The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-08-26
A PRACTICAL JOKE.
One That Had Some Good and Ill Re
suits for the lockers.

| One That Had Some Good and Ill HeH
| suits for the lockers.
The "Pickings" man fell in with
| squad of lawyers yesterday who were
talking about practical jokes. Il have
not INDUCED in practical jokes for
many years" said an old eX-judge. Il
was very fond of playing all sorts of
jokes on other persons when ! was
young man. but was cured of the hab-
it very etfectually.
II was attending the Cincinnati I&W
school about the time the war broke
out; my most intimate chum was the
son of a man who kept a large retail
| hardware store on Main street. in en-
cinnat. He was a practical Joker as
well as myself, and between US we
managed to make good deal of trouble
for others. This young man assisted
in his fathers store when not engaged
in his studies or attending lectures,
and | often loafed around there myself
when not engaged.
"Onc afternoon in the spring of 1861
went into the store to see Billy and
found it nearly fun of farmers buying
their spring hardware. Billy was be-
hind the counter selling an old man
some trace chains. Walking up to The
counter, leaned over and Missed a saw
age defiance in his ear as if we were the
bitterest enemies instead of the closest
friends. Billy saw the point and
grabbed mp an old toy pistol that could
not have been fired if il had been load
ed, and with a face as black as a thun-
der cloud. yelled that he intended to
blow my lungs, livers and lights into
the middle of next week
Il jumped behind the customer and
begged him for Gods sake not to shoot.
The effect was electrical. The old man
started for the front door al a >: 40 gait
yeIlingmurder,a nd(in his hight knocked
down a rack against which some cross
cut saws and other loose pieces of iron
were leaning. making a great noise.
Every customer in the store became
panic-Stricken and bolted without
waiting to find out what the racket
was all about
TO keep up the farce, | ran with
the rest | stumbled over d nail seg
and fell and broke my leg below the
knee The sudden exodus scared some
teams that were in front of the store
and two or three of them ran away.
These teams ran against other vehicles,
so that all told there were more than
dozen wagons and other vehicles
wrecked But this was not the worst Of
it, Some one, hearing the cry of muir
der, and seeing the excited throng
sent for the police. The station was
only two squares away. and in
about two minutes about 80 policemen
came in a body on "A dead run, under
the impression that there was a riot
and that murder had been committed
by this time there must have been
1000 men in the street, which was fair
ly blocked for whole square. The
police knocked down and ran over more
than 80 men before they could reach
the front door Some one yelled fire
and in less time than it takes to tell
it several engines galloped up. One
line of hose was finally forced through
the crowd, and in at the show window,
which had to be demolished as it was
| impossible to get in at the door. An
other company put up ladders and de-
molished all the front windows of the
second story in their search for the
fire, and not finding it raised their lad
ders to the third story, which was
treated in the same way.
while the racket was at its worst
I lay among the nail kegs with broken
leg. As soon as it was discovered that
nobody had been killed and there was
no sign of fire the crowd slowly dis
| persed. and | was carried across the
street to a drug store. | was sent to
a hospital, and did not get out for 4
month. After | had been taken to the
hospital Billy sneaked out to see me
and we promised each other to say
nothing about our horse play in the
store. and nobody seemed to know how
the trouble started. Billy's father al
ways seemed to think that the old
farmer who raised the first yell and
started on run for the door had been
seized with a sudden fit of insanity.
after I was able to get around on
crutches, Billy brought his mother and
sister out to the hospital to see me,
and as | had been hurt in the store Of
the young lady's father. she insisted
that | be taken to their house to re-
main until fully recovered. That girl
became my wife more than 80 years
| ago. or soon after / came out of the
army OF course l told her how the
|