ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2065, 1 October 1885, Page 4

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Ismxvm) by the icxeUtions of the Pill Mall C.i/ctte and those made by one of our loetl " weaklies," \\ Inch lattci, by the way, .lie gencially looked upon as bogus 1 thought I would do a little am item detective business for the benefit <>i tin. 1 i<• ulcis of '('lie Waikito Tutus In oulei to pioteet the piopuetot-, tlier< of and myself ft om actions foi libel I maj 14 uoll state that the nimos n-,e 1 ate fictitious I began mv self imposed tusk on a Sunday evt ning, \\ lion I 'night ha\ c Ik < n sci'ii lo.ifinrr mound tlio lioum- of Mi Smith, one of our meiehaut pi iuet s J may mention in pa-sing tli.it out merchant pi iuccs ato generally speaking ratlur sin.ill potatoes. I cannot ft 11 wlnt induced me to decide on Mi Smith, as my first victim, except, pit haps, that he is so eminently respect ible, a chinch warden, a constant (subscriber to all out (leser\ ing charities (lie pajs his aiihsciiptions too) and what is geneially called a good man. I had not been watching his house very long before he came out and walked in the direction of one of om churches. I followed him and saw him standing outside the church gate, cv idently waiting for someone. As soon .is set s ice was over he was joined bj a young lady, who promptly took Ins aim, and the two walked nway together in the direction of Smith's own house. I could not see the young lady's face but it was e\ident from her tiguie that she was young and graceful. Of course, I was shocked at seeing Mr Smith, who is a widower, walking with a young lady, so I followed at a safe distance. The two walke 1 along the streets quite openly, as it they had nothing to feai fiom ob-ena tion, and went stiaight to Mi Smith's house. When the dooi was open to admit them, I saw that the }oung lady was about eighteen \ears old and verypietty, and I immediately tccognised her as Mr Smith's eldest daughter. Quite satisfied with my discovery I went home to bed. On Monday evening I went out "on the prowl" again, and soon saw young Blown, who is employed in Mr Fei guson's counting house, going towards the city. I followed him and saw him go to his employei's waichousp. lie wont down a lane in which the side entiance i 3, opened the dooi and went in For c ome tim<j after his entiance the wai chouse was in daikmss Then he struck a match (fiom the way in which he jeiked up his hand I should think he stiuek it on the leg of his "unmention iiblcs.") With that match he lighted the gas, as I con Id see quite eisily from the key-hole. Then he opened the wife and took out of it— not the cash box, but a lirg'j ledger and a day-book, and for three solid hours did he lrmaiu there posting that ledger. Then he calmly locksd tip the safe, turned oil the gas, locked up the warehouse again, and went home to his lodgings appeal ing as innocent as if he had been playing " black pool " all evening, while I went home, «ufFeiing a good deal fiom stiffness of the left eye, caused by a too close application to that key- hole. * * • Encouraged bv my success on the two previous evenings, I went out again on Tuesday. While passing the house of Mr Brown, I saw him cincige thciefiom. He was unusually will dicssed, ami seemed on very good terms with hiinsi It, as he walked along the street, softly hnmming "Annie Lauiie." Mr Biown is an elder in the Kirk, canies on a \ cry profitable business, und is very generally respected. As the profession.il detcctm s would say, I "shadowed " him, and <-aw hint go up one street and dow n another until he reached the house oi his fuend, Mr Black. I happened to know that that gentleman was away fiom home, .so I naturally concluded that Mr Biown had gone to pay his respects to the " grass widow," and I deemed it my duty to wait until he should come out and expostulate with him, even though I ran the risk of being biutally assaulted for my tiotth.'o Although it was a hitter ty cold night, I stayed in front of Mr Black's house till past eleven o'clock, when the door opened and Mr Brown came out. He was not alone. A lady had hold of his arm The> walked boldly down to the front gate and out into the street. There was a gas lamp close by, and by its lijjht I lecognised the lady. It was Mr Brown's law fully-wedded wife, the mother of his children. The whole thing was evident. Mrs Brown had been spending the afternoon with Mrs Black, and Mr Biown had gone to biing her home. • * * On Wednesday evening I made my final appeaiancc in the tole of an aniateui detective. I saw young Robinson, who is 'a teller in a City Bank, leave his lodgings and go in the diiection •of Ponsonby and or Dedwood. He was smoking a very foul pipe, so I feired he must be going to get into mischief. As his father had buen very kind to me when I was tianspoited (not at Co\ctn ment expense) to this couutiy, I detei mined to follow him, f»r his ow u good of course. Though be walked up lull and down dale at a terrible pace I managed to keep my eye on him. Ho went straight to the house of old Me Fadyen, who is generally considcied a veiy decent man, though he. is an old bachelor, llobinaou was evidently quite at home there, for he opened a French window, of what apparently was the dining-room, and walked in. McFadyen, too, was smoking a foul pipe, so I concluded that the two were about to con eoet a foul plot. After shaking hands with the young man, the old conspirator produced from some secret place — a chc-s-board, and the two conspirators sat till nearly midnight playing chess and smok ing those foul pipes. Then tluy ate some biscuits and drank what looked suspiciously like two of — milk. Young Robinson started for home, but, unfoitunately, he caught sight of me linking among the shrubbery. He rushed at me, caught hold of me and give me a most unmerciful tin ashing with his wilking stick, paying no atten tion to my attempted explanations. I still have a slight impediment in my gait in consequence, and ha\e conn to the unanimous conclusion that natuic did not intend me to be an amatein detective. * * • The Auckland members have returned, and some of the Southern lepiesentatnes have come up to ha\e a look at our city, and probably to try to ascertain w hy it is the most prosperous in the colony, despite the cry about want of employmei.t raised by W. (J. Canard and Co. Bv the way, that was a very decided denial that was given to the statement that there are so many able bodied men anxiously seeking for woik of. any soit and unable to obtain it that was given \>y the response to the ad\ei tisement of Mr Lai kins, the con ti actor, who want<d fifty pick and shovel men to work on Ins con tt act. He had any number of apph cants, but when he said that he wanted none but good men, able and willing to do a gooddfy's work, and explained that the men would have to walk four miles o\< i a bad track to get to the place wlk ie Ik wanted them, onhj three ex'press«< d then intention to go. There is no use attempt ing to deny the fact that there arc men here most anxious to obtain employment and who would be l-cady to accept any that offered, but they are physically in capable of such haid labour as pick and shovel work ; but a laigc pioportion of the unemployed are quite competent to undertake such work and ate simply di • tcrrod by thut natural disinclination for it which those who call a spade a spade denominate la/mess. Howeicr, our Southern \ isitors will see thattheie is a large measure of prosperity in Auckland, and, comparatively speaking, little real distress. We have not gone a head "by leaps and bounds'' as Sir Julius Vogel piophesicd the whole colony would do, as the result of his beneficial rule, but our piogress has been gradual, and, consequently, sure. St. Mi\\G(>.