged |
by the cruel conduct of the accused,
Mr.. Hendricks then took the stand. He
admitted all that had been charged against
him, lie had found Wilkins a man with |
an abnormal love for curiosities, man con-
tinually hunting for old autographs, rare
postage stat1ps, faded flowers, and old pieces |
of tree bark from famous places. lie had ac-
cordinglE rptpu lactured a lot of these relics.
| ,TieA9icl.eso to Wilkins were here !
prSddessSy 8fr. Drake, the prosecuting at
torney.
Mr.. Drake, picking up piece Of old iron
What is this 9,r. ~. ,a..
Witness; grinning-Th sir is piece of
the cannon ball that wounded Napoleon at
Waterloo.
Drake-Where did you get it? o..
Witness-At the Fulton foundry, on the
divide. [Laughter.] ,..,.
Drake Here is another. relic, labelled
"St. Paul's cathedral before the great fire"
Where did you get that?
Witness--From my wood-pile. I stained
it with iodine to give it age. More merri- !
Went.
Drake-And this?
Witness-Twig from the grave of Victor
HuSo,." :. !,;, !. a,t.A.
Dral,e-But Hugo isn't dead. 81.
Witness, much astonlshed-Is that so?
thought he kicked the bucket last year.
Loud laughter.]
Drake-Here is q brick
Witness-From the house Of Oliver Crom-
we'll got it on c street. That bunch of
grass you have got there didn't really grow
on the grave of Mary, Queen of Scots, but
made wilkins believe SO, and got 81 Tor 1t.
gathered it down by the bonanza reservoir.
All those othor traps ] picked up round. the
town, and labelled 'em properly, as your
Honor can see. Those autographs of Wash
ington, Garibaldi, Lincoln, Wilkes RoQth,
Lafayette, TalleWand, YoltQire, and Mar
Gus D. Boruck wrote myself and then laid
'em away in a damp place to give 'em age.
Drake-Did you ever fool anybody else
on these relics? M ,l r,! f. ..t .u.
Witness--I sold an old oil painting to
Hank Smith for $3.50 sketch by Iogarth,
| told him. As a matter of fact, it was an
old Vinegar Btters picture, so smirched you
couldn't sec 1T, He paid me 500 down,
and 1 never went after the rest. [Tremcnd-
Gus merriment.1
The. Courtz,Aint you the chap that sold
me an original etching by Rembrandt last
summer? Co.. d. h,.. eve,
Witness, coolly-Yes, your Honor and
also the pen that John Randolph signed the
Declaration of Independence with.
Here howl of laughter went up, and
even the stolid features Of Constable Norton
relaxed. ....,..r T.;
The Court said that he had heard testi-
f rnony enough and reserved his decision
Justice Moses is now hunting for some law
r which can be SO constructed as to consign
the defendant to State prison for life.