locked and otherwise secured. Delantter 
himself was positive that lie had in person 
fastened the hall door, although he admitted 
leaving the key in the lock, as was his invaria¬ 
ble custom. Somewhat towards live o’clock 
in the morning he was roused from Ids slum¬ 
bers by the violent ringing of the bell. His 
first impression was that his extensive estab¬ 
lishment on Canal street was on lire, a catas¬ 
trophe lie ever dreaded. Hastily throwing 
on his clothes he hurried down stairs, where 
lie was much astounded at seeing a police¬ 
man standing at the threshold of the front 
door, which was wide open. 
“ I was varce surprise,” continued Dei.an- 
tiek. “ 1 ask zc policeman what ees ze 
mattaire, hey ? lie say zat about fifteen 
meenetca before he see somethings bright, on 
ze sidewalk, and he peeked eet up. Eet was 
a scelvarc spoon. He look ovare ze garden, 
and, by gar! be see two more Beelvare 
spoons. Zen lie come in ze garden and 
rings me up. My friend, zey have played ze 
daville wiz me. Sacrel I have lost tree 
tousand dollaire.” 
Dei,antikk was much excited, but I 
learned enough from him to ascertain the 
full extent of his loss. Every portable article 
of value had been carried off; even to the 
small gold knobs upon an elegant papier 
mache writing desk. The handsome ma¬ 
hogany safe in the dining-room had been 
broken open and nearly all of the valuable 
gold and silver plate of small size taken 
therefrom. The larger pieces, worth some 
ten thousand dollars, the burglars had left, 
probably because of their becoming alarmed 
before their work could be concluded. Still 
the loss was serious, the robbery having evi¬ 
dently been committed by adepts In the 
science of housebreaking. 
When Delantier concluded the recital 
of his loss I expressed tny sympathy and re¬ 
gret, and retired. At breakfast 1 narrated 
the circumstance of the robbery to my fami¬ 
ly, the members of •which were horrified at 
anything of the kind occurring so near our 
residence, 
“ Burglaries have become alarmingly fre¬ 
quent of late, and it would seem as if this 
vicinity is a favorite field for the operations 
of burglars,” remarked my wife. “ Why, 
only a few nights ago Mr. Ashley, of 100, 
was robbed of a large amount of very valu¬ 
able property.” 
Here my wife started upon the recital of 
every robbery that, had been committed in 
our neighborhood during the past six years, 
—a recital to which we were compelled 
patiently to listen, my worthy lady being 
exceedingly sensitive to the slightest sign of 
indifference exhibited by her husband or 
children towards her. 
Breakfast, over 1 entered my carriage, and 
during the drive, to my office reflected seri¬ 
ously upon the event that had transpired at 
Delantieh’s house. Burglaries had be¬ 
come alarmingly frequent of late. Hardly a 
night passed without some residence in the 
aristocratic part of the city being entered 
and robbed. A few months later the gar- 
rolers began their work, and murders then 
became numerous. It was at the next elec¬ 
tion for Mayor that Beau REGARD was de¬ 
feated, and upon the announcement of the 
result placed himself at the head of the 
Creole population, seized the arsenal, barri¬ 
caded Jackson square, and, after a fight, 
disbanded his forces upon the authorities 
agreeing to discharge the policemen, who 
were strongly suspected of being in league 
with the garroters, and to appoint a new 
force. But I must not digress. 
It is not unlikely that the gravity of my 
reflections was increased by a naturally ner¬ 
vous temperament. I was a middle-aged 
man, in happy circumstances, but with a 
large part of my means invested iu the fur¬ 
niture of my house, which was costly and 
fashionable. 1 owned some thirty thousand 
dollars’ worth of plate; my State and muni¬ 
cipal six per cent, bonds were kept in a 
small iron safe in my bedroom, and, well, 
to make the matter short, I arrived at the 
conclusion that the best thing would be the 
hiring of a private watchman to guard my 
household treasures against predatory and 
adventuresome Chevalier iTIndustrie. 
lu accordance with this resolution, on ar¬ 
riving at my office, 1 sent for the Secretary 
of the Private Watchman’s Association, and 
requested him to lurnisli me with a reliable, 
bonest man. He promised to do so and left, 
after making known the terms, to which I 
readily assented. In the afternoon lie re¬ 
turned, accompanied by a stout, muscular 
man, possessed of one of the most villainous 
faces I ever saw. 
“ This is the man, sir," said the Secretary; 
‘ his name is Tony Miller.” 
