Year: 1865



 across the back yard, and about two feet from the ground, some fine black thread this was made fast on one side, but slipped through a loop and led up to the window on the other. The thread then passed through the hole 1 had bored in the window sash, and was then made fast to this key. Under the key | placed this tin box, you see :; and over the key was bar, to prevent the key from being dragged up over six inches. Each night, before went to bed l just drew the string tight and fastened it in the yard, taking care to free it before morning, so as to keep the plan secret. If, then, a man, or anything above two feet high, walked up the yard, the string was pressed against, the key was drawn up sharply against the bar, and the string broken, when the key, of course, fell into the tin box, making quite noise enough to wake me. Immediately when the thread or string broke, it would fall to the ground; and the person who had done all this would not have felt anytding,the resistance being so slight. I must own that would have preferred horse hair to the thread, but as it was, the latter an swered very well. was fast asleep when the key fell, but immediately awoke, and taking my lantern outside my door, lighted it and came to you, for knew that a man only in the back yard could have dropped my key. So now you see how the burglars were trapped, for you know all the rest

 Certainly, you succeeded, and so we ought not to be critical we replied But suppose they had entered by the front window, instead of by the back, how then ?

 You see this thread he said, grasping one near the door, pull it.

 I did so, and immediately tin cup dropped into the hand basin.

 That thread goes down stairsand is fastened across the front window but broke that 0 fl as I went out of my room, so that it should not impede my journey down stairs Thus l could at once know whether man was approach Bg the back door or had entered by the front win dow, and in either case I think I could have captured him.

 Simplicity had certainly been adopted in the present case, but the means had shown them selves to be efficient.

 People are usually very silly continued our friend, when they hear, or think they hear sus picious noises of night. The first thing they do is to light candle, which proclaims to the robber that he has been heard, and must es- cape and then they go about the house with this candle, and make great noise, so that a man may get away, or hide himself Instead of this, if a person were to listen intently, he would be able to hear any suspicious noises distinctly, and decide upon their cause then as he must know his own house better than the robber, he is the best off in the dark and when, having armed himself, he has quietly opened the door, he may wait and listen until the robbers are heard moving about, when he may take such steps as may seem necessary. If every person were merely to plan what was to be done in case of robbers entering his house and then were to carry this out if occasion required it, burglary would be too dangerous and unsuccessful proceeding to be popular or profitable, and thus might be given up for a more honest means of obtaining livelihood i; so that really We may consider ourselves to have done the community at large benefit, when we capture one of the gentry; whilst those who allow their houses to be robbed with inpunity, jeopardize their neighbors property.