Page:The London Guide and Stranger's Safeguard.djvu/165

Rh, by death or subtraction, do not go to bed that night or the next: something bad is intended; possibly nothing less than breaking the dwelling-house; more probably the robbing your out-houses, hen roosts, gardens, orchards, sheep folds, &c. &c.

If a servant leaves you in dudgeon, for some are very vindictive, or if one soon afterwards falls into bad habits, never suffer them to come near the premises, but look well to the dog, the state of the bell-pulls, and the condition of the fire arms. Should any thing be amiss with either of them, through negligence, suspect that some evil is designed; should they appear to be deranged by design, be assured a robbery is in comtemplation.

The symptoms we have described, indicate that your domestics (one or the other of them) are leagued with thieves to break into the house. Then burn lights diligently, look to the dog, and the bell-pulls yourself; and fire off your pistols, shotted, at some boarded place which will retain the shot to next day. This sort of league, or information from within, is called, "a put up robbery;" although 'tis no less so, where mechanics or others have come at the secrets of "good booty, and the means of the easiest entiy," to which