The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-02-16

him, and held his tongue, and looked roun
towards the window again to see what the fol
lorn little boy was going to amuse himself wit
next. @'- H-
The child had gathered up his blackin,
brush and bit of rag, and had put them int
the old tin saucepan and was now workin|
his way, as we'll as his clothes would let him
with his make-believe pail hugged up in hi
arms towards door of communication whlcl
led from the back to the front garret.
''I say" says he, looking round sharply owe
his shoulder, ''what you two stopping her
for? I'm going to bed now-and SO l tel
you !"
into the front t-roa..---seerng TrottIe take
I Step or two to follow him, Benjamin's mother
opened her wicked old eyes in a state of aston
ishment.- g. - - 80 &
e., "Mercy on usp' says she, "haven't you seer
enough of him yet" es
"No," says Trottle. "I should like to see
him go to bed"
Benjamin's mother burst into such fit oi
chuckling that the loose extinguisher in the
candlestick clattered again with the shaking OF
her hand. To think of good Mr.. Forley's
friend taking ten times more trouble about the
imp than good Mr. Forley himselfi Such a
| joke that, Benjamin's mother had not often
met with in the course of her life, and she
begged to be excused if she took the liberty of
having laugh at it.. q. 4.
Leaving her to laugh as much as she pleased,
and coming to pretty positive conclusion, af-
ter what he had just heard, that Mr.. ForIey's
interest in the child was not of the foTdest
possible kind, Trottle walked into the front
room, and Ber1jarnfu s mother chi oy-fns herself
Immensely, followed with the candle.
There were two pieces of furniture in the
front garret. One, an old stool of the sort
that is used to stand cask of beer on and
the other, a great big, riekety, straddling old
truckle bedstead In the middle of this bed
stead, surrounded by dim brown waste of
sacking, was a kind of little island Of poor
bedding-an old bolster, with nearly all the
feathers out of it, doubled in three for pillow;
mere shred of patch work counterpane and
blanket; and under that, and peeping out
little on either side beyond the loose clothes,
two faded chair cushions of horsc-hair, laid
along together fora sort of make-shift mattress.
When Trottle got into the room the lonely lit
tie boy had scrambled up on the bedstead with
the help of the bGer-stool and was kneelin@
on the outer rim Of sacking, with the shred of
couhterpane in his hand, just making ready to
tuck it in for himself under the chair-cushions
"1'll tuck you up, my man, says Trottle.-
Jump into bed, and let me try"
g mean to tuck myself up says the POOR
forloln child, ':and L don't mean to jump, l
mean to crawl, do-and so tell you p:
clothes tight all down the sides of the cush-
ions, but leaving them open at the foot. Then,
getting up on his knees, and looking hard at
Trottle, as much as to say, What do you mean
by offering to help such a handy little chap as
me ?' he began to unite the big shawl for him.
self ard did it, too, in less than half a min
ute. Then, doubling the shawl up loose over
the foot Of the bed, he says, Il say, look h:re"
and ducks under the clothes, head first, worm
ing his way up and up softly, under the blanket
and counterpane, till Trotte saw the top of the
large night cap slowly peep out on the bolster.
This diversified head-gaar of the child's had
so showed itself down IN the course of his jour
ney to the pillow, under the clothes, that when
he got his face fairly out on the bolster he was
all night cap down to his mouth. He soon
freed himself, however, from this slight encum
brance by turning the ends of the cap up
gravely to their old place over his elbows
looked at Trottlc-said "Snug, amt it p
Good-byp' popped his face under the clothes
the empty peak of the big night-cap standing
up sturdily on end in the middle Of the bolster
''What a young limb it is, amt it % says
Benjamin's mother, giving Trottle cheerful
dig with her elbow. "Come on ! you won't
see no more of him tonight"
'And so [ tell you!'' sings out shrill little
voice under the bed clothes, Ginning in with a
If Trottle had not been by this time posi-
lively resolved to follow the wicked secret
which accident had mixed him up with, through
all its turnings and windings, right on to the
end, he would have probably snatched the boy
up then and there, and carried him off from
his garret prison, bed-clothes and all. As it
was, he put strong check on himself, kept
his eyes on future possibilities, and allowed
Benjamin s mother to lead hinn down stairs
again. 20
sNind>-them top banisters !' says she, as
Trottle laid his hand on the1n.~ "They as
rotten as medlars, every one of EN-"
"When peorle come to see the premises"
saays Trottle trying to feel his way little fur
ther into the mystery of the house, ''you don't
bring many of them up here, do you ?"
"Bless your heart alive" says she, ''nobody
ever comes now. The outside Of the house is
quite enough to warn them off. More's the
pity, as 1 say. Tt used to keep me in spirits,
staggering EN- all, one after another, with the
frightful high rent-specially the women drat
'em whats the rent of this house. 2 Hun
dred and twenty pound per year. Hundred
and twenty! why, there amt house in the
street as lets for more than eighty. Likely
enough, ma am; other landlords may lower
their rents if they please; but this here land
lord sticks TO his rights, and means to have as
much for his house his father had before
him! But the neighbors gone Git since
them Hundred and twenty pound, ma am.
Tie landlord must be mad! Hundred and
twenty pound ma'am, Open the door, you
impertinent womanp Lord p what happi-
ness it was to see 'em bounce out, with that
awful rent a7ringing in their ears all down the
streetH 1r --.-..-- .--.----s.4t .s-s- '--
She STOPPED on the second-foor landing to
treat herself to another chuckle, while Trottle
privately posted up in his memory what he had
Just heard. 1.-TWO pointsmade out" he thought
to himself; ':the house is kept empty on pur-
pose, and the way it's done is to ask rent that
nobody will pay
"Ah, .deary me!' says Benjamin's mother,
changing the subject on sudden, and twisting
back with a horrid greedy quickness to those
| awkward money-mattcrs which she had broached
down in the parlor. tWhat we've done. one
way and another, for. Mr.. Forley, it isn't in
] words to tell That nice little bit of business