Literary Burglar.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 8 June 1910, Page 4

Literary Burglar.

THOUGHTS OF LIFE

A literary burglar has apparently bt>en unearthed by the Birmingham police. They made a iraid on a. house in Higfield road, Sal'tely, one of the suburbs of the city, and discovered a large quantity of jewellery. The house is supposed /to have been the depository for the proceeds of robberies in Hath, Bristol, Birmingham, a.trd oitiber towns. In addition to the valuables the police also found a bag containing .skeleton keys, live or six small saws, a revolver, knuckleduster, a nair of dark spectacles, and in fact a burglar's complete outfit. Most surprising of all, however, was an old copy of Dickens' "Our Mutual Friend," on the flyleaf of which the owner had scribbled soma odds and ends of philosophy, showing that the writer had wide literary tastes. For instance, there mas the comment, "A man cannot possess anything better than a good woman or anything worse than a bad one"'— evidently a para phase of Chaucier'e "Woman? What is (bettor than a good woman? Nothing." Then there was tlhis proverb: "Beauty without virtue is like a flower without perfume," which, of course, i.s from the French, "La 'beau'te sans vertu est une fletvr sans pai'fnm." Other remarks on the fly-leaf were: "Some men never think of going to work until they have given every tilling else a fair trial"—a thought typical of a burglar—and "The key of success into life is the knowledge of the value of all things." A skeleton key surely! Then on another page of Dickens' novel the burglar had "improved" on Longfellow, thus :— "Wo should endeavour to make our lives sublime, and departing leave behind us footprints in the sands of time, as in the ease of all great men such as Charles Peace, Xed. Kelly, Jack Sheppard, Deeming and many others." As the result of the raid the police captured two men and two women—Luke Hasty and his wife. William Capewell and Emily Townsend. Another man escaped 'through the window. A't the police court the police applied for a remand to allow of enquiries being made at Bristol and elsewhere.