West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-12-21
Homemade Antiques.
lNirsinia CITY Chronicle.

The general stagnatiou of business re
Gently prevailing in Justice Moses
court was considerably relieved yester.
day by the trial of one William y
Hendricks, charged with obtaining
money under false pretenses. The pros,
ecuting witness was Henry wilkins. a
young man from Gold Hill. who an.
peared boiling with rage and inpatient
to pour into the ear of the Justice the
story Of his wrongs He stated that he
possessed a taste for the ANTIQUE and
rare in art, and was especially delighted
with choice souvenirs of distinguished
people. As he expressed il. A tender
Hover from the tomb of some inspired
poet bit of wood from some great
cathedral, or a delicate twig from some
famous historic spot is TO me a source
OF exquisite delight" He then told
how the defendant had sold him cabi
net OF rare curiosities for one hun lred
dollars, representing at the time they
were collection from the Old World
when in reality everything i'm the lot
had been found or picked up in Storey
County. He considered his feelings.
tastes, and general love for the associa
tions of the past outraged by the cruel
conduct of the accused
MIR. Hendricks then took the stand
He admitted all that had been charged
against him. He had found wilkins n
man with an abnormal love for curiosi-
ties, man continually hunting for old
autographs, rare postage stamps, faded
flowers, and old pieces of tree bark from
famous places. He had accordingly
manufactured a lot of these relics
The articles sold TO wilkins were here
produced by DR.. Drake, the prosecuting
attorney.
Mr.. Drake (picking up piece of old
iron y" What is this 2'
Witness (grinning) -" That, sir, is
piece of the cannon-ball that wounded
Napoleon at Waterloo"
Mr. Drake" Where did you get il ?''
Witness" At the Fulton Foundry
on the Divide" daughter in court.)
Mr. Drake" Here is another relic
labeled st. PauPs Cathedral before the
great fire. Where did you get thatT'
Witness" From my wOodpile /
stained it with iodine, TO give IL age"
(More merriment)
Mr.. Drake -" And this"
Witness-"Twig from the grave of
Victor Hugo"
Mr. Drake -" But Hugo isn't dead" /"
Witness (much astonished) 49," Is that
so? thought he kicked the bucket last
year" cloud Laughter)
~ Mr. Drake -" Here is brick
Witness" From the house of Oliver
Cromwell; got it on C-street That
bunch of grass you've got there didn't
really grow on the grave of Mary Queen
of Scots, but | made wilkins think 30.
and got four dollars for il. | gathered
1t down by the bonanza reservoir. All
those other traps | picked up around the
town and labeled 'em properly, az your
Honor can see. These autographs of
Washington, Garibaldi, Lincoln, Wilkes
Booth, Lafayette, Talleyrand, Voltaire,
and Marcus ID. Boruck ] wrote myself.
and then laid 'em away in n damp place
to give 'em age.F
Mr. Drake" Did you ever fool any
body else on these relicsP
Witness sold an old painting 10
Hank Smith for two hundred and ffty
dollars--a sketch by Hogarth, told
him. As matter of fact it was an old
Vinegar Bitters' picture, 30 smirched
up you couldn't see it, He paid me one
hundred dollars down, and / never went
after the rest" Tremendous merri-
ment, suppressed by Constable Norton
The Court" Amt you the chap that
sold me an original etching by Rem
brandt, last summerY'
Witness (coolly)-" Yes, your Honor,
and also the pen that John Randolph
signed the Declaration Of Independence
with"
Here a howl OF laughter went up, and
even the stoid features of Constable
Norton relaxed.
The Court said that it had heard testi-
mony enough and reserved It's decision.
Justice Moses is now hunting for some
law which can be 80 construed as TO
consign the defendant 20 State Prison
for life.