Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1885-05-29

uGans
0Howeyer, this has little or nothing
to do with nv story, which relates ex-
to my experience with tne
Custom House officials, except It pc 10
explain how everybody was suspicious
of everybody else and where diamond
cut diamond was the order OF the day,
thieves and adventurers generally
passed the frontiers triumphant, while,
otherwise. honest folk frequently paid
the penalty of being caught in an ocea-
sional breach Of the mOralities.
"Now my wife, like all her sex, had
neculjar notions on the subject Of con-
traband goods. She held-in common,
I am bound to say, with many otherwise
scrupulously honest folks-that Custom
House officials were only invented Tor
the annoyance of travellers, and as s9cn
it was not only allowable but praise
worthy to circumvent them IN every
Pgse-- l way # was a case Of all being
fair in love or war. They were there to
detect and prevent the passage OF GER
tain articles. It was obviously the duty
Of every right-minded person to resent
This arbitrary conduct on their part by
carving from one country to another as
many Of the said articles, concealed more
or less ingeniously upon their persons,
as the nature Of the case permitted.
81. on the contrary, not only hao
serions oualms as to the honesty OF the
proceeding in question, but being then
as now of a naturally timid disposition
! [ conceived that the pleasure oil eVadlhg
the payment Of few dollars on piece
of lace or box of cigars would be dearly
purchased by the anxiety which l sho9lo
endure when 1 perceived the eye OF
acknowledged official fixed upon me, and
felt that 1 looked like murderer, ana
should politely be detained on suspicion,
and perhaps searched.
,,Fven the tenor of this last appeal
70 her reason failed to convince my
wife. uoDt =,
search me- she insisted. And really
WI ITO which / replied in the words o
A well known novelist, that i had neve
known but one woman who could under
stand reason, and she wouldn't llstel
to it,
"Well, TO make long story short, VI
argued the question out until both OF u
became quite warm, and I ended by ab
solutelv forbidding my wife to carry
ANYTHING of a contraband nature on he
peTson. She made no reply, and l, ton'
man. supposed the matter settled. L ha'
only been married a few months, and
had the most absurd ideas-as my VIII
will tell vou-on the subject of duty an
obedience. and so forth. You see l dl'
not know the sex.
ssWe had a delightful run throug
Europe without any special disaster, an
my wife's air of injured innocence,
pressed for the most part in very lndll
ferent French. but making upin exprrei
: sion what it lacked in idiom- Yhen aske
{ to declare any dutiable articles, wa
positively beyond description.
T at was at Brussels, 1 think, that
3 read in one of the English papers OF tn
4 arrest of two French women at Doy
D charged with smuggling over a quantl
of lace which they had wrapped arouI
their persons under their cloth!n
g and which was only discovered on the
. being searched by the officials.
sNThe writer added that regular cor
of femalesearchers had been added to Il
J department, and that suspicious ehara
. tiers we're invited to step IN and lntervle
these ladies with a view to VindicatlI
4 their appearance or falling under Il
9 tenure of the law. :,
8 eI showed the paper to my vii
. whose only comment was, More Zoe
% they. I,
q contempt for women who were fool
y enough to look suspicious. L thong
Is at the time she intended to convey b
Z opinion of the folly of attempting to Of
= wit her Most Gracious Majesty,s SCI
u ants. and [ felt relieved at the idea Il
:. nv arguments had prevailed upon l
y at last.
- "Once more, Brown, old fellow,
= showed my ignorance Of the sex.
- arguments had hsd precisely the saI
~ weight with her as my commands.
10 s'Mrs. Robinson spent good deal
10 money in Brussels. Indeed, when
y our way to Ostend, 1 came to add up t
u amount 1 had given her during G
in short stay. I felt, I must confess, lit
nv staggered to find how much. But
NJ seemed a little early to allude to So
mundane matters, and held my pea
10 only considering what the dickens
nk had got to show for it all.
an con the steamer, as in duty bour
ed Mrs. Robinson paid that tribute OF
er. spect which Father Neptune demands
the majority of those who venture up
y his doninions. In word, Mrs. Rob
"a son was awfully seasick. And, n
add not in the best of humor.
WI when. in asking for her keys, l C
tossed the hope that she had folloV
lu- nv wishes and abstained from bring
pc over ANYTHING dutiable in her trunks,
Tvas' verv injured and-tell it not in G
m rather cross.
nat "I think you might have more c
on sideration, Henry, than to bother mt
DO sueh a time. Let the wretches look
themselves. They'll find nothing IN
I boxes, 1 can tell you.
of 81 went on deck again with the kt
ion and had plenty of time to get little
. of temper myself by the time we reae
as the pier. Still, I should have been q
md than appeased by the vision OF my "
ing suffering, but to my establishment, "
sbe aid arise up the companion lad
let she was positively radiant. She
taken the utmost pains with her pers
of appearance, and managed somehow
he never knew how-to fight down the j
ne, traces of her nausea.
di- "She was very cool, however, to n
ed. reproachful and indignant, Though
in INV suggestions about the Custom h'
me- business. I had alluded once or t.
ed: tn tbe female searcher arrangement,
lrs. that article in the Daily Nel0s was
running in my head.
Md aSbe did not speak to me for s
had time as we stood watching the
made fast to the pier, and when
ex- aid her first words showed that l
right in my ideas of what was IN
an mind.
II ".