The daily news., 1900-04-06
ESCAPED FROM JAIL.
THE CLEVER SCHEME THAT WAS
WORKED BY ONE CRCOK.

"ORNEC OF NNE SRSOR-
ne Wanted a Certain BoOL. and He
Got It. Thanks 10 n Benevolent La
dy. and Its Title Proved 10 Be Pc
eGIfnrIy Appropriate.
The recent escape from the parish
prison" said a secondhand bookseller
on the old side who has almost as
nany "reminiscences as he has vol
Bmes. reminds ne Of a very curious
case Of Jail delivery in which / WAS
an accessory before the fact. / was
never arrested for il. but don't Oh
5ect 10 telling you the story.
zone day IN the summer of 1895 4
good looking. well dressed man strollcd
into the shop aUl said he wanted to
get something that would interest his
old mother. whom he described as very
religious and fond of antique books.
We picked out dozen or 50 tOgeth-
er. FoX's Book Of Martyrs Pilgrims 5
Progress Mather's Sermons Of Occa-
Fion.' Pusey's Daniel the Prophet and
among others a quaint. maSSively
hound volume called The Friend In
AflictiOn. They were all interesting
old copies. but my caller told me he
would like TO submit them to his moth
er before closing the purchase and Of
fered 70 leave a $50 bill as security.
That was agreeable 10 me. and he
carried away the lot. Next day he re-
turned and brought back three or four
Of the books. among them The Friend
InAfiiiction.' which De remarked laugh
fRgiy had given his mother the blues
The others he paid for. and | have new
er seen him again from that day to
this
Almost 4 week after hiS visit. how
ever. n thin. pr:m. precise. elderly lady.
q typical SpinSter from head to toe.
came In one afternoon and began look
ing over the shelves. Presently she
ran across the same old Friend In Af-
Fiction that had Jared so badly in the
other trade. and much to my Gratiti-
cation. she purchased il on the spot.
il was exactly the thing. she said. TO
give consolation TO an unfortunate per
con OF her acquaintance who was then
81 great trouble. I was glad 10 get rid
of the book and let her have it for 4
couple OF dollars.
Fully 4 rl50,h afte-ward I was
amazed 10 receive a visit from n h.-
hurly man. who introduced h.;Iself As
q detective. prod seed The Friend In
Affection from q yaliSe ANA asked me
" kat knew about IL.
The book had suffered since I saw it
last. one OF its thick covers was rip
ped open. aud sticking inside was a
small steel die. The story the detective
sold me Was certainly extraordinary.
1t seems that q noted northern crook
had been ia jail ia 4 small town UP the
country on a charge OF bank burglary
and being very smooth rascal had en-
listed the sympathy OF 4 philanthropic
old lady Of the place who had fad
for prison reform lie persuaded her
that he had Thoroughly rcponted. and
che used 10 visit him regularly and
bring him tracts anl deliclcirS.
Among other 'Hia-s he told her that
while broke in N,w orleans he had
sold all OF his belongings. Including 4
keepsake from his mothrr-a volume
called The Friend In Aflictiou.' He
gave her nay address aS the place
where he had left the precious relic
and worked on her feelings 10 such an
sXtent that -le promised 10 secure the
BOOK Tor han tac first time she visited
the city.
How she discovered ana purchased
i YOU already know. on her return she /.
,a~ripG il straight 10 the jail. and while .
ordinarily ais -.f;S for prisoners were 3
closely examined. ;h.S laiy'S h.-h char ,
acter maGa sue. p-r-autipu s,cm uH- 3
necessary aG' >h, passed .a the volume .
without question.
a few days later the turnkey found
= b3rrC,l wluioU neatly sawed and the .
bird flown tie also found The Friend .
IN Affiictiou' lying on the floor. and in
one Of the massive covers were several
SAWS and the file 1 have mentioned. .
OF course the Philanthyopic old lady
was Immediately questioned. and her
I ystericnl replies led 20 the visit Of the
bu; nothing ever came OF the .
guest The fugitive is supposed 20 have
left on an outbound Steamer-Rt any
rate be was never caught.
What about my first customer. did
roo ask? Oh, he was undoubtedly the /.
pal who planted the Saws."-New Or
leans Times Democrat.