MUTTON AND MUSTARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2130, 20 December 1894, Page 29

MUTTON AND MUSTARD.

I have said that I knew that father's snoring would send mother to sleep. I had known at any rate, from the time that I was five or six year 3 old, that the absence of it kept her awake. Thereby bangs a tale — a sheep's tale.

I have always understood that ths year in which the theft of that sheep took place was a-veiy bard year for the poor, and that many tradesmen were going idle — a year in the middle of the "forties."

Father was then gardener and forester to Colonel Clifton. The colonel, at the instance of the minister of the parish, that spring olejxed out some plantations and had the ground trenched, iD order to make work for a gang of men. Father had to direct and " boss " the gang.

In a perfectly enclosed field beEide the plantations was a special draft of highlybred sheep— Leicesters, I think — which the colonel had pm chased to be the beginning of a flock. Fine animate they were, 20 ewes and one ram — a splendid fellow, and as quiet as a sheep of his persuasion usually is. I can even yet, after 50 years, conjure up the sight of him charging down hill upon the rear of Provost S. as he was strutting about the paddock, as proud as a peacock because Colonel Clifton was entertaining him and asking his opinion of these rare good sheep. The provost, as he fell backwards, clutched forwards and, catching hold of the ram's horns, was borue down the field till the "tup" stopped short on the abrupt edge of the Hunk fence, and toppled the chief magistrate of the adjacent borough heela over head into the ditch.

Father, by whose side I was, ran and helped him up, more wet than hurt.

Thß Colonel had followed, but, seeing the plight of his gueßt when lifted out, went off at once, calling to father to help the provost up to the house, whither he was going to order arrangements for hia comfort. This he Bald, but his real reason, I've been led to belie.ye, was to get an unrestrained langh.

Well, one of that valuable little flock went amißfiing between a Saturday and a Sunday.

Between breakfast and church-going time, the Colonel himself had been Btrolling round enjoying a cigar as was his wont ; and from a habit ha had got into with that small lot of sheep, counted them, and found one short. He counted them again and again, with still the same result. He came at once to our cottage, not far off, and knocked at the door just as father finished shaving. Father was told of the loss, and in a minute was ready to accompany the Colonel to the field. He counted them and confirmed the Colonel's tale. They made the circuit of the paddock lest one might have got over on to its back in the ditch. But there was no sign of one.

Both father and the master knew each sheep by headmark just as easily as they knew the people of the district. Indeed they had discovered various " points of likeness between a number of them and certain folk of the neighbourhood.

I have myself, at various times and places, seen such traces of facial resemblance betweeu animals and human beings, and I have wondered if such things might not help to make people believe in the transmigration of souls.

They inspected the sheep carefully and individually, and both simultaneously exclaimed :

" It's Jenny Christie 1 " "When church service is over, Robert," said the Colonel, " will you go down to the police office and tell the officer in charge 1 " " Yes, sir." Shortly afterwards we were ready to go into town to church. Father said :

" Let's take the low road."

In going that way we passed the farthesteff side of the sheep paddock. At the faraway corner was a gate — a large picket-made gate in halves, and padlocked. Father bade us keep in the middle of the road while he went to inspect that gate. He looked at the gate, then at the ground, and at once came away, looking down as he walked. We said nothing, but followed him as he marched on to where the roads forked. Here he inspected the ground more particularly, and after a little walked on as before, taking the road which joined with the high road. Just where they joine3 he crossed, and followed the footpath on the other side. We then saw that he was tracking drops of blood. The thief had been hurried apparently, and his dripping victim bad left the tell-tale drops as he went. At a gate 300 yds further on the blooddrops ceased. Through that gate the thief had gone. It was the gate of a field lying at the back of a row of houses inhabited by weavers and other artisans.

Watty Webster, one of the gang that father had charge of, and a carpenter to trade, lived more than half way down that road. Sheep stealing was a very serious crime then. A very few years before that men had been hanged for the same crima.

We went to church, and after service was over father went to the police office.

What happened in respect to the case after that I had only from hearsay, and you must be contented with that, just as I had to be.

The police of those days, if they had methods, had very crude or bad ones. They took days trying to think out what they should do. They went out and talked — yea, gossiped about the case. The newspapers (only weekly ones then, costing 7i&— that is, (Jcl for the paper and I£<l for newsp"aper stamp duty) published all the evidence to hand and all the conjectures of the police, of the public, and of the paper folk. Meanwhile the mutton— fat mutton — was being pickled and eaten in one household in that row— yea, eaten with mustard I

This simple fact was ascertained by a constable who had beon sent to the row to make inquiries.

