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LOCAl, NEWS.

. LANDLADY AND VISITORS.

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LANDLADY AND VISITORS. REMARKABLE CASE, AT LLAN- DUDNO. At Llandudno County Court on Thurs- day, Elizabeth Thomas, lodging-house keeper, of Toronto House, Winllan Avenue, Llandudno, sued Miss Minnie Williams, of Manchester, to recover £ 4 odd, the amount alleged to be due for rooms at the plaintiff's house engaged in August last. Mr J. J. Marks appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Osborn, of Col- wyli Bay, defended. Mr Marks stated that Miss Williams was a professional vocalist, and, accom- panned by a Mrs Massey and a gentleman named Antonoff, she took rooms at the plaintiff's house on August 18th at £ 2 10s. per week for two weeks. They arrived on Saturday, the 20th, and complained of the j distance of Winllan Avenue'from the town, the house being near the Conway Shore. On the Monday morning Mrs Massey told Mrs Thomas that the gentleman com- plained that there were fleas in his bed. The plaintiff immediately replied that there were none in her house, and that any that were there must have. been brought in by the persons complaining.. That there should be no difficulty between the lanxtiady and her visitors, the gentle- man's bed was brought down to another rcom. On the Friday following the party left, saying they had to get back to Man- chester, but they returned the next morn- ing to inquire if there were. any letters for them. They offered to pay for the rooms for a week, but Mrs Thomas refused to accept the amount, as they had engaged the rooms for a fortnight. Mrs Thomas believed that the sole reason for their dis- content with the rooms was their distance from the town. The plaintiff stated that she saw one flea only in the gentleman's room after the complaint. Her house was clean; she had taken visitors for four yeaa-s, and had never had a complaint of aaiy kind before. Mr Osborn said the submission of the defence was that the house was absolute- ly unfit for occupation. Miss Minnie Williams, the defendant, who is blind, said that she lived at Lime Grove, Oxford Road. Manchester. When she went to the bedi-oon-i at the plaintiff's house, on the Saturday night, she never slept at all. The bed was very uncom- fortable, and she felt fleas all night. Up to that tdine she had no acquaintance with such creatures. As the, next day was Sunday, no complaints was made, but: on the Monday morning she complained to Mrs Thomas, who went up to Mr Antonoff's room, and the defendant's at- tention was called to a dozen fleas in the washing bowl, flea,s on the wall, and crushed fleas on the blankets. Mr Antonoff went away, but returned on 'being inform- ed that his bed had been made up in the sitting-room downstairs. They stayed on till the Friday, but Mrs Massey and her- self obtained disinfectants, and washed the room over with sanitas and water, be- sides turning, out everything likely to harbour fleas, so that she was not very much troubled again personally. She gave Mr Antonoff some camphor in his bed, and that sort of thing, but apparent- ly the fleas appreciated Russians.— (Laughter.) In reply to Mr Marks, the, defendant said that she first of all took rooms at Llanclduias, where they stayed four days. They left that place because Mr Antonoff could not sleep for the noise of the trains. They wished to be quiet, and for that rea- son quite appreciated the Conway Shore. She told Mrs Thomas she was glad the house was a. distance from the town. They spent the whole of the Saturday afternoon sitting on the stones on the Conway Shore, Mr Marks, in his questions to the defen- dant, suggested that the bites of which she comlained might have been caused by insects found on the shore at that time of the year. Mrs Massey, of 137, Burton Road, West Diclsbury, stated that the plaintiff's house was dirty when they got there, but Mrs Thomas said that the other visitors were just going out, and tha,t she would have it cleaned up before they came in. They had a very restless night. Next I 9 morning Mr Antonoff Gamei down and said he had been bitten rulive.-(Laughter.) On the Monday monring she went up to his room, and counted twelve fleas in the washing bowl; on the counterpane of the bed was a, creature which she killed, and which she had since found was a bug. The fleas were on the blanket and all over the bed. She opened one of the two windows and saw two fleas on the wall, which she killed. She gathered her skirt rcund her and went downstairs. When she got into the dining-room there were two fleas on her skirt, which she killed in tli3 presence of Mrs Thomas, who was then speaking to Miss Williams. Mr Antonoff, who was not well at the time, having bad nerves, refused to sleep in his room again, and the witness helped Mrs Thomas to, carry his clothes down to the sitting-room. Mr Marks, having put to the witness questions suggesting that the trouble might have arisen from insects got from the shore and been assured that it could not have that origin, as they were fleas "Hnel big ones, too, asked—In the face of this appalling state of things you stay- ed on until the Thursday night 1 .The Witness: We hought each day a bottle of Jeyes' fluid, a bottle of Sanitas, a sulphur candle, and six boxes of ca-li-iphor.-(Laugliter.) Did you tell my client about those pur- chases?—Certainly; we asked her to have a sulphur candle to kill the fleas in the top room where Mr Antonoff had been.. What did she say''—No; I have some Sanitas. His Honour asked what that was for, and the iv itness, replied that it was sup- posed to kill the. vermin. When the wit-, ness got home she unpacked her port- llanteau in the garden and found a bug, wkchshe put iiito:an.,e,nvelop,e and show- el to somebody to'find -o'ut what it was. Re-examined, she said she did not know whit i sand-hopper, was, but she knew a flea when she saw one. Mr'George Antonoff, a Russian stud-ent at the Manchester University, and resid- ing with Mrs Williams, mother of the de- fendant, at 9. Lime Grove, Oxford Road, said that the fleas were so numerous that he caught many of them and drowned them in water. But unfortunately many of them escaped. They could swim, he ascertained, very well.—(Laughter.) But about twelve were left in .the morning. He went away, but came back on receiving a telegram to say that there was new accom- modation, which he found consisted of a bed on chairs.. Mrs Williams, mother of the defendant, stated that she saw Mr Antonoff's arms on the Monday when he came hack from Llandudno. They were covered with flea- bites up to the shoulders. The Judge adjourned the case until the next Court for the attendance of the woman who was acting as the plaintiff's maid at the time in question.

) DiaATH OF MR. J. B. JONES.

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