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VOL. Xtll.
NEW BLOOMFIELD, PA., TUESDAY, HE1,TEMBER J?,1870.
NO; 36.
THE TIMES.
An Independent Family Newspaper,
IS PUBLISHED BVERT TUESDAY BT
F. MORTIMER & CO.
8UB8CBIPTION 1'ltICE,
(WITHIN TUB COUNTY.)
One Year (1 2
Six Months, 75
(OUT 0 THB COUNTY.)
One Year, (Postape Included) II 0
Six Months, (Postage Included) 85
Invariably in Advance I
- Advertising rates furnished upon application.
$eledt Poetfv
A HEART CRY.
Little lost darling, come back to me I
Lie In my arms as you used to do !
Here Is the place where your head should be;
Here is the bosom waiting for you !
Let me but feel again on my breast '
The velvet touch of your tiny hand i
Tour rosy-leaf lips to my own close prest,
My cheek by your balmy breathings fanned.
.flee here j I shut tight my weary eyes,
As thousands, of times I've done In play.
"When I unclose them in soft surprise,
Ring out a laugh in your sweet old way !
Come to me, come to me, precious one !
I am so heart-sick and sad and lorn t
'Naked as nature without the sun,
Now that the light of my life has gone.
You sleep In the churchyard all alone,
No one to watch by your narrow bed j
The wind o'er your tender body blown,
And night-dews dripped on your baby-head.
No ! In the luminous fields above,
Angels another new star have set,
They may surround you with ceaseless love,
Shield you from sorrow and sinning yet
Heaven can not need you so much as I !
Legions of cherubs It had before.
Baby, my baby, why did you die ?
Come to your mother, my own, once moro !
Little lost darling, come back to me I
Lie In my arms as you used to do !
Here is the place where your head should be 1
Hereon the bosom waiting for you I
A CLEVER THEFT.
JOHN RIDDEL was a young man in
whom confidence was justly placed
by Messrs. Moonstone & Co., jewelers,
bis employers, In whose establishment,
t the time we became acquainted with
him, he occupied the post of foreman.
He was not a " self-made man" as yet,
but he was on the road to it. For, as we
all know, Providence has still the ad
vantage of priority in this particular, it
makes its man (such as he is) at a co m
paratively early date, w hereas, when a
man makes himself, he seldom accom
plishes it before he is ftve-and-forty at the
very least when, indeed, the other can
mot be compared with him. John never
drank, except a glass of beer with his
early -dinner; he never smoked, nor of
-course took snuff; he never handled any
thing in the shape of a billiard cue,unless
it was bis neatly and tightly rolled-up
umbrella ; he never I was going to add
be had no weakness as regards the ladies,
but this I hardly dare to write, because
of the extreme attention be paid to bis
very fine head of hair. Why should
any man i not being a Narcissus, take
uch great pains with his hair, unless to
make an impression on the ladies V
Yet even here I must hasten to do
John Riddel justice; it would have
shocked him to have supposed that be
bad any general views in this direction.
He was not a Don Juan, nor even a
gay Lothario; if he had any designs,
they would have been upon one lady
paly, and by no means induced by any
meretricious attractions such as youth
or beauty ; he would, in accordance
with precedent, have attached himself
to bis master's daughter.though she bad
been twenty years older than himself, or
r a black woman, or an albino. Unfor
tunately, Mr. Moonstone bad only
nephews, whom our hero could not
marry, and who would, In all probabili
ty, become partners In the concern be
fore him. Still, be cultivated that fine
bead of hair, harrowed it with a tur-tolse-sbell
comb, drove a furrow straight
across it from his brow to the nape of his
neck and top-dresbed it with niacaaser
oil and other unguents. It shoue in the
sun as brightly as any of Messrs. Moon
stone & Co.'s most costly wares, over
which he presided.
f There were other assistants in the
shop, and with them I am sorry to say
Mr. John Riddel was not popular
young men rarely appreciate in their as
sociates so much virtue as resided lu our
hero, and especially if that virtue has
not been its own reward,but has enabled
its possessor to walk over their heads
and stop there. There was hardly one
among them but nt some time during
his servitude with Messrs. Moonstone
bad mislaid a ring or a trinket for a
few hours, or had even caused some loss
to the firm, not so much through care
lessness as from not being as wideawake
as a weasel.