Mr. Miller scraped the lloor with one 
foot and jerked liis head forward in response 
to this introduction. 
“ 1 can recommend him,” the Secretary 
continued, “ as one of ihe best watchmen in 
the city. lie has been in our employ for 
over six years, and, except in two cases, has 
given general satisfaction.” 
“ And those two cases ?” I queried. 
“ Well, sir,” said Tony, with another jerk 
of his head, “you see, both on ’umwas foul 
play. 1 wa3 knock down from bellin’, and 
the Tiffins lied me up and gagged me while 
they did the work. But, sir,” he added, wi i h 
a ferocious expression, “ that game is played 
out. Next time they try it on, somebody’ll 
get killed.” 
After some further conversation I engaged 
the man and directed him to be at the front 
of my house by eight o’clock every night. 
He promised to obey my instructions and 
departed with the Secretary. When alone 
I seriously doubted if I had acted prudently 
in employing so rascally looking an individ¬ 
ual. That he was possessed of immense 
physical strength 1 could readily perceive. 
But his countenance so strongly indicated 
the man who would sooner aid a burglar 
than resist one, that it almost appeared as if 
1 was endeavoring to lake precautions against 
a possible evil, by inviting a certain danger. 
However, the character he had received was 
a good one, and the Private Watchman's As- 
soefation was much esteemed in the city. 
At the appointed hour Tony was at the 
front of tlic house, in the garden. Through 
the half opened shutters of the Venetian 
blinds my wife and children caught a glimpse 
of the special guardian of our home, and 
were inspired by the same unfavorable opin¬ 
ion that had impressed me. 
“What a horrid looking creature!” re¬ 
marked my eldest, daughter. 
“He looks more like a thief than a thief 
catcher,” said my youngest, with a toss of 
her curls. 
“ Ain’t he ugly ?” chimed in my two boys, 
youngsters of ten and twelve years respect¬ 
ively. 
“ My dear,” said tny wife gravely, “ Had 1 
been in your place, I w ould never have em¬ 
ployed so villainous a looking creature under 
any circumstance.” 
In response to this torrent of unfavorable 
remarks, I could only repeat the assurance 
that Tony was excellently recommended, 
and endeavor to eradicate the had impres¬ 
sion found of my w atchman, by indulging 
in some, commonplaces about never judging 
a man by his looks, as outward appearances 
were often deceiving. This did not satisfy 
my wife, who insisted that by no possibility 
could a man with Tony’s face be trusted. 
Finally, to allay her nervousness, I promised 
j to have the plate taken to the nursery every 
’ night, to which the plate chest would be re¬ 
moved. 
This precaution w r as duly taken, together 
with another of having a loaded revolver 
placed on a small table at the side of my 
bed. In my youth I had practiced con¬ 
siderably with fire-arms, and although many 
years had passed since I fired a pistol, I felt 
confident of retaining no small part of my 
former skill. 
Weeks passed away and nothing occurred 
to disturb the serenity of our home. No 
burglars tried to break into the house, and 
consequently Tony never had occasion to 
display his watchfulness, fidelity and courage. 
While l had never become favorable disposed 
t owards the man,much of my early prejudice 
had gradually disappeared,nodi hud learned 
to regard his presence with a certain benign 
toleration. Occasionally 1 would stand upon 
the front steps and engage in a brief conver¬ 
sation with him. One day he remarked that 
the burglars had grow n shy of our block. 
“ 1 tell you, sir,” he said, “ the robbery next 
door warns’em that folks will take care of 
their silver. Burglars don’t break open 
houses for the furniture; they does it for the 
silver and jcwlcry.” 
“ I suppose so,” 1 replied ; “ and such be¬ 
ing my opinion, over since the robbery at 
Mr. Delantier’s, T have kept my silver 
locked up In the plate chest in the nursery. ’ 
And 1 instinctively pointed to a window to 
indicate where the nursery was. 
Tony remarked that I was acting correctly 
and strongly commended my prudence, but 
expressed the hope that so long as he was 
employed watching the house no burglar 
would be able to pass the. threshold of the 
door. 
“ Onless I’se taken unawares,” he went oi^ 
“ no man can get into that house without an 
alarm. On that, sir, you can depend. Bur¬ 
glars is cute chaps, sir, but it takes a per- 
tickler sharp un to beat me.” And so saying 
he clenched the club he carried in his huge 
hand and flourished the weapon as if about 
to use it on some too daring burglar. 
