THISLTEDOWN.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1287, 29 October 1886, Page 3

THISLTEDOWN.

[By the Chiel.] a

No. IV-COURT DAY—OUTSIDE. V i The visit of the Police Magistrate to a little country town, which nevertheless ( happens to be the centre of a very extensive police district, and which is progressing every day, and whose importance in the . district is being felt more aod more as V time rolls on, is surely worthy of notice, , and is to be placed upon the list of the . events of the season, as for some time previous to the date of his contemplated visit it occupies quite a prominent position v in the thoughts and conversations of the J 1 inhabitants of the place. ' • -!' An active police officer who, unliko many ; others of his craft—heg your pardon, pro- \ fessiort— does- his work usually without any l j ostentatious display, but generally successfully has for several days had his hands ? and head full of the business of the force in the wiy of serving summonses upon individuals accused of breaking the laws and V guilty of various offences, some of whom are in a state of great excitement, and ? others wildly fraught with indignation at I! being so grossly iltused, so basely, perse- "■ cuted. Others again slightly guilty are s trembling somewhat lest an action for a furious ri'lina be instituted against them, fwhilst those who have a mind unburdcne-l :' are as a natur-tl consequence uuharrassed, for of ciurse in such a place as this " only '' the guilty suffer " f These latter, howevor, display quite as . much anxiety as regards the events of the expected and long-talked of visit, anil just ~ from curiosity would like to know the » results of the investigations to be under- * taken before " his worship." • *J The eventful day at last arrives. The town presents a somewhat livelier aspect than is usual; has thrown off to a degree at least its everyday appearance; quite a nurri- ° ber of folks are about; and all pretty much fi on the move, . A great many horses are " hitched up " , here and there to verandah posts and ? fences, and judging from their heated and '' tired appearance" they mast have travelled ■> = either a considerable distance or at a rapid ? rate to satisfy the inclination of their ' owners of being present to witness the procecdings at Court. Amongst the number s of horses thus disposed of is one of the c draught species tied to the corner post of an enclosure next the Court. House. At e first {■lance it looks a very unlikely hack, ? but the omazementof the observer is greatly ,«• increased at sight of a sidc-saddie upon i*, which like the horse had evidently seen J ? better days. What ! a lady's horse—well, strange things"lo occur in this world. ?j As there is yet sftme little time before ? the hour appointed for the sitting of the I Court, we set ourselves to observing, i Stationed here and there about the town A are small groups of people each with its own particular topic of conversation of thrilliug interest. Over yonder is poor Frantc James (a neighbour of ours) looking miseiably crestfallen and apparently wandering about aimlessly. The secret of it all is that he carries in the inside breast pocket of his w coat a legal document demanding his pre- hj sence at the Court to answer the grave a; charge of insulting behaviour, coupled with th.it of using abusive language. He is made conspicuous from his woe- * begone appearance, and his excited manner Al and his dark rolling restless eyes indicate j* the turmoil of mingled hope and fear pre- 1S vailing within his breast. The poor sickly- D looking fellow seemed to completely win °' our sympathy as soon as we noticed him, a anil when we got close to him we instinc- "" tively dropped the every-day interrogation, n " How are you ;" and got as a reply, " Oh, very well—b —b—but n—no—l dou't kuov ti though. I'm a little uneasy to day, you understand, of course but there's one thing c , —I don't suppose they'll hang me- " Poor f fellow, he seeinjrt to be terribly cut up n about the affair, arid the last part of his s; reply was spoken iu a hoarse whisper, and u we almost fancied we could perceive a n shudder. ;, We could not refrain from offering him v some consolation in his misery—we '' didn't a think they would treat him as badly as ,- that, and siuceiely hoped they would not •] for his sake." Ho thanked us, seemed a a bit encouraged, and moved on—we did so i too. t There are a few women observable on t the scene, but their number is very limited. c One of these in particular attracts our v attention from the pccu ! iarity of her dress < and manner. She wears a green skirt with ] a black jacket-body, a straw hat ihat had ;• once been white trimmed with a dirty- t colored red ribbon. Her feet encased in ] no mock kid hut in good solid calf-skin ] shoes ] This strangely attired lady is she who j rode the hor-e we haye already alluded to, , and in her hand she grasps a fine, stout, ( twig, pulled from some roarlside tree, the ' same as had been U3ad by her to increaee i the speed of the charger on which she rode ] int > town. > Not far from the Court House a new ] buildin,' is in course of erection, and though \ they have no wish to hinder the workmen engaged on the building, yet quite a number of folks have congregated in fiont of this, and are busily engaged in performing various feats of strength, in which some of the performers display a wondrous amount of skill, and are frequently applauded for their skill. Little bets are made that certain things can't be done by some folks, and one fellow meekly paya down his half sov when he finds that ho is unable to hold an ordinaly carpenter's hammer out at arm's length for five minutes, holding the same by the end of the handle oetween the forefinger and thumb. The hero of the company is a fine stalwart strapping fellow over 6ft high and proportionately stout—a well-built, powerful, good looking man—he is (or at least appears to be) one of those that even a stranger would take to, and is evidently the favourite of the present company. Many very flattering compliments are paid him by the group of admiring spectators as they witness the comparative ease with .which he does things that to others would be quite impossible. However, , though the approbation is as well merited as it is freely bestowed, he just seems to i take it for what it is worth, and smiling I quietly to himself doubtless feels a pride within that is productive of a calm satisfac- \ tion which cannot be produced by outside I compliments. Oh, how the superiority of I this man of British blood and British pluck was keenly observable above the grovelling (. spirits of the majority of those standing by. ) The3e performances give rise to a lot of f talk respecting the muscular powers and I development of several absent ones, and I some are prepared to back these against any . in the district; one iu particular is made } out to be the paragon of strength, and is backed to lift a dray from the ground by getting his Bhouldcrs under the axle-tree. 3 The talk waxes warmer and warmer, and folks are very profuse in laying waaers, but are behind iu the matter of taking them up. The conversation is, however, soon cut short altogether, for the news reaches us that the Court is onened, but as the general rush is being made for the Court House we are greeted with " the Court is adjourned until I S o'clock." But there are not many expressions of regret indulged ia at this in-

telligenco, and in the time thus "afforded we can with a good grace sit down to our dinners hopeful that the performance in the afternoon may be interesting enough to warrant our staying to witness it.