For the way of a jeweler's assistant is set
with springs. It is calculated that about
one per cent, of the customers at such es
tablishments are roughs and vagabonds,
people M ho come to spy out, not the
nakedness of the land, but its richness,
and if possible to possess themselves of
them by force or fraud. And these look
as little like rogues as nature and art can
enable them todo. Notwithstanding all
that has been written upon the deceit ful
ness of riches, it is difficult to believe
that a gentleman who drives his own
mail phaeton, or a lady who comes in a
chariot, upon C springs, are brigands in
disguise. Yet the young men at Messrs.
Moonstone's has been, most of them,
taken in by appearances. One of them
had taken jewelry to a newly married
couple at a fashionable hotel "on approv
al," and had been so successful in his re
commendations that they had "colored"
the whole lot, and gave bim such a dose
of chloroform in exchange for them that
he was unable to give any clear account
of his adventures for hours afterward.
Another bad been Bet upon by a whole
gang of thieves, in such a promiscuous
and overwhelming fashion that he could
recall nothing of what had happened ex
cept that be bad been " struck with an
instrument like the ace of spades,"
which the newspapers expressed hope
would afford some clew to the police ;
they thought it showed, I suppose, that
the perpetrators of the outrage must be
either gardeners or gamblers ; but noth
ing came of the suggestion. Others,
again, had been exposed to the seduc
tions of the fair sex, and in losing their
hearts bad sacrificed the diamonds of
their employers.
In this last regard Mr. John Riddel,
because adamantine, was invaluable.
His youthful as well as handsome looks
attracted these ladies of industry, who,
on entering the shop, gravitated toward
him quite naturally. A man of that
age, as they flattered themselves, must
surely full an easy victim to their fas
cinations. .Thieves as thev were, they
were still women, and perhaps they al
lowed their feelings to carry them too
for ; if they bad stopped half way ,where
Mr. Boltby, the Cashier, sat, or at the
desk over which Mr. Malton (the hero
of the ace of spades) presided, they
would have had a better chance; but
Boltby was bald and Malton was gray,
and woman never will understand that
it is from forty to fifty that men are
most impressionable with respect to fe
male charms.. Your conceited young
fellows think it nothing surprising that
any lady should fall in love with them,
but when a man comes to that mature
period which we call (or at least I call)
the prime of life, be appreciates the
compliment.
I do not say that Mr. John Riddol
bad not some admirers among the fair
sex who loved bim for his own sake.
Indeed, it was whispered among his
detractors that, like the first Duke of
Marlborough, and "other great men
who ought to have known better, be
derived pecuuiary advantages from their
devotion of bim ; that the sums ex
pended in macassar oil, etc., for the
adornment of bis appearance, came
back to bim twenty fold in substantial
tokens from Duchesses and Countesses,
and the like. Goodness knows whether
there was any truth in such stories.
Perhaps it pleased his rivals to invest
the drudgery that was their daily lot
with this halo of romance. For my
part, my tastes are sensational, and I
do what I can to make my beliefs cor
respond with them ; but, on the other
baud, my strong common sense declares
for moderation as regards Mr. Riddel
and the ladies of rauk ; therefore I draw
the Hue at Duchesses. Blithe was cer
tainly as fascinating as be was hard
hearted. When any lady customer who was
unknown to bim got out of her broug
hamfor no one ever came in a cab
to Messrs. Moonstone's establishment
and moved up the shop in his direc
tion, be looked at her through his half
shut eyes for they were of the 'dreamy'
order of beauty and murmur to him
self: " Now is this a swindler or a bona fide
party?" and many a bona fide party
did he serve with much external polite
ness who little dreamed of the suspi
cion which lie excited within him.
He thought it a bad' sign when they
took off their gloves, and under such
circumstances would always full to
Bhow them those specimens of rough
diamonds which a wet finger can car
ry away with it. And when they of
fered to pay for their little purchases
by check, it was quite pretty to hear
bim explain, in bis soft voice, how
the "system" of the firm was a ready
money one, and that no exception could
be made in favor of any one, however
highly connected, who was not person
ally known to It.
One afternoon a brougham stopped at
Messrs. Moonstone's establishment
with a widow in it ; about the broug
ham there could be no doubt ; it was
not a private vehicle, but one of those
which are hired by the day or hour; the
appearance of the driver, not to men
tion that of the horse, precluded the
possibility of its being the property
of the person who employed it I If she
thought to be set down among "car
riage people" because she used such a
conveyance, she must have been san
guine indeed. And so fur as that was a
good sign. Feople that came to rob on
a scale worth mentioning, (I am not
thinking of those who slipped any in
considered trifle, such as a ring or a
spray, into their muffs; they were al
ways bowed out of the shop into the
arms of a policeman in plain clothes
who stood at the door), people, I say,
who wanted to swindle, were always
very particular about the vehicle that
brought them.
