The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-20
susTIcE DONE BY ACCIDENT.
A Collection of Curious Cases in
Which WrOngdOers Got Their De-
serts by Chance.

Rarely If ever did Justice Dnhu ouL
winged, act with greater promptitude,
or was the bitter bit with less procras-
tination than in the case of the thief
last April who endeavored to augment
his capital by pig, the pig of far
mer of st. Lambert, near Walcourt.
For II so happened that the owner of
the pig had given a bear leader and his
charge permission to pig with, or in
stable in close proximity to, the pig,
and when the thief came in the night
he met with quite an unexpected re-
ception at the paws of the bear, for the
lightly sleeping Ursus seized and held
him tight until assistance came to
hand, and the pig-stealer. instead Of
being enriched by the sale of his booty,
was himself sold, fate that also hap
pened to a brace of Partisan thieves
some little time ago. In this latter
case, however, the principals did not
recognize how constituencies some peo-
pie in this world are until some time
after their capture. 1t appears that
the men in question, having necessarily
broken into a grocer's shop, were max
ing off with their booty when they met
with a couple of detectives, whose
searching questions respecting their
parcels were so difficult to answer
in a plausible manner that they speed
lily found themselves at the nearest po-
lice station. The parcels, according to
their temporary owners, contained GER
tain liquors and various other commo-
dities of domestic consumption, but
alas when they We're opened, not
withstanding, or rather, perhaps on ac-
count of the fact that they were alb
stracted from a show case. ii was dis
covered the carefully labelled packets
of tea contained but sawdust our best
one and eightpenny Mocha" was naught
but sand, the blocks of Chocolate
Francois were simply blocks of wood
wrapped up in the original packing
paper that had once contained the
sweetmeat, and the alcoholic strength
of the liquors was nil, for the bottles
with their alluring labels contained
but water. The grocer had some pre-
vious experience with members of the
fraternity of shopbreakers, and had
prepared for a second visit. About
couple of years ago, when provincial
Urban District Council, in moment
of extreme carelessness, called before
them the rate collector of the parish
to know why a couple of hundred
pounds had remained uncollected that
quarter, the collector informed them
that, out of the eleven councillors pres
entS only three had paid their rates
for the quarter. Having exploded this
bombshell at the meeting the occu-
pier of the seat of customs stated that
he would be at his Office at 8 o'clock
that evening and that if the dilatory
octet who had apparently stepped their
senses in forgetfulness, would attend,
each with a check for the amount he
owed, some ESQ out of the G200 still
owing would be forthwith collected.
Although the Mexican manufacturers,
who so closely initiate the trade Ia
bells and marks of British goods with
a view of passing them off as such on
the ignorant native, sometimes also
succeed in battling their own custom
house officials, with the result that
duty is occasionally levied on goods of
home manufacture, the bitter is not of
ten quite so badly bitten as one of
his kind dwelling under the Southern
Cross was few years ago. This man,
with some fellow reprobates, burgled
store at Ascot Vale. Melbourne, and
spent several hours and much toll in
cutting out the back of a safe. Hav-
ing accomplished their object by the
expenditure of considerable exertion
the marauders had just time to realize
that the contents of the safe consisted
solely and wholly of half a dozen
stamps and that the door had never
been locked, when something scared
them, putting them to instant fight
and causing them to leave their tools
behind. When a similar occurance
happened at Castelmoro di Magra, near
Genoa, the thieves, who got away with
the city treasure, comprising two shil-
lings and twopence and some towels,
expressed their feelings by writing in
large characters on the Council cham
Der Long live anarchy" but even
this satisfaction was not vouchsafed to
the perspiring Australians, for they
had only just time to make good their
escape.
In 1895 an individual. having stolen
a horse and cab in the Haymarket,
some hours later when passing down
the Strand mistook for a prospective
fare the very individual whose cab he
had annexed. and addressed him as
follows Here, you are, sir take you
anywhere. Stratford, Bow, Stepney."
When the cabdriver realized that he
was being invited to drive in his own
vehicle, the situation in which Mr.. VIII
liams found himself not unnaturally
was somewhat involved. A practical
joke unless carried out with great at
tention to detail is apt at times to de-
velop the trail of the boomerang, as
two young men of a Chicago club
found to their cost recently when they
attempted, for the fun of the thing, to
hold up" an exceedingly athletic men,
vers, for. having knocked the weapons
out of the jokersi- hands the victim
that-ought- to- have been, not recogniz-
ing his assailants, bumped their heads
together, blackened their respective
eyes, and so nearly strangled them
that they had to beg for mercy and
confess who they were. The joke re-
ceived its due need of laughter. but
somehow the originators of the jeu
d'esprit enjoyed II the least.
Less serious in "a sense, but more eX-
peusive, was the species of pleasantly
played on a very exalted Continental
parsonage in Germany some years ago
The notability In question is we'll
Known to enjoy good bottle Of still
Moselle. and II was determined e
place before him a bottle Of excellent
wine, and in the event OF his asking
the price, TO name a very moderate fig
uTe What return the practical joker
ever expected 10 get for his outlay Is
somewhat obscure, but as matter OF
feet he got no return, and was very
much out Of pocket, for the bait was
taken. the question put. and the an
fwer one and nlne-pence a bottle,
given. There, Of course. the incident
should have closed, but the Notable
One, not having been let in the secret
promptly continued. That ls very
cheap. indeed Have the Kindness "a
send my celaTmaEter a thousand bot.
ties" Nov the wine in question ln
reality cost seven HhilliuEs 3 bottle and
as 10 one dared to attempt t0 explain
the point ~ Tive Joke the difference be-.
tNten Thousand bottles at guinea