HE COULDN'T FIND THE LIGHT.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 237, 3 October 1908, Page 13

HE COULDN'T FIND THE LIGHT.

BY MAX ADELEU. One night, during the recent troubles in the Pennsylvania coal regions. Judge Potts' brother. Thomas Potts, was round at a meeting of mine owners, and after the adjournment he stopped In at a tavern. There lie met sonic friends, and in the course or an hour or two he became very much intoxicated. On his way home he lost his hat. and a miner who knew him. reeling compassion for him, clapped ou his head a miner's hat, and. in order to make the dark street rather brighter, lighted the little lamp iv front of the hat. When Potts reached his house, Mrs Potts had gone to bed. and the lights were out. Put l'otts felt certain that the lamp was burning in the hall, but he couldn't for the life of him tell where it was. He looked for the regular lamp, and that seemed to be out; then he hunted around in every direc lion for ihe light, but he couldn't find it, although it seemed to shine brightly wherPresenlly he happened to stand in front ~f the mirror in the hat rack, and then he saw precisely where thai lamp was. After a brief objurgation upon Mrs l'otts for leaving a light in such a preposterous place, he went mi to the mirror and tried to blow it out. He blew, and blew, and blew, but somehow the flame burned as steadily as ever. "That." said Mr Potts, "is the inoz extror'nary lamp's ever been my misfortune t' encounter." Then he took off his coat. and. holding it in front of him, he crept cautiously up to the mirror and tried to crush the coat down over the light to smother il. lie made half a dozen ineffectual al tempts, and then, standing off and regarding the light, which still burned brightly, he said: "That's ccr'nly very extror'nary—very extror'nary! Mnz 'stouishln' eirgumstauz ever come uner my obzervazhon. Duuno how facemmt. for id." II occurred in him then that perhaps he niighl smash the lump with the umbrella. Seizing that weapon, he went up to the hat rack. ami. aiming a terrific blow at Ihe light, he brought the umbrella down. He missed, and mashed his Sunday hat into chaos, lie look aim again, aud caught the umbrella in ihe hall lamp overhead, bringing it down with a crash. Then he tried a third lime, and plunged the ferrule of the umbrella through the mirror, smashing it to atoms. He felt exultant for a moment, us tin; light disappeared from his vision, but he was perplexed to find that there was another liglil somewhere, he couldn't tell exactly where. So he sat down on the stairs, and remarked: "Muz 'stonisuiu' cirgumstanz ever come tinner my obzcrv.ishun. Whad in thunder* il mean, anyhow. Ught's gone, an' yet id's a'shinin'. . Perfegly incompreiisible. Wish t'grushus Mizz l'odds 'd wake up 'n' explain it. Utirn if I know whad I better do." Then Potts took off his hat to scratch hi* head, in Ihe hope thai he might scare up an idea, and the truth broke upon him. Gazing at the lamp for a minute until he drunk in a full conception of the trouble it lind caused, he suddenly smashed it down on the floor in a rage, and extinguished it, after covering two yards of carpet with oil. Then he went te bed, and when in the morning Mrs Potts informed him I hat some of those awful miners bad broken into ihe house the night before, and left one of their hals with a lamp, which had spilled all over tly carpet, l'otts turned over in bed so that she could not see his face, and said that If the stern hand of the law wasn't laid upon these ruffians soon, nobody's life would be safe.