On Friday, nothing happened--except that one of the dogs showed signs of
a breaking out behind the ears. I gave him a dose of syrup of buckthorn,
and put him on a diet of pot-liquor and vegetables till further orders.
Excuse my mentioning this. It has slipped in somehow. Pass it over
please. I am fast coming to the end of my offences against your
cultivated modern taste. Besides, the dog was a good creature, and
deserved a good physicking; he did indeed.
Saturday, the last day of the week, is also the last day in my
narrative.
The morning's post brought me a surprise in the shape of a London
newspaper. The handwriting on the direction puzzled me. I compared it
with the money-lender's name and address as recorded in my pocket-book,
and identified it at once as the writing of Sergeant Cuff.
Looking through the paper eagerly enough, after this discovery, I found
an ink-mark drawn round one of the police reports. Here it is, at your
service. Read it as I read it, and you will set the right value on the
Sergeant's polite attention in sending me the news of the day: "LAMBETH--Shortly before the closing of the court, Mr. Septimus Luker,
the well-known dealer in ancient gems, carvings, intagli, &c., &c.,
applied to the sitting magistrate for advice. The applicant stated that
he had been annoyed, at intervals throughout the day, by the proceedings
of some of those strolling Indians who infest the streets. The persons
complained of were three in number. After having been sent away by the
police, they had returned again and again, and had attempted to enter
the house on pretence of asking for charity. Warned off in the front,
they had been discovered again at the back of the premises. Besides the
annoyance complained of, Mr. Luker expressed himself as being under
some apprehension that robbery might be contemplated. His collection
contained many unique gems, both classical and Oriental, of the highest
value. He had only the day before been compelled to dismiss a skilled
workman in ivory carving from his employment (a native of India, as we
understood), on suspicion of attempted theft; and he felt by no means
sure that this man and the street jugglers of whom he complained, might
not be acting in concert. It might be their object to collect a crowd,
and create a disturbance in the street, and, in the confusion thus
caused, to obtain access to the house. In reply to the magistrate, Mr.
Luker admitted that he had no evidence to produce of any attempt
at robbery being in contemplation. He could speak positively to the
annoyance and interruption caused by the Indians, but not to anything
else. The magistrate remarked that, if the annoyance were repeated,
the applicant could summon the Indians to that court, where they might
easily be dealt with under the Act. As to the valuables in Mr. Luker's
possession, Mr. Luker himself must take the best measures for their safe
custody. He would do well perhaps to communicate with the police, and to
adopt such additional precautions as their experience might suggest. The
applicant thanked his worship, and withdrew."