A few minutes later 1 left him, and, as 
might be supposed, the conversation was 
soon dismissed from my memory. Some 
few nights after my wife remarked that she 
thought it a useless expenditure of money to 
continue the services of Tony. She urged 
that the additions recently made to the 
strength of the police force were sufficient to 
guarantee the safety of every residence in 
the city. I promised her that I would give 
the proposition the necessary consideration, 
and if I arrived at the same conclusion that 
she did, I would discharge Tony at the ex¬ 
piration of his month’s service. 
It must have been fully eleven o’clock that 
night when the family retired to lied. My 
wife soon fell asleep, while 1, as was my cus¬ 
tom, laid down beside her and read. The 
book I had chosen proved frightfully dull, so 
that after about an hour’s perusal of it I 
threw it down on the table and turning on 
my side thought over various matters until 
sleep overpowered me. 
I had not been asleep many minutes be¬ 
fore J entered upon the most singular of 
dreams. The purpose here being simply to 
narrate a story, I shall not indulge in any 
psychological argument aiming at an expla¬ 
nation of the phenomenon of dreaming. 
Neither shall I give expression to any reflec¬ 
tions on the singularity of what I dreamt. 
Let it suffice that my vision was one rarely 
beheld. Its mystery I must leave scientific 
minds to unravel. 
It appeared to me that I saw two men 
standing before my door, conversing. The 
features of one were turned towards me; and 
by the aid of the dim streaks of light ema¬ 
nating from the street lamp, which stood di¬ 
rectly in front of the gate, I recognized the 
swarthy and villainous face of my private 
watchman. What he was saying I could 
not hear; but several times he pointed to the 
door, and from the gestures ho made, it 
seemed ns, if ho were impressing upon the 
mind of his companion the necessity of per¬ 
forming some action of which I was ignorant. 
The back of the other man was turned 
towards me and exhibited a tall and well 
proportioned figure. By reason of his stand¬ 
ing in the shadow of the house I was unable 
to ascertain the color of his attire. In one 
hand lie held w hat appeared to be a hunch 
of keys, and the other contained several 
pieces of metal, the whole looking like the 
tools of a mechanic. Whatever the subject 
was on which they were conversing, I could 
perceive from the maimer in which lie shook 
his head that he was unwilling to comply 
with the wishes of Miller, After a long 
debate lie at length seemed to acquiesce, for 
he said, in the first audible tones I had heard, 
“ Well, if you lliink so, I’ll try it; but let 
us go to work at once and have the job over 
with.” 
bo saying he turned, and placing himself 
beside his companion faced the door. Not¬ 
withstanding he did so I, could not recog¬ 
nize his features, as he still stood in the 
shadow of the house. 
Up to this time all I had seen and heard 
was wholly in a dream; nor was I ignorant 
of that fact. It seemed to me that I knew I 
was sleeping and dreaming, and that I ar¬ 
gued with myself that it was nothing but an 
illusion, to lie dispelled upon awakening, 
But despite this feeling of security, I yet felt 
excited, especially so when, after hearing 
the words mentioned in the foregoing, I dis¬ 
tinctly saw the two men ascend the steps 
and approach the door. 
From the bunch in the hand of the tall 
man a key was taken and introduced into 
the lock. It failed to force back the bolt, 
and another was tried. A second, third, 
fourth, and fifth failure followed, and an 
oath broke from the lips of Miller. On 
the sixth trial the bolt shot hack, the door 
was pushed open, and the men entered the 
lnill-way. For a few seconds they remained 
standing in the hall-way, evidently listening 
for some indications that their work was 
discovered. At length, as if satisfied that no 
suspicions of their burglarious intent had 
been aroused, they slipped off their shoes 
and noiselessly ascended the stairs. 
The bedrooms were situated on the second 
floor, and were three in number. The 
largest, fronting on the street, was occupied 
by my wife and myself. At its rear, and 
connected with it by an open door, was the 
nursery, next to which was a small hall 
room occupied by my daughters. All the 
members of our family were sound asleep. 
In my dream I saw my wife and children 
calmly slumbering in blissful ignorance of 
the danger threatening them. 
When the two men reached the landing 
they again paused, and 1 thought that the 
tall man look from out his pocket a small 
bottle which he handed to Miller. They 
then approached the door of my chamber, 
which was unlocked without difficulty by a 
skeleton key, and throwing it open gently 
entered t he room. The gas was burning from 
a single jet in the chandelier, but, as it was 
turned low, the light, was dim, being just 
sufficient to enable one to recognize objects, 
and to cast weird and unearthly shadows 
over the apartment. 
