Doing Business with the
Mileses
Abner Miles and the
Missing Sheep
Abner Miles was a
man hard to beat in a bargain, and too shrewd to be overreached, but he met
with his match on one occasion. He had lost some sheep and by enquiry had shown
his anxiety as to their whereabouts. One day a couple of tramps called at the
tavern and offered to tell him who had the sheep for a bottle of wine. He
agreed to the arrangement, and supplied the wine. The tramps emptied the
bottle, sat around until they were rested, then rose to go.
Miles reminded them
of their part of the bargain. "Shure," said one, "yer honour HAD the shape, and
ye could not kape them."
William Harrison,"Richmond Hill and Vicinity, Number 6"
James Miles and the
Stolen Apples
James Miles is so
far from liking to show off his magisterial capacity that when he the other day
surprised a man in the act of stealing his apples, he helped him down from the
tree in which, in his haste to escape, he had entangled himself. Then, taking a
bag in which the stolen fruit had been deposited, he gave it to the man,
desiring him the next time he wanted apples to come to him and ask for
them.
Audrey Saunders Miller,The Journals of Mary O'Brien,
1828-1838,Macmillanp. 22.
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