Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-09-15

threats.
 Then I'd have shot them, or they me. In either case should have been pun Lshed severely.
 One winter was spending a week with brother-in- law. slept on the second floor and he occupied the back parlor on the first floor.
 One night I was awakened by woman's shrieks of Help! Murder! Thieves!" proceeding, as l imagined, from below me in the house.
 As quickly as possible I, again with no weapon, opened my door to the hall (where the light had gone out leaving it as black as my midnight walk was) and groped my way down the stairs to assist the person in danger
 At about the middle of the staircase ran against a man coming up. We had each other by the throats in an instant, and after a short life or death struggle we both, still trying to strangle each other, fell and rolled, locked together, to the bottom. There in the darkness we fought and choked and only stopped when my sister bravely opened the parlor door and let the lighted gas illuminate the combat. Lucky indeed it was for all con- cerned that she did so, for had she de- layed much longer my poor brother-in- law, on whom I was sitting and pound- 1 ing, would have been seriously dam aged.
 The servant girl, it afterwards turned out, had an attack of nightmare and her screams had made the trouble. Here again was a case where re- volver in either of our hands would have caused irreparable disaster.
 In my mind comes one instance after another of the woes that happen by owning handy pistols.
 A little boy I know found his fathers revolver carelessly left in a bureau drawer. Before he finished playing with it he shot and killed his smaller brother.
 A friend fearing burglars was in the habit of sleeping with a pist ol under his pillow.
 One night while in vivid, half awake nightmare, caused by keeping a pistol and thereby dreaming of burg. lars, he fired at some one moving across his darl1ened bed chamber. It was his bride, and she died in his arms.
 A neighbor had an altercation with his hired man. Stung by his inso lence he left the stable, went in his house, got his pistol and returned tc enforce his commands. In his fit 0: passion he murdered the man, anC though he escaped hanging he lost his reason.
 Another neighbor left his revolver under his pillow one day. His daughter on making up the bed tossed the pisto on the floor, where it exploded anC maimed her for life.
 I knew of several men who carried revolvers for security against imagin ary dangers aud shot no one but them selves.
 Then again I know of more wht have walked about with pistols in thei pockets and slept with them unde their heads for years without ever onc' having occasion to use them and neve will.
 l consider those people as very un safe and undesirable folks to be near and sincerely pity their families wh' are always in danger.
 Long ago I discarded the pistol i'm agined was so necessary for the preser vation of my life and in consequence live without the slightest thought o burglars and have peace of mind sleep ing or waking.
 The average pistol-carrying man not only liable to kill his family, hi friends or himself but is in actual dan ger of being shot by rogues who, at nj first movement toward his ''pistC pocket will shoot him down in thea ''self-defense" and not be hung for either.
 And where there is a single case of revolver being a protection to it owner there are thousands where has proved just the opposite. When a woman can alone go aroun } the world in perfect safety a man eel ) tainly need not be afraid.
 In fact only coward in these civi ized times will go armed, although, W considerable courage to have about weapon almost sure to hurt him soone or later.
 The old farmer who fixed a gun i his chicken house so when the doc was opened it would shoot the chicke thief found that out. For he forge the gun was there when he went afte the eggs in the morning. May his fate and the fate of others
 have mentioned make men sensibl enough to rely only on their fists pistol is a danger and a nuisance an
 of no use at all. "Shoot it" before sho ots you'll. c. Dodge, in Goodall
 Sun.