The Worthington advance., 1880-10-14

shall zee each golden letter,
Cleaning in the light OF Truth,
Read the precious promise better,
In sublime, immortal youth.
ANITA, Iowa.
LAW AND LEGERDEMAIN.
BY AN OLD LAWYER.
The incident am about to relate &C.
Cured twenty years ago in Pennsylva-
nia. The little village of -, in
our county, had acquired population
Of several hundred it had a store, a
postoffce, two churches, q schoolhouse,
and several shops. The people of that
quiet little hamlet were prosperous and
happy; yes, happy in their ignorance Of
what was necessary for their own vel
fare and the public good. For SO
strangely benigh ghted were they that, as
yet, they had no licensed hotel to spread
its legalized blessings around, as the
deadly pestlential dew falls on some of
the countries of the burning zone. For
years this little village had nestled
among the fertile fields of Western Penn
sylvania, and, so far as the records of
our criminal court showed, its existence
was unknown at the county seat, for no
criminal case had ever been "sent up I"
from its low-abidinG precincts. But the
march of improvement and Christian en-
lightenmcnt is ever onward and upward.
There came IN enterprising man, and,
unfortunately for the little village, he
was q man of "good moral character, I"
and therefore a fit recipient for the favors
Of the court. He proposed to purchase
corner-lot in the place, and erect there
on a fine hotel. The good, staid, and
sober old burghers Of the town were in
ccstasies over the contemplated great
improvement; it was just what was
wanted to make s. an embryonic
New York, and the price of village lots
went up with bound.
Time passed on the hotel was COM
pleted, furnished, and was to he opened
on the 22d day Of February. An ap-
plication had been made for license,
and, if it was granted, the proprietor
proposed to give a grand free ball on the
night Of the opening, at which time the
well-stocked bar was to be SO free that
those who attended could sin without
money and without price, he we'll know
ing that the seed thus sown would in
time yield him an abundant harvest,
Though the gathering might leave behind
the barren stubblc-tield of drunkenness
md crime.
Of course the license was granted.
The proprietor was, as I have said, un-
fortunately man of good moral charac-
ter and temperate habits. Deacon A.,
of the Baptist church class-leader B,
of the Methodist church; Elder G.. of
the U. P. church Doctor D, Squire E,
and o number of lesser lights Of the So
cietysd the village signed the certificate
of the proprietor's good character, be-
lieving that oil that was required to make
the little town happy and prosperous the
rest Of their days was legalized place
to commence to manufacture drunkards,
and; eas it was the only manufacturing
establishment of any kind in that Sec
ton of the country, all were overjoyed
when the news came that the glorious
,prerogatiYe to sell whisky was granted to
Us s PsoaFietor Of the ".,United States
Time, bearing in it's womb the future
Joys and sorrows of men, moved on the
, 22d day of Feb bruary Scame ut last, and
:: al stfe lads and lasses for miles around
were there. The bar was open and free
and
There was . sound OF revelry by night
There was row in the bar-room free
whisky had ended in a free fight, as
usual, and one Henry D., the son Of a
widow, who lived a mile or two from the
place, had, in fit of drunken frenzy,
with his naked hands struck stand of
glasses that stood on the counter and
dashed item on the floor. The broken
glass had cut his hand severely. One
of his. companions, William W., had
taken from Henry's pocket white silk
pocket-handkerchief. and, wrapping it
around his bleeding hand, tied the cor
ner ends together. The young man left
the hotel with several others, and was at
home in the morning, but he was so
drunk that he forgot the important fact
that he had taken q young lady to the
dance until he was reminded of it in a
somewhat emphatic manner by the
young lady herself the next day, she
being at that time an inmate of his
mothers house.
William W., who tied the handker-
chief around Henry's bleeding hand,
was the owner OF small store that
stood near the canal. His stock of
goods consisted Of coarse clothing, usual
~ worn by boatmen, and a general as
sortment of boat supplies. He was a
man of low associations and bad repute.
His store was the nightly resort of boat
men and roughs, who live along the
water thoroughfares of the country, and
those ladies who do the "cuisine" on
board the floating palaces of our canals.
That night William was at the dance un-
til nearly daylight. In the morning he
discovered that his store had been en-
tered by burglars through O window in
the rear, the thieves breaking light of
glass for that purpose. A quantity of
goods had been stolen, mostly rough
clothing, boots and shoes but, as he
alleged, Of the value Of over $500.
No trace of the burglars was found.
Time passed on until the month of June,
when some men who were removing the
hay from an old hay-barn that stood in
a meadow near by, found concealed
under it the stolen goods, tied up in q
large, coarse woolen shawl. ON open
ing the bund e, among the goods was
found the handkerchief of Henry D..
100 '''~"r'>nd around the bleed
ing hand. 1t was spotted with blood,
and still remained in coil, just as the
hand had been withdrawn. leaving the
very impress OF the fingers inside the
coil.
Every one was astonished at the de.
velopment. Henry D. had always sus-
tanned good character. He was never
known to drink before or since the night
of the ball was well of, his father hay-
ing left him by will large, we'll stocked
farm. He was an only son, the idol OF
iie nSd faken to the bail: al G He s was uni. gai.
'versafly popular among the people, and
the discovery fell upon the quiet village
like flash of lightning from a clear
sky. William W., the owner of the
store, made q complaint, charging Henry