HE DID NOT SWEAR.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1044, 21 April 1882, Page 3

HE DID NOT SWEAR.

The other day Mrs Smith bought aload of wood from a man whom she said she km w she could tiust. She felt slie c mid trust him because he only said “bother! ” when the dray stuck in Hie mud, and because ho said be never drank spirits, and was fond of reading tracts. Mrs Smith is a kindly soul, and elicit'd the facts while paying him seveu-and-twi-nty shillings for “ the best, load in wood as was ever carted.” A day or so afterwards (on the Saturday following) the man called at Mrs Smith’s and a-ked permission to leave his horse and empty dray in the yard while he took a load of wood on a second dray to a customer. Mrs Smith let him do what ho wanted, for, she said, “he looked such an honest man, and the wood she had bought hail deserved all the praise he had given it.” The Smith family went to Iwd before the owner of the dray returned , hut Mrs Smith said she was not at all uneasy—lie would no doubt re turn and take his dray, as soon as he had delivered his other load, and he was such an honest-looking man that she did not mind Ids coming into the yard at night. About 12 o’clock Mrs Smith was awakened by the rumble of wheels, and said to herself, “Ah! theie is that poor man taking his dray away ; how late he is to be sure ; what a hard working fellow he must he.” The next morning, though, there was trouble. For a'uuit seventeen yards along through Mr Smith’s pet strawberry-bed, dong-side the. roadway leadinginto the yaid, there yawned a duheartening-looking chasm, that seemed wortliy of the .-acntioß ol a Camus. Half of the double picket gate had been carried a'-ay, and the gate-post had “gone by the board.” Th • gardener next, door said the language used by Mr Smith as he surveyed the ruin was only equalled by the irruption of profanity .which he dreamt he heard during the night. Whether the “honest”man, who only said “bother!” when his dray stuck in the mud. was the person that the gardener heard has never been satisfactorily ascertained If ho was not the person who took his dray away in the night and ruined Smith’s strawberries and back gate he never returned to say so. The horse and dray were gone ; the gate was smashed ; the strawberry bed was a ruin ; and the beautiful load of wood bought by Mrs Smith a couple of days previously was not to he seen. Whoever took the load had also appropriated Smith’s axe, probably considering it foolish to leave an axe where there was no wood tn out with it. Smith was furious, Mrs Smith was pens'vo and meditative on the uulrustwiuthincss of appearar.ee, and the neighbours were amused ; but the only theory to neemm for tdie damage, and the disappearance of the wood, was that the “ houesi” man had gone oil with it.