Year: 1869

The servants are all above suspicion, both
ut SIR Roberts aud Mrs Pcewit' s-that
was the first thing as we looked to. Of
course. But even il it were otherwise,
do you suppose that theving is all cpl
demle, that it should break out IN Que
household to-day, and in another to-
morrow, as this has done? You had
better go TO sleep, ma am, and leave me
to think the matter out alone" Which,
accordingly, this great man, having
drawn his night cap on, the better to
consider in, proceeded to do "Iwo bur-
glares on two following nights, in town
under his personal superintendent, and
nobody yet in custody He had never
imagined such a blot could befall his
'scutcheon. It was not impossible, in u
town SO slenderly guarded, that ladder
might have been employed without de-
lection, but, most certainly, in neither Of
used. The flower boxes had, in both
instances, projected beyond the sill !; SO
that the top of any ladder must have
rested Oil them and left its mark There
was also no trace Of the foot Of it on the
soil bclow-or sign of an attempt to
remove such trace-although, in the case
of Sir Roberts house, there was flower
bed Immediately beneath the window" ,"
Mr. Scott, In short, brought all of his
intelligence to bear upon this problem in
vain, and nothing came of it but head
ache.


Next day, the whole town was in a
state Of intense alarm. The previous
robbery had created much excitement
among the inhabitants, but not so much
on account of the crime as of the sagac-
ious manner in which their Chief Con-
stable had discovered the mode of depre-
dation but now, not only had second
outrage been committed, but the fact of
away had proved their innocence of this
particular ofense (though the magistrate,
not knowing how else to account for their
seizure, committed them for a month as
rosues and vagabonds), and negatived
Mr.. John SCOTS solution of the riddle
altogether The Chairman Of the Bench,
who had been accustomed to suck that
officials brains before addressing his au-
dience in the Town Hall, had nothing to
say upon the subject except to recommend
the people to shut their second floor
windows, which, since it was very warm
weather, and most of them cultivated
flower boxes, did not give general salts
faction.


The next might the Mayors own house
was robbed in a precisely similar manner.


1t was on Friday and the local papers,
which came out the next day, published
second and third editions, to describe the
details. Besides the burglary, sort of
sacrilege had been committed. The thief
had actually possessed himself of the
Municipal Maca. This beautiful object,
although not intrinsically valuable, had
apparently excited his greed, for he had
dragged it out of its case as far as a
window, and thence let it fall with a
report that had alarmed the house, and
dented the ground below. When the
door was opened, however, (Which the
servants declined to do until the ''proper
authorities arrived), the marauder had
vanished, and with him this Emblem of
Authority, as well as pair of his Lord
ships boot-hooks. There happened to be
nothing kept in that room but the May
or's boots and the town mace. But the
incident was, of course, as distressing to
Mr.. John Scott as though the regalia
had been plundered. He felt that his
great reputation was giving way under
these repeated shocks ; while the rest OF
the constabulary were of course over
whelmed with disgrace and the Tory
newspaper openly advocated Stringent
measures" and the calling out of the
yeomanry.


II suppose" sighed his wife, upon this
Saturday afternoon, "there is no chance
of your going with me tonight to the
show? And yet it seems such pity,
after that civil Mr.. Shaw has sent us
these tickets and you know I never en-
joy anything-let it be wild beastesses,
or what not-without you, John. How
fine they look, with this picture of the
lion and the unicorn-though the bill
says as the unicorn is dead--with .Shaw's