Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-05-09


return for this kindness, the deaf gentle
man abused him like pickpocket.
| 1t soon become blown about that two Eng
lish noblemen were stopping at the Wind
mill Tavern, and the doorways and windows
were beset by crowd Of curious persons,
who wished to share the glory Of having
seen real live aristocrat. :
Atsupper, "Sir William" as began to
call him, insisted on saying long, and ella
borate grace, before anybody had mouth
ful, and kept it up with such a pious air,
for such length Of time, that those present,
not doubling his sincerity, were half starved
with waiting. AT its close, the meal COM
menced, and O servant, standing behind us,
poured out glass Of water for my compan-
ion, who immediately flung the tumbler,
water and all, out of the window.
What do you mean, scoundrel, by giving
me that? Bring me braDdyl DO you SUBJ
pose eyer drink such miserable stuff as
The waiter shrank away. terribly confused
and astonished, and brought bottle of bran
dy, which the deaf gentleman received with
a bland smile, and drank quite copiously of,
while the other boarders looked on in aston.
ishment. .t. f'.--.' - -. =
A dead silence reigned at the table after
this, until the noble Sir William suddenly
called out, at the top Of his voice: 10
..MIS5 .".LMandlord Landlord. . y.
Haven't you any music?'
Music 2" lI-77 ...s.
Yes. l can never get through supper
without musician you get band, or some
musicians to play while we eat?' :
II do not know of any, sir--except a fid-
die, that one Of the walters sometimes plays
on, sir. - .....Y0 III ~ - =
That it--that is just the thing. Send for
it Immediately, and let him play or l shall
never be able to eat anything ?"' ri ~ d
The violin was brought, and the waiter.
frightened halfout of his wits, was stationed
directly. behind the chair of the deaf gentle
man, and made to play variety of jigs walt
zes, cotillions, etc., which he did most exc
erably, but to the great apparent delight of
his lordship, who beat time with his knife
and fork on the table, wagged his head, and
evinced the liveliest appreciation of the per-
formance. H -.li'I
1t was with immense difficulty that I kept
a straight face through all these vagaries !,
but my friends countenance remained per-
fectly immovable until supper was over, when
he silenced the music, and asked blessing a
little longer than the grace.
The evening was passed in succession of
curious feats and surprises on the deaf gen
tleman's part that convinced Inc of the &C.
centrioity Of his character, and entering into
the spirit OF the thing, Joined him in sever
al freaks-s,hh as insisting that the stove in
our rooms should be BACKED and polished
before bedtime, that we should have the
dinner bell during the night, in case we want.
ed anything and that ladder should be set
on the outside Of the house, near our window
for fear of fire. Then, after playing game
OF marbles with much gravity in the parlor.
we retired, and | had a hearGy laugh, which
had been pent up within me for several
hours. ~,
A little past midnight just as had fallen
into "a sound sleep, | was aroused by a tremen-
dous ringing ofthe bell, and found Sir Will
liam sitting up in bed. swinging the noisy in
strument about his head, and shouting,
Waiter! Landlord Waiter" at the top
of his lungs.
Half the people in the house were at our
door in minute, and every one supposed
that some terrible calamity had occurred |;
but it seemed that the deaf gentleman only
wanted glassof brandy, which was procur-
ed for him, and the tavern became quiet once
more. R4
Twice, again, however, during the night
he repeated the request making more and
more noise each time, so that it was not to be
wondered at that the landlord asked me pri-
vately, at the breakfast table, if my friend
was not insane. assured him very grave
ly that he was not, and limited that the no.
bility OF Great Britain was very different in
their manners and habits from the vulgar
nasses-a theory that he seemed very willing
to accept. tHnH H'F'ap .i1Hq ,''tui
As we took passage again in the morning
train, the deaf gentleman resumed his ordi-
nary air, and appeared delighted with the
waggery and its effects. He told me that he
rarely Travelled without playing some such
pranks, and related many funny anecdotes
OF his adventures and doings in that way
Among other things, he Informed me that
my journey ended, introducing himself to
her, astonishing her completely as possible.
lie had a correspondence with her, he said,
but had never seen her, and expected an
immense deal ofdiversion from the affair,
as he knew all about her from some of her
acquaintances he had met. 'l- ~ a.ls !.
"She doesn't know me from Adam" said
he, "and will not be able to imagine how
on earth could know her history. shall
| nottell her who really am at first, but let
her tax her powers of guessing for awhile. y
/ was quite interested in this odd affair,
and determined to keep an eye on all the
deaf gentleman's movements and to assist
him, ifpossible, in making it as much of q
joke rs could. % -'m -'i 9uA
AT small station town, not far from G.,
we stopped to dine, and the deaf gentleman
/ nroposed n new feature for the ladv' a con.