Cautiously my unfaithful watchman slid 
towards the bed, holding the bottle in one 
hand and a dark looking substance in the 
other. Still dreaming I fancied that 1 felt a 
cold, spongy substance applied to my nos¬ 
trils, iuid that. 1 inhaled chloroform. De¬ 
termined not to be rendered insensible, I 
held my breath until the tall man said 
“ That is enough,” and the sponge was 
removed from my face. 
My wife was next subjected to the process, 
and after she had been rendered beyond 
the power of immediate walking the two 
scoundrels left the bed and walked on tiptoe 
into the nursery. The instant the chamber 
was freed from their presence the thought 
struck me that they had not taken the pre¬ 
caution of securing the loaded revolver 
lying on the table beside me. This neglect 
I perceived arose from the fact of the 
weapon having been, by chance, completely 
covered by the open book which I had 
thrown down in disgust with its want of 
interest. 
Still dreaming, and perfectly conscious 
that I was sleeping, it appeared to me as if 
I quietly arose and took up the revolver. 
Cocking it, I followed the burglars till I 
reached the nursery door, when I stopped 
and watched their operations. I saw Miller 
successfully administer the chloroform to my 
boys. He then went to the side of the bed 
on which the nurse was lying and applied 
the sponge to her nostrils, at the same mo¬ 
ment pointing out to his companion the 
chest that contained the plate. The man 
advanced towards it, and when half way 
across, a small instrument that lie carried 
fell from his hand, producing a dull, leaden 
sound as it struck the carpet. 
The noise seemed to rouse the nurse, who 
was not yet completely under the influence 
of the chloroform. She suddenly started up, 
and for a brief moment gazed at the intrud¬ 
er with a sleepy, stupid stare. Miller was 
at first somewhat startled at her rising, but 
before she could give utterance to a cry of 
alarm, he caught her by the throat, and in a 
hoarse whisper threatened to kill her if she 
spoke a word. 
Why I did not then fire at the rascals I 
cannot tell. The revolver was leveled at 
the tall man, but it seemed as if I was in¬ 
capable of pulling the trigger. Meanwhile 
Miller had forced the unhappy nurse to 
inhale the chloroform, which soon took 
effect, producing insensibility. 
By this time the other man was busy at 
the chest, the lid of which he had pried open 
when his confederate joined him. The first 
article of plate they took out was a hand¬ 
some dish and cover of fine workmanship 
and great value. Other articles followed in 
rapid succession, aud were stowed away in a 
huge hag that Miller had brought with 
him, hold beneath his arm. When the chest 
had been emptied of all its contents, the 
two shouldered this hag aud moved towards 
the door at which I was standing, with the 
evident purpose of leaving the house by the 
same route they had entered it. 
Simultaneously with their perceiving me, I 
fancied that the paralysis of Ihe fingers 
which had to this time prevented my using 
the weapon, passed away, Rapidly leveling 
the revolver at Miller, I pulled the trigger 
and— 
A loud report, and the noise of a heavy 
fall, woke, me from my sleep, and I opened 
my eyes just in lime to see a tall figure dis¬ 
appear through the open window of the 
nursery overlooking a part of the garden. 
At first. 1 was much confused, but upon col¬ 
lecting my thoughts 1 perceived the short, 
stout figure of Miller lying on the floor, 
writhing from pain. The reality of my dream 
then flashed across my mind. 
Aroused by the report of the revolver, my 
daughters gave expression, to their terror by 
screaming loudly for assistance. Going to 
the door of their chamber I assured them of 
the safety of the family, and requested them 
to put on their clothes and attend to their 
mother and brothel’s, who were still sleeping 
heavily. The police were next called in, 
and after 1 had explained the events that 
had transpired, they removed Miller, who 
was shot through the right, breast, and seri¬ 
ously, though, as it turned out happily for 
my own peace of mind, not fatally wounded. 
On the day following, the confederate of 
my watchman, who proved to he one of the 
most notorious garroters in the city, was ar¬ 
rested. Three months later 1 had the satis¬ 
faction of hearing both sentenced to ten 
years’ imprisonment with hard labor. While 
he was in the hospital and under the impres¬ 
sion that be could not recover, Miller made 
a confession, minutely detailing all that had 
transpired, which corroborated in every par¬ 
ticular what I had seen in my dream. He 
had also confessed that had the robbery 
been successful be would have been tied 
and gagged, and wounds inflicted on vari¬ 
ous parts of his person, so as to make it 
appear that, he had been taken unawares." 
