Year: 1870

The Providence Journal and the Boston
Herald gives the following combination
report of an attempted burglary in the for
mer city, and its results As specimen of
reportorial style it is not faultless, but the
lesson it conveys is good. Thus theProvi-
dence Journal:


Mr.. BENZ. T. Church, Jr., who is the
hero, as his wife is certainly the heroine, of
the adventure narrated below, is Provi-
dence boy, and for some years improved his
morning hours in distributing journals to
subscribers in the Third ward. Mr. Church
now has drug store in Boston, and it
seems that Saturday evening rogue saw
him put large roll of bills into his pocket,
preparatory to closing up. Mr. Church went
home to his boarding house on Robin
square, and retired, his room being in the
second story. Soon after he had gone to
sleep his wife noticed that the window
blinds had been opened, and looking sharp
ly, she dscerned the form of a man at the
foot of lounge"


We quote now from the Boston Herald:


''Mrs. Church at once cried out in loud
tone OF voice, 'Ben, Ben, there's a man on
the lounge; take the pistol and shoot him
where he lies" Her scream awakened her
husband. who at first tried to pacify her,
he thinking that she had been dreaming
and was badly frightened at what she had
seen in her dream. In joking way he
continued to talk to her, while the burglar,
hoping he would do so, crouched himself
down into small space between the foot
of the lounge and the bureau. In the mean
time the brave little wife was getting her
dander up to the fighting pitch, and was
just about to 20 for Mr. Burglar herself,
when her husband. being now fully awake,
also noticed that the blinds were open, and
remembering that the last thing he did be-
fore retiring was to close and fasten them,
he began to think that his courageous wife
was more than half right; so springlng
from the bed he at once discovered the
burglar in his crouching position, and made
| for him.


'He took him by the throat, and being a
| heavy, strong man. at once shut off his wind,
and then called upon his wife, who was up
and waiting for instructions, to light the
gas. This she promptly did, when ia
bleaux was presented in that bed room such
as isseldom seen in first-class lodging houses.
| There, in the background was the heroic
little woman with her long black hair
streaming over her shoulders, her white
and jewellcd hands clinched and ready for
assault, while her keen black eyes were
shooting daggcrs into the pale face of the
PROSTATE burglar as he lay gasping beneath
| the Tightening grasp of the infuriated hus.
band, and begging for his life, for lie had
been told by Mr. Church if he made any re-
sistance that he would kill him on the spot
Finding that he had the burglar fully in his
power, and satisfying himself that lie had
no deadly weapons, Mr.. Church then drag
ged him across the room, and throw
ing him down in corner by the
hall door, placed his foot upon his
breast, while his wife handed him
his clothes, and stood guard over the be-
wildered burglar while her husband dressed
himself. When fully dressed Mr.. Church
discovered for the first time that his roll of
bills, between $40O and $500, had been ia
ken from his pocket, and on looking about,
the wife found the money on the floor by
the lounge, which, at her husbands request
she deliberately counted and found all
right. Mr.. Church then took his prisoner
and, single-handed and alone, marched him
off to the station-house in Jay street, where
he gave the name of James Green, but after
wards that of Martin Blackmore. He was
dressed in suit of clothes that were SC
made as to be converted into light Oh
black suit, and had no weapons about hin
save small spring dirk knife with broker
point. Yesterday morning be was removed
to the Tombs to await examination in tht
Municipal court to-day. He halls from
Canada, is nineteen years of age, sandy com
plexion, freckled face and red-headed, anc
it is said, is well known to our officers as al
expert thief