Year: 1870

nG Wdo Oh0 VI thS LhOOb t5ubOVoFJ btin-
ple-bearted fellows alive. He had
however, one conspicuous weakness -
which was to be taken for a man oI
fashion. He dressed, / admit, unex-
ceptionably; and to aid him in pro-
ducing the impression which he desired
upon beholders, be carried about with
him, in all weathers, beautiful silk
umbrel la, scarcely bulkier than lady's
parasol, though, of course, considerably
longer. Judging from the cut onyx
handle, mounted in gold, it must have
cost him mint Of money.


Well, this umbrella of Ned's we tried
all we could think of to get hold Of
But he was too wary for u.s. it was al
ways left in some safe place If we
had succeeded In gaining possession of
it, it would at once have taken a con-
spicuous position in society, such as
covering the old apple-woman at the
corner; but it was unapproachable.
At last we became SO desperate that l
accepted heavy wager from one of
the other fellows that 1 would present
myself at the Office the next morning,
at all hazards, the proud possessor of
Ned Sprucington's umbrella.


On that particular day, work being
slack, every one was enabled to leave
unusually early; so that by four o clock
in the afternoon the house was cleared
of all save myself, my brother-conspir
ator, and the old soldier who lived with
his wife on the premises My friend
Ned, as was his custom at such times,
had announced his intention of prom
enading the Ladies Mile, there to air
himself his aristocracy, and-@his UNI
brella. l decided upon following him
thither As there were yet two hours
of daylight, however, thought could
not do better than fortify myself for the
enterprise by taking some substantial
refreshment before commencing opera
tons. After which. l would trust 10
the chapter of accidents.


With this object in view, / was re-
pairing towards my favorite place of re-
fection in the Strand. when who should
l see looking in at the topographer's
shop by Northumberland House but
Ned Sprucington He ought, by rights,
to have been nearly two miles away at
Hyde Park Cornerj yet here was he
at Charring Cross, calmly studying
some map ofa "seat of war" He was
SO wedged in among other gazers, that
l could not get at him to speak or even
to have a clear view of his face. But
knew him by his height, by the neatly
braided coat, the delicately tinted trous-
ers, the well-poised hat, aud, last but
not least, the umbrella. He was hold
ing his hands behind his back, and in
one of them the precious article was
firmly clasped. Yes, there it was,
onyx handle, gold mounting, and all
As | looked, a sudden idea took pos
session of me, "a foolish idea, l admit,
as it could hardly lead to a practical
result. But l thought if 1 could only
get the umbrella out of his hand in some
way, and run off with it, that he seeing
it in the possession of a friend, would
give up the chase, knowing that he
would recover his property the next
day. At the worst, the result would
only be a day or two's GOODNESS between
us, on account of my freak.


No sooner thought than done. On
the pavement, l espied a piece of clean
straw, we'll adapted for the purpose
had in view. Picking it up, l pro-
ceeded to tickle with it Sprucington's
right ear. The experiment answered
admirably. Thinking it, suppose, to
be a troublesome fly, he raised his
hand to brush off the assailant. But to
do this, he was compelled to shift the
umbrella from his right hand to his left,
The moment of the transference was
enough for me. Before the fingers of
his left hand could close, / had seized
the umbrella, and the next moment was
dashing madly across Trafalgar Square
in the direction of the Haymarket.


There was a sudden commotion be-
hind me,--a commotion which soon
swelled into an uproar; needed it nc
further than to turn half round in ordel
to let Sprucington see who l was, and
to flourish in the air my umbrella
mean his umbrella. But the uproar did
not relax on the contrary, it began to
shape itself into words. Hoarse shouts
of "Stop thief" followed me as / flew
up the steps at the further end of the
square The cries still ringing in my
ears, | dashed heter-skelter past the
College of Physicians and Colnaghi's
print-shOp till l came to the corner ol
Suffolk Street. Here was brought up
call standing" by an iron grippe upon
the collar from behind Turning round
l found myself in the custody of po-
liceman.


In the usual brief space of time, the
inevitable London crowd assembled
about us. l was regarded with curiOs-
ity loaded with reproaches, and favored
with wit of an extremely personal ma
ture, all at the same moment. This
| bore with patience, if not with good.
humor, convinced that on the arrival O.
Sprucington l should get clear of my
tormentors. Presently a lane wal
made for the approach of the owner O
the stolen property. Judge of my hor.
ror on perceiving that the painting indi
vidual who made his appearance was {
total stranger to met


Of course all my protestations of in
nocence were of no avail, and wa,