What aroused suspicion in the watch
ful eyes of Mr. John Riddel was the
widow herself. Like Weller, senior
(though without his matrimonial expe
rience to excuse it), he bad a prejudice
agalnBt widows at least in jewelers'
shops ; nor I am bound to confess, was
it altogether without grounds; the garb
and the mein of sorrow being the stalking-horse
under which a good deal of
knavery is accomplished. And then
this widow was so bewitching to look
at that he was naturally alarmed ; from
every neat plait of her beautiful hair,
and every fold of her modest suit of
mourning, there seemed to bim flutter a
danger signal. He was wont to deelare,
indeed, that be knew she was after no
good from the first moment be set eyes
on her; but that statement must, I
think, be received with caution. If his
face grew severe and bis manner pain
fully polite, as she came up to where he
stood, it was because he knew that
Boltby and Malton bad got their eyes
upon hhu and were looking out for
some sign of weakness.
" I wish to see some rings," she said
in a soft and gentle voice ; " mourning
rings," and then she took off her glove,
displaying the whitest little hand im
aginable. Of course,he could not help seeing her
hand, nor yet her face, from which she
had put back her veil. It wore an ex
pression of sadness, but also one of en
franchisement and content ; it seemed
to say : " My husband was very un
worthy of me ; but he has left me free,
and I forgive him."
Who has not seen such widows, who
wear their weeds almost as if they
were flowers, and who have apparently
selected black as their only wear, be
cause It looks becoming to them Y I've
often thought if I could have the choloe
of my own calling, that, next to
being" champion to a lady," I should
like to be a young jewelry trying on
rings. It must be almost as good as
bigamy, trigamy, polygamy, and with
none of the risks. 1
Mr. Riddel said:
" Allow me, Madame," In his most
boueyed voice, and slipped ("eased" he
called it, and certainly it was very easy
work) ring after ring upon the willow's
dainty finger. " I hope I am not hurt
ing you," he murmured.
" Oh ; no," she sighed ; "there was a
time, hut that Is passed when it would
have given me pleasure. I mean"" she
added hastily, and with a modest blosh,
" when rings would have done so ; but
jewels and gewgaws have no longer any
attractions- for me."
Mr. John Riddel by no means- felt
certain of this, but he had an eye for
number, and would have missed a ring
from the tray in an Instant, though he
bad been exhibiting a thousand- At
last she made her choice (it was the
most expensive of the whole lot), and
produeed from the prettiest little bag
in the world a check-book.
"Pardon me, Madame, we d not
take fheeks from ahem old custo
mers." " Well, I am not a very old custo
mer,"" she said.smiling. (" No ; but you
are a queer one," he thought, "or Fin
much mistaken)." Still, I should have
thought in the case of a lady like my
self "
"Madame," said this crafty young
man, " if it lny in my power to oblige
you, there would be no difficulty in the
matter; the rule of the firm is, unhap
pily, what I have stated."
"Then the firm will take my last six
pence ?" she rejoined with tender play
fulness; and from the most elegant of
" portemonnaies" she counted him out
the sun required, when its contents in
truth were quite exhausted. "I am
lodging at De la Bols', the coust hair
dresser," she said ; " my name is Mrs.
Montfort. However, I will not trouble
you to send the ring, as I shall have to
go home to get some more money," and
she looked at him wLth eyes that seem
ed to say, " Cruel man, thus to-reduce to
destitution."
Then she rose and sailed down the
shop, carelessly glancing at this or that
(chiefly in the hair and mouorning de
partment) as she passed out.
" If she is not on the square, she
does it uncommonly well," thought Mr.
Riddel ; " perhaps I have done her an
injustice, poor dear."
On the third morning after her visit
the widow called again, sailed quite
naturally up to our hero, and cast an
chor under his eyes.
"You will think," she remarked,
" after what I said the other day about
gewgaws, that I am very changeable In
my tastes ; but I am not come this time
upon my own account ; I want to see
some diamond lockets for a friend."
This is quite the usual course with
ladies and others who victimize the
Jewelers. They buy a ring for 10, and
after having thus established them
selvescast out their sprat to catch a
herring they patronize the . establish
ment in earnest.
Singular, to say, however, this did
not rouse Mr. Riddel's suspicions. Not
withstanding bis pretence of indiffer
ence to Mrs. Montfort's charms, be had
privately sent to De la Bols, In the In
terim, and found that the lady did re
side at that fashionable hair-dresser's,
and on the first floor ; he had done it of
course, in the interests of the firm, and
lu case she'should call again ; but per
haps he would not have been pleased
bad Messrs. Malton and Boltby been
made aware of his precaution.
