The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-07
VICTIM OF THE ALARM.
A CHICAGO MANS WIFE TOOK HIN
FOR A BURGLAR BY MISTAKE.

HAFtn 10 inspect AA-aeAuFnAns
From His First Night Down Town
II Went on, and He Is Laid Up for
Repairs on Account of the NishaD.
From the Chicago Chronicle.
This story in one respect IS like a GER
tain novel that was written by Wilkie
Collins. II had NO Name" But il is
literally true. and in that respect IL leads
the late Mr.. Collins several necks.
The man in this story built him a house,
and because his wife was afraid Of burg
lars and always got into that condition at
night known among women as "fdgety''
the husband went 10 no end Of expense in
making the house proof against intruders.
lie used 10 sit up late IN the night talking
10 his contractor about plans, and he al
ways rounded up with the burglar proof
idea. Bank safe manufacturers were con-
suited, and William A Pinkerton was
asked what ne thought, and it is said
that an old expert housebreaker. who
had been a reformer for a quarter OF
century, was brought into the affair. and
that he had some IDEAS that were adopted
IN the final plan. And when the alarm
was perfected, so runs the story. the man
utacturers. or patentee, and the contract
or and the man who was putting up wod
the whole business hired a house, put IN
ne alarm, and word was passed among
the nOuseDreakerS 10 come IN and try the
machine. Ii is related that il fooled the
best Of them. And one Of the heads of an
Old gang hung upon the apparatus, after
ne mad tried II, his card with the cabalis-
TICS n. " which the gang knew to
mean mo USE"
The good but nervous wife of the kind
and thoughtful husband was informed o.
the test and its success, but she sug-
gested that the alarm should be sent 10
the government and fred at as the gov
ernment fires at steel armOr before ac-
cepung 1t. The husband however, con-
WINGED his wife that such a test was USE
less, as burglars never bombarded a house
before breaking IN.
The alarm was put in the new house
wants had been thoroughly drilled in the
machinery and its working arrangements,
and 1t had been tried on the family, d
series Of parties were given at which the
planned and "set off" These receptions
became so numerous in the community
that the neighbors were wont to say 10
one another: ~ was a Mrs. IS bur
glar alarm last evening" or thus; Are
you You SONG to Mrs Is burglar alarm
one of the papers swears thar she re-
ceived one day a note like this:
Mrs ~ gave burglar last Onchoos-
day TO a number of friends. The Misses
- poured and Chief of Police Badenoch
sent man over to test the alarm.
1t is in accordance with the eternal fit
ness OF things that new finally wears
of of every fashion, fad custom, con-
VentiOnaNty, etc. The people in the vi
entity Of this new burglar alarm grew
explained. The household in which the
nav patent alarm was placed wearied
Of II, except the good wife, who insisted
that il should be tested every evening.
1t won't be any advertisement to say
that the alarm was most complete II
had ramihcatons That IS to say, il
had connections, and when il was set,
SO delicate was its construction that q
spider could not. string her gossamer
a nr In rs qfaTsI
without turning in an alarm The main
machine was at the entrance Of the
other doors, every window in the house,
the steam plant and the fiues, for the
wife OF the hQuse had read stories about
where burglars got into houses by climb
This patent entirely new and cock-sure
alarm, set in place, cost the owner of the
he didn't care. AS he told his confiden-
tial friend, masonically, Il must have my
sleep. Ny wife has nudged me in the
back so much at all hours of the night
asking me if 1 didn't think I heard a
noise, or some one in the house, that
am growing hole under my shoulder
But the man got his reward for all
this. His good wife. thoroughly satisfied
after many tests that the alarm was
prooof, began to be less nervous and some
of the former vivacity of her nature re-
turned, and whole nights of refreshing
sleep were often the result.
in the northumberland an engagement
downtown 1t was not often he went
downtown at night, and there was no OBJ
time he would be back. 1t SO happened
that no one in the house knew pa" was
out, except ma" and she said nothing
o'clock, and shook the house and ratified
the windows and beat against the doors.
Next to her fear of burglars, Mrs
greatest apprehension was of lightning
m
once by lightning, and Mrs. never
got over 1t. And when a storm set in,
whether at monday or night, she always
rushed to bed and covered her head.
Therefore, she sought shelter the night
pa was downtown, and the maid, whose
wages was based largely on her relia-
bility in arranging the burglar alarms
at night, seeing that the room of her
''missus' was dark, supposed that every
one was In, and she carried out her usual
nightly programme in setting the alarm,
and then she sought her own room, for
as she said to the milkman one day, she
inherited afraid of lightning from her
missus.'
The storm finally spen1 its fury. Occa-
sionally lightning flashed across the sky
the window sash CULVER. II was this
which caused Mrs. - to remain under
cover.
Then there came a crash IT was not
thunder. Thunder hasn't any bells on its
guns. The sound which aroused Mrs. -
was like that which the japanese orches-
lId uliutItOOk 10 pam OH lOr music
Chicago IN their theater on the Midway
OF course, il was burglars. At last Mrs
- was rewarded for her foresight That
flashed across her mind first, and then
she screamed for Hilda. the maid Hilda
came with the bed sheet over her head
The missus told her to turn on the cleo
trio lights, and for wonder the maid
did it. The missus screamed again. So
did the maid. The nlissus in one of those
calculating seconds which come to a wo-
man in the widest frenzy, called out to
her maid to get a weapon. Hilda had
read enough to know that the weapon of
a woman is a rolling pin, and she got it.
The missus selected one of pas" canes
that he had won at a church fair and
thus the two, missus and maid, descended
10 the first floor, or started. to battle
with burglars As a cold fact, they knew
that there were no burglars there, for no
burglar would have remained in the house
in the midst of such a din.
On the stairway. however they did meet
a man, and the m!ssus in a fright hit
the man over the head and he fell Mrs
rallied Hilda- She said to her: Keen
him going" The man was rolling down
the steps. Hilda obeyed the command
The man was trying to put up his hands
and trying to say something, but at each
effort the maid hit him with the old-time
weapon, and the uaissus kicked the man