From a thoughtless servant he hud obtained 
all the information he possessed of the loca¬ 
tion of the nursery, the appearance of the 
chest, and the manner in which it could be 
got at. 
In concluding the narrative of this really 
singular occurrence, which is strictly a true 
one, I would state that nothing of the kind 
ever after took place, although, like most 
other mortals, I still occasionally dream. 
- +++ - 
Fear of Ridicule. —The dread of ridicule 
is even greater than its power; and thou¬ 
sands, who would face personal danger with¬ 
out flinching, shrink in craven terror from 
the carpings of a malicious tongue. Men 
there are of no great wit, but of supreme 
audacity, who have acquired for themselves 
a place in society, and enjoy the good things 
of this world, simply on account of the un¬ 
bridled license of their speech. They arc 
moral gadflies, detested and feared by all; 
and yet, somehow or other, they have the 
privilege of settling where they please. 
be Apiarian. 
MAKING WAX. 
BY M. QUINBY. 
Where many bees are kept, the making 
of wax becomes a matter of importance. 
When wax brings half a dollar a pound, old 
and refuse combs are much too valuable to 
fdlow worms to consume them. But care¬ 
less bee keepers allow it. Even men who 
laj f claim to some degree of business-like 
promptness, by carelessness and delay often 
lose enough in this way to pay the cost of 
making wax two or three times over. 
Combs that have been kept through the 
winter and thoroughly frozen, will keep an 
indefinite time provided the moth lie pre¬ 
vented from depositing her eggs upon them. 
I have found, by repeated experiment, that 
these eggs are destroyed by the cold. But 
in warm weather, combs that have not been 
thus prepared will soon be rendered worth¬ 
less if not cared for. Thorough smoking 
with brimstone is the best thing 1 know of 
to check the progress of worms, but to be ef¬ 
fectual in warm weather, it must be done 
very thoroughly. 
In selecting combs for wax, reject all such 
as are mostly filled with pollen or bee-bread, 
or young bees, as such contents will obstruct 
the strainer and cause move waste than the 
amount to he gained from such pieces is 
worth. As to apparatus, 1 use a box made 
of two and a half inch pine plank, four feet 
long by eighteen inches wide and fourteen 
inches high, the bottom covered with good 
sheet-iron. The box rests on brick-work 
built on the principle o( the arch for large 
kettles. Figure 1 represents it This box 
is filled two-thirds with water, a bushel or so 
of combs thrown in, and the whole heated 
to the boiling point. The melted wax rising 
to the top is clioped off into a bag of the 
material of which coffee sacks are made, 
strong and coarse; this is put under a strong 
press, aud the wax (breed out. 
Fig. 2.—Wax Press. 
The press I have found most serviceable 
is represented in Figure 2. The screw, 8, 
being raised, the follower, F, taken out, the 
bug containing the melted combs is put in 
the open box, B—arranged like a cheese 
hoop, lmt made of stuves riveted to the 
hoops, H, H, with spaces between them to 
let off the wax — and subjected to heavy 
pressure. Tho wax runs freely, and is 
caught in the pail, P. By this means 1 have 
succeeded in getting the wax out cleaner 
than by any other method 1 have tried. 
Having caught it, it is well to let it stand 
melted a long time. Beiog lighter tlmn most 
of the impurities mingled with it, it gradual¬ 
ly precipitates them and becomes itself quite 
pure. Then dip it off into pans to cool- 
cooling slowly however, for it is much less 
liable to crack in this way, and besides fine 
impurities will all the time be settling, and 
after the cukes are cold, may be scraped off 
the under side. 
If not yet sufficiently pure, break it up 
and melt over, letting it stand again, and 
cooling slowly in shallow pans, as this will 
give a larger surface to the under side of the 
cakes and more impurities will collect there 
i reach of the scraper. 
Where there are large quantities of combs, 
repeat the process above described, each 
time throwing fresh comb in the hot water, 
taking the bag from B, and throwing out its 
pressed contents—taking care to bury them 
or put them out. of reach of the bees in some 
way, and refilling the bag with the hot stuff 
from the boiler. 
■ ■ - — ♦ ♦ ♦- 
Maple Molasses for Bees.— Will some experi¬ 
enced bee keeper inform me whether maple 
molasses will injure bees if fed to them ?—h. b. it. 
