Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-10-27
! CASE OF INSOMNIA.
The RETIRED BURGLAR RELATES AN
INTERESTING EXPERIENCE.

How He Came to Eat Roastcd Oysters
with . Gentleman Who Couldn't Sleep.
He Didn't Make Cent, hut Enjoyed tho
Rest and Had a Pleasant Visit.
II found the dining room of a house
that l was looking over one night"
said the retired burglar, filled with o
glow of light from bright hard coal
fire burning in crate at one end of the
room. There was just little bit of gas
burning from one burner, but it only
made a little yellow tip in the redder
glow from the fire. About half the ta-
bic was covered with folded white ta-
blecloth, clean and thick and with the
creases still in it. On this cloth there
We're plate and plate of bread and
some butter and vinegar and catchup and
things like that, and on the other end
Of the table that wasn't covered, the
end nearest the fire, there was an old
fashioned square tea tray with the
japanning pretty much all worn off.
Locking down by the fire, saw on one
side of the hearth half bushel basket
pretty near full of big selected oysters,
lretty uniform in size and laid in care
fully with the round shell down.
sit was winter night, colder II
Greenland outside, and this room was
Just as comfortable as il could be, and
that layout did look inviting. and l
couidn t even guess who 1t was for, be-
cause the house was shut up tighter n
a 6rum-evidertly nobody expected and
nobody sitting up But while l WAS
standing there wondering over it heard
a door open-the one next to the one I'd
come in at--and in comes a man that
looks at nc fer a minute and says:
This is an unexpected pleasure.
And ! says it is to me, tOo, looking
at him at the same time and seeing a
man maybe little bigger'n myself
and perfectly resolute and capable and
able 10 take care of himself
''But sit down, he says, and eat
something with me You'll find an
other oyster knife in the left hand side
OF the right hand drawer Of that side
beard right hack of you And there it
was, and when i turned around again
the man was putting oysters on the fire
in the crate Five minutes later he was
picking EN- up with Il pair of tongs an
laying 'em carefully, round she'll down,
on the old tea tray Now. will you
Just help yourself:' he says
You do this very often? / says.
"'Well. no, don't. he says, and
shouldn t DO il at all if could help it,
but suffer from insomnia, and ! find
that when can t sleep little snack of
something to eat makes me sleep. I can
tell generally before | go to bed the
nights when | ain { going to sleep, and
such nights | have 'em fix up something
to cat in case | should need it, and then
/ come down aid find 1t, like this, and
eating sor.ething sort Of tranquilizcs my
mind. and go back to bed and go to
sleep all right.
He pushed the top shell of an oyster
III front OF hiLa over Gil to the tray and
pot q little bit IF II scrap of butter on
the oyster and looked at it dissolve d
minute, and then lie put cn Just enc
drop CT pepper saucc. turned the oyster
over II the deep shell SO rs 70 get the
dry top side into the Cysser juice and
melted butter. ard teen Eo Gte it Then
he dipped little hank Cf bread Into
the juice in the deep shell and ate that.
and then he pushed TIE empty shell out
CT the way on the tray and took another
oyster of the ire with the tongs ard
eac;2:;;I on that
"Darrod If l could see how man
that enjoyed eating IS much as he did
could ever bother akEut anything. but
he did, all TIE s,tmeH.at was plain. OF
he wouldn't have been there.
II don't suppose. he says, that
you ever s1:er from insomnia, and ii
yCu did il wouldn't make any differ
eEce. hccause you want to be wide awake
nights III your business, eh?' And he
seemed 70 think this was pretty slick
little sort OF q joke. Then 1 told him
how l came TO so into tie business;
that when l was a yCTEg man had
been great sufferer from. insomnia my
self; that i'll those days there were lot
nearly so many night occupations to
choose from as nov, ard that my choice
was limited; that | bad not followed
burglary from inclination, but that ]
was compelled to do something for q
living, and burglary was the only night
work | could get at the time, and that's
how came TO take it up as business.
Yen dom mean it, he says Pat
on the blower and start up the fire a
little If I,dfa' known you were COM
ing ID had another basket.
well, we finished en- up, and says
to Kim: What do you think; think
you can sleep now: And he said no
thought he could And lie let me out
the front deer and went to bed, sup
pose I know went home myself feel
ing comfortabl | hadn't made a cent,
bat 1t good thtng to take . rcst now
and then, and l always did like roast
oysters New York sur.
4 Zeal Poll Tex.
Boulevard loungers in Paris were