The Northern Star, And Farmers' And Mechanics' Advocate

False Keys.--We have been frequently surprised in common with many others upon hearing the details attending the robberies of dwelling houses, in which thieves have gone from the kitchen to the garret, traversing every room in the course, not even excepting those where precaution had been taken to lock the doors from the inside. Our former surprise was turned into astonishment, upon the High Constable showing us a few days since among other contrivances for picking locks, an ingeniously constructed instrument for opening doors from the outside, while the key remained turned in the lock within.

This instrument which is highly polished, and exhibits great mechanical skill in its construction, was taken a short time since from the possession of a notorious house breaker, and is now placed among other curiosities in a kind of museum kept in one of the rooms connected with the police office, where the old veteran has congregated together the deodands of pick-pockets, housebreakers, counterfeiters and others, for the last twenty years, and occasionally amuses a friend in some interesting reminiscences to which they refer.

With a view to test the capacity of the instrument in accomplishing the object for which it was intended, Mr. Hayes caused the keys of several of the door locks to be turned in the inside, and then applied the pick lock, which opened every one of them with as much facility as if he held the key in his hand with which they were locked. It is formed like the iron pipe of an ordinary desk key, excepting that it is much larger and consists of two separate pieces acting on a hinge and operated upon as levers. These are fitted upon the end of the pipe of the key or nipple which projects beyond the lock, which it seizes with the gripe of a pair of pincers, and thus enables the operator to turn the key round in the wards of the locks, with the same facility that he would were he using the key itself on the inner side.

[Cour. & Enq.