Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-05-24
Young Potts Menagerie.

They had terrible time up at Dr. Potts
the other night, says the San Francisco Post.
II seems that little Archibald Potts had
been holding menagerie in the cellar for
the benefit of the neighboring juveniles, and
among other attractions had locked the
Skidmore's big yellow Thomas cat, and the
Bazumbee's two Maltese Maria cats, into the
refrigerator TO serve as royal Bengal tigers
In the corner he had fenced in four dogs with
bed-sats in a manner supposed to be highly
suggestive Of grizzly bears. A goat appeared
as Bactrian camel, and a pet raccoon as a
panther. A trap full of rats did duty as hy-
enas, while the pathological department
was represented by Charles Diffenderfer's
parrot and couple of ROSTERS. A garter
snake in raisin box was billed on the alley
fence as "feeroshus bore constructor"
and made up list Of attractions that ex-
tracted the nickels from the juvenile public
in manner that made the embryo Havery
the proudest boy on Van Ness avenue.
For good aud sufficient reasons, Master
Archibald failed to confide the full extent
of his managerial enterprise to his parents,
and, in fact, had bribed the Chinese cook to
eternal secrecy with a share in the gate
money and season ticket.
About one A, NJ, that night, Mrs. Potts
discovered that she was hungry, and sitting
up in bed, delivered feeling grafton to DIR.
Potts as to the magnanimity of his going
into the cellar and seeing if there was any
cold beef in the refrigerator. After DR..
Potts had stopped snoring long enough to
respectfully but firmly decline the nomina-
ton, Mrs. P. put on her slippers and pro-
ceeded to seek the said refreshments.
Mrs. Potts candle was blown out as she
descended the cellar steps-something that
invariably happens, by the way-but as she
was familiar with the basement topography
she proceeded to group her way to the re-
frigerator, and raise its lid. Instantly what
seemed to the Mortified woman to be ton
of dynamite with claws exploded, and she
fell over against the goat, which butted her
clear across the coal heap, while the dogs
bit her, the parrot pecked her, the BOOSTERS
flew at her, the rats scampered over her. and
pandemonium generally turned loose its
| racket to mingle with Mrs. Potts shrieks,
which were distinctly heard in West Oak
land, the wind being that way.
DIR. Potts just at this juncture awoke
from dream, in which he imagined him
self stage coach being chased in ahead of
time by the Indians, and after critically
listening to Mrs. Potts performance for fif-
Teen OF twenty minutes ne Dtcdue cOnVlnceu
that burglars were in the house, and that
immediate, vigorous action was necessary.
So, in order to convey the exact idea of what
had happened, he rushed into the garnet,
crawled out on the roof, and yelled murder
at the top of his lungs.
When Officer McGluckey arrived, Mrs.
Potts was just going into her ninth fit
among the Potts Gigantic Aggregation,
with the raccoon chewing off her last toe
and the garter snake coiled round her leg,
while three members of Of" Co., who
boarded across the street had gotten out
their rifles under the impression that old
Potts was house-breaker, and had fired
three sighting shots apiece at the prominent
citizen.
1t required four hours and the assistance
of the entire neighborhood to get matters
Strengthened. And when Mrs. Potts was
to put to bed again, wrapped up in sheet
soaked in arnica, and all was tolerably Sc
rene, it was discovered that Master Archi-
bald had disappeared during the riot, leav-
ing note on his school slate to the effect
that he proposed to hide in the park until
the thing blew over, and that if within three
days Personal did not appear in the
Post, requesting him to return home and
be forgiven, he proposed to go to sea and
turn pirate.-Selected.