Reserve. In Oxford, England, James Adams, lying in bed in a hotel reading, glanced up when the door opened, watched without comment as John Grady, wearing only a shirt, raced across the room and disappeared through the open window to his death, later explained at the inquest: "I just stayed in bed until the police came. It was nothing to do with me."

Gainfully Employed. In Portland, Ore., after he had filed for unemployment compensation, then been sent to jail for drunkenness and assigned to outside work, Frank Crosby, 50, discovered that he could slip away Wednesdays to the insurance office just the same, managed to collect $75 in unemployment compensation before he was caught.

Sidearm. In Antwerp, Belgium, Soldier Hendrik Verheyen was court-martialed and sentenced to 13 months in prison for stealing his unit's cannon.

Vintage. In Sparta, Wis., Tavernkeeper Carl J. Waters was fined $250 on a charge that when children came around to his saloon on Halloween chanting "Trick or treat," he gave them shots of whisky.

Illustrated Lecture. In Vaxjo, Sweden, while 500 people were gathered in a hall to hear a talk on traffic laws, police outside ticketed 40 of their automobiles for illegal parking.

Denominator. In Los Angeles, Mrs. Dorothy Berk Walters was awarded an uncontested divorce when she complained to the judge that, while she was out of town, her husband had run an ad in a newspaper personal column which read: "Man, 53, old car, no looks, no job, no qualities, no money, no hero, no nothing, seeks congenial companion to go places and do things in pursuit of happiness," had received more than 30 answers, with comments like "Looks is only skin deep" and "I'll mother my man . . . I'm a little good and a little bad."

Long Arm. In Invercargill, New Zealand, Kenneth Blackmore, 19, escaped from prison, fled 140 miles to Dunedin, took refuge in a tree, discovered too late that he was in the backyard of Sergeant Alex McRae, the police officer who had been detailed to look for him.

Honeymoon. In La Spezia, Italy, Mario Cuffini, 32, and his bride Adriana, 24, were each sentenced to four months in jail for brawling, after Mario told the judge that he had lost his composure when his mother-in-law remarked: "I don't intend to let my daughter sleep alone with a man," insisted that she share the couple's bed or that he sleep alone on the wedding night, added to the insult by placing the bride's younger sister in the marital bed on the second night.

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