The only way that he could think of doing this was to go and interview Mrs Goodwillie, who kept a little grocer's shop in the row. Could she think of anyone who was likely to commit such a crime as to " slay, steal, and away take" bo valuable an animal as a fat sheep of a first-class breed?

" Weel, John " (she had known hJra all her days), "I know nobody. But I'm thinkiu' you would be wondetin', as weel's me, what folk could be livin' on, an' growin' fat too, an' yet buy naething but mustard. That's a fact. I name no names ; but it's a family in this row."

"Ah ! there's a good deal in that. I think it will be best to get; a general warrant to oearch the row. Good-day, and thank you."

That evening all the row knew that there would be a general search, and the housewives got up in the morning early to tidy their houses and prepare for this domiciliary visit of the constabulary on the v/arpath for salted mutton.

Wfbater never went to bad. He took the mutton out in small lots and hid it in various places where he could easily get it a little at a time. When the police pouDcod on his pickle barrel it was standing mouth down and empty in the coal nook, as it had been, his wifu said, for many a sad, weary month, " while Watty was oot o' wark."

The general search resulted in general dissatisfaction only, and no one was any wiser. A wave of suspicion was wafted back to Colonel Clifton's own poople, and both father and mother were anuoyed at the whole business — father speaking freely of " wooden-headed peelers."

One morning mother said to father that she had dreamt that she saw Webster burying a bundle that looked like ashecpshiu in the ground that the gang had trenched He thought the matter out, and remembered thbt on the Monday morning immediately afier the sheep had boon stolen, Webster had been at work before any of the others, and had done a trench or two even before starting time. He had explained that his clock was stopped, and he did not know the time. Wnile waiting for the others to turn up he had^got cold, and had done a bit to warm himself; — all of which had seemed very satisfactory and plausible at the time, but now

Father went and looked at the ground, and thought he could cell the very pkee where Webster had been digging that morning, but he could not touch it without witnesses. He knew that the Colonel was from home, and would not return for some days. He therefore resolved to call at the police office. There he was welcomed, for that very morning there had been brought in from the woodyaxd of a master carpenter from whom Webster had obtained work a quantity of salt mutton wrapped up in carpenter's old apron, which the other workmen know to be Webster's. Webster was in custody.

When father told what he had to say, aud stated what his wife had dreamed about it, the fiscal, who was taking notes of the evidence, remarked :

"Very Dke'y, Robert. 'There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosphy.'"

" You mean that we can get better at the bottom of things by dreams than by philosophy 1 " asked father.

"I don't know. I was only quoting Shakespeare. What do you think should be done about the sheepskin ? "

Let a sergeant and a constable come with me and we'll dig it up if it's there. From my notebook of work done from day to day I could come pretty near where I saw him digging that morning, especially as it was a Monday morning after a pay."

To make a Rhort story of it, the Bkin was found easily, was identified as "Jenny Christie's," and Webster was, after examination before the sheriff, fully committed for trial at the next Perth Circuit Court, at which, in due time, he was convicted and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.

Father had, of course, to go as a witness, and was away from his own bed for three nights. Daring that time mother never slept ; but she dropped off at once for a long sound sleep as soon as father's trombone began to play. He was afterwards told by old Mr Mitchell, a lawyer, who went and returned on the same coach with him, but on other business, that his wife had been sleepless for two nights for the same reason. On the third night their old servant had divined th« cause of their sleeplessness— for she, too, had not been able to sleep — and she set herself down in an armchair by her mistress's bedaide and started the coffee mill. A few turns of it sent them both off, and neither of them awoke till mid-forenoon next day.

— The population of London has multiplied five-fold since 1801.

The air-tight compartment theory of buildiDg ships was copit-d from a provision of Nature shown in the case of the nautilus. The shell of ihifl animal has 40 or 50 cumparlmebts, into which air or water may be adtuiltc I, to allow the occupant to sink or float, as he pleasea.

— If two m*-n hive featureß in common, the same eyes, nose, menvh, aud chiu, this is losb sight of if one be dark and the other very light skinned. Criminals are too astute not to ccc this, aud a simple preparation is in vogue, which iv 10 miuutes after its application will render any man or woraiu ab-^olutfly unrecognisable to his or her most inti'iia'e friend* It consists of a mixture of uutg"ll, butternut oil, and prr>nang*u*te of poiash, and is commonly found in a little bottle on pri&onera who have not bad the opportunity of usinc it*