The ocket that pleased ber most was
an expensive one, perhaps too much so
for hei friend's purse, she said. It was
very foolish of that lady, bui she had
such a complete reliance upon her (Mrs.
Montfort's) taste and judgment that she
had placed the matter entirely in her
hands. It was a great responsibility.
What did Mr. Riddel think V
Mr. Riddel's thoughts were always
out and dried on such occasions. He
expressed his opinion that the locket se
lected by Mrs. Montfort was certainly
the most elegant of all, and testified to
the sagacity of the lady who had such
confidence in her good taste. But as to
the price, Mrs. Montfort herself was the
only judge as to the state of her friend's
exchequer.
" Oh, she's rich enough," smiled Mrs.
Montfort, " and as open-handed as any
woman can be. Our sex are naturally
inclined to be a little close," she added
with a smile, " don't you think so r1"
Mr. Riddel did not think so ; he had
always found the ladies very geuerous
in their deulings ; in this lady's partlcu-
lar case he felt more certain than ever
that the locket and he let the light
play on it so as to show the brilliant to
the best advantage was the very thing
to suit her.
" I think so, too," murmured the
widow ; but then you see there's the re
Bponslbllty. I tell you what you must
do. You shall send all your lookets to
my lodgings for an hour or so, and then
my niece, who Is staying with me, shall
give her opinion on the matter ; and by
her advice I'll abide."
Mr. Riddel smiled, but shook his
beautiful head of hair. Every curl of
It and they were thousands of them
expressed a polished, but decided nega
tive. " We couldn't do It, Madame, we re
ally could not."
" What I not leave the lockets for an
hour.
" No, Madame, not for a moment. Of
course It is but a mere formula, one of
those hard-and-fast regulations, the ex
istence of which one so often has to de
plore; but I have no authority to oblige
you as to your request. I can send the
lockets, of course or bring them myself
but whoever is in charge of them will
have orders not to lose sight of them.
This in an invariable rule with very
customer whose name is not entered on
our books.
Instead of getting into a rage genu,
ine, or pretended, if she was a swindler
the widow uttered alow, rippling
laugh,
" Like the voice of a summer brook
In the leafy month of June,
Which, to the sleeping woods, all night-
Slngeth a quiet tuue "
only ber teqth were much whiter than
the pebbles of any brook.
" You tickle me," she said, of course
she was only speaking metaphorically,
"so that I really cannot help laughing ;
it is so droll that you should think . I
came here- to steal lockets."
" My dear Madame," said Mr.. Riddel,
" pray do not talk like that ; if it rested
with me" (sly dog that he was) " you
could carry off the whole contents of
the shop to choose from."
" You are very good and kind," she .
said. " If any person had- expressed
such doubts of me I should have been
terribly offended. But I quite under
stand how you are situated. Well, you
shall bring the lockets yourself, and for
fear you should think I bad any wicked
designs," she added with- a little blush r
" will you come this morning? It will
be equally convenient to.my niece, and
you, needn't be afraid of being garrotted
by daylight."
" My dear Madame,"' exclaimed Mr.
Riddel for the second time, and with a
deeper depreciation than before, " how
can you V Of course, L will come when
ever you please."
" Very good, as my. brougham. la. here,
I will drive you home in. it."
In five minutes he had packed up all
the lockets and was following ber ele
gant though stately figure down the
shop.
' There he goes with another Duchess,'
whispered Malton to Boltby ;. " see how
be runs his hand through his hair. "
" Let us hope- she will comb it for
him," answered Boltby the bald, think
ing of that happy pair who had seemed
all in all to one another,bu hadn't been
so preoccupied as to prevent them, giv
ing him chloroform. " I believe she's
no more a Duchess than you are.,"
'
Months rolled on, but though you had
gone ever so many times to Messrs.
Moonstone's establishment you would
not have seen Mr. John Riddel. His
flowing cataract of hair no more adorn
ed the foreman's desk, over which
gleamed in its place the moonlight af
ter sunlight the bald and shining bead
of Mr. Boltby. And yet our hero was
in the shop ; b,a stooU at the counter in
the farther corner, where the youngest
assistant was always placed (in charge
of the mourning jewelry), with a
Welsh wig on. His own mother not
to mention the Duchess would never
have known bim. He had fallen from
his high estate, and was beginning life
again on the lowest rung of the lad
der. This was how it happened. Mrs.
Montfort and her niece, a young lady
only less charming than herself, dwelt,
as I have said, on the first floor of Mr.
De la Bols', the court hair-dresser. They